“’TIS the season . . .” and all that; so, here are my festive recommendations, including a trip into the podcast vault of gems. First, we have an episode of Nomad Podcast with Christena Cleveland, “A Spirituality of the Womb”, released on 20 December 2023.
Dr Cleveland, an African-American theologian, offers a poignant reflection. She opens with a story about her nephew when he was having a tantrum and his mother was unable to to soothe him. We are invited to consider God as a mother, who helps to quell our anxieties. The host, Anna Robinson, then follows this with a contemplation on Dr Cleveland’s themes. Let me issue a warning: I listened to this while riding my bike, and Robinson’s dulcet tones made my eyelids so heavy that I nearly fell off my bike on Oxford Road, Manchester. So, listen at your own risk.
Staying with an Advent theme, let me introduce Kerlin Richter: Day 12: Advent for Every Body, released on 8 December 2022, “Sermons from Trinity Cathedral, Portland”. She is an Episcopalian priest who offers her take on Advent, which is particularly poignant, as she is pregnant while delivering the talk.
A line that I love is: “Your body is a miracle so deep that God herself wanted to be in a body like yours.”
Thinking about Christmas miracles, if you like numbers, this is for you: More or Less, on BBC Sounds, “Quantifying Santa”, from 22 December 2018. Some big brains have turned their attention to how St Nicholas manages to bestow his bounty around the world in just one night. Perhaps, like me, you have always wondered this; so, wonder no more. This short podcast really geeks out on how the sleigh travels at 10,000km per hour; the front achieves temperatures of 3000°, and so it probably has a heat shield, like the ones rockets have; and we explore how it is theoretically possible for him to reach all 160,000,000 children — all while full of brandy and cookies.
It is the holidays! Here are a couple of ideas for binge listening. Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, on BBC Sounds, has four seasons’ worth of well-produced edutainment. George the Poet is a Black British man of Ugandan heritage. He skilfully weaves together biographical stories about growing up on a housing estate and eventually graduating from Cambridge. Race, class, and identity are all themes he explores with gorgeous prose and lyrical essays.
“Mania for Subjugation”, an episode of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, from January 2024, has a runtime of a whopping four hours 12 minutes. This episode is about Alexander the Great. He provides helpful historical context and deftly integrates a range of expert opinions into a pretty seamless, warmly delivered essay. It is well-researched, expertly delivered, and offers a thrilling approach to long-form history.
Carlin has a movie-voiceover baritone and creates dynamic narratives over several hours at a time. You could have one earphone surreptitiously under your Christmas hat at the Boxing Day family meal. You’re welcome. Happy Christmas!