The Stand-Up Theologian

Get in touch via textYes. Season 1 is finally wrapping up. In this episode - Episode 34! - I explain why (it's episode 34?), what I'm up to next and why I'm doing something as chronically unprofitable as The Wycliffe Papers. I also refer to my blog, The Situation Room and this post: https://thesitutationroom.substack.com/p/amuse-yourselfI'll be back. Have no fear. You can't keep me away from a microphone, to be honest. I love conversations with friends about ideas and figuring out who we are, how we got here and where we are going.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textWhat is England’s day if not St George’s Day? Who even is St George? Why don't the English celebrate it? Can we walk and talk around Hinton St George, a village in Somerset? Want to see the beautiful church? Here's the YouTube video:https://youtu.be/clk4SIcFUWcSee also Cary's Almanac:https://jamescary.substack.com/p/st-george-and-the-dragon-are-deadWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textBack once again with friend of the show, Rhys Laverty, Editorial and Research Director of the Prosperity Institute who wrote this brilliant article for The Critic about the now retracted and rescinded Quiet Revival report:https://thecritic.co.uk/the-truth-about-the-quiet-revival/Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textJames on the War Movie Theatre podcast  and the website here.James on the Wit + Grit podcast and on Apple PodcastsWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThe Sacred Art of Joking is available in all formats on Amazon/Audible.Every few weeks a politician, pundit or soap star causes a media storm by making a gaffe or tweeting a joke that some people do not find funny. Comedy is very hard to get right and yet we think it's important to have a sense of humour and not take yourself too seriously. On the other hand, a sense of humour failure can lead to losing your friends, your social media account, your job, your career and, in some cases, your life.James Cary knows about this. He is a sitcom writer who's written jokes about bomb disposal in Afghanistan (Bluestone 42), defended comments about Islam by Ben Elton on Newsnight, been on a panel with radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, sits on the General Synod of the Church of England and somehow managed to co-write episodes of Miranda. An odd mix, but one that makes him very listenable. This entertaining, breezy book explains how comedy works (with jokes and quotes) and gives much-needed insights into the controversy surrounding humour.©2019 W. F. Howes Ltd (P) 2019 James CaryThe Sacred Art of Joking book and ebook published by SPCK.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this longer episode, I wonder about whether I have productivity addiction, and whether this podcast is part of that. So I talk to fellow productivity addict and podcaster, Kenny Primrose.This was prompted by a recent Modern Wisdom podcast episode in which Chris Williamson interviews Oliver Burkemann (4000 Weeks)Then there’s Tim Ferriss talking to Jim Collins.4000 Weeks Audiobook:The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel H. Pink We also mention: Dougald HineWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textMatt Searles is an author, songwriter and mindfulness teacher. We're talking about reading the Bible without devotionals or commentaries, and reflecting - and the perspicuity of scripture.Buy Quiet Paths here. Listen on Spotify here. More info here.The Bible Overbrew with Matt Searles and Rachel Redeemed is here.And James wrote an e-book called Psalm Psupplement.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThis time, I'm in conversation with Ros Clarke, Associate Director of The Church Society. We are talking about Bishop Hugh Latimer, burned by Queen Mary on 16th October 1555. Why? And what does that tell us about life and the church today? Watch the video on YouTube here!And this is The Situation Room where I write about writing situation comedyWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this episode James and returning guest Nate Morgan Locke explore Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, asking whether his warning still stands, whether he romanticises 19th century America and whether the very invention of the clock as destroyed our sense of the eternal. How does this book affect how Nate makes videos and James makes podcasts.WARNING: Contains opinions about The Chosen that some listeners may find disappointing. Keep track of Nate at: Hero's Creed Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textYes, another episode. I can't stay away. A solo episode on fasting. And Avoiding Fudge in Lent.Cary’s Almanac on William LaudCary’s Almanac on FastingCary’s Almanac Avoiding Fudge in Lent The Psalm Psupplement is Here:James Acaster on NetflixYou can watch Bill on iPlayer (in UK)Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textI have a conversation with Tilly Dillehay, author of “My Dear Hemlock”, a book in the style of CS Lewis’s Screwtape Letters that does not pull its punches on the female condition. We also talk about writing, sitcom and sketches and then ‘pivot’ into story structure and The Princess Bride. We also talk about books that broke the rules and made us laugh out loud.Check out Cary's AlmanacWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textA deep dive into Conspiracy theories - not a big long list of them, but why we might believe them, or find it hard to prove them one way or the other. A fascinating conversation with Dr (Dr) Jonny Woodrow, host of the Stop it! You're Killing Me Podcast. Listen the episode with with Yours Truly here:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/stop-it-youre-killing-me/id1738098579?i=1000717379359Also mentioned:Haunted Cosmos Moon Landings Aquinas 101The Sacred Art of Joking (Affiliate link)Cary’s AlmanacWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this solo episode, I introduce the Psalm Psupplement, forty reflections on the Psalms that might be handy for Lent. This is an audio version of the first batch on Psalm 1. Loyal Lollards (paid subscribers to the Wycliffe Papers) will be getting all forty them thrown in with their membership. Why not join? Plus there'll be a load of bonus audio content to keep you going during the forthcoming hiatus.And I'm reading from the World English Bible - because it's not bad, it's public domain and not owned by Rupert Murdoch.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textI have a conversation with Andrew Ollerton who has written a new book called God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics. And he’s been at the front line of talking about the Bible to people who are just picking it up for the first time. What do they want to know?Check out Cary's Almanac for a weekly newsletter about the Christian way of life with reference to history, scripture and creation.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textTwo culture vultures pick over the plentiful remains of Stranger Things. I talked to Caleb Woodbridge who is an imaginative disciple, freelance writer and editor,  fan of sf/fantasy, children's & YA literature, Doctor Who, Tolkien & C S Lewis. He writes and podcasts at Bigger Inside.We talk about Stranger Things but also JK Rowling; CS Lewis; Narnia; Harry Potter; Hunger Games, Video Games, Massive Effect, Baldur’s Gate – and why James doesn’t play video games and has a rant about American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Also we mention Indiana Jones, Stephen King, the cost of victory. And what on earth is Schroedinger’s Eucatastrophe?We also mention Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch; Paul Cornell Hidden London; Lockwood and Co; The Pendragon Protocol Philip Purser-HallardCaleb’s Article about Tim Challies: https://www.equip.org/articles/choose-your-own-enchantment-freedom-and-conscience-in-what-we-watch/Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textLast year, I wrote an article about home education for Gareth Crispin, editor of Premier NexGen:https://www.premiernexgen.com/education/why-home-education-is-the-best-option-for-christian-families/20440.articleAnd we talked about it! Oh yes. We talked about it.And here's Dumbing us Down by John Taylor GattoWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this New Year’s Day solo walk-and-talk, I reflect on what happens when long-running momentum finally runs out. Turning 50, finishing six years on the Archbishop's Council, and watching the comedy industry shift have forced me to face an uncomfortable question: have I been relying on professional habits while avoiding fully intentional choices? Prompted by Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro, I think aloud about career, responsibility, making work that is actually “on,” faith, family, and what it might mean to “turn pro” again in 2026—this time with clarity, purpose and slightly more money.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIt's just like old times! Cary and Cooper are reunited for this review of the year in books. We revisit Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth, and James explains why there are a number of books he has some serious problems with (I'm looking at you, George RR Martin). Barry's read some Thomas Hardy. Seriously. Very seriously. And Cary does not care for The Way We Live Now by Trollope.You can listen to an extended version of this episode by becoming a Loyal Lollard - a paid subscriber to The Wycliffe Papers.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textWhat a treat! James gets to geek about CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man - with the world's leading expert on all things Inkling, Dr Michael Ward! Why should we NEVER call his science fiction books 'The Space Trilogy'? And is The Magician's Nephew actually going to be good? Enjoy!Planet NarniaAfter Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by Dr Michael WardLife on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy - featuring an essay by Dr Michael WardFurther reading by Ward in First Things on MatrimonyThe God Particle Streaming MP4The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto (Catholic Ideas for a Secular World)Peter Zeihan on demographics.Norm MacDonald on Germany going to war with The World.Clip from The Princess Bride by William GoldmanWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIs there a book in you? Have you checked? Do you need to be talked into it? Or out of it? And who cares? You care! But will anyone else? Matt Bird helps people write their story. So this is a conversation about the pain, euphoria, self-delusion, vanity and the therapeutic nature of writing a book.Find out more about Matt Bird and PublishU HERE.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textWhat is Christmas? When does it start? And how long does it last? What is advent? So many questions! James Cary has a few answers in this solo episode with a bonus bit of The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer at the end.Get hold of Word Made FleshSitcom Geeks Ep208 What’s so special about the Christmas Special?Popcorn parenting Christmas Movies episodeChristmas Carol read by Hugh Grant.And here’s that unicorn:https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84543/tapestry-unknown/Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThere was a time when the BBC completely ruled the airwaves, both TV and Radio. What happened? Where did it go? Especially the comedy. And where did the BBC come from? In this episode, James talks to comedian, writer, author and presenter of the British Broadcasting Century podcast, Paul Kerensa. Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textStand-Up Theologian James Cary talks to James Sherwood, musical comedian (or comedic musician?). Together they've been writing a musical, although they could have sworn that they wrote one in 2017 (A Monk's Tale) and again in 2019 (A Turbulent Priest). Apparently not. James and James (you decide which is which) explain how they found out what a musical actually was, and then explain what a musical actually is.Please support the Death in Canterbury campaign.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this solo episode, I connect my long-running fascinations with comedy, World War II, and Indiana Jones — exploring why one scene in my favourite Indy film falls flat, why Armstrong and Miller’s RAF sketches are so funny (and a bit sad) and how The Producers got away with being in such poor taste. Timed around Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, it’s a reflection on humour, history, and why we’re so captivated by the wars that shaped the modern world - and that man at the heart of it. Am I talking about Jesus? Or that other guy?The Age of Hitler and How We Will Survive It HUT 33 on Audible (affiliate link) Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn this episode, James talks Aaron Edwards from That Good Fight and Pod of the Gaps podcast about 'The Machine' as laid out by Paul Kingsnorth, who as written Against the Machine which I recommend listening to on Audible - and here's an affiliate link to THAT BOOK.We also talk about Jacques Ellul and The Technological Society, CR Wiley and The Household and The War for the Cosmos, Paul Vanderklay and Joel Sallaton, The Lunatic Farmer and author of The Marvellous Pigness of Pigs!Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textGraham Linehan is frequently in the news because of jokes and comments on Twitter. This is one that won't go away, so let's talk about it. I already talked about it with Glen Scrivener on his podcast, Speak Life. Listen to those - and the original HERE. We talk about whether sins are crimes and how sins can be worse than crimes; freedom, what we want to be from from, and what that freedom is for; and how words our actually more powerful than we realise. Sticks and stones may break our bones - but words last forever.Links from the show:Sacred Art of Joking on AudibleThat Australian comedian Steve Hughes talks about being offendedBluestone 42 on iPlayer (in the UK, anyway) Latimer documentary, Playing with FireWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThis is a solo episode! Does that excite you? Or fill you with dread, like meeting The Dread Pirate Roberts? A reflective, rambling solo episode recorded on a morning walk in which I talk about why this show is audio-first, whyI'm making it, and how he thinks about cadence, audience and membership communities and Christian comedy among the crunching leaves and a cameo from some geese.How should this podcast work? Best weekly with seasons - or weekly with more solo episodes? I also explain Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans,” the Loyal Lollards/Wycliffe Papers, and how the podcast supports live shows (God, the Bible & Everything); turning 50, kids now at school after home-ed, asking new questions of ageing parents, and thinking while walking. Plus an exclusive on the name of my next tour show.I mention: Adam Buxton, Jonah Goldberg (The Remnant/The Ruminant), Cal Newport (Deep Questions/Deep Life), Scott Adams, Paul VanderKlay, Buzzsprout’s Buzzcast; Paul Kingsnorth (Against the Machine), Dominic Sandbrook (Never Had It So Good), Anthony Trollope (Barchester Towers, read by Timothy West), Bishop Hugh Latimer (new video supported by the Latimer Trust), Wycliffe & the Lollards, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs; Jordan Peterson vs. Cathy Newman as a lesson in media dynamics; and the realities of hard rives and music/licensing.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThe Bible is a rich and stunning tapestry of woven wisdom and truth - and yet we are bizarrely resistant to reading it. Why is that? And why do we treat it differently from other books and media? How can we read it more, and dig deeper? James Cary, the stand-up theologian, talks to Andrew Sach, author of: Dig Deeper into 1 & 2 Kings by Andrew Sach, Alasdair HendersonWhy not join the podcast's new and experimental Facebook Group?The Wycliffe Papers on FacebookAnd please consider becoming a Loyal Lollard for the extended version of this podcast. Go on over to The Wycliffe Papers and Upgrade to Paid.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textJames has a chat with pastor and author Ed Shaw about friendship, intimacy and his old school reports. Do we change? Can we change? And how can we be intimate with God?Check out The Intimacy Deficit by Ed ShawThe Wycliffe Papers on FacebookWhy not join the podcast's new and experimental Facebook Group?And consider becoming a Loyal Lollard for the extended version of this podcast. Go on over to The Wycliffe Papers and Upgrade to Paid.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textJames Cary talks to comedian Andy Kind, author of a new book, The Wayfarer, a laugh-out-loud memoir about his third attempt to walk the Pennine Way. They also talks about the state of stand-up, the impact of the pandemic and the line - or salty path - between truth and storytelling.Why not join the podcast's new and experimental Facebook Group?And consider become a Loyal Lollard for the extended version of this podcast. Go on over to The Wycliffe Paper and Upgrade to Paid.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textWhat is England's founding myth? Does anyone get excited about 1066? Which English nationalism on the march, people are getting nervous. Why do the English get queasy about flying the flag. And why do we keep making a joke of it? James Cary, Stand-Up Theologian, talks to Rhys Laverty about all of the above, and the even more awkward idea about being a Christian country. Can open. Worms everywhere! Enjoy! And comment. Why not join the podcast's new and experimental Facebook Group?Clips from the show: Fry and Laurie & That Australian stand up: James Donald Forbes McCannRhys Laverty writes about God is an Englishman for First Things.Rhys on how the English don’t take themselves seriously (because of the English Civil War) at The New Albion blog.Interested in Englishness? Follow Cary’s Almanac:https://jamescary.substack.comWant to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textThe really controversial message of the Life of Brian is not what we think it is. Can we talk about the gospel that Brian actually preaches, which seems to be gospel the Pythons believed. How as that stood the test of time?In this episode, James Cary talks to evangelist, author and YouTuber, Glen Scrivener, one of the few men who can quote Life of Brian, Douglas Adams and Aquinas in the same breath. It turns out that Life of Brian comes from the same era as Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Terry Pratchett gets dragged into the discussion and before long, we’re wondering what mankind even is. And whether we’ve been living in a blip. Glen also reveals how Jimmy Carr owes it all to him. Divine Comedy - Human Tragedy: What is life?James wrote about watching the Life of Brian with his kids here:Christian Smith on Aaron Renn’s podcast talking about the collapse of trust in mainstream religion in the 1990s here.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textStand Up Theologian, James Cary asks Dr. Andy Bannister: Is atheism funny anymore? In returning to his book The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist for a 10th anniversary edition, Andy reflects on how things have changed since the days of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the “new atheism.” What can we learn from comedy landmarks like Life of Brian, Father Ted, Ricky Gervais, or the contrast between The Simpsons and Family Guy? Why are comedians so often drawn to religion, and can humour really open the door to deeper reflection? Even sceptics like David Baddiel and Douglas Murray admit to yearning for God—why do they never seem to get there? Plus, there's an intriguing story about John Newton’s doubts about his conversion.Here's the clip of Comedian Pete Holmes.If you like jokes and the Bible, you really should check out The Wycliffe Papers!Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textIn the very first episode, James Cary, the Stand-Up Theologian, is joined by former Popcorn Parenting podcast co-host Nate Morgan Locke for a lively conversation that jumps from Back to the Futureand Star Wars Episode I to sitcoms, storytelling, and even evangelistic preaching. Along the way, James confesses he only cares about story for the jokes—one reason he became a comedy writer—and explains why he loves jazz but not Charlie Parker. Nate tackles the monomyth, Into the Woods, and Save the Cat, before asking whether life is more like a movie or a sitcom, what you’d wish for if you met a genie, and why sitcom specials always send the cast on holiday. We also explore what links Just William to Porridge, why sitcoms are not movies, and how to overcome “main character syndrome,” all while reflecting on last episodes, franchises, and the peculiar art of storytelling. Nate explains why Narnia is a TERRIBLE franchise:James talks Clement and Frenais about Porridge and Just William:If you want episode 2 with Dr Andy Bannister on whether Atheism is funny any more, become a Loyal Lollard via The Wycliffe Papers. HERE.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Get in touch via textWelcome to the Stand-Up Theologian podcast with James Cary.Find James's professional writing credits HERE.And read the latest headlines from the Wycliffe Papers HERE.Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...