What Kind of World

Carolyn and Peter ponder when the levee will break in the USA with respect to Donald J Trump's appalling behaviour and authoritarian leanings. A lot has happened in this past week. Plus a bit of Hamilton and the wonder of tyre technology! 

Carolyn and Peter talk about truth in a week of mayhem for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) who has had two senior figures resign, threats of legal proceedings from Donald Trump, and a failure of leadership either to apologise appropriately or to defend its news team. In the face of this we ask "What is truth?" With some philosophical and theological ramblings on the subject. Carolyn mentions Mrs Frazzled (aka Arielle Fodor) a teacher turned political content creator and comic. https://www.tiktok.com/@mrs.frazzled?lang=en Peter talks about JPIT's For Goodness Sake conference. More on JPIT here: https://jpit.uk/ You can watch both keynote speeches from the conference here: Very Rev Sally Foster-Fulton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6jiwe6g0w&t=2s) Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy6CcW-KZOE&t=2s) 

Carolyn and Peter get around to discussing the Paradox of Tolerance via the Paradox of Freedom and the Paradox of Democracy, drawing from Karl Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies". We start with a discussion of Nathan Gill (former Reform Party leader in Wales) pleading guilty to taking bribes from Russia and the many connections that reveal how Putin tries to manipulate democracies. The Intelligence and Security Committee report can be found here: https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CCS207_CCS0221966010-001_Russia-Report-v02-Web_Accessible.pdf The article by Carole Cadwalladr is titled "The cleavage shot no UK tabloid will print" found here: https://broligarchy.substack.com/p/the-cleavage-shot-no-uk-tabloid-will You can watch her discussion with James O'Brien here: https://youtu.be/KkQNlz6NQhw?si=5k6a5Ky-CuwQyAWv&t=7635 And for more about Sox the Stallion... https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576858530564 

Carolyn and Peter have a blether about some of the week's news, including alarming language from Katie Lam MP (Shadow Minister for the Home Office), what is cultural coherence, the massive demonstrations in the USA under the No Kings banner, differences between absolute monarchies and constitutional monarchies (like UK), meeting King Charles III, and bizarrely revealing responses to demonstrations from the White House (which is quietly being partly demolished to make way for a Trump vanity project).

Carolyn and Peter follow up on their thoughts from last issue about the message of James Talarico with a review of the speech given by Stephen Miller, United States National Security Adviser and White House Deputy Chief of Staff, at the Charlie Kirk Memorial Event/Rally (21 September 2025). Here's the text of Emma Lazarus' famous poem: THE NEW COLOSSUSNot like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” We mention Pat Kahnke's excellent channel "Culture, Faith and Politics" which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/@culturefaithandpolitics⁩A couple of the books mentioned were: "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them" by Jason Stanley (https://amzn.eu/d/5Jo51e5) "Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda" by Jean Guerrero (https://amzn.eu/d/36ZMsc1) 

Carolyn and Peter react to a message given by Texas State Representative James Talarico (sermon in his home church from 2023), while reflecting on some recent events for Rev David Black of First Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Rutgers University Professor Mark Bray. And some bookish chat on Larry Niven's The Second Coming and the Millennium Series of novels started by Stieg Larsson. The other book mentioned by Peter was The Last Day by Glenn Kleier. 

Carolyn and Peter talk about violence in places of worship, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth addressing 800 military top brass, JPIT's Six Hopes for Society, the threat to women's rights in the USA, and what it means to be part of a welcoming community. An article about violent acts in houses of worship here: https://theconversation.com/violent-acts-in-houses-of-worship-are-rare-but-deadly-heres-what-the-data-shows-266328 JPIT is Joint Public Issues Team and can be found here: https://jpit.org.uk/ A direct link to the video related to Sanctuary Sunday is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MhB-dHUTEA A recent letter to the Home Secretary from JPIT on the scapegoating of refugees: https://jpit.uk/scapegoating-refugees-wont-fix-inequality-letter 

Carolyn and Peter talk about Jimmy Kimmel's reinstatement, Donald Trump at the United Nations, mini-Trump Farage, and the use of narrative. Plus the wholesomeness of Bake Off and news about Scotland Demands Better (https://www.scotland-demands-better.com/). Information about Sharia Councils here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678478/6.4152_HO_CPFG_Report_into_Sharia_Law_in_the_UK_WEB.pdf Diagram mentioned can be found in this article by Ellie Mae O'Hagan.

Carolyn and Peter talk about freedom of speech, how it is being challenged, and why it is important in a democracy. Oh and a visit to the UK by the US President and our escape to Orkney.The report on extremism-related deaths in the USA that was mentioned can be found at https://www.adl.org/resources/report/murder-and-extremism-united-states-2024Vlad Vexler talking about Musk's comments in the UK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztm2WonEkBQHeather Cox Richardson's Politics Chat in which she describes being on the Professor Watchlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr9WhdjOPIQ

 Carolyn and Peter reflect on the rise of violence in politics, the assassinations of Charlie Kirk, Melissa and Mark Hortman, helpful and unhelpful responses to such violence. (Apologies for the audio for the first segment, Peter forgot to record on our audio recorder so we had to fall back on the phone audio - lessons learnt!)Carolyn gives an update on her 'Munro' bagging and Peter breathes a sigh of relief at the sacking of Peter Mandelson as the UK's Ambassador to the USA. The Reuters article Peter mentions can be found at https://www.reuters.com/world/us/nation-edge-experts-warn-vicious-spiral-political-violence-after-kirk-killing-2025-09-11/ 

Carolyn and Peter take on patriarchy in their third instalment on Christian Nationalism. Plus some hillwalking and Nigel Farage's shameful appearance in the US Congress this week.Clip of Jamie Raskin's comments on Farage were from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpBACJuttHc

Carolyn and Peter talk about the use (and abuse) of power within Christian Nationalism, nurturing your microbial biome, and Caligula - The Ultimate Cut. Mentioned is Tim Spector's book "Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well".  

Carolyn and Peter start a wee series on Christian Nationalism, sharing some of their own quite different backgrounds, plus extras on Dexter and Putin/Trump vs Zelenskyy and the free world...Book mentioned this week is "Taking America Back For God: Christian Nationalism in the United States" (Andrew L Whitehead and Samuel L Perry, ISBN 0197652573, OUP USA, 2022)

Carolyn and Peter discuss democracy and its decline in many countries over the last decades, the nature of the language that protest tends to stir, and the upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska.

In our second episode we explore Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory and his image of the Elephant and the Rider as we think about how to understand our divisive times. Plus a wee detour on whether the UK is under attack and the state of satire and protest with reference to South Park.

Peter and Carolyn introduce their podcast, explaining why they have started a podcast after a recent trip to Poland. This is trialing a format for the podcast. This covers both historical and current events, with some personal reflections shaped by a progressive faith.The views and opinions expressed by the creators of this podcast are their personal views and opinions.