These are podcasts that are based around school and usually involve students reflecting on stuff.

wiyw podcast 14 - 7thOct08

7 Yellow Jerseys discuss their role as a bunch of worldview detectives. Brilliant.



wiyw podcast 15 - 8thOct08

7 Xylophonics hurt my ears with chaotic worldview ramblings. Actually it was pretty interesting as we discussed the influence of violent games and sarcastic soaps.



wiyw podcast 16 - 9thOct08

7 Whirlygigs WithWonderfulWorldviewWanderings...



wiyw podcast 17 - 13thOct08

7Z Particles make it happen. In fact - they get the feeling as soon as they enter the RS room...



wiyw podcast 18 - 21stOct08

9D have a free-ranging chat about the Nature of God unit. They are happy, they know it and they clap their hands.



wiyw podcast 19 - 21stOct08

10set1a have a free-ranging chat about the Good and Evil unit. So much to discuss, so little eardrum security.



wiyw podcast 20 - 22ndOct08

10set2 yak attack on Good and Evil.

These are podcasts that are based around school and usually involve students reflecting on stuff.

wiyw podcast 1 - Sep25th07

The first regular podcast!



What did some year 7 students pick up from the first few lessons at school, and are games consoles part of a 'tsunami effect' against religion? Many thanks to the 7s who contributed so lucidly to this premier event.

wiyw podcast 2 - Sep27th07

The tricky so-called 'second' podcast.



Year 8 take their turn at saying what they think about High School Musical, Borat, and... err... running into statues in a deal-or-no-deal manner. Thanks for the entertaining chat.

wiyw podcast 3 - 1stOct07

Halo3 - sick and twisted or great entertainment?



Some Halo 3 addicts engage in hearty discussion about whether gaming is bad news or amazing.

wiyw podcast 4 - 3rdOct07

Year 11 Worldviews sound bites - part 1



A few quick answers to the old famous four questions. This group really want to BE Craig David. "Can I get a rewind?"

wiyw podcast 5 - 8thOct07

Year 11 Worldviews sound bites - part 2



More views. And green time travellers.

wiyw podcast 6 - 10thOct07

Year 11 Worldviews sound bites - part 3



The final in the immense trilogy. Tragedy! We lost the bit about buying Happy Shopper biscuits for 49p! The rest is pretty good though, I trimmed a couple of bits that I thought were slightly disrespectful to horses and 'cillit bang'. Enjoy.

wiyw podcast 7 - 11thOct07

Year 9S Nature of God end of Unit podcast.



This podcast is based on the 'Nature of God' GCSE unit. Each year 9 group are being asked to have a daytime-tv-style discussion. Phew! This one got a little heated towards the end, but I thought it was a brilliant doing it in this way. The comments and questions were mainly really really useful.

wiyw podcast 8 - 12thOct07

Year 9G Nature of God end of Unit podcast.



This podcast is based on the 'Nature of God' GCSE unit. Each year 9 group are being asked to have a daytime-tv-style discussion. Please please please don't judge me as a teacher (or anything else) by this recording. It was fun, but what will I be doing in the jobless gutter when people finally listen to this?

wiyw podcast 9 - 15thOct07

Year 9D Nature of God end of Unit podcast.



The awesome Delta bunch bring this unit to a 'vague' close with a remarkable and memorable recording in the chapel. Go people. I really enjoyed the laughing. Goodbye dirt!

wiyw podcast 10 - 27thJan08
Year 7ByeByeBlackbird talking all about their thoughts on the ten commandments.

Insanity, tensions, laughs and plenty of interesting comment being made here by a group that just won't stop.

wiyw podcast 11 - 27thJan08
Year 7Buzzybuzzybee doing the same.


wiyw podcast 12 - 27thJan08
Year 7Awesome on the same topic.


wiyw podcast 13 - 27thJan08
Year 7Axe-Head elaborating on them.

We had none other than Joseph from the Old Testament in the classroom along with his brothers to tell us all about his life of suffering and how it was used for the saving of many lives - including his own undeserving family.

An amazing story.


Thanks to Jo, Sam, Ralph and Connor for participating in my nonsense!

Thanks to Rev Phil and West Pier-Penny(!) for providing a succinct overview to ideas about sexual purity, marriage, divorce and reconciliation from a Christian perspective.

The audio here is extracted from a DVD with titles and everything! Please mail me if you want to see it. There are two downloads here:

Penny on how becoming a Christian affected her thinking on marriage and sexual purity.



Rev Phil on marriage, three broad views of divorce and reconciliation.



For those interested in doing the leg work, here is the pdf worksheet to download and fill in.

(Please don't forget the Worthing Churches Homeless Project interview found further down the page!)

Thanks to Rev Eric Harmer and Jen 'Ken Jonlan' Conlan for their participation in a really good interview. Listening to the excerpts below should provide a solid basis for the unit on poverty and wealth.

The audio here has been extracted and edited a little from a DVD. Please mail me if you want to see it in full colour glory with titles and chapter headings and an orange menu.

There are two downloads here:

Eric on responding the UK/Sussex-related poverty.



Jen on global poverty, including some material on modern slavery.



For those interested in doing the leg work, here is the pdf worksheet to download and fill in.

We may be laughing in the picture, but it is a heavy topic, so be careful...

The fourth unit on the GCSE (see this page) is all about what happens when you die, whether there is a body/soul difference, and also what happens at a funeral. This is the audio from a Skype video interview I conducted recently with a Christian minister from Birmingham. (Thanks John!)

This is a real scoop people! I managed to get some time with the two key figures in how the GCSE is devised, marked and run. In this podcast episode I ask them about good and bad responses to exam questions and whether examining people they live under the ground...

This is the audio extracted from the Nov07 filmed interview with Hove youthworker Ross Ciano.


The notes from the worksheet:

"This interview is intended to help students gain a better grasp of Christian beliefs and practices. The person being interviewed is an Australian youth worker called Ross Ciano who serves in an Anglican Evangelical Church in Hove, East Sussex. While his views may feel very direct, it should be remembered that he is keen to practice respectful discussion and tolerance. He explains what this means in the interview.

Another important aspect of this interview is the fact that many experiences of Christianity do not always add up to the same thing. Ideas about church buildings, practices, ideas about what is or isn’t important... these are often at conflict with each other and so students studying this material should remember that they would do well to compare what Ross says with other situations and reflect on why there may or may not be a gap.

Having a few concrete case study examples to base your answers on in the exam will be a superb boost to your higher grade chances.

If you can develop an independent and enquiring mind then this will prove far better than spoon feeding in the classroom.

What am I, a giant mother bird or something?"



And just for those of you who like to download A3 sheets and print them off on an A4 bubble inkjet printer before writing on it with microscopic lettering...

According to the two boffins in this interview, 'Quantum Mechanics' is a VERY big deal in the scientific world... if you can understand it. I asked them to explain what it is and whether it has any links with religious faith. Very interesting chat even if your brain starts buzzing uncontrollably before the 15 minutes is up. Thanks Kev and Lou for putting up with it.

I attended the official opening of the centre and spoke to various people about the ethos and history of the school. Nice violin playing by the way...

We had the privilege of hearing from Sister Anne Brittain in October 2007. This interview delves into the experience of facing flash floods in 2004 and how she processes this sort of tragedy as a christian believer.


Below are two paintings representing the tragedy by someone personally involved.

Just after:


After some of the restoration work had been completed.


More images here.

Amrik Singh is the chaplain at Heathrow Airport.

In this interview we explore a variety of aspects of the Sikh faith. This interview is yet to be followed up with a filmed visit to his Gurdwara in London.

In this interesting 8 minute interview a Muslim student from Pakistan discusses how she adapted to UK culture, what Ramadan is like and how she reacted to the recent news of an earthquake in Pakistan.

This is the audio from a filmed DVD interview.

The girl being interviewed is from Islington, North London. She talks fluently about her experience as a Muslim in the UK and how she chose to wear a Hijab to be more respected as a woman.


Interview notes:
1. How do Muslims greet each other?
2. Where is she from? What are her origins?
3. The four Worldview questions (see the worldview section for an explanation).
4. Muslim community - what is it called and what happens?
5. Sex and Muslims - is it precious?
6. Terrorism - some heavy questions on this tricky subject.
7. Being british - is she?
8. The cartoon riots debate (her attitude towards blasphemy/extremism/secular disrespect).
9. Why bother with Islam - what do you get out of it? Why become a Muslim?
10. How do you become a Muslim? - the 5 pillars
11. Why is Arabic an important language for Muslims?
12. What are Muslim views towards gambling? Why?
13. What annoys or excites her about being a Muslim?
14. The end thankyou and strange Dutch guy.

What happens when you face suffering on this scale? This interview is very difficult in places as a mum explains how she coped as she saw her son go through some very trying times.


Some details about what happens when:

This interview was conducted during a curry-cooking session in my kitchen. I asked a Brighton-based Doctor all about how he revives heart-attack cases and then what he thinks happens after...

(By the way: this isn't him...)


Here are some of the notes from the interview:

Heather Stephens is a christian from liverpool. In this interview she is asked about her distinctive worldview. A bee attacked the interviewer during the session.


It was more than interesting than this photo, honest.

This is an interview that was conducted in 2006 with Mike Tindall - an ex head-hunting Brit studying the Bible at a Boston University. It covers a little about what the Bible is and why Christians view it as reliable. It also has some gags about racoons...

In this interview at the Hove Reform Synagogue, I interview Mr Ivor Richards about his faith, forms of Judaism and a bit of history. Recorded in 2006.

Sometime during 2005/6 I had the pleasure of taking a group of students and colleagues to the BBC to meet Chris Garland/Dharmavajra and explore some aspects of the Buddhist religion from a Western Buddhist Order perspective. The audio is a trimmed version of the DVD which was produced.

Another picture where I seem bored but actually was really interested in it.

This interview is taken from a short film that was made in 2005 where several students accompanied this teacher to a Mandir in North London. The trip didn't go that well, but the next day we chatted to a Hindu colleague in my classroom: this is that chat.

A good friend of mine agreed to being grilled over his atheistic views during 2004/5. This interview portrays atheism in a clear light. Thanks to the Tobinator for this.

In this 16 minute interview I speak with Alison Godfrey (the Fundraising and Public Relations Manager for Worthing Churches Homeless Projects) about a variety of aspects of her organisations work in the town. We explore causes of poverty, her views on being rich and prejudicial attitudes.





Notes:
1. What is this charity?
2. Is homelessness a problem?
3. Bag lady jokes?
4. Who will become homeless in the current year 10 at DHS?
5. Reasons for Homelessness?
6. What should our attitude to Homelessness be?
7. Where do Christian beliefs come into this?
8. What causes poverty?
9. What are our basic human needs?
10. Who should care for the poor?
11. How good is the Worthing community compared to other places?
12. Is the Lottery good or bad?
13. Is this just a job for her?
14. Are big wages fair?
15. Last words?

Spirituality can be defined in all sorts of ways (although it is important to remember that not everyone would agree!). This interview takes a look at a pantheistic point of view. I speak with a good friend and colleague about his surfing passion and what it means to him. He talks about spirituality without referring to God.



Notes:
1. An esteemed member of staff.
2. Tell me about surfing.
3. It's a physical and spiritual thing.
4. Most memorable moment? Easy: pod of dolphins...
5. Sharks/attacks.

This is an edited section from the BBC Five Live Simon Mayo show. Billy Bragg is a musician who visited various hospices to do song-writing workshops. This episode recounts the story of a woman called Maxine Edgington, who recorded a single with Billy before her illness got too much. This item is not automatically on itunes and is found here as an educational resource.

This audio is intended as an added extra to the 'Wheels for the World' Kenya film I made several years ago. This is a broadcast via the BBC Worldservice and speaks of the work of this Christian charity. It also features a personal hero and dear friend of mine, Eileen Sutherland.



For a copy of the original film please get in touch.

One of the most interesting aspects of the recent hostage story was how he was boosted by a small radio he was given. If spirituality is about connecting with someone/thing beyond yourself, then this is a good example of the difference it can make to someone in a depressing situation.

This clip doesn't appear in the regular podcast, and is used as an educational clip. Many thanks to the BBC.

People have been using Beachy Head as a suicide spot for a while, so this story of a man patrolling the spot is lovely to listen to ( - especially when you learn that he has prevented approximately 30 deaths in 3 years...).

This clip doesn't appear in the regular podcast, and is used as an educational clip. Many thanks to the BBC.

For reasons of security (no joke!) this podcast has been removed. If you want to hear it, just get in touch.