Best Tim Bentley Podcasts (2025)

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The Empire Podcast Review Of The Year 2025 2:41:08

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3d ago2:41:08

2:41:08

And so, as 2025 disappears off into the distance, it's the most wonderful time of what's left of the year, as the Empire Podcast team get together in the podbooth for their marathon deep dive/look back at the cinematic year that was. Join Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer for this near-three-hour behemoth in which they go through the year …

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Photographing Fairies (Classic) 37:44

3d ago37:44

37:44

Sherlock Holmes is known for approaching all mysteries with cool logic - and yet when his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle saw photographs taken by two young girls purporting to show real life fairies at play... he unwisely declared them genuine. How did Elsie and Frances fool so many people with their photography... and why did they keep the hoax go…

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Farewell, Rob (ft. guests Glenn Close; Stephen Lang; Josh Safdie) 2:13:59

10d ago2:13:59

2:13:59

The final Empire Podcast of the year is here, folks, and it's a bumper-sized jamboree, longer than usual and hopefully fit to tide you over until we return with Episode 700 (live from Kings Place) on January 11th. For the first time ever, the revolving fourth chair revolves wildly during the pod itself, so Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer…

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It: Welcome To Derry — An Empire Podcast Special, In Association With Warner Bros. 46:38

10d ago46:38

46:38

They all float down here. Now that It: Welcome To Derry, the prequel to Andy Muschietti's It Chapter One and It Chapter Two, has finished its eight-episode run, the Empire Podcast has teamed up with Warner Bros. to bring you a special episode in which Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer conquer their fears of clowns, spiders, and spider-clow…

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"They fall behind and are slowly crushed" - Board Games and Economics with Richard Garfield 47:33

10d ago47:33

47:33

Playing board games and spending too much money are time-honored Christmas traditions, so to mark the festive season, Tim is joined by the creator of Magic: The Gathering - Richard Garfield - for a special Q&A about economics and game design. How should you go about building the perfect game? Why did the Magic trading card market crash? Why do so m…

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Now, Appalachia interview with author Anna Rollins 27:24

7d ago27:24

27:24

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Anna Rollins about her debut memoir FAMISHED. Anna Rollins lives and works in Appalachia. She has taught courses in composition and rhetoric, writing center studies, creative nonfiction, and text analysis for over a decade. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the New York Times,…

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Dr. Dustin Smith - A systematic theology of the early church 1:07:18

9d ago1:07:18

1:07:18

In this episode of Transfigured, biblical scholar Dr. Dustin Smith joins the show to discuss his new book, A Systematic Theology of the Early Church. The conversation explores a "filterless" approach to the Bible, examining how the earliest Christians understood the nature of God, the agency of Jesus, and the role of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Smith chal…

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Debunking Mike Winger & Wes Huff on The Council of Nicaea 1:30:42

10d ago1:30:42

1:30:42

Responding to Wes Huff ( ⁨@WesHuff⁩ ) and Mike Winger ( ⁨@MikeWinger⁩ ) discussing the council of Nicaea. Talking with Metaphysics Mike ( ⁨@metaphysicsmike⁩ ). This also appeared in ( ⁨@UnitarianChristianAlliance⁩ ).

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Do No Harm — Paula Elliott Estefan & Render C. Freeman 28:34

13d ago28:34

28:34

Rafe Foreman chats with TLC faculty leaders Paula Elliott Estefan and Render C. Freeman about Do No Harm — a focused, limited-enrollment Trial Lawyers College program (Jan 19–22) at the Peery Hotel in Salt Lake City. This is a laboratory-style CLE for lawyers who want real practice on real cases: depositions, cross-examination, role-play, psychodra…

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Paul Thomas Anderson & Boogie Nights: An Empire Podcast Special, In Association With Warner Bros. 44:55

17d ago44:55

44:55

Boogie Nights wasn't Paul Thomas Anderson's first movie (that was Hard Eight), but it's the film that put him firmly on the map, and served notice that here was a serious filmmaking force. And with the release of a remastered 4K UHD version of Boogie Nights on Monday, December 15, it's the perfect time for the Empire Podcast team — Chris Hewitt, He…

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There's Magic In The Air (ft. guests Shih-Ching Tsou & Sean Baker; Daryl McCormack & Cailee Spaeny; James L. Brooks) 1:56:11

17d ago1:56:11

1:56:11

The penultimate regular Empire Podcast of the year is here, folks (don't worry, there are specials galore on the way), and it's a belter. Guest-wise, we have more goodies under the tree, as Jamie Graham talks to longtime collaborators Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker (the director of Anora) about Tsou's directorial debut, Left-Handed Girl, which can …

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F1: An Empire Podcast Interview Special ft. Jerry Bruckheimer, Damson Idris & Kerry Condon 1:04:35

17d ago1:04:35

1:04:35

"Yer man's in the pits, boss!" Joseph Kosinski's crowd-pleasingly kinetic F1 was one of the success stories of the year at the box office, displaying impressive legs (or wheels) to take the chequered flag with over $600 million in the global bank, making it the biggest hit of Brad Pitt's career. And now that the film is making its debut on Apple TV…

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Flixborough: The Factory that was Wiped off the Map 38:30

17d ago38:30

38:30

A megaplant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material used in everything from stockings to toothbrushes to electronics. When a reactor vessel fails, the engineers improvise a quick-fix workaround, so the plant can keep up with demand. Before long, the temporary patch - a small, bent…

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CIO Shares Strategy for Merging Systems and Scaling AI 19:26

15d ago19:26

19:26

In this episode of CIO Leadership Live, All States Ag Parts (Parts ASAP) CIO John Fraser sits down with host Lucas Mearian at the CIO 100 event to talk about how his company unified technology after merging 23 businesses -- balancing culture, transparency, and best-in-breed platforms. Fraser details practical AI adoption—pricing, product data enhan…

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Women Who Win with Cyndy Short & Laura O'Sullivan 30:02

17d ago30:02

30:02

Cyndy Short and Laura O'Sullivan—longtime TLC faculty and alumnae—walk through the Women Who Win program (Feb 18–22, Vanderbilt), psychodrama for openings, motherhood + practice, and how women can use authenticity and storytelling as courtroom strengths.

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QT's Making A List, We're Checking It Twice (ft. guests Taron Egerton; George Clooney & Adam Sandler; Jon M. Chu) 1:58:26

24d ago1:58:26

1:58:26

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Christmas on our mind as we enter December, and accordingly we deliver a sackful of great guests to you, our loyal and loving listeners. First off, Chris Hewitt goes to Taron Egerton's actual flat (smells divine... and the flat wasn't bad either) to sit down with him for a candid chat about his career,…

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The Disappearance of Grace Oakeshott 38:20

24d ago38:20

38:20

At the start of the 20th century, Britain was slowly becoming a freer place for women. Young Grace Oakeshott seized every opportunity to learn and improve the world around her - though she found those opportunities frustratingly narrow. One day, she vanished suddenly, leaving behind only a pile of clothes on a beach. A hundred years later, the trut…

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The Shameless Plug #10: The Odyssey Odyssey 42:36

25d ago42:36

42:36

The new episode of The Shameless Plug is here, folks, and this month sees Chris Hewitt sit down with freshly-minted award winner, Empire editor Nick de Semlyen, to delve into one of the most special issues of Empire magazine in many a moon: our world exclusive first look at Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, for which Nick went on something of an ody…

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Your Chance to Attend a Cautionary Tales Table Read 1:41

25d ago1:41

1:41

Ever wished you could be a fly on the wall while Cautionary Tales is being made? Now you can. We just launched the Cautionary Club - our new Patreon community for Cautionary Tales fans who want to go deeper. If you sign up before the end of the year, you’ll be a Cautionary Club Founding Member, and you'll be invited to join Tim and the producers in…

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How to Experience the Joy of Giving Right Now: A Giving Tuesday Special from The Happiness Lab 47:42

27d ago47:42

47:42

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, but can also hugely boost your happiness. So we're teaming up with other podcasts from Hidden Brain to Revisionist History to ask you to give to a charity helping some of the poorest people around. We'r…

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There Can Be Only Dozens (ft. guests Simu Liu; Ke Huy Quan; Richard Linklater & Ethan Hawke) 1:51:41

1M ago1:51:41

1:51:41

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt sit down with two actors who star in animated movies (and ask them both about their favourite things to do in London). First, Simu Liu Zooms in to talk about new Netflix family flick, In Your Dreams, plus his own dreams, and the return of Shang-Chi to the MCU. [21:38 - 38:30 approx] Then, …

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Homo deceptus: Science's Dirty Little Secret 38:56

1M ago38:56

38:56

In 1912, a fossil discovery shakes the scientific world. Piltdown Man is the elusive missing link between humans and their ape-like ancestors. Forty years later, a researcher at the Natural History Museum gets a chance to see the relic for himself and notices something isn't quite right. For a full list of sources see timharford.com See omnystudio.…

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More Real Than Your Opponent with Babak Semnar 34:35

1M ago34:35

34:35

Former public defender turned employment litigator Babak Semnar explains how Trial Lawyers College methods—psychodrama, role reversal, and emotional connection—made him a better, more authentic trial lawyer. From sexual-harassment and age-discrimination trials to long depositions and jury work, Babak shows how "being real" wins jurors' hearts and v…

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Escape From Malcatraz (ft. guests Benedict Cumberbatch & Dylan Southern; Joel Edgerton & Clint Bentley; Ariana Greenblatt) 1:57:43

1M ago1:57:43

1:57:43

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer — play themselves as they discuss great 'as themselves' performances in the movies. They also run their collective eye over the week's movie news, including heartening Star Trek developments, review Train Dreams, Wicked: For Good, Playdate, and S…

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Kyoto: The Battle that Defined Climate Politics - with Joe Robertson 39:19

1M ago39:19

39:19

Misinformation, double-dealing, character assassination - lobbyist Don Pearlman will stop at nothing to prevent the world from agreeing to cut carbon emissions. This arch disrupter, who works for fossil fuel companies and oil-producing nations, is determined that the climate talks in Kyoto, COP3, will fail. Will Don's tactics succeed, and what will…

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Tim DeRoche - Evolution, religion, and the instinct to worship 1:23:07

1M ago1:23:07

1:23:07

We talk about evolution, religion, philosophy, theology and the origins of the human instinct to share, to give, to be grateful and ultimately to worship. Tim's Unherd article - https://unherd.com/2025/11/can-evolution-explain-worship/Tim's book, The Grateful Beast - https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Beast-evolution-tell-worship/dp/0999277642…

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CIO Pavan Pidugu Drives AI-Powered Transportation Transformation 23:12

1M ago23:12

23:12

At the CIO100 Symposium, Department of Transportation CIO Pavan Pidugu discusses modernizing the DOT through AI and digital transformation. From combating fraud to improving safety and efficiency, Pidugu details how data-driven innovation and cultural change have reshaped federal technology, earning the agency three consecutive CIO100 Awards for ex…

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Presenting: Twenty Thousand Hertz 29:13

1M ago29:13

29:13

When Satanic Panic ripped through America, rock music was in the crosshairs. Could songs contain secret backwards messages urging children to take drugs and worship the devil? This special episode is from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast all about the rich world of sound. Follow Twenty Thousand Hertz wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.20k.…

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Client's Bad Acts with Eric Davis 27:07

1M ago27:07

27:07

Eric Davis (Houston criminal lawyer, TLC Board member) joins Rafe to tackle a brutal—but common—trial problem: what to do when your case includes facts that will make jurors shut down. Drawing on years of bad-case experience and Trial Lawyers College methods, Eric walks through practical strategies for voir dire and trial planning when you must con…

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All The Information Is On The Task (ft. guests Edgar Wright, Rosamund Pike & Isla Fisher, Michael Shannon) 1:58:03

1M ago1:58:03

1:58:03

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast would surely deserve to get a full fat five points from Greg Davies, the Taskmaster himself, as Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent apply themselves wholeheartedly (some more wholeheartedly than others, it must be said) to deciding which Taskmaster contestant has appeared in the best fil…

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Julia Ducournau & Tahar Rahim On Alpha: An Empire Podcast Interview Special 24:35

1M ago24:35

24:35

Alpha is the third film from the brilliant French filmmaker, Julia Ducournau, following on from her titanic debut, Raw, and her raw follow-up, Titane (which won the Palme D'Or, no less!). A tale of an unusual epidemic and generational trauma, there's much going on above and below the surface, which we get into in this interview special, as Jamie Gr…

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The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 2) 40:42

2M ago40:42

40:42

Forrest Fenn’s legendary treasure hunt ignites a nationwide obsession. The thrill of adventure, the promise of gold, and the call of the wild entice many seekers into the quest. Over time, excitement gives way to conspiracy and resentment, as treasure hunters stray into increasingly dangerous or aggressive interpretations of the clues. As the body …

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Jenny Beavan: An Empire Podcast Interview Special 45:41

2M ago45:41

45:41

Nicholas Hytner's The Choral, a delightful drama set in 1916 Yorkshire, is in cinemas now, folks. It features costumes designed by the legendary Jenny Beavan, who is one of the best costume designers in the business. Nominated for 12 Oscars, winner of three, Beavan has worked with directors like Robert Altman, James Ivory, and George Miller across …

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Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, & Ronan Day-Lewis On Anemone: An Empire Podcast Interview Special 50:02

2M ago50:02

50:02

Every year at the London Film Festival, Empire hosts a gala screening for a film that we particularly admire. This year's choice was Ronan Day-Lewis' Anemone, a drama that we called 'sad, absurdist, brooding, tender, and intense', and which marks the return to acting of the great Daniel Day-Lewis, father of Ronan and co-writer of the movie, after e…

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The Sound Of Burning Felt (ft. guests Jennifer Lawrence & Lynne Ramsay; Elle Fanning & Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi; Sean Bean & Daniel Day-Lewis) 1:51:46

2M ago1:51:46

1:51:46

Blimey, this week's episode of the Empire Podcast is star-studded, and then some. First, Chris Hewitt chats with Die, My Love star, Jennifer Lawrence, and director Lynne Ramsay, about unpredictability on set and receiving an email from Martin Scorsese; then, he has a crash course in Yautja from Predator: Badlands stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatan…

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The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 1) 38:27

2M ago38:27

38:27

Forrest Fenn never does things the regular way. Despite no formal training and little knowledge of art, he becomes a millionaire gallery owner. An outsider by nature, Fenn’s charm, audacity, and disregard for convention earns him both wealth and respect. When a streak of bad luck threatens to destroy his empire, Fenn dreams up an audacious final ac…

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The Shameless Plug #9: Stranger Things Has Happened 43:20

2M ago43:20

43:20

Another month, another issue of Empire, another episode of The Shameless Plug. This time, Chris Hewitt and Nick de Semlyen sit down to talk about how Stranger Things ended up on the cover of the world's biggest movie magazine, and nearly did so upside down. And they also talk about less strange things, including the stories behind the stories of th…

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Now It's Time For Halloween (ft. guests Edward Berger, Yorgos Lanthimos, Mary Elizabeth Winstead & Maika Monroe) 1:56:15

2M ago1:56:15

1:56:15

It's Halloween, folks, so this week's episode of the Empire Podcast is extra-spooky, with Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb get way too invested in a listener question about the horror movie death that they would want for themselves. Just keep repeating: it's only a podcast, it's only a podcast, it's only a podcast. Elsewhere, o…

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The Truth About Hansel and Gretel (Classic) 36:48

2M ago36:48

36:48

Was the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel - the story of a woodcutter’s children abandoned in the woods and left at the mercy of a witch - in fact, early true crime? A hit book - The Truth About Hansel and Gretel - said that historical records pointed to the story being based on fact. Are we too quick to dismiss the truth behind tall stories? Or are …

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Kenny Dalglish & Asif Kapadia on Kenny Dalglish: An Empire Podcast Interview Special 33:11

2M ago33:11

33:11

If you can hear a high-pitched squealing noise in the background of our latest interview special, that's just Chris Hewitt vibrating with excitement. For this podcast puts him in the room with one of his all-time heroes, Liverpool FC icon Kenny Dalglish, who is the eponymous subject of Asif Kapadia's latest documentary, which is out today (October …

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Now, Appalachia interview with author John Antonio 37:46

2M ago37:46

37:46

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author John Antonik about his latest book ALMOST HEAVEN, a story of Bobby Bowden's ten years as a football coach at West Virginia University. John Antonik is senior director of athletics content at West Virginia University. He has authored four books on Mountaineer athletics: Saturday Snaps…

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TIAA's Sastry Durvasula on AI innovations in the insurance space 20:53

2M ago20:53

20:53

At the CIO 100 event, host Lucas Mearian sat down with Sastry Durvasula, Chief Operating, Information & Digital Officer at TIAA, to discuss how the company is using AI to enhance client services, power business growth, and transform operations. TIAA's AI initiatives include Research Buddy for asset management and empathy agents for personalized cus…

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On Fire from the Inside - Lethal Injection Up Close with Malcolm Gladwell 27:04

2M ago27:04

27:04

Last week, Cautionary Tales told the tragic story of Derek Bentley, exploring Britain's troubled relationship with capital punishment. Across the Atlantic, Revisionist History has also been scrutinizing what it means for a state to try to execute a person. For this bonus episode, Malcolm Gladwell joins Tim Harford to discuss his new series The Alab…

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"The Word became flesh" - A eucharistic interpretation of John 1:14 1:24:55

2M ago1:24:55

1:24:55

This episode argues for a eucharistic reading of "the word became flesh" challenging the common belief that John 1:14 is about Jesus's birth, arguing instead that it establishes the New Covenant's two central rituals: Baptism (New Birth) and the Eucharist (Sustenance). By adopting the Greek translation that the Word "tabernacled in us," we find a s…

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Above & Below the Line with Mike Smith 38:13

2M ago38:13

38:13

Rafe Foreman sits down with faculty member Mike Smith to unpack why Trial Lawyers College programs — from the three-week flagship to weekend workshops — are game changers for trial lawyers. They talk psychodrama's power to unlock the emotional core of a case, the collaborative moment that produced the "above/below the line" framework for med-mal tr…

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We've Gone And Caught A Sniffle (ft. guests Nia DaCosta, Jeremy Strong, Rebecca Ferguson & Kathryn Bigelow) 1:59:22

2M ago1:59:22

1:59:22

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt struggle with the enunciation of one word in particular (you'll have to listen to find out which). Incredibly, it's not 'Howl-o-ween', which is just one of the many things discussed by Chris and his three colleagues of such lethal cunning, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Ben Travis. They get their teeth in…

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Derek Bentley Must Hang 38:32

2M ago38:32

38:32

An amateurish burglary in 1950s London ends in murder. One of the men involved is a 19-year-old named Derek Bentley. Bentley has the understanding of a child - and he wasn't the killer. But the British justice system seems determined to deliver the death penalty. The fate of capital punishment lies in the balance, and so too does the fate of Derek …

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David Bentley Hart - A radical new Christology proposal 1:36:10

2M ago1:36:10

1:36:10

This episode features Dr. David Bentley Hart discussing his book, The Light of Tabor: Notes Towards a Monist Christology. Hart explains his theological project as deconstructing centuries of Christological debate to move past dualistic tensions that separate the divine and human. He argues for a "radically monistic" understanding of the Incarnation…

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Diane, Drew And The Greatest Poster Ever (ft. guests Rebecca Miller, Channing Tatum & Kirsten Dunst, Mason Thames & Madeleine McGraw) 1:59:53

2M ago1:59:53

1:59:53

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer pay tribute to two cinematic greats who left us this week: the legendary Oscar-winning actress, Diane Keaton, and Drew Struzan, the artist who defined posters, and people's walls, for decades. Struzan's work inspires this week's question, which asks our trio to identify the g…

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The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine - Pushkin's Reign of Error 44:25

2M ago44:25

44:25

In 1983, a plane takes off from Ottawa with less than half the required fuel on board. As the engines cut out one by one, the pilot is left with a ticking clock and an impossible task. But what does a tale of an unusual plane crash have in common with one about a disappearing canal? For this special episode, Tim is joined by colleagues from across …