This episode of Greenbelt’s ‘Somewhere To Believe In’ podcast takes a different form. It’s a one-off. It knits together 45-minutes of reflection, conversation, music and prayer in the form of a listen-and-share service to mark the festival’s 2021 August Bank Holiday weekend incarnation (its 48th) – when only a fraction of the wider Greenbelt community could actually physically be together at the Prospect Farm pop-up camping gathering.  The hope is that the audio form of the service will...

It’s the final episode in series three of our podcast *cries*, and some might say we’ve saved the best ‘til last. We get to it with festival friend and everyone's favourite Lutheran minister, Nadia Bolz-Weber. With her usual candour, humour and joy Nadia talks about her experiences growing up within a very particular, conservative Christian tradition, her journey away from Christian faith as a young adult and into other spaces that helped her heal, and her return to the fold later on;...

This week – in what may be the best recommendation we’ve ever had – we’re talking to theologian, former American footballer, and probably Rowan Williams' biggest fanboy, Danté Stewart. With fire in his belly, Danté “takes us to church”, telling us the story of his own faith journey; from his childhood spent learning of Black revolutionary power, to his full immersion into white evangelical culture as a College American football star. And, ultimately, his decision to turn his back on white...

Get your best philosophical hats out for this episode because we’re doing a deep dive into the not-so-holy-trinity of dinner table topics – religion, politics and belief – with Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK. Andrew gives us the 411 on what it means to be a Humanist. And we wrestle with some meaty questions, like: Where does morality come from? Are religions dying out? Can good ever come from causing offence? And does it really matter what we choose to believe? Plus,...

We’re feeling humbled and full of love this week as we chat to artist, speaker, writer and priest, Mpho Tutu van Furth. Mpho tells us about her experiences living under apartheid as a young girl and the freedom and justice that so many South Africans, including her family, fought for. We also hear about Mpho’s journey into priesthood and how she reluctantly handed her license back to the church after their (unfortunately unsurprising) reaction to her ‘lovely can of worms’ – AKA falling in...

This week we bask in the warmth of Rabbi Herschel Gluck – an incredible Orthodox Jewish leader  – whose entire life seems to be one big act of love.  Aside from being in awe of Rabbi Gluck’s gentle soul and kind nature, we talk about his life-long dedication to his community, his outlook on the good that could come from the pandemic and his belief that we can work together to create a better future; without losing sight of our own traditions, cultures and values. Rabbi Gluck also shares how...

This week on the podcast it’s our absolute privilege to chat with Yvonne Ridley, a journalist and activist who has one of the most fascinating life stories we think you’ll ever hear. Plus, her very enthusiastic peacocks have their say, too. We talk about Yvonne’s experience as a prisoner of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, the promise she made to her captors to study Islam and read the Quran if they released her, and her unexpected faith journey thereafter, as she decided to leave the...

The second conversation in our ‘Keeping the faith’ series is with Sister Teresa Forcades who – with good reason – has been dubbed ‘Europe’s most radical nun’. Sister Teresa joins us from her Monastery on the mountain of Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, where she lives with thirty Catholic Benedictine sisters. We discuss her open criticism of the very Catholic Church she serves, her feminism, her politics, her general mission to speak out in order to create a more loving and fair...

Welcome back to Somewhere To Believe In! We’re calling this series ‘Keeping the faith’ because this time around we’re having no-holds-barred conversations with people who get stuck in BECAUSE of what they believe. Arguably, no one has done more to keep the faith than our first guest; former superintendent in the Met police, man-on-a-mission to change a racist police system from within, subject of one of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films and general truth-to-power-speaker, Leroy Logan. We talk...

In our final episode in this series, we talk to Palestinian spoken word artist, human rights activist and our new favourite politics teacher, Rafeef Ziadah. We dig into poetry, art, trauma, displacement, equality and justice as Rafeef shares her experiences of being a third-generation Palestinian refugee, exiled from her home and now living in London. Rafeef reminds us that issues like climate change and the pandemic do not respect borders, which makes us reflect on the entire ‘nation-state’...

This week we connect with Canadian singer-songwriter and theatre-maker Ben Caplan. Ben joins us from the car park of a Canadian fast-food giant called Tim Hortons, en route to play a socially distanced gig as part of the Small Halls Festival in Ottawa. We get all the deets about life and lockdown in Canada. Ben has praise for his government’s response to the pandemic – in stark contrast to what we’ve heard from other artists both here in the UK and elsewhere. We talk about Ben’s identity as a...

On the podcast this week Katherine and Paul welcome Mimi and Lucy from “queer, feminist, punk-witch band” Dream Nails. We discuss what it means to be punk – in the cliched sense but also in the Dream Nails sense, which includes: writing badass music, creating safe gig spaces where everyone can dance without fear, shouting ‘women and non-binary people to the front’ at the start of every show and placing hexes on the patriarchy; all done with an immense amount of joy. Describing themselves as...

This week we’re talking to “jack of all trades, master of ceremonies” Testament: hip-hop MC, writer, theatre-maker and world-record-breaking human beatboxer.  Listen in as Testament discusses his cultural upbringing, including his love of De La Soul as well as the Pet Shop Boys, along with his theory why Glee is not only prophetic, but “the real hip-hop”.  Testament gets real with Paul and Katherine about his own faith, feminism and social justice work. Including his attempts as a rebellious...

This week’s podcast episode is a very important one, so let’s get straight to it. Katherine and Paul speak to writer, human rights campaigner, political refugee, theatre-maker and ‘public enemy’ to Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus, Natalia Kaliada. Natalia is a founding Co-Artistic Director of Belarus Free Theatre, a collective of artists who use the power of theatre to fight for democracy in Belarus and oppose what’s known as ‘the last dictatorship in Europe’. We hear about Natalia’s...

In the third episode of our second podcast series, Katherine and Paul welcome Bristol-based poet, theatre-maker and powerful storyteller, Muneera Pilgrim. We hear about Muneera’s experiences growing up as a black woman in Bristol – and what it means for her to finally see the statue of you-know-who toppled. We also talk about Muneera’s unexpected faith journey: from repeatedly falling in and out of love with her Caribbean Christian roots, to eventually finding her home in Islam. Above all...

This week on the podcast we’re beyond excited to welcome the hilarious comedian and all-round lovely person, Josie Long. We hear about Josie’s unique journey into comedy, beginning aged just 14. And how she’s determined to extend the olive branch of opportunity to the next generation of young creatives. Needless to say, we talk about the current government's support (or lack thereof) for the creative industries and why she’s decided she’s had enough and is moving to Scotland. Plus, Paul and...

Welcome to the second series of Somewhere To Believe In! We’re back by popular demand(ish). This time around we’re coming together to celebrate and hear from artists we love – and we hope you’ll love them too. Who better to kick things off than Lee Bains of Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, a self-proclaimed ‘deep-south wide-open far-left liberation gospel’ Rock-N-Roll band from Alabama, USA. Lee and his band are on a mission to fight against white supremacy, xenophobia and systems of...

Greenbelt Festival is proud to be taking part in Everybody Now. We’ve caused a turning point in the Earth’s natural history. Everybody Now is a podcast about what it means to be human on the threshold of a global climate emergency, in a time of systemic injustice and runaway pandemics. Scientists, activists, farmers, poets, and theologians talk bravely and frankly about how our biosphere is changing, about grief and hope in an age of social collapse and mass extinction, and about taking...

In our final episode of season one, Katherine and Paul are joined by human rights lawyer, founder of Reprieve and all-round international justice powerhouse, Clive Stafford Smith.  Clive candidly discusses his work representing prisoners facing the death penalty, those held in secret prisons (including Guantanamo Bay), and the victims of assassination by drones. He also shares his less-than-glowing views on the criminal justice system, our treatment of criminals and forensic science. He even...

This week Katherine and Paul are joined by Amelia Womack, Deputy Leader of the Green Party. We talk about how, growing up, Amelia was inspired by David Attenborough to get into climate action, as well as her not-so-pleasant experiences as a young female politician in a male-dominated workplace. We also get Amelia’s take on the - literally - burning environmental and political issues of the day. Elsewhere Paul and Katherine talk about the quirks of their respective campervans, the protests...

This week on the podcast Katherine and Paul welcome *takes deep breath* openly-Catholic gay rights campaigner, life-long advocate for inclusion and equality, ex-CEO of Stonewall and recently appointed Baroness of Bethnal Green, Ruth Hunt. With inclusion, love and acceptance in our minds, we discuss the complex relationship between religion and sexuality and ask each other why the church is STILL so obsessed with who we love? Ruth talks about her own journey in connecting her faith with her...

This week Katherine and Paul welcome the ever-inspiring Muslim thinker, writer and Yale Divinity School lecturer, Abdul-Rehman Malik. We brew up a conversation about food, drink and spirituality, and how slowing down to enjoy the ritual of making coffee can have a positive impact on your well-being. Abdul-Rehman, our unofficial spiritual guide and guru, tells us about the challenges and benefits of observing Ramadan during lockdown this year, as well as how this unusual time has been a great...

This week we’re talking about activism and kindness with the inspiring activist and creator of the Craftivist Collective, Sarah Corbett. We hear about Sarah’s remarkable journey growing up as the daughter of activists who campaigned for social change around the world, and her subsequent journey into activism as a career. Sarah’s work challenges traditional ideas of activism as loud and confrontational, as well as what constitutes a campaign ‘win’. Her gentler, more empathetic approach has...