The Sacred

Theos Think Tank
  • 4.5 (25)
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  • Updated Weekly

A podcast about our Sacred values and how we can talk to people who are different from ourselves. Each episode features a conversation with someone who has a public voice, from academics to journalists, playwrights and politicians. We ask them where they have come from, what they are trying to do and what might help heal our very divided public conversations. The Sacred is hosted by Elizabeth Oldfield and produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundation

  1. 5d ago

    The Ancient Wisdom in Fairy Tales | Dr Sharon Blackie

    Why do stories matter? Why have human beings always told stories - and what if the oldest stories still have something vital to teach us? In this episode of The Sacred, Elizabeth Oldfield sits down with psychologist, mythologist and bestselling author Dr Sharon Blackie to explore why myths and fairy tales aren't just relics of the past, but tools for making sense of life today. From a childhood marked by hardship to decades studying narrative psychology, Sharon shares how stories help us navigate change and uncertainty by showing us how people find courage, resilience and meaning in the face of life's hardest moments. ⚠️ Content note: This episode includes discussion of rape, sexual violence and domestic abuse. Listen with care.Together they explore: - Why stories shape the way we understand ourselves - What fairy tales can teach us about resilience and healing - Why men need less heroic storylines - The forgotten wisdom hidden in traditional myths - Women's stories, identity and reclaiming lost voices - Our relationship with nature and what ancient stories reveal about living well today. Whether you love folklore or have never picked up a fairy tale since childhood, this conversation is ultimately about how to make sense of suffering, rediscover hope, or find meaning in uncertain times. — Dr Sharon Blackie is an award-winning psychologist, mythologist and author of If Women Rose Rooted, Hagitude, Wise Women and The Enchanted Life. Her work explores mythology, psychology, ecology and the stories that shape who we become. — Our guests and listeners to our podcast come from all kinds of perspectives and what draws us together is a desire to be self-aware about our own values and curious about other peoples. Comment your reflections below, we read them all👇 The Sacred is produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundations. 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank in partnership with Comment Magazine 👉 See Dr Sharon Blackie's work: https://sharonblackie.net/ -- Chapters: 0:00 — What is Sacred to you? Dr Sharon Blackie answers 2:30 — Finding the divine in everything 4:16 — Growing up with poverty, violence, and resilience 5:43 — The working-class values we’ve forgotten 6:13 — The formidable women who raised her 8:29 — Living with an alcoholic parent 9:50 — The fairy tale that changed her life 10:47 — Why every great story begins with catastrophe 12:03 — Grimm’s fairy tales vs Disney 13:02 — Why we need the original fairy tales 14:10 — Fairy tales were never just for children 15:06 — What fairy tales teach us about surviving hard times 16:14 — Leaving corporate life to find her real calling 17:39 — Learning to stop being afraid of life 20:47 — From neuroscience to narrative therapy 26:39 — When women were the wisdom keepers 28:28 — Christianity, myth, and the loss of women’s voices 31:29 — Rethinking masculinity and femininity 33:08 — Can we still talk about "women"? 38:14 — What fairy tales teach us about work and resilience 39:57 — Healing without getting stuck in your wounds 43:15 — Becoming whole through story 45:06 — Why good parents are missing from fairy tales 49:44 — Beyond the Hero’s Journey: a new way to live COPYRIGHT: "Burn Out" - Victor Lundberg (Licensed by Epidemic) & "Beyond the Veil" (feat. Khamir Music) by Simon Wester (Licensed by Musicbed)

  2. Jul 8

    The Economics of the Life We Want with Sam Bowman

    Whether we know it or not, economics shapes almost every part of our lives - where we live, whether we can afford children, how much time we have with the people we love, and even the choices we think are available to us. But most of us rarely stop to ask what economics is actually for. In this episode, Elizabeth Oldfield sits down with economist and Works in Progress editor Sam Bowman for a conversation that goes far beyond markets, GDP and public policy. Together we explore freedom, human flourishing, progress, and the surprising moral questions that sit beneath economic thinking. We spoke about: • Why economics is really about people, not money • The relationship between freedom, wealth and human flourishing • Whether we really need wealth to be happy • Does the pursuit of prosperity comes at the expense of the things that make life meaningful? Whether economics fascinates you or completely intimidates you, this conversation offers a fresh take on one of the most significant forces shaping modern life. --- Our guests and listeners to our podcast come from all kinds of perspectives and what draws us together is a desire to be self-aware about our own values and curious about other peoples. Comment your reflections below, we read them all👇 The Sacred is produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundations. 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank in partnership with Comment Magazine 👉 Follow Sam Bowman: https://x.com/s8mb?lang=en-- Chapters: 0:00 — Intro: How Economics Is Secretly Shaping Your Life 1:37 — What Is Sacred To You? Sam Bowman Answers 6:50 — Why Freedom Isn’t Just “Leave People Alone” 8:48 — What If People Choose Harmful Things? 11:37 — Ozempic and the New Meaning of Self-Control 15:25 — Can You Have Morality Without God? 21:30 — No Child Should Grow Up Worried About Money 25:22 — Is Travel Overrated? 31:51 — Why Most People Are Too Risk-Averse 35:14 — The Real Purpose of Economics 38:42 — Who Gets to Decide What Gets Built? 43:32 — What “Neoliberal” Actually Means 50:31 — Can Growth Continue Forever? 54:11 — Are Emissions Rising Because of AI? 57:41 — Does Wealth Really Make Us Happier? 61:32 — Britain’s Biggest Problem: Housing 65:18 — Elizabeth's Reflections

  3. Jun 24

    "I'm Painfully British": What it Means to be British and Muslim Right Now | Mehreen Khan

    What does it mean to be visibly Muslim in British public life right now? Mehreen Khan has been living that question since she was eleven years old - when 9/11 turned her faith into something she had to defend. She's now Economics Editor at The Times, the first woman and first person of colour in the role, and one of the most outspoken Muslim voices in mainstream British journalism. We cover: • What Islam really means to her — the concept of fitrah and why faith makes you a better journalist • How 9/11 turned Islam into a punk identity for Mehreen and ego death • Being the first woman and first person of colour as Economics Editor at The Times Davos, elite financial circles, and what you see when you're inside the room • Money: why economics is never morally neutral, and what it might look like to bring moral imagination back to capitalism • What it means to be visibly Muslim in Britain right now • Why Mehreen is quietly rooting for the revival of Christianity in British public life --- Our guests and listeners to our podcast come from all kinds of perspectives and what draws us together is a desire to be self-aware about our own values and curious about other peoples. Comment your reflections below, we read them all👇 The Sacred is produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundations. 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank in partnership with Comment Magazine 👉 See Mehreen's writing: https://www.thetimes.com/profile/mehreen-khan

  4. Jun 10

    Boarding School Britain and The Things We Normalise | Hugo Rifkind

    Hugo Rifkind has spent his career observing power. He also grew up inside it — and never quite felt he belonged there. In this episode, he talks about: • The Scottish boarding school where violence was a point of pride... until a public inquiry forced the question • About being Jewish in public life since October 7th, and what it felt like when the people his community relied on weren't there • The thing he values most — connection — and his honest admission that what he often really means is something more one-sided than that 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank in partnership with Comment Magazine and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundations 👉 Follow Hugo Rifkind: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXmPHlqo1Jf/?hl=en-gb

  5. May 27

    Psychedelics, Consciousness and Changing Your Mind | Michael Pollan

    Michael Pollan tried psychedelics at 55. What he found changed everything he thought he knew. Michael is not a mystic or a guru. He is the kind of writer that scientists, doctors and serious intellectuals trust - someone who changed the way millions of people think about food, farming and the natural world. So when Michael Pollan tried psychedelics at 55 and came back saying the certainties had started to dissolve - the world began to listen in a way they simply wouldn't have for anyone else. In this conversation, Michael and Elizabeth explore what it actually means to be conscious — and whether we're squandering it. Why does every psychedelic trip seem to arrive at the same slightly cliché and yet, beautiful conclusions? What have we lost by building a science of the mind that brackets out the body, the emotions and everything that actually feels like something? Why is the cool, analytical part of our brain so much louder than the part that knows how to be present — and who benefits from keeping it that way? And what are the algorithms really stealing when they steal our attention? They cover: • Why science keeps getting within reach of explaining consciousness — and then losing its nerve • What psychedelics reveal that embarrasses serious researchers (and why that embarrassment is the clue) • The Silicon Valley bid to upload consciousness • How to protect your attention in an age designed to steal it • Why not-knowing might be the most important skill of our time -- Our guests and listeners to our podcast come from all kinds of perspectives and what draws us together is a desire to be self-aware about our own values and curious about other peoples. Comment your reflections below, we read them all👇 The Sacred is produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundations. 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/👉 Michael Pollan's book on Consciousness: https://michaelpollan.com/books/how-to-change-your-mind/ -- Chapters 0:00 - Intro trailer 01:45 - What is Sacred to you? Michael Pollan answers 3:45 - When the ego dissolves: what psychedelics actually do 4:25 - Growing up with an alcoholic father and becoming the man with all the answers 6:01 - 'How to Change Your Mind; shifted culture 6:25 - Michael's lifelong obsession with nature 7:22 - Why feelings became an embarrassment to science 8:16 - First experience of psychedelics 9:18 - Is consciousness being polluted — and do we even notice?10:18 - Silicon Valley wants to upload the soul. Here's why that's terrifying 26:13 - Why being a sceptic, not an expert, made the psychedelic book so influential 28:33 - How writers sense a cultural shift before it happens 30:25 - The president who colonised our consciousness and won't leave 32:06 - Elizabeth's encounter with God at age 11 36:33 - The Zen cave, Roshi Joan Halifax, and learning to not know 41:27 - We can't afford to be anything less than present 43:24 - How men get scripted out of their own inner lives 46:10 - Consciousness as the secular word for soul 49:04 - Protect your inner life from the algorithm 52:12 - Why don't they just make a baby? The funniest moment in the book 54:24 - Ayahuasca, idealism and the scientist who changed his mind twice 56:06 - Cultivating the don't-know mind 56:32 - Elizabeth's reflections

  6. May 13

    Bake Off, Alopecia & Learning to Be Yourself with Jasmine Mitchell

    What happens after winning Bake Off? Jasmine Mitchell joins us to talk about perfectionism, alopecia, self-image, and learning to be fully yourself in a world obsessed with image. Jasmine reflects on growing up in a home shaped by hospitality, losing her hair as a teenager, learning to let go of perfection, and the unexpected journey that took her from medical school to winning British Bake Off 2025. Elizabeth Oldfield and Jasmine explore: • Why “go slow” became Jasmine’s grounding philosophy • Her journey with alopecia and being fully seen • Reality TV, public image and is Bake Off different from the rest?• Why hospitality and shared meals matter so deeply -- 🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/👉 Follow Jasmine: https://www.instagram.com/jasmine.mitchell/tagged/?hl=en

  7. Apr 16

    Why I’m Still Hooked On This Podcast (After 9 Years!)

    Nearly a decade into The Sacred, we’re still doing the same thing: having honest and curious conversations with people who see the world differently. We're wondering why - like the return of spring - seeking to understand another person at a deep level never seems to get old. There's something about learning to truly understand people outside our “tribe” that feels challenging and pleasurable all at once and we're seeing (nine years later!) just how much we need these conversations today. As Maff Potts says, “the answer to our problems is each other.” So this is a practice, a community and a place to sit with the hard questions and we're really glad you’re doing it with us. — The Sacred Team - Elizabeth, Josh, Amari & Joe 👀 You may notice that our visuals have been levelled up. We’re delighted that our team is growing and The Sacred will be getting a lot more beautiful and creative! ✍️ Substack: https://thesacredpodcast.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips 💡 Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

  8. Apr 1

    The Myth of the Neutral Human with Leah Libresco Sargeant

    The world wasn’t built for everyone. Leah Libresco Sargeant on feminism, care, and the myth of the “neutral” human. Join our community of people listening curiously to different perspectives: https://www.youtube.com/@thesacredpodcast/videos Leah has spent her life following philosophy to its limits, from Kantian questions of moral truth to reckoning with human vulnerability. Her journey reveals what happens when the world is built for a ‘neutral human’ - and who it leaves behind. This conversation explores feminism, gender difference, care, and what it really means to take morality seriously. Leah is the writer of Dignity of Dependence, works in of family policy and is the host of Other Feminisms on Substack. -- ✍️ Find us on Substack: https://thesacredpodcast.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡 Produced by Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/👉Check out Leah's substack: https://www.otherfeminisms.com/

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About

A podcast about our Sacred values and how we can talk to people who are different from ourselves. Each episode features a conversation with someone who has a public voice, from academics to journalists, playwrights and politicians. We ask them where they have come from, what they are trying to do and what might help heal our very divided public conversations. The Sacred is hosted by Elizabeth Oldfield and produced in partnership with Comment Magazine, and with support from The Jerusalem Trust and Open Society Foundation

Information

  • Creator
    Theos Think Tank
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    244
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Theos Think Tank
  • Show Website
    The Sacred

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