Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs

J.A. Franklin, T.J. Pelham, Daniel French

Are you wondering how a Christian should respond to current events? What are we to think about a world that appears to be going absolutely mad? How are we to discern the signs of the times? In this podcast, featuring The Reverend Thomas Pelham, The Reverend Daniel French, The Reverend Doctor J.A. Franklin and the occasional guest, we attempt to give some answers. Email us at irreverendpod@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @irreverendpod or on Telegram at https://t.me/irreverendpod. We also have a youtube channel which can be found by searching Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs! If you would like to support the show, which can be done from £2.50 plus VAT per month, you can join our Patreon community. Please go to www.patreon.com/irreverend

  1. 15h ago

    Assisted Dying Defeated + Lindsay Clancy Jurors Normalise Child Murder

    In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin reacts to two major developments. First: a narrow but historic defeat for the assisted dying bill in the Commons. Jamie gives thanks to God, dismantles the myth of the “inevitable march of liberal progressivism,” and argues that only a restoration of Christian faith can stop this returning. He also critiques the weak responses from Church of England bishops who failed to make a distinctively Christian case. Second: the Lindsay Clancy trial update. After a near-acquittal, several jurors have gone public. The sole holdout who refused to declare her not guilty by reason of insanity was a black man — shattering the expected narrative. Even more disturbing, a prominent panel discussion now frames Clancy’s near-escape as white privilege and calls for the same energy to exonerate women of colour who kill their children. Jamie calls this the demonic endgame of the culture of death. Also in this episode: Andy Burnham’s push to let Catholics advise on Anglican bishop appointments, Angela Rayner’s two-tier donation rules, and a listener question about the nature of the devil. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & dog disclaimer 2:26 – Lord’s Prayer & Philippians 1 10:01 – Assisted dying bill defeated 20:15 – Church leaders’ responses 27:04 – Lindsay Clancy trial update 29:44 – The holdout juror reveal 31:21 – Oprah-style panel: “women of colour” and child murder 35:41 – Listener question: how should we understand the devil? 40:23 – Andy Burnham & Anglican bishop appointments 47:53 – Angela Rayner’s two-tier donation rules Support Irreverend: 🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend 🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com 📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com 📚 Buy The Great Return → https://link.amazon/B02p0N26M 👍 Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs. #AssistedDying #LindsayClancy #CultureOfDeath #ChurchOfEngland #Irreverend Support the show

  2. Sep 11

    Raves in the Nave: Has St Paul’s Lost the Plot?

    In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin is joined by Rev. Thomas Pelham for a wide-ranging discussion on two major stories. First: Sadiq Khan celebrates a partnership between Fabric nightclub and St Paul’s Cathedral. Is this just another concert in a historic building, or a sign that the Church of England has lost the distinction between the sacred and the secular? Jamie and Tom examine Bishop Robert Barron’s strong critique, Gavin Ashenden’s polemics, and the wider question of what church buildings are actually for. Second: Cambridge academic and Reform UK policy chief James Orr is forced to step down after being caught in a journalistic sting discussing foreign funding. Was it illegal? Immoral? Or just politically disastrous? The pair dig into the optics, the law, Nigel Farage’s ruthless response, and what it means for Christian influence in politics. Also in this episode: the assisted dying bill, the AfD surge in Germany, Iceland rejecting the EU, and a listener question about blessing children’s backpacks. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & banter 7:04 – Lord’s Prayer & Psalm 117 13:30 – Fabric nightclub at St Paul’s Cathedral 25:13 – Bishop Robert Barron’s critique of sacred vs secular 33:02 – Gavin Ashenden & Roman Catholic reactions 36:32 – James Orr, Reform UK & the foreign funding controversy 50:02 – Assisted dying, abortion & the AfD rise in Germany 1:00:39 – Listener question: blessing backpacks 1:06:41 – Closing prayer Support Irreverend: 🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend 🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com 📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs. #StPauls #Fabric #JamesOrr #ReformUK #ChurchOfEngland #Irreverend Support the show

  3. Sep 4

    Lindsay Clancy: Child Killer as Feminist Icon? The Culture of Death Unmasked

    In this episode of Irreverend Faith and Current Affairs, Rev. Dr. Jamie Franklin confronts one of the most disturbing stories gripping social media: the Lindsay Clancy trial. A Massachusetts mother methodically strangled her three young children before attempting suicide. As the jury remains deadlocked, supporters gather outside the courthouse wearing “Stand with Lindsay” T-shirts, while commentators rush to excuse her by blaming sleep deprivation, “the patriarchy,” mental illness, or Big Pharma. Jamie argues this is a clear bellwether of a post-Christian anthropology that replaces objective morality and personal responsibility with identity hierarchies — and shows how the logic of abortion is now being applied to born children. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & welcome 1:59 – Lord’s Prayer and Bible reading: Matthew 18:15–20 3:06 – Personal responsibility & the breakdown of the moral universe 9:40 – The Lindsay Clancy story begins 12:47 – Post-Christian anthropology & the decline of the West 17:00 – Pagan Rome, infanticide & the Christian revolution 22:04 – Lindsay Clancy as feminist icon & the TikTok supporters 26:56 – Caitlin Bennett interview with Clancy supporters 32:45 – Legal ramifications if she is found not guilty 35:41 – Anne Hathaway on abortion as “mercy” 40:44 – Church of England / Church Times silence 44:41 – Why the leftist ideology is uniquely toxic 50:14 – Listener question: Big Church Festival tragedy & the problem of evil 1:01:01 – St Stephen of Hungary & the call for Christian restoration 1:04:50 – Closing prayer This is one of the darkest and most important conversations Jamie has hosted. Not for the faint-hearted — but essential if you care about the direction of our civilisation. Support Irreverend: 🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend 🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com 📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs. #LindsayClancy #CultureOfDeath #MoralResponsibility #ChristianAnthropology #Irreverend Support the show

  4. Aug 28

    Home Office: “Don’t Rape” Advice for Migrants | Harry’s Hostage Video | CofE Blames Press for Arday Suicide 🔥

    Rev Jamie is back with a solo episode that starts with absurdity and ends with righteous anger. 🔥 The Home Office’s jaw-dropping pamphlet telling asylum seekers that “in the UK both people must say yes to sex” – complete with unfinished sentences and cartoon illustrations. Madeleine Grant calls it Victorian moralising; Jamie calls it something far darker. 👑 Prince Harry’s latest “hostage video” for the Diana Award: systemic racism, unconscious bias, and the obligatory apology for the sins of previous generations. Production values that would embarrass a parish podcast. 🎓 Academia continues its descent: a very tall man in a dress receives an honorary degree for DEI activism at the University of Bradford… while Cambridge’s Education Faculty hires someone who once called for engineering degrees to produce “advanced weaponry for jihad.” And the main event: the continuing fallout from Jason Arday’s death. Nathan Cofnas speaks. The Bishop of Croydon and former Archbishop Rowan Williams turn the tragedy into a morality play about “bullying” and “basic human dignity” – while ignoring the plagiarism, the fabrications, and the DEI machine that put an unqualified man on a pedestal from which he had so far to fall. Jamie names names, refuses the victimhood narrative, and asks the forbidden question: who is actually responsible? Plus: the quiet death of the parish system under “oversight ministry” and why the Church of England’s technocrats don’t understand what a priest actually is. Support Irreverend: 🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend 🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com 📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs. Support the show

  5. Aug 21

    Jason Arday Dead – The Cult of Victimhood, Diane Abbott & CofE Reparations Madness 🔥 | Irreverend

    Rev Jamie returns with a powerful solo episode on the tragic death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday and what it reveals about our post-truth culture. In this episode: 🔥 Jason Arday’s death and the reaction The James O’Brien interview, the rejection of meritocracy, the Trafalgar Square vigil, Diane Abbott’s claims of a “vicious campaign”, and the Committee for Academic Freedom’s response. 📖 Victimhood as the new sainthood How modern culture has taken the Christian idea of martyrdom and twisted it into identity politics. ⛪ Church of England Project Spire Alex Scott discovers her ancestor was a slave owner — and why race-based reparations make no sense. ⛪ Truro’s 21-church benefice Mass opposition ignored, and Bishop David Williams’ comments on “priest-centred” ministry. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & apology on sociology  3:30 – Lord’s Prayer & John 9  11:30 – Jason Arday’s death and the culture war  25:40 – The James O’Brien interview & meritocracy  42:00 – Trafalgar Square vigil & Diane Abbott  55:00 – Project Spire & Alex Scott  1:05:00 – Truro 21-church benefice  1:15:00 – Listener emails Support Irreverend: 🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend 🔥 Substack → https://irreverendpod.substack.com 📧 Email / donations → irreverendpod@gmail.com Like, subscribe, comment and share if you want more fearless commentary on church, culture and current affairs. #JasonArday #Cambridge #DEI #ChurchOfEngland #ProjectSpire #Irreverend Support the show

4.7
out of 5
39 Ratings

About

Are you wondering how a Christian should respond to current events? What are we to think about a world that appears to be going absolutely mad? How are we to discern the signs of the times? In this podcast, featuring The Reverend Thomas Pelham, The Reverend Daniel French, The Reverend Doctor J.A. Franklin and the occasional guest, we attempt to give some answers. Email us at irreverendpod@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @irreverendpod or on Telegram at https://t.me/irreverendpod. We also have a youtube channel which can be found by searching Irreverend: Faith and Current Affairs! If you would like to support the show, which can be done from £2.50 plus VAT per month, you can join our Patreon community. Please go to www.patreon.com/irreverend