14 episodes
Witch BBC Radio 4
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- Society & Culture
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4.9 • 264 Ratings
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The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries - from whispered warnings in folklore to pop-culture driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?
Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.
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Introducing Witch
India Rakusen finds out what it means to call yourself a witch today.
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1. The Spark in the Fire
The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries – from whispered warnings in folklore to pop-culture driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?
Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.
We find out what it means to call yourself a witch today. India joins a Beltane ritual in Nottingham, where two sisters tell us what it means to them and when they first knew they were witches. They talk about the infamous "teen-witch" phase and explore why that sense of magic we have as children so often fades away. And how we might start to get it back.
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
Producer: Elle Scott
AP: Tatum Swithenbank
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed
A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4 -
2. Natural Magic
India Rakusen finds out what it means to call yourself a witch today.
In episode 2, we explore ancient connections between the natural world around us and the idea of magic and examine why witches today are so drawn to the wild.
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
Producer: Elle Scott
AP: Tatum Swithenbank
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed
A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4 -
3. The Witches Well
The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries – from whispered warnings in folklore to pop culture-driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?
Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.
In Scotland, a campaign is underway for an official pardon for the women burned as witches centuries ago. India heads to Edinburgh to discuss the deeply embedded misconceptions that still surround the witch hunts.
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
Producer: Elle Scott
AP: Tatum Swithenbank
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed
A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4 -
4. Enchanted Lands
The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries – from whispered warnings in folklore to pop culture-driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?
Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.
A witch has been created in the Thames Valley to protect a family from eviction. India explores the surprising historical relationship between the figure of the witch and the right to land.
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
Producer: Elle Scott
AP: Tatum Swithenbank
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed
A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4 -
5. The Magic(k)
The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries – from whispered warnings in folklore to pop culture-driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?
Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.
What is magic? In this episode India speaks to witches and scientists to try and untangle the meaning and the real-world impact of magic. From hexes to chants, what lies behind the power of a spell?
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Tatum Swithenbank
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
Producer: Elle Scott
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed
A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4
Customer Reviews
Lovely!
This is the only podcast that I will listen to at least a second time.
Great podcast
I highly recommend
Left me shook and inspired
The deeply researched and well presented history was a stunner for me. As a US citizen, the only witch hunts I’d really known were the Salem Witch Trials. The facts and figures about the extensive murders throughout Europe gripped my heart and shook it. The information about the women today pressing the issue and leveraging governments to issue pardons and apologies is inspiring and gives me hope. Though I don’t fully identify as a witch, this series is making me wonder if I *really* don’t or if I’ve just been too afraid to, at a cellular, generational, survival level. Has the word itself been so perverted and demeaned from its original meaning?
I am deeply hopeful there will be a season two of this!! She mentioned all the material on the cutting room floor—I’d love to hear that, too!
Well done Witch production team and thank you.