All around us the old systems of thought, meaning, belonging and identity are collapsing. Humanity is shattering into a million and one digital niches each one with their own myths, values and facts. Traditionally, the decline of one structure of meaning would lead to a new religious movement of revitalisation. But what would revitalisation look like in this secular age? Can there be a secular replacement? Can we find a society wide message of hope? Can we rebuild local communities? Greg Epstein...
Mar 04, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Vikas Shah MBE is a remarkable entrepreneur who started his first business aged 14, runs a thriving trading operation today and has coolest side-hustle you've never heard of. In 2007 Vikas realised the missed long-form interviews that he loved so much and decided to do them himself. Since then he has interviewed the CRAZIEST list of people you an imagine: Maya Angelou, FW de Klerk, Buzz Aldrin, Usain Bolt, Ai Wei Wei, Sir Richard Branson, Moby, Melinda Gates, Penn Jillette, and a ton more. We sp...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Today we have a brilliant interview with super coach Michelle Ellman and it's all about boundaries. Michelle's no-nonsense advice has led to her getting over 300 000 followers on social media. In the ep. we joke around about how on the internet everyone is always telling people to cut boundary crossers out of their life in every situation. The nuanced conversation really helped my understanding of boundary setting and how it's important to be selfish to show self-care. Here were three stand out ...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 35
We've wanted to interview Nora Bateson for ages because she lives a fascinating life, does great work and is an absolute expert in the field of Complexity and Systems Thinking. The wait was worth it because at the end of our chat James (who has a doctorate from Harvard) said it was THE FIRST TIME he truly understood the subject. Take a moment to really think about that: James has sat through total brainiacs talking about Systems Theory but it was THIS PODCAST that helped him grok it. Why should ...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Our guest today is one of my favourite people - Shamash Alidina! Shamash is an amazing teacher who spent this conversation exploring brilliant ways to cope with negative thoughts, reduce anxiety and lead a great life. Here's why you should listen to him: He is the international bestselling author of the Mindfulness For Dummies and The Mindful Way through Stress. He frequently pops up in newspapers, magazines and on radio shows. Shamash has also co-founded the world's first Museum of Happiness in...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Fred Dust was a Senior Partner and Global Managing Director at international design firm IDEO. A leading voice and practitioner of human-centered design and networked innovation, he helps organizations evolve in the face of shifts in consumer behavior, social trends, economic pressures, and new technology. Prior to IDEO, Dust worked as an architect and spent eight years working with independent artists and major art organizations. Recently he wrote an excellent book 'Making Conversations' which ...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Our guest today is Ben Keene who is an adventurer, community builder, coach and a confident reader. This makes perfect sense as he's the founder of the incredible Rebel Book Club community, which helps people accelerate their reading habits, learning, and connections. There are over 1000 members who meet online to discuss books which I'm sure most of them have read. Ben's career is fascinating and it began with Tribe Wanted a crowdfunded sustainable-tourism village on an island in Fiji (which wa...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Jules Evans is a brilliant philosopher who is at the forefront of research into 'Conspirituality' - the meeting of conspiracy theory and spirituality. Conspirituality is the reason why there was a Q Anon Shaman screaming in the Senate, during the attempted Trump insurrection last week. This is Part 1 of our conversation because the audio for the second half has gone peculiar. We're going to try to revive that by next week, or just record it again. Do not fret, however, we will complete this conv...
Jan 14, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The title of this podcast is so us: The Spirituality of Global Supply Chains. I love it. You get to a great episode name like that by interviewing journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle, who has been at the forefront of communicating and campaigning around ethical and environmental questions. For years her weekly column in the Observer dealt with the sorts of issues that seem so intractable. What I loved about it was that she always took this stuff seriously but met people where they were, and k...
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 29
James and I explore Changing The World - the sixth Pillar of Lifefulness. Changing The World is the secular translation of evangelism - the work of remaking the world as it should be through action and testimony. Spiritual communities have a profound sense of drive, purpose and mission which is something we long for in our own lives. For anyone wanting to have an overview of Lifefulness this TEDx talk is a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PYN8vPaZrE The 6 Pillars of Lifefuln...
Jan 05, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 28
This is an interview with our brilliant co-host James Croft. It's a huge delight to write this intro because I love James and listing off his accomplishments makes me feel proud as punch. Mr. Croft got his undergraduate from Cambridge where (according to his LinkedIn) he: "Graduated Double-First Class, George Peabody Prize for exceptional academic performance (Class 1) in degree Part One, Foundation Award for achieving Class 1 in every paper in degree Part Two, First recipient of Joyce Ridley Me...
Dec 31, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The Fifth Pillar of Lifefulness coming straight at you! This is the fifth episode of the Lifefulness Mini-Series on the 6 PIllars of Lifefulness. James and I explore Serving Others - a key part of all spiritual pathways and communities. Some people got in touch asking for an overview of LIfefulness and this TEDx talk is a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PYN8vPaZrE For those of you who are keeping track here are the 6 Pillars of Lifefulness: 1) Ultimate Meaning. 2) Celebrati...
Dec 29, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 26
It's our Christmas Special! Sanderson Jones (host) is being interviewed by James Croft (the other host). Sanderson is the founder of The Lifefulness Project, a social enterprise that is dedicated to building communities and changing culture through Lifefulness. Lifefulness is the practice of adapting the techniques of spiritual communities in a way that everyone can take part. For part one of this holiday special James interviews Sanderson. In part 2 (you'll never guess it!) Sanderson interviews...
Dec 24, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 25
BONUS EPISODE! What a delightful Christmas surprise for you, I'm sure. When James and I first launched the Lifefulness podcast we released the first 3 parts of a 6 part mini-series on the 6 Pillars of Lifefulness - this is part 4. We explore the pathway of personal growth and psychological maturity which is the part of all (to my knowledge) spiritual communities. How can you become the person that you want to be? How can you live a life in accordance with your values? In this podcast we explore ...
Dec 22, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 24
OMG! It's Laura Willoughby MBE! She's a brilliant guest to have in the holiday season because even though we're social distancing, there's still going to be a lot of booze around. Laura is co-founder of Club Soda, the Mindful Drinking Movement, who has great advice on how to celebrate more mindfully. The inspiration for Club Soda was Laura’s experience of giving up drinking seven years ago. A campaigner at heart with a background in movement building and politics, she realised that one of the bi...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 22
We’re so excited to bring you a brilliant guest Chris Stedman, who is the ideal interviewee for a podcast about adapting spiritual practices and ideas in a way that is secular. Primo: Chris is a humanist chaplain and community builder who is not religious but whose work is informed by religious questions. He's driven by the specific ways that spirituality answers fundamental human needs. This has led him to being the humanist chaplain at Yale, before becoming a University lecturer. Secundo: He’s...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Suzanne Alderson is a mental health expert, author and community builder who founded the charity Parenting Mental Health following the attempted suicide of her daughter Issy. Whilst her work is dedicated to helping parents with mental health her story and book will resonate with anyone who has been a child, been a parent, wants to be a parent, wants good mental health or a society with mental healthy children. This is exactly the sort of conversation we created the podcast for: moving, informati...
Dec 03, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 21
John C. Parkin is the author of publishing phenomenon 'F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way' which has sold over 600 000 copies. The book has changed people's lives with its simple message of saying 'F*** It' to unnecessary concerns, societal pressures and auto-generated stresses. . This podcast is a clarion call to relax and give up any worries that are not warranted. What can you walk away from? What can you leave behind? What can you say 'I'd really rather not' to? . James and I got so much fr...
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Our guest today is John Vervaeke - a cognitive scientist and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. James and I were both so excited to speak to him as he has undertaken an amazing examination and integration of modern cognitive science, ancient wisdom practices, philosophy, and history in his incredible YouTube series ‘ Awakening From The Meaning Crisis ’. John’s theory is this: our culture today is beset by multiple overlapping crises which make our lives difficult: finan...
Nov 19, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 19
Jonathan Rowson is a chess grandmaster and philosopher who is at the forefront of rethinking society at every level. Jonathan founded a research institute called Perspectiva that is publishing ideas, and organising an eco-system of change-makers dedicated to creating the world of tomorrow. Jonathan's work has been really influential on the development of LIfefulness, in particular his 'Spiritualise' report for the RSA, which showed how a spiritual sensibility was needed to tackle today's social ...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Today our guest is Shappi Khorsandi comedian, actor and author. I've known Shappi since we gigged on the stand up circuit together, and always loved her way of dealing with all manner of topics from politics to parenthood. Her passion for living a good life in a secular way led to her being elected President of the British Humanist Association in 2016 and today she is still the Vice-President. . . Shappi’s outlook is coloured by an unusual life story - her parents emigrated from Iran when she wa...
Nov 05, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Our guest today is Samantha Moyo. Sam is vibrating harpstring of a human. In 2013 she founded MorningGloryville - an early morning sober rave. The concept went off like a bass bomb. City workers, professionals and folk of all stripes were kicking off their day with a dance to DJs like Fat Boy Slim. Joyful, non-rational, transformative experiences are fundamental to being human, are a fundamental part of Lifefulness and she is an expert in them. Her work was recognised in the ‘How We Gather’ repo...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Liz Oldfield is a remarkable woman who began life in TV and radio, before becoming director of the Theos Thinktank - which is dedicated to studying faith in the UK. This means she’s the first Christian we’ve had on the show. Sound the trumpets, kill the fatted calf, sing hosannas in the highest, and then some even higher than that. Liz appears regularly in the media on matters of faith and culture. You might have seen her on BBC One, Sky News, the World Service, or caught her writing in Th...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Today my guest is Guy Claxton - emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester, cognitive scientist, author of over 30 books and a world leader in the field of education. Combined with his background as a researcher Guy's a balls-to-the-wall spiritual seeker. Have you seen the Netflix documentary ‘Wild Wild Country’ about the Rajneesh community? Guy was part of the Rajneesh in India but got out before they all went crazy in Oregon. His life and work show ...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Today we're speaking to Dan Snow who is one of Britain’s most recognisable historians. Dan’s a BBC TV presenter, filmmaker, author podcaster and even runs his own History Channel, History Hit. The guy loves history and is on a mission to pump as much of it out there as possible. Dan and Sanderson first worked together in 2013 when they created a secular Remembrance Sunday service. It turned out that it was Britain’s first ever non-religious commemoration of the British war dead. Because not only...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Today we speak with Vanesa Gomez Brake, the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. Vanessa’s amazing because she is the first Humanist Chaplain to be a Dean of Religious Life in any American University. In her role, she works to support and promote university religious and spiritual life, serving the spiritual needs of all students regardless of their religious perspective. Vanessa’s fascinating because even though she became nonreligious in her teens, she stu...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Today we are interviewing Tim Minchin - a comedian, musician, actor, songwriter and multi-talented genius. He’s played sold out comedy shows at the Sydney Opera House, his songs have gone mega-viral a bunch of times, he wrote the every award-winning musical Mathilda and we feel he should leave some of the success for everyone else. Alongside this he’s been a proud skeptic, atheist and humanist who, through his art and public comment, engages deeply with why we are here, and how we should live. W...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Today we’re going to be talking money - which doesn’t seem that spiritual. Why are we doing that? Because before we launched our podcast we did a survey of the Lifefulness community asking one question: "What was preventing you living life as fully as possible?" A lot of people said money and finances. That’s why we reached out to Dasha Kennedy - the inspirational founder of the Broke Black Girl community that gives financial advice catering to black women. At its heart is a 70 000 facebook grou...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 10
OK. This is our favourite Lifefulness podcast so far. Start here. We love the other shows but this was special. Why? Because we changed the format to make it more loosey-goosey, a bit sillier. You get all the deep chat, all the dramatic life-changing insights AND dumb jokes. We explore: How you can introduce the benefits of religion and spirituality into your life, even if you’re not religious How you can use ritual to bring soul to the workplace How you can respectfully adapt religious practice...
Sep 11, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Community Life is the third pillar of Lifefulness and is obviously vital to spiritual communities. We think of a congregation we think of community! We look through our own personal experiences of community, then dive into traditions, ways of finding community, the science behind it and some misconceptions we have about it. This episode would go particularly well when paired with our interview with Lennon Flowers. The second pillar of Lifefulness is Celebration because gathering together to ador...
Sep 11, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 8
