Listen Now

Psychotherapist and philosopher Mark Vernon chats with us about his evolving faith journey, and his conviction that nurturing our spiritual intelligence is crucial if we are to survive and thrive in these troubled times. Known by many names, spiritual intelligence, Mark contends, is the foundation of who we are and the foundation of peace, purpose and solidarity. After the interview, Nomad hosts Anna Robinson, Joy Brooks and Tim Nash reflect on the framing of spirituality as an intelligence and ponder which of Mark’s observations might help shape their ongoing spiritual evolution.  Interview starts at 23m 31s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

In this episode we listen in on a conversation between Jo Dolby, Hub leader of Oasis Church Bath, and Anglican Priest Azariah France-Williams. Together they reflect on their faith shifting experiences alongside navigating church leadership roles. With honesty and humour they communicate the challenges and rewards of growing towards a wider understanding of faith, whilst carrying responsibilities within a Christian setting. Conversation starts at 16m 26s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Since the world has all been a bit much lately, here are your loving Nomad hosts talking about Christmas songs and films, weird dreams, family gatherings, the smell of tinsel and other varying shades of Christmas nostalgia, with songs and jingle bells included. Merry Christmas one and all. Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Christmas is just round the corner, so we’ve invited Professor Kyle Roberts to help us ponder the idea of Jesus’s virgin conception. Kyle helps us wrestle with questions like, where did Jesus get his Y chromosome from? What’s so great about virginity? And can Jesus stand in solidarity with humanity if he came into the world in a way that no other human has before or since? After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Anna Robinson talk about the understanding of the virgin birth they inherited, and how their evolving faith has reshaped it, along with their views on bodies, sex, the gospels, and all manner of other things. Interview starts at 15m 23s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Passionate about creating safe spaces for people on the margins of faith and life, Kathy Escobar talks to us about the values and practices that help us to connect with ourselves and others at difficult times. Through shifting faith and traumatic loss, she shares principles that have guided her towards a more congruent and healthy spirituality.  Following the interview, Nomad hosts Nick Thorley and Joy Brooks consider how they have related to emotional and physical challenges alongside their own evolving faith. Interview starts at 14m 26s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Therapist, researcher and writer Hillary McBride is back on the show, this time to talk about toxic masculinity. Hillary takes us through some of the various characteristics and manifestations of toxic masculinity, reflects on why it has become so pervasive in Western society, why it often show up in our images of God and in the religious leaders we follow, and how men can begin to recognise and move beyond these limiting and oppressive social constructions.   After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Joy Brooks reflect on their own experiences of toxic masculinity, how it shaped the faith they inherited, and how they now understand and relate to gender.    Interview starts at 16m 35s   Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Having read the Gospel of John, Nomad hosts Joy Brooks, Nick Thorley and Tim Nash get together for a chat about the Bible. They reflect on the view of the Bible they inherited, the role it played in their deconstruction, how it felt reading the Bible again after a number of years, and what role the Bible might play in the ongoing evolution of their faith. Conversation starts at 26m 16s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

We chat with author Heather King about how the faith she inherited was profoundly reshaped both by recovery from addiction to alcohol and the discovery of the 19th Century French saint Thérèse of Lisieux.   After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash, Anna Robinson and Nick Thorley, reflect on their own experiences of brokenness and addiction and how it contributed to the deconstruction of the evangelical faith they inherited. They also ponder the role Thérèse’s Little Way might play in the ongoing evolution of their spirituality.  Interview starts at 21m 18s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

We chat with professor, researcher and clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Miller about her fascinating research into the benefits of spirituality.  Dr. Miller’s groundbreaking research has revealed that humans are universally equipped with a capacity for spirituality, and that our brains become more resilient and robust as we engage with healthy spiritual beliefs and practices. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Nick Thorley talk about out how Dr. Miller’s research fundamentally challenges the evangelicalism they inherited, and how through their faith deconstruction the spirituality that has emerged is very similar to the one Dr. Miller is advocating. They also ponder what Dr. Miller’s research means for how they pass spirituality onto their children.  Interview starts at 17m 12s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

We chat with activist and scholar Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza about their journey towards reconnecting with their body, and the role bodies play in dismantling oppression. Robyn inhabits a non-binary, autistic, trans, Latinx body, and we ask if they were able to find a safe space within church for their embodiment journey, whether the Christianity they inherited needed deconstructing, and whether they could find a home in a more progressive Christianity. After the interview Tim Nash and Joy Brooks talk about their experiences growing up evangelical and the role that reconnecting with their bodies has played in the deconstruction and ongoing evolution of their faith. Interview starts at 15m 11s Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

The last two decades have seen a growing consensus that we have entered a new geological epoch, triggered solely by human behaviour. The anthropocene is an idea with huge implications for how we see ourselves as part of the living planet. Mark Maslin is Professor of Earth Science at UCL and co-author of The Human Planet. Catherine Keller is professor of constructive theology at Drew University, New Jersey, and is the author of many books including Facing Apocalypse. This is an Everybody Now podcast: a series Nomad produces for the public domain, to encourage shared learning and a commons of storytelling. This podcast may be freely uploaded by any podcast onto any feed. You can access the files here.  Show Notes → The creation of Nomad's thoughtful, wonderfully ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful, wonderful listeners. Supporting us gives access to Nomad's online communities through the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge and Nomad Book Club - as well as bonus content like Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. If you'd like to join our lovely supporters head to our Patreon Page or our Nomad members page to donate and you may even be rewarded with a pen or Beloved Listener mug! If you're hoping to connect with others who are more local, you can also take a look at our Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook page. Additionally, we share listener's stories on our blog, all with the hope of facilitating understanding, connection and supportive relationships.

Writer, academic and activist Alastair McIntosh became a Quaker as a young adult. In this interview he reflects on how the Quaker tradition has shaped his life and his practice, how it intersects with mystical experiences, and where Jesus sits amidst his own generous worldview and in the Quaker tradition. After the interview, Nomad hosts David Blower and Nick Thorley talk about other religious traditions, what it might mean for a religious tradition to be Christ-centred, and how they understand what it means to be a Christian. Interview starts at 14m 59s  Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

We welcome back to Nomad author, activist, and public theologian Brian McLaren. This time we talk with Brian about his new book Do I Stay Christian?, in which he helps us reflect on the pros and cons of holding onto a Christian identity and, more importantly, what kind of human beings we want to be. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Nick Thorley talk about their own faith deconstruction and move towards a more progressive spirituality, and whether they now still identify as Christian. Interview starts at 17m 46s Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

We talk to the hymn-writer John Bell, who is a member of the Iona community, about the roots and traditions of Celtic Christianity, which took shape in the British Isles and modelled a very different way to the Roman church that followed shortly after. After the interview, Nomad hosts David Blower and Anna Robinson talk about their own experiences of Celtic Spirituality, and the role it’s played in the evolution of their faith. Interview starts at 14m 40s  Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

Feminist and trauma theologian Karen O’Donnell shares her experiences of repeated reproductive loss. Describing the physical, emotional and spiritual impact, she explores the complexity of faith from the perspective of the miscarrying person. Karen brings thoughtful sensitivity to a reality that has often been ignored and offers her responses to some of the many questions we are likely to encounter in the face of trauma, suffering and grief. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Joy Brooks talk about their experiences of loss, and the role this played in the deconstruction and reconstruction of their faith.  Interview starts at 16m 06s Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

Philip Carr-Gomm is a Druid, psychologist and writer, who has a particular interest in combining psychological understanding with spiritual perspectives to help people lead richer, more fulfilled lives. Although his spiritual practice is rooted in Druidry, he believes we have entered an era in which we can move beyond attachments to labels, drawing instead upon the Perennial Tradition, being inspired by the wisdom in all spiritual paths and teachings – following the way of the Universal Mystic. So he seemed like the idea person to speak with about the ancient tradition of Druidry, and what Christians might learn from it. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Anna Robinson talk about their interest in nature based spirituality and the Celtic roots of their Christian faith, and the role this has played in the deconstruction and reconstruction of their faith. Interview starts at 18m 40s Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

Faith Van Horne left the fundamentalist Pentecostal tradition that she’d grown up in as a young person. Years later, after exploring various spiritualities, she was surprised to find herself drawn back to her Pentecostal roots, allbeit on very different terms. In this podcast we talk to Faith about her academic studies in atonement theories, embodied spirituality, and healing from traumatic experiences.  After the interview, Nomad hosts David Blower and Joy Brooks talk about their own experiences and understanding of Pentecostalism, atonement, power dynamics, healing and mystical experiences. This episode involves themes of trauma and abuse. Interview starts at 11m 03s Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

Priest Karen Rooms and transgender poet, author and educator Jay Hulme describe what it's like for them to be part of an ancient and LGBTQ+ affirming church. As they recall the story of their developing friendship, their conversation guides us through the pandemic, Jay's early faith experiences and Karen's reflections on being a cisgender heterosexual woman entrusted with the care of a diverse and fully inclusive congregation. With humour, insight and creativity they offer a unique perspective on what it could mean to be church. Conversation starts at 18m 23s  Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce conversations like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

We chat with author of With All Your Mind: Autism and the Church, Erin Burnett about her personal experience and research into autism and the unique ways Christians with autism understand and experience God. We ask her why she was initially attracted to more fundamentalist expressions of Christianity, what triggered her deconstruction, and why she’s now more at home in progressive Christian spaces.  After the interview Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Joy Brooks reflect on what neurotypical people can learn from the ways people with autism experience the world and spirituality. Interviews starts at 13m 45s  Show Notes → Nomad is able to produce episodes like this one because a group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. Our supporters gain access to the Nomad community - which manifests as Nomad Book Club and The Beloved Listener Lounge - and bonus episodes, such as Nomad Contemplations, Nomad Devotionals and Nomad Revisited. And you may find yourself the proud owner of a Beloved Listener mug! Head over to our Patreon page and our own members page to donate. You might also want to have a look at our blog, which we use to share the stories of the evolving faith of our podcast listeners. And if you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map and our Nomad Gathering Facebook page, and see if any other nomads are in your area.

In this Devotional podcast, psychologist and theologian Richard Beck explores what it means to take sides without becoming hardened, and how he remains hopeful in a world on fire. Show Notes → Nomad produces devotional podcasts like this one every month. To access them simply make a small monthly donation through Nomad’s membership platform or Patreon.  We also produce group discussion questions to help you and your community dig deeper into the issues raised in the devotionals.