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Listen to the Matters of Life and Death Podcast

Brought to you by Premier Unbelievable and hosted by John Wyatt and his son Tim. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist.

Listener questions: Polarised culture wars, the challenge of elder care, and childlike sexbots

To mark one year since Matters of Life and Death joined the Premier Unbelievable network, we have a special one-off episode answering... Posted: March 15, 2023

Public sector strikes 2: Taking patients hostage, employment as service, slaves and masters, and Christian peacemaking

There are two strong Christian traditions when it comes to robust political or industrial action such as strikes. One argues for enduring... Posted: March 8, 2023

Public sector strikes 1: The Winter of Discontent, austerity-era pay freezes, Christian socialist solidarity, and continuity of patient care

The UK is currently gripped by a wave of strikes from public sector employees – nurses, teachers, postal workers, train drivers,... Posted: March 1, 2023

Surveillance capitalism 2: QR codes in China, privacy, the manipulation of desire, and a neo-Benedictine Rule of Life

If surveillance capitalism permeates all of modern society, how on earth can we step back to think critically about what it may be doing... Posted: February 22, 2023

Surveillance capitalism 1: Trillions of data points, clickbait, an advertising arms race, and BF Skinner’s pigeons

Every tap, swipe and click we make on our phones, tablets and laptops is being recorded by big tech firms. This is often called... Posted: February 15, 2023

Cryptocurrency 2: Technicism, the Parable of the Talents, get-rich-quick schemes, and the wheat and the weeds

In the second part of our discussion with Chris Goswami, we dive into some of the ethical arguments for and against cryptocurrencies. Are... Posted: February 8, 2023

Cryptocurrency 1: Bitcoin, warehouses of computers solving maths puzzles, the dot.com bubble, and FOMO

Recent news headlines have been full of discussion of the current ‘crypto winter’, a season where the value of cryptocurrencies has... Posted: February 1, 2023

Medical Assistance in Dying 2: Suicidal ideation, no crystal balls, conscientious objection, and Hippocrates’ successful medical practice

In our second conversation on Canada’s euthanasia regime, we chat with a Canadian doctor about the troubling expansion of Medical... Posted: January 25, 2023

Medical Assistance in Dying 1: Judicial activism, a ‘reasonably foreseeable’ death, the unacceptability of suffering, and reasons to stay alive

Since 2016, Canada has offered assisted suicide through its public healthcare system. And the criteria for Medical Assistance in Dying... Posted: January 18, 2023

Martin Rees 3: Pre-emptive science fiction, the morality-reality gap, adventurers on Mars, and the mind of the Creator

In the third and final installment of John’s discussion with Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, they discuss Martin’s views on... Posted: January 11, 2023