Suffering, Science and Sin with Dr. Bethany Sollereder

This special episode is a recording of a recent talk by Dr Ben Egerton. Ben is the director of initial teacher education here at Victoria University, and a poet. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Rivendell Center for Theology at Yale University. The event was held at Ngā Mokopuna on Kelburn campus, and was the 2026 Ramsey Library Lecture. Some writers, thinkers and works Dr Egerton mentions: Gert Biesta Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia Canon Mark Oakley Fr Richard Rohr George McDonald Mary Oliver Douglas Coupland Jürgen Habermas Anne Lamott TS Eliot, 'Choruses from the Rock'

This special episode is a recording of a recent talk at Chaplaincy VUW by Professor Cyril Hovorun. Cyril is an archimandrite in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and teaches international relations at University College Stockholm. Having worked for a decade as personal secretary to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow — and having since been defrocked by him — Cyril speaks with unusual personal knowledge of the key figures and ideas driving Russia's theology of war. He traces the development of "sacred war" rhetoric in the Russian Orthodox Church, contrasts it with the Ukrainian search for a theology of peace, and draws on the Christological thought of Maximus the Confessor to argue that any genuine peace must be grounded in ethics and justice. The talk is followed by a lively Q&A session.

“The best physics we know about, the deepest we've gone, looks for all the world like it's got fingerprints on it.” In this episode, Rayne and Matthew interview Dr Luke Barnes. Luke is an astrophysicist at Western Sydney University, and was in town to give a lecture called “Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?”. Dr Barnes is the arguably the world’s leading expert on the apparent fine-tuning of the universe, working on this from both astronomical and philosophical angles. As well as exploring that topic, we get into a bit of his life story, including growing up in a young-earth creationist church context; the problem of evil; the purpose of academic publishing; and the relationship between science and religious faith more generally.

In this episode, Rayne and guest-host Dr Michaela Richards chat with Emeritus Professor in the Study of Religion, Dr Paul Morris. Paul Morris talks with us about religious diversity and religious literacy, and the state of Religious Studies both globally and in Aotearoa New Zealand. Paul offers an incisive challenge to the ways in which we think about religion, secular privilege, and the role of religious inter-religious dialogue.

In this episode, Rayne and Rayne chat with Rev. Scottie Reeve. Scottie is an Anglican priest located in Brooklyn, Wellington. He is the author of the book 21 Elephants and host of a podcast by the same name. This episode explores themes of faith, intentional Christian community, the risky business of following Jesus, and hope as an interruption to our lives and our current ways of being. While this episode was recorded over a year ago now, and therefore is a little outdated, the themes of hope remain relevant in seeking personal and social transformation.