with Tony Kearney

Available for 27 days

Tony speaks to directors Suzanne Lofthus and Liz Blackman about this year’s outdoor Passion Play productions in both Edinburgh and Hamilton. They discuss how the plays use community performers to retell the Easter story, and the creative way they adapt scripts for the neurodivergent performers who make up the cast Radio Scotland's Michelle McManus recounts her journey to Rome to perform a newly-written hymn before Pope Leo himself. Michelle describes the complexities of arranging a papal performance, how the hymn was inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si, and what it felt like to sing such personal and spiritually resonant music to the Holy Father himself. The Sky At Night presenter Dame Dr Maggie Aderin is this week's This Spiritual Life guest, who credits the building of her own telescope at the age of 14 which set her on course for a life in science. She reflects on a chaotic childhood and being held back at school and how she overcame those obstacles. This week's Faith Forum panel is made up of writer and broadcaster Fiona Stewart, who heads up a public leadership programme for a Christian charity, Rabbi Pete Tobias of the Glasgow Reform Synagogue and Rupa Mooker, a lawyer and member of the Sikh community in Scotland. As the Archbishop of Canterbury officially takes up her post this week, the panel reflect on the challenges leaders of faith instutitions must overcome when they face division; they discuss the weight of responsibility and service for those in public roles as a record number of MSPs stood down from their positions in Holyrood last week, and the power of empathy and kindness - after a man averted the bombing of the maternity wing of his local hospital by striking up a friendly conversation with the would be attacker.