A few weeks ago I recorded an hour long podcast with Giles Fraser, Anglican Priest and star of The Moral Maze.
This is one of those podcasts that is very addictive. I thought I'd better listen to some of the other episodes before doing it myself and I was hooked. His hour with Maurice Glasman was one of the best interviews I've ever heard. And I mean ever. I then listened to him talking to Melanie Phillips, and she was an absolute revelation - funny, warm and touching. I then listened to the confessionals of Claire Fox, Fiyaz Mughal, Matt Kelly, Helena Kennedy and Mary Warnock.
In recording it, we had a lot of laughs, and there's one moment where I got a bit emotional and there's about ten seconds where neither of us spoke. Eventually, I carried on. Given that the podcast is called 'Confessions' there's a bit of soul baring that happens, and there are stories of three beach related incidents - Holkham, Brighton and Bondi. Suffice to say they are all rather different experiences! One is not for the faint hearted, although listeners to my 'For the Many' podcast may be familar with it!
Giles is a superb interviewer. He puts you at your ease and teases more information out of you than you might at first have been prepared to offer. Listen out for his infectious laugh too!
The podcast can be found HERE on iTunes, but it's available on all the various podcast platforms.
UPDATE: The podcast has been reviewed by Clive Davis in The Times...
In the age of Brexit it’s hard to talk about politics without being blinded by the dreaded red mist. Which is one reason why Giles Fraser’s interviews are such a pleasure. We know where the Anglican priest stands on social issues — he’s Nye Bevan in a clerical collar — yet he’s willing to listen to people from the other side of the barricades. He wants to know about their hinterland as well because he knows there’s more to life than manifestos.
His conversation with the LBC presenter and blogger Iain Dale was a case in point. They may both be Brexiteers, but when it comes to Margaret Thatcher or God they have very little in common. Fraser didn’t mind admitting that he thinks Young Conservatives are weird; Dale was just as frank about people who believe in the Almighty. But because there was mutual respect they were willing to listen to each other. Dale had some particularly compelling tales to tell about coming out as gay when he was trying to land a parliamentary seat.
There have been times elsewhere in the series when Fraser has been too gentle. Still, his sheer affability draws people out. I’ll never forget hearing Maurice Glasman, the intellectual godfather of the Blue Labour movement, describing growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household. His family were so observant that on the Sabbath his father would do the Times crossword puzzle in his head.
