The Stand-Up Theologian
James Cary, BBC comedy writer, author and touring stand-up theologian is on a never-ending quest to understand comedy, the Bible, culture and the church.
Episodes
35 episodes
Is this how Season 1 ends?
Yes. Season 1 is finally wrapping up. In this episode - Episode 34! - I explain why (it's episode 34?), what I'm up to next and why I'm doing something as chronically unprofitable as The Wycliffe Papers. I also refer to my blog, Th...
What's the problem with the flag of St George?
What is England’s day if not St George’s Day? Who even is St George? Why don't the English celebrate it? Can we walk and talk around Hinton St George, a village in Somerset? Want to see the beautiful church? Here's the YouTube video:
Is the Quiet Revival quietly concealing something even bigger?
Back once again with friend of the show, Rhys Laverty, Editorial and Research Director of the Prosperity Institute who wrote this brilliant article for The Critic about the no...
Is this my favourite war movie? And what's so funny about war anyway?
James on the War Movie Theatre podcast and the website here....
The Sacred Art of Joking
The Sacred Art of Joking is available in all formats on Amazon/Audible.Every few weeks a politician, pundit or soap star causes a media storm by making a gaffe or tweeting a joke that some people do ...
Should I keep making this podcast? w/ Kenny Primrose
In this longer episode, I wonder about whether I have productivity addiction, and whether this podcast is part of that. So I talk to fellow productivity addict and podcaster, Kenny...
Reading the Bible without distraction and with mindfulness? w/ Matt Searles
Matt Searles is an author, songwriter and mindfulness teacher. We're talking about reading the Bible without devotionals or commentaries, and reflecting - and the perspicuity of scripture.Buy Quie...
What can we learn from the life and astonishing death of Bishop Hugh Latimer?
This time, I'm in conversation with Ros Clarke, Associate Director of The Church Society. We are talking about Bishop Hugh Latimer, burned by Queen Mary on 16th October 1555. Why? A...
Are we Amusing Ourselves to Death? w/ Nate Morgan Locke
In this episode James and returning guest Nate Morgan Locke explore Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, asking whether his warning still stands, whether he romanticises 19th century America and whether the very invention of the...
How can I avoid fudge in Lent?
Yes, another episode. I can't stay away. A solo episode on fasting. And Avoiding Fudge in Lent.Car...
How sitcoms are a sketchy business w/ Tilly Dillehay
I have a conversation with Tilly Dillehay, author of “My Dear Hemlock”, a book in the style of CS Lewis’s Screwtape Letters that does not pull its punches on the female condition. We also talk about writing, sitcom and sketches and then ‘pivot’...
Conspiracies, the Moon Landings and Thomas Aquinas? w/ Jonny Woodrow
A deep dive into Conspiracy theories - not a big long list of them, but why we might believe them, or find it hard to prove them one way or the other. A fascinating conversation with Dr (Dr) Jonny Woodrow, host of the
Psalm Psupplement Psolo Episode
In this solo episode, I introduce the Psalm Psupplement, forty reflections on the Psalms that might be handy for Lent. This is an audio version of the first batch on Psalm 1. Loyal Lollards (paid...
What is the question most asked about the Bible? w/ Andrew Ollerton
I have a conversation with Andrew Ollerton who has written a new book called God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics<...
The End of the Upside Down and Schrödinger’s Eucatastrophe w/ Caleb Woodbridge
Two culture vultures pick over the plentiful remains of Stranger Things. I talked to Caleb Woodbridge who is an imaginative disciple, freelance writer and editor, fan of sf/fantasy, children's & YA literature, Doctor Who, Tolkien &...
How should we educate our kids? The debate that drives many to madness!
Last year, I wrote an article about home education for Gareth Crispin, editor of Premier NexGen:https://www.prem...
How I Avoided Making Decisions For 25 Years and What Happens Next
In this New Year’s Day solo walk-and-talk, I reflect on what happens when long-running momentum finally runs out. Turning 50, finishing six years on the Archbishop's Council, and watching the comedy industry shift have forced me to face an unco...
Read any good books lately? What I read in 2025 w/ Barry Cooper
It's just like old times! Cary and Cooper are reunited for this review of the year in books. We revisit Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth, and James explains why there are a number of books he has some serious problems with (I'm l...
What is That Hideous Strength REALLY about? w/ Dr Michael Ward
What a treat! James gets to geek about CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man - with the world's leading expert on all things Inkling, Dr Michael Ward! Why should we NEVER call his science fiction books 'The Space Trilogy'? An...
Is there book in you?
Is there a book in you? Have you checked? Do you need to be talked into it? Or out of it? And who cares? You care! But will anyone else? Matt Bird helps people write their story. So this is a conversation about the pain, euphoria, self-delusion...
When should I start feeling Christmassy?
What is Christmas? When does it start? And how long does it last? What is advent? So many questions! James Cary has a few answers in this solo episode with a bonus bit of The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer at the end.Get hold of
Has the BBC lost its mojo?
There was a time when the BBC completely ruled the airwaves, both TV and Radio. What happened? Where did it go? Especially the comedy. And where did the BBC come from? In this episode, James talks to comedian, writer, author and presenter of th...
When is a musical not a musical?
Stand-Up Theologian James Cary talks to James Sherwood, musical comedian (or comedic musician?). Together they've been writing a musical, although they could have sworn that they wrote one in 2017 (A Monk's Tale) and again in 2019 (
Why do we keep mentioning The War?
In this solo episode, I connect my long-running fascinations with comedy, World War II, and Indiana Jones — exploring why one scene in my favourite Indy film falls flat, why Armstrong and Miller’s RAF sketches are so funny (and a bit sad) and h...