Show

Uncommon Ground: Season One

with Justin Brierley

Good conversations that matter. Justin Brierley moderates debates between polarised intellectuals, with just one rule: they must connect before they correct!

Uncommon Ground is the show where conversations really matter.

Hosted by Justin Brierley, a veteran of debate and discussion moderation with 20 years experience, each episode brings together two big thinkers with profoundly different views on science, faith, atheism, philosophy, Christianity, culture, and God. All in the beautiful setting of historic Yarnton Manor, Oxford.

Instead of adding to the noise of the culture wars, Uncommon Ground creates space to disagree well—aiming to establish curiosity, clarity, and genuine understanding across the polarities that can divide us.

Featuring leading voices from atheism, psychology, science, literature, theology, and more, the show dives into life’s biggest questions.

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Dive in to the podcast below
Uncommon Ground podcast Episide 1 Season 1 cover featuring Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams
Episode 1: Richard Dawkins & Rowan Williams - God vs Science. What is behind the poetry of reality?
In a wide-ranging conversation on atheism, faith, poetry, music, meaning, love, complexity, suffering, evolution and survival, they discuss whether God or science makes best sense of 'the poetry of reality'. 
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Uncommon Ground Podcast cover Episode 1x2 featuring Glen Scrivener and Alex O'Connor
Episode 2: Alex O’Connor & Glen Scrivener - Did Christianity give us our morality? Debating freedom, slavery, equality and the Bible
Atheist thinker Alex O'Connor goes toe-to-toe with Christian thinker Glen Scrivener on whether Christianity gave us our belief in kindness, equality, freedom and consent.
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Uncommon Ground podcast, episode 3 featuring Jonathan Pageau and Joe Folley cover
Episode 3: Jonathan Pageau & Joe Folley - Does art, culture and human experience point to God?
Orthodox thinker Jonathan Pageau and atheist philosopher Joe Folley sit down with Justin Brierley to discuss whether art, culture and human experience point to God.
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Uncommon Ground Podcast 1x4 Episode cover featuring Ian McGilchrist and Anil Seth
Episode 4: Iain McGilchrist & Anil Seth: Minds, brains, consciousness and the God question
Jonathan Pageau is an Orthodox thinker and icon carver, who believes that the patterns and meaning in life point to the Divine Logos. Joe Folley is an atheist philosophy graduate who believes that the patterns we find in life derive their function from the ground upward (not actual episode copy)
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