Living with the Gods Podcast
Neil MacGregor explores the role and expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world. Produced in partnership with the British Museum.
Episodes to download
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Living with Each Other
Fri 1 Dec 2017
Neil MacGregor concludes his series on shared beliefs with a look to the future and hope.
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The Search for a State
Thu 30 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on the faiths that have sought to establish a state of their own.
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Turning the Screw
Wed 29 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on attempts by some societies to outlaw beliefs seen as a threat.
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Living with No Gods
Tue 28 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on societies who banished religion, from revolutionary France to the USSR.
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Ruling with the Gods
Mon 27 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on ruling with a mandate from the gods - from the UK to Benin to China.
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Global Gods, Local Needs
Thu 23 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on how gods reach new communities, and how they are adapted and changed.
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The Other Side of the Leaf
Wed 22 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on communities who believe they are not the sole inhabitants of a landscape
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Living with One God
Tue 21 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor's series continues with a focus on societies and faiths with a single god.
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Living with Many Gods
Mon 20 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on societies with many gods, including the Romans in Britain.
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Rejecting the Image
Fri 17 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor reflects on faiths which focus on the word rather than the image.
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Change Your Life
Thu 16 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on images with a purpose - to change the viewer's behaviour.
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The Making of Meaning
Wed 15 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor examines how we come to understand images, with a focus on San rock art.
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Replicating the Divine
Tue 14 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on Russian Orthodox icons and the Hindu goddess Durga.
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The Protectoresses
Mon 13 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico, and Artemis of Ephesus.
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Festivals
Fri 10 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on special gatherings and how they shape a communal identity.
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To Be a Pilgrim
Thu 9 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on the role of pilgrimage in Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.
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Holy Killing
Wed 8 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on Aztec human sacrifices, and animal sacrifice in ancient Greece.
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Gifts to the Gods
Tue 7 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on offerings, including gold consigned to a Colombian lake.
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The House of God
Mon 6 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on sacred spaces, from a 4,000-year-old temple to a brand new cathedral.
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The Power of Song
Fri 3 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor on the role of distinctive dress and communal song in weekly gatherings.
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Lines of Communication
Thu 2 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on prayer, an individual activity that is also profoundly communal.
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Becoming an Adult
Wed 1 Nov 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on rites of passage, including a hair-binding ritual from Vanuatu.
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Mother and Child
Tue 31 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on the protection of the newly-born and their mothers.
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Living with the Dead
Mon 30 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor's series continues with a focus on our relationship with the dead.
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Dependence or Dominion?
Fri 27 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor focuses on our relationship with the natural world and seasonal changes.
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Here Comes the Sun
Thu 26 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor experiences the winter solstice in the passage tomb at Newgrange, Ireland.
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Water of Life and Death
Wed 25 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor on water's purifying powers, and the significance of the Ganges for Hindus.
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Fire and State
Tue 24 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor on the fire of Vesta in Ancient Rome, and the Parsi fire temple in Gujarat.
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The Beginnings of Belief
Mon 23 Oct 2017
Neil MacGregor's series on the role and expression of beliefs begins with the Lion Man.
Animations
Neil MacGregor tells the stories of some of the key objects in the series.
