Unbelievable?

Do we truly have free will, or are our choices determined by biology, upbringing and brain chemistry? In this episode of Unbelievable?, John Nelson hosts a lively philosophical dialogue between Joe Folley, host of Unsolicited Advice, and Dr Nathan Hawkins, a Christian philosopher who teaches at Cambridge. Together they explore libertarian free will, compatibilism and determinism, asking whether neuroscience has disproved human freedom, whether our thoughts are “just brain states”, and whether moral responsibility survives if forces beyond our control shape our choices. Along the way, they discuss Sam Harris, Robert Sapolsky, Alex O’Connor, Libet experiments, Peter Tse, moral blame, racism, brain tumours, pragmatism, idealism and the mystery of human agency. A thoughtful, accessible deep dive into freedom, responsibility and the self.

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Dr Joshua Sijuwade, teaching fellow in philosophy at the University of Birmingham, joins Luke Martin for a wide-ranging conversation on God, evil, the Trinity and the atonement. Joshua begins by explaining why he thinks the existence of God is the best explanation for a contingent, non-fundamental universe, and why he favours a fundamentality argument over some popular versions of the Kalam cosmological argument.

He also reflects on his own dramatic conversion experience, his journey into theology and philosophy, and why apologetics still matters in a secular age. Later, Luke and Joshua discuss the problem of evil, the doctrine of the Trinity, whether Jesus is God, Orthodox theology, mystery, language about God, and how Christ’s life, death and resurrection bring reconciliation between humanity and God.
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Filmed before a packed live audience at London’s Royal Institution in May 2026, this Unbelievable? x Panpsycast x Theora co-production brings William Lane Craig face-to-face with Unbelievable? regular Alex O’Connor for a gripping conversation on God, cosmology and suffering.
Craig makes the case for Christian theism, drawing on the Kalam cosmological argument, fine-tuning, moral values and the resurrection of Jesus. O’Connor pushes back on whether the universe really had a beginning, pressing Craig on infinity, time, causation and the Big Bang.
The discussion then turns to one of atheism’s most powerful objections: animal suffering. Could a loving God allow millions of years of predation, pain and death?

Hosted by Jack Symes, stepping in for Jonny Thomson after illness.

For more of William Lane Craig.
https://www.reasonablefaith.org/
For more of Alex O'Connor
https://www.alexoconnor.com/

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In this timely classic edition of the Unbelievable podcast Billy Hallowell hosts theologians Tom Wright and Preston Sprinkle for a timely conversation on faith, politics and the church’s public witness. For more Tom Wright subscribe to the new YouTube Channel for the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast.

Drawing fromJesus and the Powers and Exiles: The Church in the Shadow of Empire, they ask what it means to follow Jesus when political loyalties divide congregations, nations and families. Should Christians vote, protest, withdraw, or engage? How should the church respond to nationalism, race, abortion, immigration, war and empire? Wright and Sprinkle explore the Bible’s political vision, the danger of idolatrous allegiance, and the need for Christians to model a different kind of kingdom: one shaped by unity, holiness, wisdom and the Sermon on the Mount.

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William Lane Craig and Alex Malpass debate the Kalam cosmological argument: everything that begins to exist has a cause; the universe began to exist; therefore, the universe has a cause.

Hosted by John Nelson, the discussion explores whether causation applies to the universe, whether an actual infinite can exist, Hilbert’s Hotel, successive addition, the Grim Reaper paradox, and whether the universe’s cause must be timeless, spaceless, powerful and personal. Craig defends the argument’s metaphysical force and the plausibility of a divine creator, while Malpass challenges its premises with philosophical logic, set theory, and alternative accounts of time and causation. A rigorous and good-humoured exchange on one of philosophy of religion’s most famous arguments.

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