Episodi

  • The Sentinel Post That Cost John Bunyan a Life

    The Sentinel Post That Cost John Bunyan a Life
    Sep 30 2026
    A tinker faces twelve years in prison for preaching without a license, leaving his blind child without a provider. This is the cost of his faith.

    The Sentinel Post That Cost John Bunyan a Life

    This episode explores the early life of John Bunyan, from his humble beginnings in Bedfordshire to his service in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. We delve into the choices that shaped his path and the profound impact they had on his family and future.

    Person: John Bunyan
    Date: 1628 (baptism)
    Location: Elstow, Bedfordshire
    Event: English Civil War
    Status: Tinker, Parliamentary soldier

    - John Bunyan was baptized on November 30, 1628, in Elstow, Bedfordshire.
    - His family, though described by Bunyan as "low," owned land and property in Elstow.
    - In the summer of 1644, Bunyan's mother and sister died, and his father quickly remarried.
    - At approximately sixteen, Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary army and served at Newport Pagnell garrison.
    - During his military service, Bunyan recounted an incident where another soldier took his sentinel post and was subsequently shot dead.

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    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    15 min
  • He Sold a Slave, Raised a Nation's Clergy, Then Outlived Everything

    He Sold a Slave, Raised a Nation's Clergy, Then Outlived Everything
    Sep 29 2026
    An Episcopal bishop knocks on British doors with one letter to raise funds for frontier clergy - what did it cost him?

    He Sold a Slave, Raised a Nation's Clergy, Then Outlived Everything

    In this episode, we follow Philander Chase from a New Hampshire farmhouse to frontier pulpits and back across the Atlantic, tracking how he built churches and seminaries and the personal losses that shadowed each triumph. What choices did he make on the road to founding clergy for the American frontier?

    Person: Philander Chase
    Date: December 14, 1775 (birth)
    Location: Cornish, New Hampshire; Liverpool; Ohio; New Orleans; Hartford
    Event: 1823 fundraising trip to England with one letter of introduction

    - Born the youngest of fourteen, Chase left his Congregational family after discovering the Book of Common Prayer at Dartmouth.
    - Ordained deacon May 10, 1798, Chase served a frontier circuit across New York State from 1798-1804.
    - In 1805 he moved to New Orleans, founded a church, ran a school, bought a nineteen-year-old enslaved man named Jack for $500, and three months later Jack escaped to Liverpool.
    - After relocating to Hartford (calling it his "Sunshine Years"), Chase later moved west, preaching in Ohio in 1817 and chairing the first Ohio Episcopal convention in 1818.
    - In October 1823, with no institutional mandate and only a senator’s letter of introduction, Chase sailed to England and raised $30,000 from British donors for a college in Ohio.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 min
  • The Foreign Office's "no" cost George Bell everything

    The Foreign Office's "no" cost George Bell everything
    Sep 28 2026
    A bishop carries a plot to kill Adolf Hitler to the British Foreign Office, which waits 30 days before saying no. This decision costs him everything.

    The Foreign Office's "no" cost George Bell everything

    This episode explores the life of George Bell, a bishop who became deeply involved in a plot against Adolf Hitler. It examines the consequences of the British Foreign Office's decision and the impact it had on Bell's career and legacy.

    Person: George Bell
    Date: 1942
    Location: Sweden, British Foreign Office
    Event: Plot to kill Adolf Hitler

    - Bishop George Bell met a theologian in neutral Sweden in 1942 to discuss a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
    - Bell carried the details of this plot to the British Foreign Office, which delayed its response for 30 days.
    - Bell was a prominent candidate for Archbishop of Canterbury in 1944, having sheltered Jewish refugees and opposed the firebombing of German cities.
    - He was ordained in 1907 and assigned to industrial parishes in Leeds, learning to engage with workers and institutional authority.
    - Bell became personal chaplain to Archbishop Randall Davidson in 1914, participating in critical wartime operations like refugee crises and prisoner exchanges.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 min
  • The psalm translation he risked in exile cost him poverty and obscurity

    The psalm translation he risked in exile cost him poverty and obscurity
    Sep 27 2026
    An English Bible translator, working in exile without Hebrew or Greek, dedicates his work to the very king who made its completion dangerous.

    The psalm translation he risked in exile cost him poverty and obscurity

    This episode explores the life of Myles Coverdale, the man behind the first complete printed Bible in English, and the profound personal cost of his groundbreaking work. It delves into the influences and challenges that shaped his journey, leaving the listener to ponder the true price of his legacy.

    Person: Myles Coverdale
    Date: January 20, 1569
    Location: London
    Topic: Bible translation
    Period: 15th-16th Century

    - Myles Coverdale, born around 1488 in Yorkshire, studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge and was ordained a priest in 1514.
    - He entered the Augustinian friary in Cambridge, where his prior, Robert Barnes, introduced humanist ideas and the direct approach to Scripture.
    - Coverdale served as secretary for Barnes during his heresy trial in 1526, witnessing his mentor's public penance.
    - By 1528, Coverdale left the Augustinians and began preaching against core Catholic doctrines, leading to his exile on the Continent.
    - In exile, Coverdale collaborated with William Tyndale, working from Latin, English, and German translations to complete the first printed English Bible.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 min
  • The Monk Who Walked: How His Feet Built a Kingdom

    The Monk Who Walked: How His Feet Built a Kingdom
    Sep 26 2026
    A monk watches his life's work burn, a city he built over sixteen years consumed by fire. This is the story of a man who walked into a broken world.

    The Monk Who Walked: How His Feet Built a Kingdom

    This episode explores the life of Aidan, an Irish monk who arrived in Northumbria in the 7th century. It delves into his unique method of building a civilization through walking, teaching, and a gentle approach, culminating in a moment where everything he created faces destruction.

    Person: Aidan
    Date: 651
    Location: Isle of Farne, Northumbria
    Topic: Celtic Christian mission

    - Aidan, an Irish monk, was sent to Northumbria in 635 after a previous missionary failed to connect with the local population.
    - He suggested a "milk of gentle doctrine" approach, prioritizing presence and gentleness over demanding instruction.
    - King Oswald provided Aidan with the island of Lindisfarne, which became his base for a priory, school, and library.
    - Aidan refused to ride horseback, choosing to walk from village to village, speaking to all people equally.
    - King Oswald initially served as Aidan's interpreter, translating his words to the Northumbrian people.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 min
  • The 960 Kilometers She Walked Erased Her Own Name

    The 960 Kilometers She Walked Erased Her Own Name
    Sep 25 2026
    A child is abducted into the Darfur slave trade, sold five times, and branded with 114 scars. She walks 960 kilometers, losing her own name.

    The 960 Kilometers She Walked Erased Her Own Name

    This episode explores the life of Josephine Bakhita, a woman who endured immense suffering and slavery in 19th-century Sudan. It delves into the circumstances of her abduction and the brutal realities of the slave trade that shaped her early life.

    Person: Josephine Bakhita
    Date: February 8, 1947 (death)
    Location: Schio, Italy (death); Darfur, Sudan (birth)
    Event: Abduction into slavery
    Period: 1869 (birth) - 1947 (death)

    - Josephine Bakhita was born in Olgossa, Darfur, in 1869, into a family with standing as her father was the village chief's brother.
    - At seven or eight years old, she was abducted by slave traders from a field near her village, two years after her elder sister was also taken.
    - She was forced to walk approximately 960 kilometers barefoot from Olgossa to the slave markets at El Obeid.
    - During her enslavement, she was sold five times over twelve years, moving further from her home in Darfur.
    - In the household of a Turkish general, she endured the scarification of 114 patterns on her body, cut with a razor and packed with salt to ensure permanence.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 min
  • The bones of apostles bought him a martyr's grave

    The bones of apostles bought him a martyr's grave
    Sep 24 2026
    A bishop arrives in Roman Britain with a strange cargo: the bones of apostles. He knows the exact grave he seeks, intending a mysterious exchange.

    The bones of apostles bought him a martyr's grave

    This episode delves into the story of Germanus of Auxerre, a bishop who traveled to Roman Britain in 429 AD with a specific purpose. It explores the historical records surrounding Alban of Verulamium, the first martyr of Britain, and the questions that arise from Germanus's pre-planned visit and the relics he carried.

    Person: Germanus of Auxerre
    Date: 429 AD
    Location: Roman Britain, Verulamium
    Topic: Early Christian history
    Event: Relic exchange

    - A bishop from Gaul arrived in Roman Britain in 429 AD carrying the bones of apostles.
    - He intended to exchange these relics at a specific grave, which tradition identifies as Alban of Verulamium's.
    - Alban, the first martyr of Britain, was a Roman citizen executed between 209 and 313 AD, with no contemporary record of his death.
    - The earliest text naming Alban's shrine is the Vita Germani, written between 450 and 485 AD, which names the shrine but not the town.
    - Germanus's journey was recorded by Prosper of Aquitaine in 433 AD, noting the exchange of apostolic bones for earth stained with preserved blood from Alban's grave.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 min
  • The education that made him Cambridge's voice---and cost him home and peace

    The education that made him Cambridge's voice---and cost him home and peace
    Sep 23 2026
    A Cambridge-educated priest travels to India and South Africa to confront empire - but at what cost to his home, faith, and peace?

    The education that made him Cambridge's voice---and cost him home and peace

    In this episode, we follow Charles Freer Andrews from a crowded Newcastle childhood to the halls of Pembroke College and out into the empire. The episode traces the choices he made-leaving Cambridge, speaking publicly against British treatment of Indians, and taking assignments in Delhi, Madras, South Africa and beyond-and asks what those choices demanded of him and those he left behind.

    Person: Charles Freer Andrews
    Date of birth: February 12, 1871
    Education: Pembroke College, Cambridge; King Edward's School
    Nickname: Deenabandhu (Friend of the Poor)
    Event: 1914 voyage to South Africa sent by Gopal Krishna Gokhale

    - Born one of fourteen children in Newcastle to John Edwin Andrews, an Angel in the Catholic Apostolic Church, and raised amid deep financial hardship after a trusted friend's betrayal.
    - Excelled academically: King Edward's School, Pembroke College, won the Carus Greek Testament Prize in 1895, ordained deacon in 1896 and priest in 1897.
    - Joined the Christian Social Union as a student and led the Pembroke College Mission in south London before accepting the Cambridge Mission to Delhi in 1904.
    - Publicly criticized British treatment of Indians in a 1906 letter to the Civil and Military Gazette and helped settle a cotton workers' strike in Madras in 1913.
    - In January 1914, at age 42, sailed to South Africa on Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s request to act as a British ally for the Indian community and encountered Mohandas Gandhi, who reinterpreted his initials as "Christ's Faithful Apostle."

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    15 min