Cross Section

In this week's episode of Cross Section, Danny Webster, Alicia Edmund and Zanna Meynell unpack the spiritual, cultural and political headlines. A recent report from Youthscape has revealed that gen Z see Jesus as having 'a God complex' and mansplaining. How is this reflective of this cultural moment?

The team also discuss the ongoing fallout from Mandelson's relationship with Epstein and what this will mean for Keir Starmer. The episode concludes with a conversation about Trump's controversial speech at the US National Prayer Breakfast last week.

Gen Z attitudes to Jesus and the political fallout of the Epstein files - Evangelical Alliance

Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction
0:27 – Gen Z and spirituality
1:07 – Youthscape report: Troubling Jesus
5:28 – Engaging young people with scripture
8:18 – UK politics: Peter Mandelson and the Epstein files
16:48 – Trust and leadership crisis
19:14 – The church's response: repentance and sin
24:20 – Trump's National Prayer Breakfast speech
26:49 – Faith and politics in America
31:55 – Closing thoughts

The Cross Section team are joined by Jo Frost, director of communications and engagement for the Evangelical Alliance. They begin by discussing some key stories including Jelly Roll's speech at the Grammys, the red pilling Steven Bartlett controversy and the validity of the Quiet Revival stats.

For the majority of the episode, the panel discuss Christians on the left of politics. Who are some of the key UK Christian figures from the left. What are the trends we are seeing on the left domestically and internationally? Does faith-based political identity work differently on the left vs right? They also talk about James Talarico, the Texas state representative. He is the rising voice of progressive Christianity in US politics. Where does he stand on different issues? What makes him so persuasive?

The episode finishes with a discussion about the significance of the Gorton and Denton by-election. How do we navigate the fact that within our churches we have Reform supporters and Green supporters?

0:00 - Introduction
2:03 - Grammys and Jesus
3:11 - Red pilling and Stephen Bartlett controversy
10:00 - The Christian Left in UK politics
20:20 - James Talarico
31:52 - Gorton & Denton by-election analysis
36:02 - Closing remarks

Peter Lynas, Danny Webster and Alicia Edmund unpack this week's headlines. They cover the controversy around Andy Burnham and Keir Starmer - what is happening with the Labour Party? Conversation also covers ICE and Trump and the ongoing conversation around migration and the recent scandal involving Bethel. 

The team then pull back the curtain to look at this cultural and political era - how do we engage and act as people of hope at this significant time?

This week's biggest news stories are discussed by the Cross Section team. They unpack the rising discussion around banning social media for under 16s - should this happen? What would it look like if it did?

Conversation moves onto the many defections to Reform that we have seen. Last Sunday saw Robert Jenrick, others have followed, who could be next?

The episode concludes in reaction to the alarming rise in abortions as 2023's statistics were released last week. Are we talking about this enough in our churches? How can we respond?

Social media bans, global chaos and rising abortion numbers: Christians react - Evangelical Alliance

0:00 - Introduction
1:42 - Conversion therapy and the Traitors
3:14 - Trump and Greenland
6:46 - Darlington nurses victory
11:18 - Social media ban debate
21:09 - Political defections
32:07 - Abortion statistics and reactions

Cross Section is back for 2026. In this week's episode Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster discuss the dominating stories from the first two weeks of the year. This includes all that has been happening across the globe in the US, Venezuela, Greenland and Iran. Discussion moves onto the controversy around Grok AI and other cultural stories and how Christians can engage and respond.

https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2026/01/the-age-of-invasion

https://samf.substack.com/p/interview-with-john-bew-adviser-to?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=i2ju&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email