A Muslim and a Jew, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra and Rick Sopher, come together to discuss the Moses story as told in the Qu’ran and the Torah. What are the similarities and differences? How should texts be interpreted? Perhaps most importantly, how do we manage difference? We explore these questions and more in this full length version of Dialogue: The Moses Story.

On dialogue. In a special podcast by the Woolf Institute, recorded live at our ‘We need to talk about Israel/Palestine’ event, Baroness Warsi and Jonathan Freedland attempt to do just that. How can British Muslims and Jews talk about the conflict? Why have past discussions led to so many tensions? And what can we learn from an open and honest dialogue? Featuring Jonathan Freedland, Sayeeda Warsi and Ed Kessler.

Baroness Warsi is a former Conservative minister and presently a member of the House of Lords. In 2017, her first book The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain was published.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian Columnist, and regular writer for the New York Review of Books. He also presents BBC Radio 4’s The Long View.

Encounter is a discussion podcast produced by the Woolf Institute and presented by its Founder Director Dr Ed Kessler. Episodes explore the relationship between religion and society. Join Ed and guests as they navigate their way through some of society’s most debated topics.

On food. With Ed away, producer David Perry sits down in the kitchen of best-selling food writer Claudia Roden to talk cooking, cuisine and culture. How essential is food to our understanding of ourselves? Where do our cooking traditions come from? And can we map religious and cultural change through the dishes we enjoy today?

Featuring Claudia Roden and David Perry.

On politics. With increasing polarisation in our nation we talk Antisemitism, Islamophobia and, of course, Brexit with MP for Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner. Is our society becoming less tolerant? How do we break down stalemates between opposing views? And should we have a second Brexit referendum?

Featuring Ed Kessler and Daniel Zeichner.

On strictly observant religion. In this episode Ed sits down with the Woolf Institute's own Tobias Müller and Professor Kim Knott from Lancaster University and the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats to try and add nuance to the way we talk about fundamentalism. How do fundamentalist ideas and behaviour function? Is fundamentalism always a threat? And how do we distinguish between fundamentalism, extremism, radicalism and orthodoxy?

Featuring Ed Kessler, Tobias Müller, Kim Knott and David Perry.

On prisons. How does religion play a role in our prison system and can faith stop prisoners reoffending? We speak to Dr Ruth Armstrong from the Institute of Criminology in Cambridge to assess these questions before a hands on discussion with Imam Farooq Mulla and Bob Wilson, both of whom have spent years bringing their faith to the UK's incarceration system. What are the challenges of this job? In what ways can prisoners be redeemed? And does our prison system need urgent help?

On prejudice (II). How prevalent is Islamophobia in Britain? In what ways does it permeate our society? And what can we do to tackle it? First, the Woolf Institute's Julian Hargreaves talks definitions and common misconceptions. Then Ed chats to Samayya Afzal from the Muslim Council of Britain about the nature and scale of the problem for Muslim communities as well as her own ideas about how to forge a better future.

Featuring Ed Kessler, Julian Hargreaves, Samayya Afzal and David Perry.

On prejudice. Daniel Staetsky from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research joins Ed to examine antisemitism based on hard evidence. How antisemitic is our society? Are antisemitism and criticism of Israel linked? And what might the future hold for Britain's Jewish community? We move beyond public rhetoric to Daniel's key research into the phenomenon of antisemtism and its diffusion in contemporary society.

Featuring Ed Kessler, Daniel Staetsky and David Perry.