Review
Culture
3 min read

Most popular 2024: Belle Tindall

From wildness to digital hurting, Belle's top takes of the year.

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

On a TV chat show, guests look to one of their own talking to the audience.
Mirnada regales a chat show.

We’re wrapping up the year reviewing what articles were most popular with Seen & Unseen readers. Our second analysis is of Belle Tindall’s takes on the year’s events. What did our staff writer, well,  write about?

Musical highlights old and new featured prominently.  As Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah hit the Big Four-Oh, Belle captured its appeal to so many artists and listeners. The new musical highlight was the release of Nick Cave’s Wild God album. What of wildness? Several of Belle’s articles tacked this key theme of 2024.  She also returned to the hold live music has on a crowd. As well as reporting on Cave’s tour, her analysis of the appeal of Jack White’s stripped-back tour is excellent.

Did I forget to mention Taylor Swift? Sorry, Belle.

But life is not one big sing-a-long. It hurts. From the digital slight of ghosting to the true horrors of Nigeria’s violence, trauma was a recurring theme too.

Finally, Belle conduct some literary detective work after reading Miranda Hart’s new biography.

In reverse order

10 – The holy or the broken: Hallelujah at 40

What’s the magic sauce Leonard Cohen mixed into his masterpiece?

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Music, Sin, Suffering.

9 - Nigeria’s terror survivors share their stories

This violence is not gruesome fiction, it’s reality.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Freedom of Belief, Trauma.

8 – Did Nick Cave’s tour just take thousands to church?

He’s picking holes in the idea that religion is where freedom goes to die.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Belief, Music, Wildness.

7 - The Wild God we can't coerce

Weird and increasingly encountered beyond the wilderness.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Belief, Music, Wildness.

6- Ghosting is not immature, it’s plain cruel

The dehumanising behaviour hiding in plain sight.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Attention, Digital, Psychology.

5 - The utter miracle of disliking an election result

Voting is a profound act of love.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: America, Politics.

4 - Taylor Swift proves Mr Bennet right

Romanticism: ruining lives since 1800. And we love it.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Music, Resurrection, Romance, Taylor Swift.

3 - Nick Cave’s Wild God challenges a too comfortable culture

Eavesdrop on profound discomfort and raw wonder.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Belief, Joy, Weirdness.

2- Jack White’s breaking the biggest rule in rock 'n' roll

What if the greatest cultural moments were the ones barely anyone saw?

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Music.

1 - Miranda Hart's diagnosis of the unseen

Beyond a medical illness she's on to something supernatural.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Books, Comedy, Trauma.

Join with us - Behind the Seen

Seen & Unseen is free for everyone and is made possible through the generosity of our amazing community of supporters.

If you’re enjoying Seen & Unseen, would you consider making a gift towards our work?

Alongside other benefits (book discounts etc.), you’ll receive an extra fortnightly email from me sharing what I’m reading and my reflections on the ideas that are shaping our times.

Graham Tomlin

Editor-in-Chief

Review
Culture
4 min read

Most popular 2024: Graham Tomlin

From princes to politicians, Graham's top takes of the year.

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A young man wearing a dark suit talks to a minister wearing regalia.
Prince William talks with the Dean of Westminster Abbey, 2019.
LPhot Belinda Alker, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons.

We’re wrapping up the year reviewing what articles were most popular with Seen & Unseen readers. Our first analysis is of Bishop Graham Tomlin’s takes on the year’s events. What did our editor-in-chief write about?

2024 was billed as the year of elections, so it’s no surprise to see two takes on the US presidential election. And back in the United Kingdom, Graham also commented on the age old tension between politicians and clerics.  Public scandals also caught his eye, from the  injustice meted out by the Post Office, to the pure evil of abuse.

Away from the politics of the public realm, Graham explored the perennial themes of the sacred and secular views of the world. However, this year, he also wrote on paganism. If your first image that comes to mind is of ancient cultures, think again. And in the very personal realm of belief, Graham’s take on Prince William’s doubts

Finally, could a 2024 review not mention podcasts? As a scholar of theologian Martin Luther, Graham, of course had views on The Rest is History’s episode about Luther – The Rest is Luther...

In reverse order...

10 - Did God tell Joe Biden to stand down?

His story teaches us to listen a little more intently to what comes our way.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Ageing, Politics, Providence.

9 - The Church and the State need to disagree on asylum seekers

Politicians don’t always get how church and state relate, but both have a vital and different role to play when it comes to immigration.

The Church and the State need to disagree on asylum seekers | Seen & Unseen

Explore more articles on themes in this article:  Church and state, Politics.

8 - Are we Secular, Christian or Pagan?

After the Paris Olympics, Graham Tomlin wonders whether a full-on secularism could veer back towards a modern paganism. 

Explore more articles on themes in this article: BeliefPaganism.

7 - After the fall: the Post Office scandal and the search for justice

Falls from grace, like that of the Post Office’s CEO, prompt Graham Tomlin to dissect the problems of justice and mercy.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Creed, Ethics, Justice.

6 - John Smyth: how evil masks itself as goodness

Be alert to the cloaked and warped wherever it occurs.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Creed.

5 - Did God save Donald Trump?

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, Graham Tomlin asks whether or not we can see the hand of God in it.

Did God save Donald Trump? | Seen & Unseen

Explore more articles on themes in this article: BeliefDeath & Life, Politics, Providence.

4 - The difference between Richard Dawkins and Ayaan Hirsi Ali

How we decide what is true rests on where we start from.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Atheism, Belief, Epistemology.

3  - God in the garbage: Egypt's unlikely megachurch

Cairo's Church of the Zabballeen is the largest Church, and one of the most unusual in the Middle East. Graham Tomlin tells its story and that of the remarkable priest who inspired it.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Coptic Church, Identity, Middle East.

2 - The Rest is Luther

Did 'The Rest is History' get Luther right? Graham Tomlin gives his verdict

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Creed, Faith, Justification.

1  - Prince William's doubt is normal - it's impossible to be certain whether there is a God

Our limited human understanding means we will never fully understand God in this life, writes Graham Tomlin.

Prince William's doubt is normal - it's impossible to be certain whether there is a God | Seen & Unseen

Explore more articles on themes in this article: BeliefDoubt, Faith, Royalty.

0  - A history of Israel and Palestine – 4,000 years of history in 2,500 words

First published in late 2023, this analysis remains the most popular Seen & Unseen article to date.

The land at the heart of the Middle Eastern crisis is at the centre of world attention again. For those whose grasp on the history behind the situation is hazy, Graham Tomlin offers a brief survey.

Explore more articles on themes in this article: Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Old Testament, War & Peace.

Browse all Graham's articles

Explore more than 80 articles.

​​​​​​​Join with us - Behind the Seen

Seen & Unseen is free for everyone and is made possible through the generosity of our amazing community of supporters.

If you’re enjoying Seen & Unseen, would you consider making a gift towards our work?

Alongside other benefits (book discounts etc.), you’ll receive an extra fortnightly email from me sharing what I’m reading and my reflections on the ideas that are shaping our times.

Graham Tomlin

Editor-in-Chief