with Zara Janjua

Zara’s this Spiritual Life guest this week is the children’s poet, author and former Children’s Laureat, Michael Rosen. The We’re Going on a Bear Hunt author shares his thoughts on dealing with the grief of losing his 18-year-old son Eddie over 25 years ago, and on surviving Covid 19 after it made him critically ill.

The broadcaster, author and psychology lecturer Claudia Hammond offers ways to get through the very modern phenomenon of overwhelm; and as the birth of Robert Burns is celebrated worldwide, with his themes of equality and justice for ordinary people performed through poem and song, Zara checks in with Burns scholar Clark McGinn to ask how these themes resonate in 2026.

Her faith forum panel this week are anthropologist and psychotherapist Dr Salma Siddique, ambassador to the Edinburgh Interfaith Association Professor Joe Goldblatt, and Ewan Aitken, head of Cyrenians and member of the Iona community.

They’ll be offering their thoughts and perspective on some of the stories from the week’s headlines, including the power of coming together as a collective – how does it play out when making a stand? Plus, family feuds, when it is right to try to repair, and when is it better to leave well alone. The panel will also be reviewing the new cinema release - H is for Hawk - starring Claire Foy, based on Helen MacDonald’s best-selling memoir. They'll reflect on managing the turbulent emotions that grief can throw at us all.