with Zara Janjua

After a life‑changing stroke, Americana artist Lucinda Williams has found her way back to the page and the stage; she shares what continues to inspire her.

Pope Leo XIV has declared a Franciscan Holy Year marking 800 years since the death of St Francis of Assisi, with the saint’s remains now on public display at the Assisi basilica. Ronnie Convery tells Zara about his enduring influence.

Zara’s Spiritual Life guest is award‑winning novelist and poet Jenni Fagan; they reflect on her upbringing in the Scottish care system and the escape she found in culture. Jenni also tells Zara about her new novel The Delusions, its vision of the afterlife, and her own beliefs around it.

And Zara’s Faith Forum Panel this week are social researcher and equalities campaigner Talat Yaqoob, Theologian Dr Eve Poole, and Ravi Ladva - a member of the Hindu community.

They unpack some of the week’s stories, including how Iran’s theocracy is shaping leadership and society amid the US–Israel war with Iran; what representation means for women in 2026; and how belief can guide, bind and sometimes control, through the lens of new podcast Aftercult.