Last week’s episode about the parliamentary wrangling over the UK’s assisted suicide bill prompted a fair amount of disagreement from listeners who felt we were wrongly accusing members of the House of Lords of bad faith. We read out some emails and consider different ways to interpret the logjam in the Lords caused by the 1000+ amendments tabled to the controversial bill. Then we move on to the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, who has just been confirmed in the role. As well as the first woman to lead the Church of England, Mullally also had an earlier career as a nurse, rising to become the most senior nurse in England aged just 37. What difference might this experience make to how she leads the church, and could she help rebuild bridges between the increasingly secular NHS and the churches which were once the foundation of healthcare in Britain’s past?
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Released on 4 Feb 2026