Quaerentia Conversations

Elizabeth Berridge is a barrister by training but her life changed course in 2006 when she was appointed Executive Director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. She was appointed to a life peerage in 2011, and when she took up her seat in the House of Lords, she was then the youngest woman in the House. Amongst the many political interests that occupy her time, she currently chairs the All Party Group for International Religious Freedom.

Ruth Naomi Floyd is a remarkably talented person: a powerful jazz singer, steeped in her African American heritage and jazz's roots in the Spirituals and Blues; a portrait photographer; a teacher; a worker amongst those living with HIV/AIDS, in her home town of Philadelphia and in Kenya. Our conversation ranged widely over everything from Malcolm X to Queen Victoria, Calvary to Kenya, Job to joy. Podcast includes a few musical excerpts taken from her albums: - Walk & Not Be Faint (1999) - Fan into Flame (2002) - Root to the Fruit (2006) Further details on www.contourrecords.com

Charles Cumming has become a very successful spy novelist, to the extent that his name is often used in the same sentence as the likes of Len Deighton and John Le Carré. We spent a very happy hour or so together, chatting about what makes him tick, how he got into this game, and what he is seeking to communicate.

Part 2: Frances' Life and work since April 9 1956 (the day she started working at All Souls Langham Place).

Frances Whitehead has lived an extraordinary life in her own right - but she is perhaps better known for having been John Stott's secretary and friend for over 50 years. In this fascinating conversation, she reflects on her life, faith and work. Part 1: Frances on Life before All Souls

Jaap van Heusden has been a successful filmmaker in the Netherlands for a number of years, though sadly he is not so well-known in the UK. Having met at the L'Abri Fellowship in Hampshire in March 2013, we discussed his various influences, his aims as a creative artist and what keeps him going during the often interminably long process of making a movie. In particular, we talked about his latest film, THE NEW WORLD (De Nieuwe Wereld) which will be broadcast on national Dutch TV in April 2013.