Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 623 )

• Remembrance Day 2026

  This is the text of a sermon I preached at Magdalen College, Oxford, yesterday.In 1980, after leaving university with a degree in German and French, I went to... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Stop the Poets

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Dolly Parton and AI was not what I expected on Saturday evening at ‘Th... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Stargazing

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Well, there’s lots going on in the world this week, but the big one fo... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Strangers at the Window

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.A couple of weeks ago I stayed in London for the first time in nine... Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• No Words

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.Good morning. Whether it will be, of course, will largely depend on... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• May the Fourth …

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Good morning … and happy Star Wars Day: May the fourth be with you. Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Reimagining Europe: A Christian Reflection

  I have just published a report on the future of Europe. I spent the last couple of years as Bishop of Leeds and in the House of Lords interviewing a large numbe... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• What Are You Looking For?

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.45 years ago I met a man whose story intrigued me. Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2026 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Sudan

  This is the basic text of my final speech in the House of Lords in a debate on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. I retire from the House today. Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Jimmy Cliff

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show with Scott Mills.You know, I’ve had better weeks. Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Glory Stories

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show with Scott Mills.Later this morning I’ll be remembering Guy Fawkes and hi... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Strictly Traitors

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show with Scott Mills.Well, this is going to be embarrassing, but I’ll go fo... Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Praying Together Again

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Yesterday, for the first time in half a millennium the English... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• You Want It Darker

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show with Scott Mills.Get this: this day in 2016 Leonard Cohen released his... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show with Scott Mills.Bob Dylan is coming to Leeds next month and this has... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Ugly Duckling, Good Listener

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.There once was an ugly duckling … whose story improved with the... Read more

  Posted on 18 August 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Whose Kingdom?

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.It’s not just what we say that matters, but also how we say it.Every... Read more

  Posted on 11 August 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Lies, Damned Lies, …

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Some people are good with words, some are good with numbers. Read more

  Posted on 04 August 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Final Synod Address

  This is the basic text of my final presidential address to the Leeds Diocesan Synod on Saturday 14 June 2025. This was the 31st Synod since the diocese began... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• The Best Maps …

  This is the script of my Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 3 June 2025 – belatedly posted because of illness.“Sometimes the best map will not guide... Read more

  Posted on 06 June 2025 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY