logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
27m 34s

Heart and Soul: Nick Cave on grief, fait...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The songwriter, poet and author, Nick Cave has a conversation about grief, faith and the spirituality of music with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Nick writes hauntingly beautiful songs – the themes of which tackle deep questions about humanity – often drawing from biblical sources. In 2015, NIck's son Arthur, died in a tragic accident at the age of 15, after falling from a cliff. Last year, Nick’s eldest son Jethro also died in Melbourne at the age of 31. Much of Nick’s art in recent years has dealt with grief, suffering and forgiveness. He reflects on this in his book, Faith, Hope and Carnage, written during the pandemic with the journalist Sean O’Hagan. And he openly explores love and loss with those who write to him on his online forum called The Red Hand Files.

Up next
Today
Adeju Thompson: Taking fashion label Lagos Space Programme to the world
Adeju Thompson, the founder and creative director behind the Nigerian fashion label Lagos Space Programme, attempts to establish the label on the global fashion scene. Lagos Space Programme blends Yoruba heritage (notably Adire dyeing) with queer and futurist aesthetics, taking i ... Show More
26m 29s
Yesterday
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary presents, Hold Fast!
The incredible true story of how The Avontuur was locked down at sea for 188 days during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 15 people on board. The journey begins for ship’s cook Giulia Baccosi when she accepts a last-minute job aboard the sailing cargo ship The Avontuur. She tells the ... Show More
24m 55s
Aug 23
Mud wrestling and tent pegging: Africa’s unusual sports
We take a look at some of the more unusual sports practiced on the African continent. Kelvin Kimathi recently travelled to Uganda where a muddy version of entertainment wrestling is becoming increasingly popular. Marcia Veiga discovered Capoeira Angola whilst finding a way to con ... Show More
26m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Nick Cave — Loss, Yearning, Transcendence
Here are some experiences to which Nick Cave gives voice and song: the "universal condition" of yearning, and of loss; a "spirituality of rigor"; and the transcendent and moral dimensions of what music is about. This Australian musician, writer, and actor first made a name in the ... Show More
1h 3m
May 2023
Nick Cave
Nick Cave, the Australian born singer-songwriter and author, reveals the formative influences and experiences that have inspired his own creativity. With his band The Bad Seeds, Cave is renowned for the darkness and drama of his narrative based work. His lyrics are often populate ... Show More
44 m
Dec 2022
Into My Arms by Nick Cave
"I don't believe in an interventionist God" has to be one of the most original opening lines to a song. It's one that resonates with the people in this programme who take comfort from Nick Cave's love song. Els from Belgium was introduced to Cave's music through her partner Guido ... Show More
27m 43s
Nov 2023
Nick Cave
Nick Cave is a musician, songwriter, author, and actor, best known as the frontman of the band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, though is also beloved for his early group, The Birthday Party. Albums from The Boatman's Call (1997) to Skeleton Tree (2016) showcase Cave’s ability to cra ... Show More
1h 22m
Apr 2021
Hanif Abdurraqib — When We Were 13, Jeff’s Father Left The Needle Down On A Journey Record Before Leaving The House One Morning And Never Coming Back
Music works a kind of poetry in us. This poem is like a mix-tape of Hanif Abdurraqib’s memories, complete with a soundtrack that’s as roaring as it is tender. An adult now, he remembers moments of grief and growth in the adults of his childhood, and how Journey’s “Don’t Stop Beli ... Show More
16m 39s
Aug 2021
An instrument of healing with Jenn Wasner, Helado Negro, Meg Duffy and Joseph Shabason
Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes, Roberto Lange (aka Helado Negro), Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy and saxophonist Joseph Shabason discuss music as a form of healing and the impact it has both on themselves and those who listen to it, not being able to find the right thing to sa ... Show More
29m 23s
Dec 2014
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' by The Smiths is explored through personal stories. Released in 1986 on 'The Queen Is Dead' album, it's become an anthem of hope, loss and love. As a teenager, Andy listened to it with his father, as he drove him to work. They had a moment o ... Show More
27m 30s
Jul 2021
Live Your Life
Broadway actors Amanda Kloots and Nick Cordero were a young and healthy married couple with a new baby when Nick went into the ICU with COVID-19. Nick was only 41. He was strong and everyone thought he would be out of the hospital in a week or two. But Nick's health continued to ... Show More
38m 35s
Jun 2023
Lord Huron - Life & Death With The Cosmic Cowboys - Guest : Ben Schneider
What happens to us after we die? Can love transcend physical death? Are time and space mere illusions? Existential and philosophical questions are at the heart of the music produced by Lord Huron, an indie band based in Los Angeles. Fans have given them the nickname of "Cosmic Co ... Show More
1h 18m
Aug 2021
Kevin Kling — The Losses We Grow Into
We are digging into the archives to celebrate some of the conversations listeners have loved the most and that have shaped this project. Kevin Kling is part funny guy, part poet and playwright, part wise man — homegrown Minnesota meets Dante and Shakespeare. He was also born with ... Show More
50m 46s