Nov 27, 2022

In this episode Jon talks to Tom Jones, historian in the town of Olney and trustee of the Cowper and Newton Museum. We talk about John Newton's life; what brought him to Olney, his life as a preacher and hymn writer, his relationship with Cowper and his journey from slave trader to abolitionist. This episode was recorded...

Nov 26, 2022

In this episode Jon talks to James Walvin OBE Professor Emeritus in History at York University. James is a world renowned authority on the subject of the transatlantic slave trade and has written extensively on the subject. As a young man John Newton was a sailor and rose to be captain of a ship transporting enslaved...

Nov 25, 2022

In this episode Jon talks to Dr Martin Clarke, a musicologist at the Open University. We talk about the music in Newton's sermons, West Gallery music and Thomas Hardy. We discuss how the most famous tune associated with Amazing Grace came about so long after the words were written. Finally we talk about the many...

Nov 24, 2022

In this episode Jon talks talk to Marylynn Rouse founder and Director of the John Newton Project, a charity established to make available previously unpublished sermon notes, letters and other material by John Newton. Marylynn has written and presented extensively on Newton's life and writing. We talk about the...

Nov 23, 2022

In this episode Jon talks talk to Judy Collins, a beloved and admired folk singer since the early sixties. She toured the southern states with Fannie Lou Hamer to support Black voter registration as part of the Civil Rights Movement, introduced Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell to the world. In 1970 she had a world wide...