Beyond Belief

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Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world

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Beyond Belief: The Handmaid's Tale

12/09/2022

The Handmaid's Tale

BBC Radio 4 - Beyond Belief, The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood on the role of faith in her seminal novel.

Margaret Atwood on the role of faith in her seminal novel and how it resonates in a post-Roe v Wade world.

Margaret Atwood tells Ernie Rea about the role of faith in her seminal novel and how her fiction, written nearly 40 years ago, resonates in a post-Roe v Wade world.

Atwood's novel about a dystopian future in a fundamentalist regime has been turned into a hugely popular TV series, about to start it's fifth season. It's also been adopted by activists protesting against restrictions on female rights and freedoms. 

Professor Linda Woodhead (Kings College London), Professor Coral Ann Howells (editor of The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood) and Alissa Wilkinson (Culture and Film Critic for Vox.com) join Ernie to discuss the role of religion in Atwood's Gilead, why her vision has struck a chord today and its influence on culture and politics.

Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producers: Josie Le Vay and Peter Everett
Editor: Dan Tierney

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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