We spoke to Stig Abell on how to live if nothing is ultimately sacred.

Elizabeth Oldfield and Stig explore detective fiction and our longing for justice, the consolations of books in an age of infinite scroll, the quiet crises many of us are living through, and whether “muddling along” might be the most honest way live.

This is a conversation about meaning and what remains when you’re not sure there is any.

We talk about:

• Why Stig feels more profane than sacred

• Books as portals out of panic

• Detective fiction and our longing for resolution

• The exhausting, competitive condition of modern life

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🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast

📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/

💡Produced by Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

👉 Check out Stig’s work: https://www.instagram.com/thestigabell/?hl=en

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:28 What is Sacred to You? Stig Abell Answers02:48 Questioning the Concept of the Sacred

04:32 Suspicion of Institutions and Freedom in Randomness

06:13 The Principles of Fairness and Kindness

08:56 Work ethics, Loughborough roots, and the story behind “Stig"

12:11 Reading and the Pre-internet childhood

14:35 Reading as Empathy and Sacred Practice

15:58 The Nature of Doubt and Certainty

17:42 Evolution, Randomness, and Meaning Without Agency

19:59 Do “holy” moments require God?

23:54 The Press and Public Appetite For Bad News

29:56 Navigating the Complexities of Journalism

32:02 Navigating the Media Landscape

36:05 Being unboxable, tribal politics, and scepticism as a way of life

37:58 Highbrow, Lowbrow, and the Freedom to Read Widely

39:32 Imposter Syndrome and Self-Perception

43:17 The Comfort of Genre Fiction

46:42 The Search for Justice in Storytelling

49:24 The Human Need for Narrative

54:03 The Crisis of Modern Existence

56:41 Quiet Struggles and the Fear of Being Useless

58:51 Recognising Flaws in Ourselves and Others

Keywords:

A wide-ranging conversation with Stig Abell on doubt, belief, meaning, secularism, faith and scepticism, fairness and kindness, journalism and media ethics, detective fiction and crime novels, books and reading as refuge, panic attacks and anxiety, modern life and burnout, human rights and Christianity’s cultural legacy, tribalism and political identity, institutions and individual conscience, and how to live well - or at least muddle through - in an age of uncertainty and infinite scroll.

In this episode, Elizabeth Oldfield is joined by political theorist and author Sophie Lewis to explore one of the most provocative ideas: the abolition of the family.

Reflecting on her own complicated adolescence, Sophie asks what it would mean to reorganise society around love and collective care rather than accumulation?

Drawing on her book, Abolish the Family, Sophie argues that the nuclear family carries impossible burdens in a capitalist society - privatising care, exhausting women, and quietly treating children as property. Could we imagine a world where love, care, and kinship extend beyond the walls of the nuclear family?

Together, they talk about:

• Why “utopia” is a practice, not a destination

• The hidden labour inside the private household

• Surrogacy, reproduction and the myth of “unassisted” motherhood

• Are autonomy and care are opposites, or inseparable?

• Jesus’ radical redefinition of family and the overlap between Christianity and communism

• What Sophie really means by abolition

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🎙️ Follow The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast

📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/

💡 Produced by the ‪@thinktanktheos‬ www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

👉 Check out Sophie Lewis' work: https://www.instagram.com/reproutopia/?hl=en--

Chapters:00:00 Intro01:30 What is Sacred to you? Sophie Lewis answers12:15 - Sophie’s complex family history and personal struggles17:08 - Educational journey and radicalisation at university 20:28 - The meaning of utopia as a non-attachment process 24:22 - Connections between faith, love, and collective action 31:42 - Dissecting the concept of "Full Surrogacy Now" 36:39 - The biological myths around kinship and their political implications 43:46 - The paradox of abolition47:01 - Abolishing slavery through a radical reimagining of humanism 50:04 - Redefining family and kinship beyond blood ties 58:37 - How revolutionary care structures could have supported Sophie’s mother 60:45 - Sophie’s dedication to collective love and care as sacred practices 65:55 - The importance of shared purpose, synchronised action, and community

Keywords:

Sophie Lewis interview, abolish the family, radical feminist theory, Marxist feminism, political theory podcast, communisation of care, collective care, kinship networks, utopian thinking, libertarian communism, red love, family abolition, post-capitalist society, rethinking family, surrogacy ethics, gestational labor, parenthood and care, children belong to all of us, abolitionist thought, freedom and care, communal living, shared responsibility, parenting in modern society, radical theory for everyday life, anti-capitalist ideas, feminist politics, climate activism and radical thought, human geography theory, political philosophy podcast, queer runaway experiences, care as politics, social justice ideas, ethical community building, friendship as radical practice, collective freedom, family and society, abolitionist feminism, pregnancy and labor politics, communal childcare, mutual aid networks, parenting beyond the nuclear family, utopian visions, practical radicalism, human interconnection, radical love, ethics of kinship, parenting as shared labor, post-nuclear family ideas, political critique of capitalism, community-centered society, love and autonomy, humanism and care, social reproduction theory, feminist philosophy, radical theory conversation, future of family, abolitionist imagination

In this episode of The Sacred, Elizabeth Oldfield is joined by Jo Colman - great-great-great grandchild of the founder of Colman’s Mustard and now Chief Mint Officer of the family business, Summerdown - to explore a radically different story about generational wealth, power, business and belonging.

Jo reflects on growing up with deep security and love, how that shaped his sense of responsibility, and why privilege doesn’t have to turn inward into status-seeking, but can instead become a platform for risk, generosity and service.

Together, they talk about:

• How power and privilege can be redirected outward rather than hoarded

• Why Jo once rejected signet rings and why he now wears one

• Building ethical, regenerative businesses that add value instead of extracting it

• Adoption, family-making, and the real cost of inclusion

• How to build families, institutions and communities that can truly hold human complexityThis is a conversation about the kind of wealth that doesn’t shrink the soul.

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🎙️ Follow The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast

📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/

💡 Produced by the ‪@thinktanktheos‬ www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

👉 Check out Summerdown: https://summerdown.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorjZKbSVC3rIhS42z-aqIhQWmr_CuCGtz24hUSKbzOuu8Lh_H-w

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:07 What is Sacred to You? Jo Colman answers

03:02 Staying Present in Parenting

05:49 Hope vs. Optimism: Embracing Life’s Paradoxes

12:14 Wealth as Formation: Privilege and Responsibility

15:14 Building a Regenerative, Ethical Business

31:26 Creativity, Purpose, and Social Responsibility

32:22 Our Adoption Journey

35:33 Training and Preparation for Adoptive Parenting

37:44 Parenting Adopted Children: Real Challenges

39:57 Trauma, Healing, and the Power of Love

45:31 Bureaucracy and the Adoption Process

47:35 Understanding the Stories of Biological Families

50:09 Adoption as Plan B: A Broader Perspective

51:53 Small-A Anarchism and Community Engagement

55:31 Listening, Assumptions, and Understanding Adoption

58:02 Slowing down in parenting

Keywords:

Jo Colman, Colman Mustard, Summerdown Mint, generational wealth, inheritance, privilege for good, ethical entrepreneurship, conscious capitalism, regenerative business, sustainable business, business with purpose, using wealth responsibly, family beyond blood, adoption stories, adoptive parenting, building family, radical generosity, love as action, belonging, human complexity, non-anxious presence, prophetic imagination, spiritual formation, formation through faith, stewardship of privilege, power and responsibility, ethical leadership, business for impact, social impact business, purposeful life, vocation and calling, family-making as vocation, living ethically, hope versus optimism, accompaniment, relational leadership, intentional parenting, high-needs adoption, inclusive families, inclusive communities, societal change, moral courage, compassionate leadership, human flourishing, social responsibility, giving back, life of service, risk for good, cultivating resilience, forming community, transformative love, radical hospitality