#1. Richard Dawkins & Rowan Williams: God vs Science. What is behind the poetry of reality?

About this episode

Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams discuss the relationship between God and science in the inaugural episode of Uncommon Ground.

The world's most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, sits down to talk with the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in the very first episode of Uncommon Ground, hosted by Justin Brierley. In a wide-ranging conversation on atheism, faith, poetry, music, meaning, love, complexity, suffering, evolution and survival, they discuss whether God or science makes best sense of 'the poetry of reality'. Subscribe now to hear conversations that move beyond the echo chambers and into the deeper questions we all share—Uncommon Ground: conversations that matter. Find out more: https://justinbrierley.com/uncommon-ground-podcast/ Get early access and more when you become a supporter: https://justinbrierley.com/support-me/ Keep up to date, and receive free chapters from my books, by subscribing to the newsletter: https://justinbrierley.com/get-justins-newsletter/ Watch this show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3rZ-nZe04d8G6kwNOMpuI8vQ4Qx3rVEQ What did you think? Let me know by emailing: feedback@think.faith Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion': https://amzn.eu/d/0je7xxeBRowan Williams' 'Discovering Christianity': https://amzn.eu/d/0dwMwQq1 A production of Think Faith…

People in this episode

Host: Justin Brierley

Guests: Richard Dawkins, Rowan Williams

Topics covered

• atheism
• faith
• poetry
• science
• meaning
• evolution

Keywords

• God
• science
• atheism
• faith
• poetry
• evolution
• meaning
• suffering

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Think Faith

Books & works: The God Delusion, Discovering Christianity

More episodes of Uncommon Ground with Justin Brierley

• #9. William Lane Craig & Emily Qureshi-Hurst: Is it Time to Rethink God & Salvation? The A vs B theory and why it matters. · June 4, 2026 · 2h 7m
• #8. Lois McLatchie Miller & Ann Furedi: Is abortion immoral? Pro-life vs pro-choice. · May 19, 2026 · 2h 12m
• #7. Stephen Meyer & Phil Halper: The Big Bang and Fine Tuning. Does the science of the Universe point to God? · May 5, 2026 · 3h 7m
• #6. Elizabeth Oldfield & James Marriott: Is there meaning to life? And is our secular culture rediscovering it? · April 21, 2026 · 1h 56m
• #5. Paul Davies & Emily Qureshi-Hurst: Is there purpose in the Universe? Exploring the weirdness of the cosmic and quantum realm. · April 8, 2026 · 2h 2m
• #4. Iain McGilchrist & Anil Seth: Minds, brains, consciousness and the God question. · March 24, 2026 · 2h 19m