Sunday

What a week it has been for Doomsday warnings around AI. A researcher resigned from the AI company Anthropic saying colleagues across the industry believe artificial intelligence could kill us all by the end of the decade. Then the boss of Anthropic called for the pace of development of AI models to slow down and to be closely monitored. It's prompted calls for action towards an international treaty to regulate their growth. What role should faith leaders be playing in that regulation? We speak to Dr Steven Croft, the former Bishop of Oxford, who spent years advising the Church of England on the ethics of AI.
The decision by the UK government to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank prompted a strong response from the UK's Chief Rabbi who called it a 'truly dark day for British Jews' that would 'succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target'. But other rabbis have supported the action, designed to curb settler violence. We hear from Rabbi Jeremy Gordon from the New London Synagogue.
Plus, we find out about Ganga Aarti on the Thames, a Hindu ceremony of light, traditionally performed on the River Ganges in India, now being staged in Greenwich on a scale rarely attempted in Britain before.
And, we learn more about how faith propelled the career of Irish world champion boxer Katie Taylor.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: James Graham and James Leesley
Studio Managers: Kelly Young and Nathaniel Danter
Editor: Catherine Murray

Over a week since the catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet, and hundreds of foreign citizens are believed to be among the more than 5,000 people still missing. Among them, a group of 16 Hindu pilgrims who had set off from a small temple in south London, the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre. Emily Buchanan visits the community to find out how those left behind are coping.
Prayer rooms are often indicated with a small sign at the airport, a quiet room off a hospital corridor marked 'multi‑faith' or 'quiet' space. These rooms are prompting fresh questions about how they are used and what their design reveals about how to accommodate faith needs in modern Britain.
For many church goers, organ music is an intrinsic part of the whole experience. However, more than 400 of the UK's church pipe organs are falling silent due to neglect every year, according to a recent survey by the charity Pipe Up. Bucking the trend is Gloucester Cathedral, where a new organ now sits within restored 17th-century cases. To mark the completion of the work, a festival of celebration has been held, with its final event a Gala Concert on Saturday the 12 September.
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Katy Booth and Rosie Dawson
Studio Managers: Amy Brennan and Teifi James
Editor: Chloe Walker

Sunday hears the latest from China, on the region devastated by flooding, the attempts to get aid to remote areas and the religious landscape of this region, which features in Hindu scripture and is dotted with sacred lakes and sites of pilgrimage
US theology scholar L. Patrick Burrows on Dolly Parton and the influence her theme park, Dollywood had on him as a young gay Christian.
A BBC investigation reveals religious hate crime is rising faster than any other recognised form of hate crime in England and Wales -The rate of anti-Semitic hate crime rose by almost three fifths, while anti-Muslim hate crime increased by over a quarter.
Against the backdrop of hundreds of church closures in Scotland, we have some good news. Brechin Cathedral, a 800 year old building has been taken over by the community after closing down 5 years ago.
As the BBC Proms gets ready to celebrate the 90th birthday of composer Steve Reich, we talk to him about the inspiration he draws from his Jewish heritage
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Catherine Murray & Rebecca Kelly
Studio Managers: Scott Henderson & Sharon Hughes
Editor: Tim Pemberton

The Chosen is the most successful crowdfunded drama in television history. It tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth through the eyes of his disciples, followers and opponents. Five series are now on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video, alongside a new spin off called The Chosen in the Wild. It's hosted by TV adventurer Bear Grylls and features the cast and crew taking on outdoor challenges.
Farming can be one of the loneliest jobs in Britain. Men who work the land are twice as likely to take their own lives as the national average, with rural suicide rates the highest of any community type, according to Farmers Weekly. The Methodist Church in west Devon has set up Rural Recharge, a men's support group which offers a place to talk.
Long before sponsorship deals and big money transfers, football grew up alongside the church. Victorian ministers believed sporting talent was God-given and saw the game as a way of drawing young men away from the pub. Clubs from Everton to Fulham trace their roots to a parish hall, and some of football's fiercest rivalries, Celtic and Rangers among them, are rooted in religion. As the new Premier League season kicked off this weekend, we explore this history.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Katy Booth and James Leesley
Studio Managers: Jack Morris, Amy Brennan and Isabelle Whitehead
Editor: Tim Pemberton

William Crawley and guests reflect on the death of Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor who had been the subject of an investigation into his qualifications amid intense media scrutiny over claims of plagiarism and misrepresentation.
The Catholic theologian and philosopher Dr Carmody Grey explains why she turned down an opportunity to discuss ethics with Anthropic, the AI giant behind the Claude chatbot.
And Father Bashar Fawadleh, a priest in the last entirely Christian town in the West Bank, speaks about living with settler violence.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: James Graham and Liberty Phelan
Studio Managers: Nat Stokes and Isabelle Whitehead
Editor: Dan Tierney