October the 7th Memorial, Atheist v Theists, Dashera Diwali

Available for over a year

October 7th marks one year since the devastating attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel, which unfolded as a series of horrific massacres. Sunday hears the experiences of some of those whose lives were directly changed by the events of a year ago. Ruby Chen is the father of Itay, who was just 19 years old when he was last seen by his family. Itay was a US/Israeli citizen and was serving in the Israeli army on October 7th. Israeli authorities believe he was killed on or soon after that day, but his body has never been recovered. Also on the programme, we hear from Emilie and her 15-year-old daughter Noor, who returned to the UK last year, having moved out to Gaza to be with close family living there ahead of October 7th. Due to their dual nationality, they were able to leave Gaza as the bombing intensified. A team of researchers from a programme called Explaining Atheism, led by Queen’s University Belfast, has spent the last three years exploring why people around the world become atheists and agnostics, and this week they launched interim results. The team surveyed nearly 25,000 people from six countries (Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, the UK, and the USA) and found that the UK now has more atheists than theists, ushering in the ‘UK’s first atheist age.’ In the programme, we hear from Dr Lois Lee, who was part of the research team, and Chine McDonald, Director of the think tank Theos. Out and about in Manchester city, William Crawley joins others for a dramatic performance of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic chronicling the Hindu god Vishnu's mythic life. The drama was staged over a few hours in the middle of Manchester's Exchange Square as the city's Indian community celebrated the annual Dashehra Diwali Mela—with dazzling light shows, a traditional food market, arts and crafts, and a fabulous parade. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Dan Tierney Editor: Rajeev Gupta Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino Studio Managers: Amy Brennan & Carwyn Griffiths