A few years ago, I had the very good fortune to be a member of the audience when Alan Moore interviewed Brian Eno for Radio 4. It was interesting and funny, and one thing I came away with was a sense of the sheer brainpower involved. If only there were more instances of that, I thought…

And lo and behold, whilst searching on the interweb for the first podcast by Stephen Fry, I found a podcast of frankly epic minds in conjunction, discussing a topic which is deserving of their time.

It’s almost two years old, I know, but here is a podcast of Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens discussing the issue of blasphemy.

Even if you don’t agree with or like what they’re saying – and I suspect those of you of a religious nature might take offence at some points – I think you have to accept that these are well-honed minds, expressing opinions which have been well thought out.

Which, unfortunately, is pretty much the polar opposite of the book-, cartoon- and effigy-burning which, if the media are to be believed, are the sole means by which people express their thoughts about religious matters in recent times.