Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones
Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

What Working With The Top 0.1% Podcasters Taught Me About Faith’s Revival | Ben Hancock E0054

March 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Ben Hancock, a podcast producer who helped grow Modern Wisdom from 150,000 to 3.5 million subscribers, has spent years observing a quiet religious revival in the UK that contradicts the dominant narrative of secularization. Drawing on his experience working with top 0.1% podcasters and his own faith as a Latter-day Saint, Hancock presents statistical evidence that belief in God and church attendance among young Britons is rising sharply, and argues that the real story is not decline but a meaning crisis driving people back to faith.

The Data Behind the Revival

Hancock brings concrete numbers to challenge the assumption that Europe is irreversibly secular. He cites a Times survey of 10,000 respondents showing Gen Z is less likely to identify as atheist than their middle-aged parents. More striking is YouGov's biannual tracker: belief in God among 18-to-24-year-olds in the UK rose from 16% in August 2021 to 45% by January 2025—nearly tripling in five years. The next age group, 25 to 49, showed a similar but more modest increase from 21% to 33% over the same period.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Introduction: The Misunderstood State of Faith** - Ben Hancock is introduced as the producer behind top podcasts like *Modern Wisdom* and the host of *For All The Saints*. He argues that the narrative of a dying church in Europe is false, and he has the data to prove it.
  • 2 (03:07) **The Data: A "Quiet Revival" in the UK** - Ben presents stunning polling data from The Times and YouGov showing a dramatic increase in belief and church attendance among British youth.
  • 3 (07:55) **Debunking the "Church is Dying" Narrative** - Ben addresses why critics claim the church is shrinking by explaining the strategic reasons behind stake and ward consolidations.
  • 4 (14:58) **Ben's Origin Story: The Anchor of a Testimony** - Ben shares his personal history, including how a profound spiritual experience at age six became the foundation for his entire life and career.
  • 5 (23:33) **The Role of Questions in Faith** - Ben explains his approach to intellectual inquiry, distinguishing between questions that build faith and those that undermine it.
  • 6 (30:26) **From Politics to Podcasting: The "Wizard of Oz"** - Ben details his career path from producing high-stakes political events to becoming the third team member on the massive podcast *Modern Wisdom*.
  • 7 (36:08) **Facing Prejudice and Winning Trust** - Ben shares stories of how his faith was initially a point of ignorance or disrespect among high-profile colleagues, and how he overcame it.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Many people think faith is declining.

Ben Hancock has worked behind the scenes on one of the world’s top podcasts, alongside voices like Chris Williamson of "Modern Wisdom" and interacting with some of the most influential thinkers in media.

From the inside, he noticed something unexpected.

Not open hostility, but a quiet dismissal of faith in certain elite circles.

At the same time, he is seeing something very different on the ground, especially among young people.

Not decline.
A quiet return.

In this episode, we explore:
• What it is like being a Latter-day Saint inside high-level media circles
• The gap between elite perception and lived reality
• Why the “faith is dying” narrative does not tell the full story
• What might actually be happening right now

If you have ever wondered whether faith is really disappearing, this conversation will challenge what you think you know.

Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

More from this podcast

Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones →