The F Word is a new podcast series that examines the complex, messy, gripping subject of forgiveness.
In each episode Marina Cantacuzino, a journalist and founder of The Forgiveness Project, talks to a guest who despite having experienced great pain or trauma in their life has found a way through.
Some have forgiven those who’ve harmed them, others are grappling with forgiving themselves. Not everyone is able to forgive. Not everyone has made complete peace with their past.
But all those featured on the show display a strength that has grown out of vulnerability and they all bear witness to the human search for meaning.
Listen
“This is a unique look into how individuals process, cope and ultimately heal. Highly recommended.”
“Revelatory insight into recovering from severe trauma.”
“These conversations are so profound, fascinating and hopeful. Love every one! Thank you for making them.”
“The honesty and courage in every one of these diverse and unique stories is awe inspiring.”
“This podcast has engaged, challenged, and moved me. Above all, it has motivated me to think considerately about my own actions and prejudices.”
“A wonderful podcast which manages to eschew the glib clichés of the subject and instead drill down into something more profound. Wonderfully non-judgemental. And highly recommended.”
“The stories are breathtaking, but this is not the only affect these podcasts have on me: they help me to get in touch with a kinder and more compassionate place inside myself.”
Episodes
19th January 2021
Episode 10: Azim Khamisa on grieving, his spiritual practice and the importance of asking for forgiveness
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Azim Khamisa who founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation after his only son, Tariq, was shot and killed while delivering pizzas in San Diego in 1995. Tariq’s killer, Tony Hicks, was 14-years-old at the time and has only recently been released from prison. Azim has spent the past 25 years talking about forgiveness and tirelessly working to prevent youth violence in America.
6th January 2021
Episode 9: Letlapa Mphahlele on prejudice, apartheid and the burden of being forgiven
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Letlapa Mphahlele about his role in the struggle against apartheid and how he came to meet the mother of one of his victims. Ginn Fourie’s daughter was killed in 1993 at a massacre in a Cape Town bar. Nine years later she met Letlapa, the former Director of Operations for the Azanian People’s Liberation Army, who had ordered the attack.
23rd December 2020
Episode 8: Kia Scherr on traumatic loss and grief as a spiritual practice
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Kia Scherr whose husband and 13-year-old daughter were both victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Kia is the co-founder of One Life Alliance, a charity she set up as a response to the attacks.
9th December 2020
Episode 7: Paul Kohler on how a brutal attack in his own home changed the course of his
life
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Paul Kohler whose story hit the headlines in 2014 when four men broke into his London home leaving him with severe facial injuries. His wife and daughter were also in the house at the time of the attack and later all three met one of the offenders through restorative justice to try and have their questions answered.
11th November 2020
Episode 5: Zak Ebrahim on being radicalised by his father, learning tolerance and the meaning of forgiveness in relation to extremist ideologies
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Zak Ebrahim. When Zak was seven, his father shot and killed the founder of the Jewish Defence League, Rabbi Meir Kahane and later was convicted for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Zak’s story is one of transforming his past and learning to reject bigotry and hate.
28th October 2020
Episode 4: Jacob Dunne on vulnerability and facing the true impact of his crime through meeting the mother of the man he killed
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Jacob Dunne who aged 18 was convicted of manslaughter for killing a man with a single punch. This episode tells the story of Jacob’s gradual rehabilitation and the vital role played by the parents of the man he killed – James Hodgkinson.
14th October 2020
Episode 3: Joan Scourfield on facing the man who killed her son and the profound impact of restorative justice
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Joan Scourfield, the mother of James who in 2011 was killed when a young man called, Jacob Dunne, threw a fatal punch in an unprovoked attack in Nottingham, England. A few years later Joan and her then husband David came face-to-face with Jacob in a restorative justice meeting.
30th September 2020
Episode 2: Bjørn Ihler on the power of personal storytelling and why it’s important not to dehumanize terrorists
Marina Cantacuzino talks to 29-year-old Bjørn Ihler, a writer, filmmaker and ‘peace activist’ from Norway. Bjørn is a survivor of the attack on Utøya Island in July 2011 when far-right extremist Anders Breivik killed 69 people and injured many more. Bjørn’s expertise lies in countering extremist narratives, as well as deconstructing their propaganda.
30th September 2020
Episode 1: Stephanie Cassatly on rage and the gift of remorse
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Stephanie Cassatly, a writer, teacher, mother and wife from Florida. When Stephanie was 18, her mother was shot and killed in a convenience store robbery in New Orleans, changing every preconceived notion she had about the world and what it meant to feel safe.
Podcast Host
Marina Cantacuzino is an award-winning journalist who has worked for most British mainstream publications including The Guardian, The Telegraph and Hello magazine.
In 2003, in response to the invasion of Iraq, she embarked on a personal project collecting stories of people who had lived through trauma and injustice, and sought forgiveness rather than revenge. As a result Marina founded The Forgiveness Project and started speaking widely about forgiveness and restorative storytelling.
Join The F Word Podcast Facebook Group
This Facebook community exists solely to discuss ideas and issues that arise from The F Word Podcast series.
We hope that this group can help to cultivate hope and resilience after harm and trauma, and foster understanding around concepts of compassion, empathy and forgiveness.
We also hope it will help you connect with people who can present new perspectives to difficult issues.