Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Thank you for joining us *LIVE* for our monthly Silk Road Seminar! Today’s guest is Elizabeth Oldfield.
Elizabeth Oldfield is an experienced leader, writer, consultant and podcast host with a passion for intelligent public engagement on issues of reconciliation, identity, and healing our common life. She is currently working with a range of organisations and individuals as a coach and consultant focused on building clarity, courage and connection.
Elizabeth appears regularly in the media, including BBC One, Sky News, the World Service, and writing in Prospect Magazine, UnHerd and The Financial Times. She also hosts The Sacred, a podcast, events and visual content brand which creates space for a wide range of guests to reflect on their deepest values. For ten years she was Director of Theos, the UK’s leading religion and society think tank, where she was repeatedly accredited by Best Companies as a 3* (world class) manager, reflecting her commitment to building and leading flourishing, high performing teams. She spent the first part of her career working at the BBC in television and radio, contributing to programmes including Beyond Belief and the Moral Maze, as well as Radio 3 and 4 documentaries. She is motivated by the dearth of real wisdom in public life, by a desire to increase empathy across our deep differences and the way spirituality can help individuals and societies flourish. She has a masters in Theology and the Arts and lives in an intentional community in south London.
She has spoken with John previously on UnHerd and you can watch the full conversation here:
youtu.be/SGCVcMFCd7o?si=pTU2cCbcgR1Nj2xF
Silk Road Seminars are a live event where John weaves together threads from his various theoretical conversations along with a distinguished guest. These hour-long conversations are live on Youtube followed by an exclusive Q&A, where you can ask questions directly to John and his guest. To be entered onto the guest list for these Q&As, you can sign up at the Gamma Tier (and above) on The Lectern at lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge
Currently enrolled university students at all levels up to doctoral studies get free access to the Q&A. To gain access to Silk Road seminars, please email your proof of student identity to ethan@vervaekefoundation.org to be added to the guest list and watch previous seminars as well!
If you would like to donate purely out of goodwill to support John’s work, please consider joining our Patreon. patreon.com/johnvervaeke
The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. vervaekefoundation.org
If you would like to learn and engage regularly in practices that are informed, developed and endorsed by John and his work, visit Awaken to Meaning’s calendar to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. awakentomeaning.com/join-practice
John Vervaeke:
johnvervaeke.com
twitter.com/DrJohnVervaeke
youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Thank you for joining us *LIVE* for our monthly Silk Road Seminar! Today’s guest is Elizabeth Oldfield.
Elizabeth Oldfield is an experienced leader, writer, consultant and podcast host with a passion for intelligent public engagement on issues of reconciliation, identity, and healing our common life. She is currently working with a range of organisations and individuals as a coach and consultant focused on building clarity, courage and connection.
Elizabeth appears regularly in the media, including BBC One, Sky News, the World Service, and writing in Prospect Magazine, UnHerd and The Financial Times. She also hosts The Sacred, a podcast, events and visual content brand which creates space for a wide range of guests to reflect on their deepest values. For ten years she was Director of Theos, the UK’s leading religion and society think tank, where she was repeatedly accredited by Best Companies as a 3* (world class) manager, reflecting her commitment to building and leading flourishing, high performing teams. She spent the first part of her career working at the BBC in television and radio, contributing to programmes including Beyond Belief and the Moral Maze, as well as Radio 3 and 4 documentaries. She is motivated by the dearth of real wisdom in public life, by a desire to increase empathy across our deep differences and the way spirituality can help individuals and societies flourish. She has a masters in Theology and the Arts and lives in an intentional community in south London.
She has spoken with John previously on UnHerd and you can watch the full conversation here:
youtu.be/SGCVcMFCd7o?si=pTU2cCbcgR1Nj2xF
Silk Road Seminars are a live event where John weaves together threads from his various theoretical conversations along with a distinguished guest. These hour-long conversations are live on Youtube followed by an exclusive Q&A, where you can ask questions directly to John and his guest. To be entered onto the guest list for these Q&As, you can sign up at the Gamma Tier (and above) on The Lectern at lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge
Currently enrolled university students at all levels up to doctoral studies get free access to the Q&A. To gain access to Silk Road seminars, please email your proof of student identity to ethan@vervaekefoundation.org to be added to the guest list and watch previous seminars as well!
If you would like to donate purely out of goodwill to support John’s work, please consider joining our Patreon. patreon.com/johnvervaeke
The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. vervaekefoundation.org
If you would like to learn and engage regularly in practices that are informed, developed and endorsed by John and his work, visit Awaken to Meaning’s calendar to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. awakentomeaning.com/join-practice
John Vervaeke:
johnvervaeke.com
twitter.com/DrJohnVervaeke
youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
patreon.com/johnvervaeke
