Media

I've had the pleasure of acting as subject-matter expert for Religion Media Centre; Sky History TV; on a number of podcasts related to history, religion, and culture; and for popular YouTube channel, Religion For Breakfast. A selection of these guest spots and related media work are listed below.

Please do Get In Touch if you are looking for a guest speaker or researcher for your organisation, production, or digital content. I can cover a range of topics related to Christian art, drama & film; antisemitism and anti-Judaism; Jewish daily life in the Roman era, and the cultural context of the New Testament; and more.

Audio

Biblical Time Machine

What Would Jesus Wear?

There's so much we get wrong about clothing and dress in the 1st Century. Did Jewish people dress differently than gentiles? No. Did most men have long hair and beards? No. Did Jesus and the disciples rock sandals with socks? Yes! Clothing is an essential component of culture, yet it's been woefully ignored by historians. Today we change all that. Helen and Dave are excited to welcome Katie Turner to the podcast. Katie dispels 1st-Century fashion myths and answers our burning questions about ancient underwear, veiling and yes — socks!

The Two Cities

Costuming in Jesus Films with Dr Katie Turner

In this episode of our Jesus Film series, we’re talking about costuming with Dr. Katie Turner. Dr. Turner is an independent scholar who completed her PhD at King’s College, London and has a forthcoming monograph, entitled, Costuming Christ (with T&T Clark). Over the course of our conversation we discussed the difference between ancient clothing and modern costuming in Jesus films, what evidence we have for ancient dress in the second temple period and the Greco-Roman world, and how Christian art informs costuming decisions in Jesus films and communicates certain exegetical decisions, some of which have harmful consequences. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert.

Ancient Afterlives

Jesus and Film, Clothing on Screen, Part 2 - Katie Turner

Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Katie Turner. Ancient Afterlives discusses research on the ancient world and the importance of these ideas for our modern lives. We talk with researchers about their work and ideas.

Biblical Time Machine

Body and Blood: The Mysterious Origins of the Eucharist

The Eucharist is such a common part of Christian worship that it's easy to overlook how strange it is — drinking wine that represents Jesus's blood, eating bread that represents His flesh. The ritual would have been even more shocking to Jesus's Jewish followers, for whom consuming blood (even metaphorically) was absolutely forbidden. The New Testament says that Jesus himself instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, but earlier writers like Paul describe something more like a communal meal with ritual components. So our question is: where did the Eucharist originate and what did it mean to the earliest Christians?

Ancient Afterlives

Jesus and Film, Clothing on Screen, Part 1 - Katie Turner

Part 1 of our interview with Dr. Katie Turner. Ancient Afterlives discusses research on the ancient world and the importance of these ideas for our modern lives. We talk with researchers about their work and ideas.

Video

Sky History TV

Killer Kings: Herod the Great (Ep 4)

Scheduled air date: 14 July 2025

Killer Kings is a ground-breaking blend of true crime and historical documentary, which will vigorously present the case against six formidable Kings who have left an indelible mark on the world. The series will reveal the haunting mitigating factors and introduce conflicting and fresh evidence, ultimately leading to potentially new verdicts concerning these enigmatic men.

Religion for Breakfast

Origins of the Pope's Mitre (Interview w/ Dr. Katie Turner)

Published 16 August 2024

The Pope wears an iconic headdress called the mitre. But why does it look like that? Today I interview Dr. Katie Turner, an expert on ancient Jewish clothing and its interpretation in later centuries in Jewish and Christian art.

Religion for Breakfast

The Real Origin of the Pope's Pointy Hat

Published 16 August 2024

The origin and historical development of the mitre within the Roman Catholic Church. Background research and guidance provided by Katie Turner.

Religion Media Centre

Briefing: Passion Plays and Antisemitism

27 March 2024

There’s a resurgence of interest across the world in Passion Plays, which depict the story of Jesus from Palm Sunday to the resurrection. The main one in Britain is at Trafalgar Square, produced by the Wintershall Trust, which attracts audiences of 20,000. There are at least twenty others taking place in towns and cities across Britain. But this year they are staged against a backdrop of heightened community tension and rising antisemitism after the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and the war in Gaza. In this Religion Media Centre briefing, the panel discusses how producers are paying closer attention to words, settings and costume this year in order to remove antisemitism, while Jewish communities report anxiety over the way Jews are portrayed in the dramas. A rabbi tells the briefing that the British Jewish community is small and most people who see a Passion Play will never knowingly meet a Jew here, so what is said about them is a huge responsibility. Hosted by Ruth Peacock, the panel is: Rev Dr Nathan Eddy, Do-Director, Council of Christians and Jews Dr Katie Turner, Consultant on visual depictions of the Bible Prof Jolyon Mitchell, Principal, St John’s College Durham Charlotte de Klee, producer of the Wintershall Passion of Jesus Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue Alex Stewart-Clark, trustee of The Passion Trust