Brandi Carlile, singer-songwriter: I believe in the separation of church and state
The Interview14 Marras 2025

Brandi Carlile, singer-songwriter: I believe in the separation of church and state

‘I believe so profoundly in the separation of church and state, and in the dangers of theocracy creeping into the corners of a democracy’

BBC Music Correspondent Mark Savage speaks to US singer-songwriter, producer and performer Brandi Carlile about the personal and political stories behind her songs.

An LGBTQ icon, she sets out her fears about the threat to same-sex marriage in today’s United States, and the impact that has had on her own family. And she shares the strain her own sexuality put on her relationship with her mother while growing up in rural America. It was country music, she says, that brought them together.

Brandi Carlile has won eleven Grammy awards, been nominated for an Oscar, and worked with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. Now releasing her eighth album, she reveals she went into the studio with no songs prepared, only feelings and nostalgia, resulting in a deeply personal record reflecting on childhood memories, parenthood and politics.

Thank you to Mark Savage for his help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Mark Savage Producer: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Brandi Carlile Credit: Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Jaksot(1893)

Sir Tim Rice - Lyricist, writer and composer

Sir Tim Rice - Lyricist, writer and composer

Even if you have not seen his shows, you will have heard his songs. For works such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King, Sir Tim Rice is regarded as one of the greatest lyricists of his ...

4 Kesä 201223min

Paul Krugman - Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, 2008

Paul Krugman - Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, 2008

We are in a depression - unemployment at levels last seen during the thirties, an economic crisis in the Eurozone and the prospect of worse to come. But the Nobel Prize Winning economist Paul Krugman,...

1 Kesä 201223min

Yiannis Milios – Economic Advisor of the Syriza Party, Greece

Yiannis Milios – Economic Advisor of the Syriza Party, Greece

The people of Greece shocked the rest of Europe with the results of their parliamentary elections on 6 May 2012. No party had a clear majority and the Syriza coalition of the radical left was put in s...

30 Touko 201223min

Bruce Dickinson - Singer, Iron Maiden

Bruce Dickinson - Singer, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden is one of the most successful heavy metal bands ever. They have sold more than 80 million albums and are renowned for their live shows - tickets for which they say sell faster now than at ...

28 Touko 201223min

Robin Gibb - The Bee Gees

Robin Gibb - The Bee Gees

Robin Gibb was a musician who did much to define the pop music of the 70s and 80s. With his brothers Maurice and Barry he formed the Bee Gees. They wrote the soundtrack for the disco era, perhaps capt...

25 Touko 201223min

Grigory Yavlinsky - Co-Founder Yabloko Party, Russia

Grigory Yavlinsky - Co-Founder Yabloko Party, Russia

So much for all the talk of a Moscow Spring. Despite sporadic street protests and the stirrings of middle-class rebellion, Vladimir Putin is back in the Kremlin and Russia's economic and political sta...

23 Touko 201223min

GUY SCOTT – Vice President of Zambia

GUY SCOTT – Vice President of Zambia

At last Sub Saharan Africa has a positive economic story to tell, but is it being matched by improved governance? Are Africa's leaders making the best use of the current surge in economic growth to ta...

22 Touko 201223min

Louis Saha - French footballer

Louis Saha - French footballer

Football is a global obsession - the star players of the sport, the likes of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo reap vast rewards and worldwide adulation. But there's a sense of something rotten in the people'...

21 Touko 201223min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-podme-livebox
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
aihe
rikosmyytit
the-ulkopolitist
rss-aijat-hopottaa-podcast
rss-sinivalkoinen-islam
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset