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

Avsnitt(1892)

Nabeel Rajab - President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

Nabeel Rajab - President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

A year ago revolution was in the air in the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain - what about now? After months of violence which killed dozens of protestors, the Bahraini king commissioned an independent inquiry ...

30 Mars 201223min

Len McCluskey - Leader of Unite, Britain's biggest union

Len McCluskey - Leader of Unite, Britain's biggest union

Britain has already seen the first skirmishes in what could be a protracted battle between the Cameron government and organised labour. In the short term, schools and fuel suuplies could be hit by str...

28 Mars 201223min

Frank Chikane - South African Head of Presidency, 1999 - 2009

Frank Chikane - South African Head of Presidency, 1999 - 2009

Frank Chikane served in the South African presidential office from the time of Nelson Mandela to Jacob Zuma - so he was privy to what went on behind the scenes. Now he has written a book in which he d...

26 Mars 201223min

Sir Mark Walport - Director, Wellcome Trust

Sir Mark Walport - Director, Wellcome Trust

In a special edition of Hardtalk, recorded in front of an audience in the village of Portmeirion in North Wales, Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Mark Walport the Director of the Wellcome Trust. One of the...

23 Mars 201223min

Aimee Mullins – Athlete, actor and model

Aimee Mullins – Athlete, actor and model

Hardtalk is in New York City with a guest who is a woman who has spent her life challenging assumptions that go with the label 'physically disabled'. Aimee Mullins had both of her legs amputated below...

21 Mars 201223min

Otis Williams - The Temptations

Otis Williams - The Temptations

Otis Williams is the sole constant in the life of one of the most successful groups in Motown history. He formed The Temptations in 1961, and the record sales tell a story of extraordinary success.If ...

19 Mars 201223min

Mohamed Waheed - President of the Maldives

Mohamed Waheed - President of the Maldives

The Maldives was plunged into political crisis when the former president Mohamed Nasheed resigned, claiming to have been forced out of his position. He was succeeded by his former vice president - Mo...

16 Mars 201223min

Abdel El-Menway - Former Head of Egyptian TV

Abdel El-Menway - Former Head of Egyptian TV

A year has passed since the uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak. Since then the country has struggled to establish democracy and credible elections under ...

14 Mars 201223min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
aftonbladet-krim
spar
flashback-forever
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-vad-fan-hande
aftonbladet-daily
rss-krimreportrarna
motiv
politiken
rss-aftonbladet-krim
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-klubbland-en-podd-mest-om-frolunda
krimmagasinet
rss-flodet
dagens-eko
olyckan-inifran