Episodes
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Freud said humans are instinctively aggressive, and as a result, war is inevitable. But could peace be inevitable too?
Today, there are more than 100 armed conflicts of one kind or another taking place around the world. In the first decade of this century – war killed around 20,000 people a year. It’s now ten times that number, and it’s happening around the world – it’s not just because of Gaza and Ukraine.
How do we make peace amid our instinct for war? And what can Australia do to dial down tensions?
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Many of us regard our pets as part of the family, but can an animal be its best self in a human home?
For much of human history, we’ve kept animals primarily to do jobs – to hunt, herd, plough and pull carriages... or just to keep mice out of the hay shed.
The idea of keeping an animal as a "pet” - an emotional companion is relatively new. And religion, it turns out, played a part in that historical shift.
Of course, pets can enrich our lives, but how we breed, feed and keep these animals raises questions even for the most loving, well-meaning pet owners. It's a passionate issue, full of blurry lines and moral grey areas. But philosophy, religion and science offer some guidance.
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Falling in love is one of life’s great thrills, but it leaves you open to heartbreak – one of life’s great miseries. Romantic heartbreak has inspired countless works of literature, art and music through the ages. It’s a uniquely painful yet universal experience – so, how do you get over it?
Do science, faith and philosophy provide some answers?
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As the US election approaches, presidential candidate Donald Trump has been doubling down on the religious language - selling bibles, preaching retribution and styling himself as a persecuted saviour. Trump enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of white evangelical voters, but will that be enough to return him to the White House?
Guests:
D Stephen Long, theologian, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University
Sarah McCammon, NPR Political Correspondent, author of Ex-vangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy at the United States Studies Centre, and the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney
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Today, billions of people adhere to one of the “Big Five” major religions, but there are many more religions from history that have died out. Conquests, cultural change and conversions have all caused religions to shift, shrink and disappear. But when can we truly declare a religion “dead”? And could the religions of today die out in the distant future?
Guests:
Aslan Pahari, Video presenter/producer, ABC Digital Content and Innovation
Adam Bowles, Associate Professor in Asian Religions at the University of Queensland
Carole Cusak, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney
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Jesus was famously a carpenter, and many religious texts associate carpentry with wisdom, humility, and devotion. So, is there something divine about working with wood? Woodwork is the most ancient of crafts. It can offer both solitude and companionship, teach us lessons about patience and failure, and connect us to place, people and stories.
Guests:
Phoebe Everill, furniture maker and woodwork teacher from Drummond, Victoria
Father Dan Groody, Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Barry Golding, Honorary Professor in adult and community education at Federation University, author of Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men’s Shed Movement
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The federal government is unwilling to progress promised religious discrimination reforms unless it secures bipartisan support from the Coalition. Can a compromise be reached, or is this debate likely to be shelved again? Guests:
Chris Bedding, is Executive Officer of Faith Workers Alliance and a priest of the Anglican Church in Perth
David Robertson, Presbyterian minister, director of the ASK project of Evangelism and New Churches of the Sydney Anglican diocese
Dr. Renae Barker, lawyer and senior lecturer at the UWA Law School
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Why do we choose to endure hardship? Can sacrifices - sacred and secular - make us better human beings?
Guests:
Justine Toh, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.
Adis Duderija, Senior Lecturer in the Study of Islam and Society in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University.
Brock Bastian, Professor at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
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What is it like to grow up in a strict religious or cultural household - and what happens when you no longer agree with your parents’ worldview?
Guests:
David Newheiser, Senior Research Fellow, Religion and Theology, ACU, author of Hope in a Secular Age
Laura McConnell Conti, grew up in a fundamentalist Christian group known as The Truth
Professor Manjula Datta O’Connor, psychiatrist and author of Daughters of Durga: Dowries, Gender Violence and Family in Australia
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The modern welfare state emerged in Australia some 100 years ago, but it remains a subject of intense ideological, philosophical and even religious debate.
Guests:
Verity Archer, lecturer in social work, community and human services at Federation University
Eve Vincent, anthropologist at Macquarie University, author of Who Cares? Life on Welfare in Australia
John Falzon, Senior Fellow Inequality and Social Justice at the Per Capita think tank, former CEO of St Vincent De Paul Society Australia
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Evolving digital technologies have supercharged our anxieties around privacy and surveillance. These concerns may feel new, but they have always existed. Privacy is central to human dignity, intimacy and wellbeing - but in a world of ever-evolving technologies - is privacy in its death throes?
Guests:
Anita Allen, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania
Hugh Breakey, Professor of Philosophy, Griffith University
David Vincent, Professor Emeritus, Open Universities UK, author of Privacy: A Short History
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For as long as we have had language, we have told stories - and some of the oldest stories, are fairytales. What can they teach us about the world, and why do they still appeal?
Guests:
Marguerite Johnson, classicist, historian and Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland.
Tom Wright, theatre writer and Artistic Associate at Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney
Michelle Smith, Associate Professor in Literary Studies at Monash University
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What would make religious spaces more accessible for people with disabilities? Transcript available at the ABC God Forbid website.
Guests:
Carly Findlay OAM, writer, speaker and activist
Professor John Gilroy, ARC Research Fellow in Indigenous Disability and Community Development at the University of Sydney
Dr Louise Gosbell, a disability theologian and Research Manager at the Australian College of Theology
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Cleansing rituals are a part of every major religion – from baptisms to Islamic Wudu, to bathing in sacred rivers. Where do these rituals come from and what do they mean to the faithful?
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From the sacred remains of saints to the revered memorabilia of celebrities and sporting stars, relics are objects that act as a kind of a bridge between the material and spiritual world. But why do religious and non-religious people alike gather to venerate these objects? Is it macabre, superstitious, or simply human?
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Surrogacy – carrying and giving birth to a baby for someone else – has been around at least since biblical times. But as the industry and fertility science advances, Christians and feminists remain divided on the issue.
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Why are so many Australians passionate about fishing? Is it simply the thrill of the catch or is there something deeper that keeps us hooked?
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Love feels the same now as thousands of years ago, yet the rules around it are changing. On God Forbid, join James Carleton and the panel as they explore love in ancient times, to romance and dating today.
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Exactly where do ideas and creative inspiration come from? ANd how do we explain when someone is 'blocked'; when the creative line goes dead? And what can be done about it?
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Where we are really going when we walk or run – is it about finding the post-pain pleasure of endurance, or perhaps something more: self-awareness, meaning, or even wisdom?
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