The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

Australia has played host to Israeli President Isaac Herzog this week. Herzog addressed a gathering in Sydney this week that included the Prime Minister.Meanwhile, outside a large demonstration against his visit became violent with multiple arrests and accusations of police brutality.Was this visit a good idea? Would it provide the Jewish community with a sense of security? Or ignite the already febrile political atmosphere?On the ABC Religion & Ethics website, two prominent lawyers have been jousting over the issue. We’re bringing that exchange to the airwaves.GUEST:Jeremy Leibler, also a lawyer and president of the Zionist Council of Australia, says the Herzog visit comes after Australia’s worst terrorist attack, motivated by anti-Semitic hatred and brings comfort to a grieving Jewish community.

Australia has played host to Israeli President Isaac Herzog this week. Herzog addressed a gathering in Sydney this week that included the Prime Minister.Meanwhile, outside a large demonstration against his visit became violent with multiple arrests and accusations of police brutality.Was this visit a good idea? Would it provide the Jewish community with a sense of security? Or ignite the already febrile political atmosphere?On the ABC Religion & Ethics website, two prominent lawyers have been jousting over the issue. We’re bringing that exchange to the airwaves.Josh Bornstein is a prominent lawyer, free speech advocate and Jewish Australian. He argues the visit to Australia by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has deepened divisions in Australia over the Gaza war.

Australia has played host to Israeli President Isaac Herzog this week. Herzog addressed a gathering in Sydney this week that included the Prime Minister.Meanwhile, outside a large demonstration against his visit became violent with multiple arrests and accusations of police brutality.Was this visit a good idea? Would it provide the Jewish community with a sense of security? Or ignite the already febrile political atmosphere?GUESTS:Josh Bornstein is a prominent lawyer, free speech advocate and Jewish Australian. He argues the visit to Australia by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has deepened divisions in Australia over the Gaza war. Meanwhile, Jeremy Leibler, also a lawyer and president of the Zionist Council of Australia, says the Herzog visit comes after Australia’s worst terrorist attack, motivated by anti-Semitic hatred and brings comfort to a grieving Jewish community.

The Islamic Republic of Iran finds itself, again, on the brink of conflict with the West, with the United States sending an armada to the region. The latest tension follows mass demonstrations – and the mass killings of protesters – across Iran and raises the question of just how long the 47-year-old theocratic regime can survive. GUEST:Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert of Macquarie University specialises in Iran and the Middle East and spent almost three years as a political prisoner in the regime’s jails.

The world’s 85 million Anglicans have a new spiritual leader, as Dame Sarah Mullally officially begins her term as Archbishop of Canterbury. She’s first woman to hold the position. But her historic appointment has highlighted divisions in the Anglican world, including in Australia, where some conservatives have rejected her leadership.GUEST: Bishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia. It’s his job to try to reconcile a fractious church.

The Islamic Republic of Iran finds itself, again, on the brink of conflict with the West, with the United States sending an armada to the region. The latest tension follows mass demonstrations – and the mass killings of protesters – across Iran and raises the question of just how long the 47-year-old theocratic regime can survive. Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert of Macquarie University specialises in Iran and the Middle East and spent almost three years as a political prisoner in the regime’s jails.The world’s 85 million Anglicans have a new spiritual leader, as Dame Sarah Mullally officially begins her term as Archbishop of Canterbury. She’s first woman to hold the position. But her historic appointment has highlighted divisions in the Anglican world, including in Australia, where some conservatives have rejected her leadership. Bishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia. It’s his job to try to reconcile a fractious church.John Allen Jr., a longtime Vaticanista and editor-in-chief of the Catholic publication Crux, died Jan. 22, 2026, at age 61.GUESTS: Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert -  Research Fellow in Security Studies at Macquarie University. Kylie is a political scientist specialising in the Middle EastBishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.

Conservatism comes in many forms these days.And many of the groups and actors who claim the word for themselves are a rogues gallery.For Anthony Kronman there's another time honoured tradition of conservatism.It puts the common  good ahead of self interest, greed and ego.GUEST:Anthony T. Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law and a former dean of Yale Law School and author of True Conservatism: Reclaiming Our Humanity in an Arrogant Age

As the Vatican seeks to harness social media to spread its message, others are warning that artificial intelligence poses a huge challenge to all religion. Could AI even be a rival to faith, projecting itself as a source of wisdom that’s neither human nor divine?Professor BETH SINGLER of the University of Zurich is the author of the new book, Religion and Artificial Intelligence.GUEST:Professor Beth Singler - Assistant Professor in Digital Religions at the University of Zurich

Long before Donald Trump up-ended traditional conservatism in the US, another charismatic figure was re-shaping the Republican Party.Writer William F. Buckley was the first editor of National Review, perhaps the most influential political magazine of the 20th century. Ronald Reagan was a particular enthusiast for its ideas.But there was another force in Buckley’s life, and it often conflicted with his politics – the Catholic Church.GUEST:Sam Tanenhaus is the author of the acclaimed new biography, Buckley: The Life and Revolution that Changed America.This program first went to air in September 2025 and was made on the lands of the Gadigal People

Wokeness. It’s a word that’s gone from badge of pride to insult. It’s an idea with religious roots, even though most of its champions would disdain any religious belief. Those who’ve embraced wokeness say they’re promoting social justice. But to author Musa al-Gharbi, it’s social justice for those wanting to feel progressive while clinging to the status of the upper middle class. His book is We Have Never Been Woke: the cultural contradictions of a new elite.GUEST:Dr Musa al-Garbi is a sociologist in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook UniversityThis program was first broadcast in March 2025 and was made on the lands of the Gadigal People.

Under President Erdogan, Turkiye has asserted itself as a regional leader.The country recently hosted meetings with Arab states to try to solve the Palestine-Israel conflict. But in July this year, mass demonstrations roiled Istanbul.The Enduring Hold of Islam in Turkey explains the rise and seemingly untouchable dominance of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.GUEST:David Tonge is a journalist and scholar who’s lived half his life in Türkiye. This program was first broadcast in March 2025 and made on the lands of the Gadigal People

Monday, April 21, 2025 -- news sites globally announce the death of Pope Francis at 88. Even though his health has been fragile for months, the news still stuns the world.The news breaks just hours after Francis has given his Easter Sunday blessing and is to become the biggest religious story of 2025.And the funeral becomes a major geo-political event.Soon, inside the Vatican, the politicking for a new Pope begins in earnest...GUESTS:Colm Flynn from the Catholic broadcaster EWTN Claire Giangrave from the Religion News Service Clare Johnson from the Australian Catholic University Noel Debien ABC’s senior religion specialist Papal historian Miles Pattenden of Oxford University Sandie Cornish of the Australian Catholic UniversityThis program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People

If the first hundred days of a papacy can shake up the Catholic church, how much drama occurs over 80 years? For journalist Philip Shenon, there has been a constant tension – how much should the church judge the modern world and how much mercy should it extend? Philip’s the author of a sweeping new history of the church since World War II. It’s called Jesus Wept – Seven Popes and the Battle for The Soul of the Catholic Church. It chronicles the triumphs, controversies, and politics of the popes before Leo. GUESTPhilip Shenon, author and journalistThis program was first broadcast in August and was made on the lands of the Gadigal People.

Rabbi Zalman Kastel is the founder of Together for Humanity, which works across all faiths and cultures to encourage religious harmony. He knew several of those murdered in the Bondi Beach Chanukah attack. Even amid the darkness of the anti-Semitic violence, and the despair of many fellow Jewish Australians, he says he’s determined to keep up the challenging but necessary work of inter-religious dialogue.Peter Kurti, Anglican priest and senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, has been charting the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in Australia since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response. He believes the federal government has been reluctant to tackle specific anti-Jewish prejudice.Andrew Jakubowicz, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Technology, Sydney, agrees Australian multiculturalism is under strain after the Bondi massacre, but says it can survive if governments focus on curtailing violent behaviour rather than religious condemnation. GUESTS:Rabbi Zalman Kastel, head of Together for Humanity and leader in interfaith relationsPeter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at the Centre for Independent StudiesAndrew Jakubovicz is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Technology Sydney - his research areas include new media and social change, racism and ethnicity, public policy and marginalised minorities.

A famous Australian beach erupts in violence. A clash of cultures and religion or a drunken brawl?  Graeme Cole joins us from Cronulla Beach on the 20th anniversary of the riots and the story that evolved.GUEST:Graeme Cole, writer and fellow at the Ethos Centre for Christianity and Society

Religion specialist Noel Debien with a preview of religious stories in 2026 - including the consistory in Rome in first week of January, plus the installation of Dr Sarah Mullally as the Archbishop of CanterburyGUEST:Noel Debien is the new editor of the Religion and Ethics Unit at Radio National

As Australians begin Christmas and summer breaks, around the world 50 million people will toil in modern slavery. That’s according to the International Labour Organisation.South Asia and Southeast Asia are among the worst places for exploitation. It’s something anti-slavery advocates are urging consumers to investigate when they consider Christmas purchases.GUEST:Grace Wong is chief advocacy officer for the International Justice Mission, a faith-based anti-slavery organisation. International Justice Mission's Christmas campaign against human trafficking

As Australians begin Christmas and summer breaks, around the world 50 million people will toil in modern slavery.

Australia’s Catholic priests are deeply involved in their local communities and have a strong sense of purpose. But many are also lonely, at times ashamed of their church, and sometimes turn to alcohol to handle stress. They’re the findings of a major study into the lives of Catholic clergy, conducted by the church’s National Centre for Pastoral Research.GUEST:Dr Trudy Dantis, Director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research

Australia’s Catholic priests are deeply involved in their local communities and have a strong sense of purpose. But many are also lonely, at times ashamed of their church, and sometimes turn to alcohol to handle stress. They’re the findings of a major study into the lives of Catholic clergy, conducted by the church’s National Centre for Pastoral Research. One of the authors is Dr Trudi Dantis.Pope Leo is wrapping up his first overseas trip as pontiff. He’s been in Turkiye and Lebanon and he’s used the trip to drive home a message about the major conflicts currently wracking the world. Claire Giangrave of the Religion News Service is travelling with the Pope and is in Beirut.While Pope Leo uses his Middle East trip to tackle global conflicts, in the country of his birth, the Church is increasingly at odds with the Trump administration. Leo grew up on the streets of Chicago, where politics and religion went hand in hand. Heidi Schlumpf is senior correspondent for Commonweal magazine and a former editor of The National Catholic Reporter, based for many years in Chicago.GUESTS:Claire Giangrave Rome-based reporter for RNS, covering the Catholic Church and the Vatican.Dr Trudy Dantis, Director of the National Centre for Pastoral ResearchHeidi Schlumpf is senior correspondent for Commonweal Magazine