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?  ..read more

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 ..read more

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 Whit ..read more

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 ..read more

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, Associate Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, Indiana  Barry Golding, Honorary Professor in adult and community education at Fed ..read more

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 ..read more

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  ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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  ..read more