Episodes
Eight months on from the referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, many of its key supporters are still trying to understand the reasons for its defeat. Why did six in ten Australians vote "No"?
Published 06/12/24
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hung much of his politics on Hindu Nationalism, but after a surprising election result, are we now seeing an end to this force in politics?
Published 06/11/24
In a revealing book, historian Neil J Young details the 70 year effort by gay and lesbian Americans to cultivate support among Republicans.
Published 06/05/24
South Africa's historic election result has left the ruling ANC party short of a majority in the parliament. As it struggles to get the extra seats it needs, will it need to rely on some of the small, explicitly religious parties?
Published 06/05/24
With the EU elections coming up, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban has styled himself as defender of a so-called Judeo-Christian Europe.
Published 05/29/24
Beijing has tried to control Tibetan Buddhism, but how successful has it been in doing so?
Published 05/29/24
The war in Gaza has now claimed over 35,000 lives. The nearby country of Jordan has tried to balance its condemnation of Israel’s military tactics, against its relationship with the US and Israel.
Published 05/22/24
From statues of the Virgin Mary weeping, to angels appearing in visions, the Vatican has issued new guidelines on how to deal with the supernatural.
Published 05/22/24
Could the death of Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, open up a chance for reform in the hard-line regime?
Published 05/22/24
Each year, about two million people visit Auschwitz in Poland, and many of them are Jewish teenagers. But how young is too young to visit to the largest death camp of World War II?
Published 05/15/24
In the past, the Vatican – and even a Pope – played a secret role in the development of artificial conception. And the vital ingredient was a basic human substance.
Published 05/15/24
The federal budget is in, and foreign aid funding has fallen well short of international targets. Catholic aid agency Caritas has asked for a doubling of the emergency aid fund, but did they get anything like what they sought?
Published 05/15/24
Is Pope Francis a man of the left or a more cuddly version of a classic church conservative? Since the release of his latest statement on human dignity, both sides are claiming him.
Published 05/08/24
In a timely warning, psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed says violence can be the darkest form of the search for belonging. What motivates a terrorist, from a psychological perspective?
Published 05/08/24
The Vatican and the French government are in a major stand-off. It's over the question of whether the state can prevent the Church from sacking a nun.
Published 05/07/24
Australia's national cabinet met this week to try to curb the domestic violence crisis. And women's advocates have renewed their call to restrict the access children and teens have to online pornography.
Published 05/01/24
In countries where governments drove major investigations into child sexual abuse, churches have since imposed much stronger safeguards for children. That's according to a new study by the Australian Catholic University.
Published 05/01/24
The hand waves, the music pumps, and the preacher wearing branded sneakers, skips across a stage. It's the face of modern religion, but is there a line between belief and entertainment?
Published 05/01/24
ANZAC Day is one of the few times left when much of the country gathers together for a secular ritual. How important are such customs like these as markers of belonging, in Australia and abroad?
Published 04/24/24
Jewish Americans have made themselves integral, especially to the literary, theatrical and intellectual life of their adopted home. But is the so-called golden age of American Judaism over?
Published 04/24/24
NSW police have declared a knife attack on a Sydney bishop to be a terrorist incident. The violence outside the church after the attack also suggests Australia isn't immune to social tensions, but are they common?
Published 04/17/24
The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has made it official. He's declared the invasion of Ukraine a "holy war" to "defend the single spiritual place of Holy Russia."
Published 04/17/24
Faraz Tahir was one victim in the almost unspeakable murder tragedy in Bondi at the weekend. Faraz was part of the Ahmadiyya community, a branch of Islam that suffers severe persecution in Asia and the Middle East. 
Published 04/17/24
In the days of Donald Trump, there's been a controversial trend on the religious right — leaning into a raunchier, sexier side, over modesty.
Published 04/10/24