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 University This 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 University This 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.  GUEST Philip Shenon, author and journalist This 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 relations Peter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at the Centre for Independent Studies Andrew 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 Canterbury GUEST: 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.

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

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.

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 Research Heidi Schlumpf is senior correspondent for Commonweal Magazine

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

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.  GUEST: Heidi Schlumpf is senior correspondent for Commonweal Magazine and a former editor of The National Catholic Reporter, based for many years in Chicago.

One of the Trump administration’s most divisive policies is the mass raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE.  About 65,000 people, not all undocumented migrants, are now in detention.  Some of the most dramatic confrontations have occurred in Chicago, where religious leaders have been protesting.  One of them is Baptist minister MICHAEL WOOLF of the Lake Street Church in Evanston. GUEST: The Reverend Dr Michael Woolf is Pastor at Lake Street Church in Illinois.

Indian Americans are one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the US.  But a fracture has opened in the community over the role of Hindu faith and identity.  Some Indian Americans are pushing back against Hindutva, a form of religious nationalism and the campus of Rutgers University has become a flashpoint.  GUEST: Richa Karmarkar is senior writer at the Religion New Service based in New York and has written on Rutgers  

Australia’s landmark ban on people under 16 using social media begins next month.  It’s the first time any government in the world has used a ban to shield children from social media, particularly online predators who use the platforms.  But is the new law comprehensive?  GUEST: Melinda Tankard-Reist is a member of the government’s Stakeholder Advisory Panel and heads the advocacy group Collective Shout. You can find resources for parents here to help manage the new laws

Australia’s landmark ban on people under 16 using social media begins next month. It’s the first time any government in the world has used a ban to shield children from social media, particularly online predators who use the platforms. But is the new law comprehensive? MELINDA TANKARD-REIST is a member of the government’s Stakeholder Advisory Panel. One of the Trump administration’s most divisive policies is the mass raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE. About 65,000 people, not all undocumented migrants, are now in detention. Some of the most dramatic confrontations have occurred in Chicago, where religious leaders have been protesting. One of them is Baptist minister MICHAEL WOOLF of the Lake Street Church in Evanston. Indian Americans are one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the US. But a fracture has opened in the community over the role of Hindu faith and identity. Some Indian Americans are pushing back against Hindutva, a form of religious nationalism and the campus of Rutgers University has become a flashpoint. RICHA KARMARKAR of the Religion New Service has been covering the story. GUESTS: Melinda Tankard-Reist heads the advocacy group Collective Shout. The Reverend Dr Michael Woolf is Pastor at Lake Street Church in Illinois. Richa Karmarkar is a journalist and senior writer for the Religious News Service based in New York

For Donald Trump’s administration, there are a few more inviting targets than America’s universities.  Ivy League institutions, including Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, have lost federal funds and been subject to more direct government control.  The administration claims it is trying to combat campus domination by the ideological left.  Philosophy professor YUVAL AVNUR of Scripps College, and two colleagues, Stephanie Muravchik and Jon Shields, were especially worried about these attacks and began to investigate the allegations of bias in university and college courses.  They published part of their results in the online journal, Persuasion.  

Pope Leo flies east next week on his first overseas visit as pontiff. He goes first to Türkiye, a country where the Christian population has dwindled to less than one per-cent.  He’ll meet the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholemew, who leads most of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and with the controversial president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan’s been styling himself as a new sultan of the broader Islamic world.  But it will be the second leg of Leo’s trip, to Lebanon, that’s potentially more challenging. Christians are around a third of the population but there are real fears that external actors, including Iran and Israel, could destabilise the fragile religious settlement that has survived for more than 30 years.  Dr ROULA TALHOUK is the director of the Institute for Muslim-Christian Studies at St Joseph’s University in Beirut. For Donald Trump’s administration, there are a few more inviting targets than America’s universities.  Ivy League institutions, including Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, have lost federal funds and been subject to more direct government control.  The administration claims it is trying to combat campus domination by the ideological left.  Philosophy professor YUVAL AVNUR of Scripps College, and two colleagues, Stephanie Muravchik and Jon Shields, were especially worried about these attacks and began to investigate the allegations of bias in university and college courses. They published part of their results in the online journal, Persuasion.   GUESTS: Dr Roula Talhouk, director of the Institute for Muslim-Christian Studies at St Joseph’s University in Beirut. Professor Yuval Avnur of Scripps College, California. This show was made on the lands of the Gadigal People

Pope Leo flies east next week on his first overseas visit as pontiff. He goes first to Türkiye, a country where the Christian population has dwindled to less than one per-cent.  He’ll meet the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholemew, who leads most of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and with the controversial president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  Erdogan’s been styling himself as a new sultan of the broader Islamic world.  But it will be the second leg of Leo’s trip to Lebanon that’s potentially more challenging.  Christians are around a third of the population but there are real fears that external actors, including Iran and Israel, could destabilise the fragile religious settlement that has survived for more than 30 years.  GUEST: Dr Roula Talhouk, director of the Institute for Muslim-Christian Studies at St Joseph’s University in Beirut. Related story - Taybeh is the last predominantly Christian village left in the West Bank