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.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.

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.

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. 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.

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