God Forbid ABC listen

More than half of Australians believe in life after death. Some even believe we can communicate with the dead.  In the nineteenth century, the Spiritualist movement claimed to speak with the dead through mediums and seances.

This  American movement attracted many women; and at a time when they had few rights, Spiritualism gave women a voice as mediums who could take messages from the dead to the living. 

It used to have followers in the millions,  though the escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini insisted they were frauds – and he lobbied the US Congress to ban the practice.

So what made it so controversial and influential? And why do we remain intrigued by what happens – if anything - after we die? 

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? 

Many of us regard our pets as part of the family,  but can an animal be its best self in a human home?  

For much of human history, we’ve kept animals primarily to do jobs – to hunt, herd, plough and pull carriages... or just to keep mice out of the hay shed.

The idea of keeping an animal as a "pet” - an emotional companion is relatively new.  And religion, it turns out, played a part in that historical shift.

Of course, pets can enrich our lives, but how we breed, feed and keep these animals raises questions even for the most loving, well-meaning pet owners. It's a passionate issue, full of blurry lines and moral grey areas. But philosophy, religion and science offer some guidance. 

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?

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 White Evangelical Church 

David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy at the United States Studies Centre, and the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney

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 the University of Sydney