In this episode, Jonathan talks to bioethicist Ben Mitchell about transhumanism. They discuss the origins, philosophy and goals of the transhumanist movement, the movement's desire for a post human future, the impact of technology on the human being, including the possibility of uploading consciousness to a computer, or merging the human brain with technology, and finally what it actually means to be human. Prof Ben Mitchell recently retired after serving ten years as the Graves Chair of Moral Philosophy at Union University, Jackson, Tennessee. He taught ethics at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, where he also served for a time as director of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. He has served on the NIH Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Committee, been a consultant with the Center for Genetics & Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University and currently serves as Distinguished Fellow of the Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

In this episode, Jonathan tackles Anglicanism with recently retired Anglican bishop and theologian Stephen Pickard. They explore Anglicanism's long struggle with unity, through the prism of history, ecclesiology, theology, Scripture and the pressures, tumult and anxieties of contemporary secular culture, in relation to both the national church in Australia and the Anglican communion globally. The Rt Rev Prof Stephen Pickard has served as an Assistant Bishop in the Anglican dioceses of Adelaide and Canberra-Goulburn and held many positions in the church and academy, including director of St Mark's National Theological Centre and Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Jonathan is joined by biblical and systematic theologian Graham Cole for a discussion about men, women, the Bible and the church. They explore complementarianism, egalitarianism, Male headship and the place of women in the church according to the Bible and theological doctrines such as the Trinity. They also discuss the views and applications of these doctrines in different institutional settings, including the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Moore Theological College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Graham Cole is Emeritus Dean and Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Chicago, US. He was previously the Anglican Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, US, Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia, and has lectured in Christian thought at Moore Theological College, Sydney Australia, and in the philosophy of religion at the University of Sydney. He is the author of many books, including He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit; God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom; The God Who Became Human: A Biblical Theology of the Incarnation; Against the Darkness: The Doctrine of Angels, Satan and Demons; and Glorification: An Introduction. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

In this episode Jonathan talks to Dr Mark Durie, author of The Qur'an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. They explore the theological relationship between Christianity (and Judaism) and Islam, with a particular focus on explaining the large presence of Biblical material in the Qur'an and whether this constitutes theological continuity or discontinuity. The pair also discuss the implication's of Mark's thesis that Islam constitutes a theological innovation rather than a continuous development from Christianity for inter-faith dialogue and pluralism in Western liberal democracies. Dr Mark Durie is a Senior Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at the Melbourne School of Theology. He has earned two PhDs, in Linguistics and Islamic Theology, and has held visiting academic positions in linguistics at MIT, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, and Stanford. In 1992, while head of the Department of Linguistics and Language Studies at Melbourne University, he became the youngest person elected to the Australian Academy of Humanities. Mark speaks and writes on relations between monotheistic faiths, Christian missions, and religious freedom. He is the author of The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

This episode covers all things euthanasia, from the origins and drivers of the pro-euthanasia movement, to the medical, social, cultural, economic, political, legislative and ethical circumstances surrounding it. The episode, however, is much more than merely a deep dive on euthanasia; it is an exploration of death, existential crisis and the way Western liberal democracies handle (and mishandle) the important role and function of death in the lives of its citizens. Megan Best is an Associate Professor with the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia. She has a clinical background in palliative medicine and her research interests include spirituality in healthcare, existential suffering, psycho-oncology, and whole person care and ethics at the beginning and end of life.  The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. Previously, he worked as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at Australian intelligence agency The Office of National Assessments. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Former Queensland Premier and Liberal Democrats Senate Candidate for Queensland, Campbell Newman, joins Jonathan for a chat about Australian politics and the 2022 Federal Election. They discuss Newman's decision to leave the Liberal Party and join the Liberal Democrats, the Liberal Democrats' Freedom Manifesto, libertarianism in Australia, differences between libertarians and conservatives on moral questions, the role of the media in contemporary politics and reflections on Newman's time as Premier of Queensland. Campbell Newman, AO is the Liberal Democrats Senate Candidate for Queensland. He is Chairman of Arcana Capital, a Director & adviser to a number of start-up technology companies and a regular commentator on SkyNews Australia. He was Premier of Queensland from 2012 to 2015 and Lord Mayor of Brisbane 2004 to 2011. The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is Assistant Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at Charles Sturt University, and author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Intellectual historian Wayne Hudson rejoins the show for a discussion about atheism and modern philosophy. The discussion covers the history of atheism, shifts in its meaning over time and place, the purported role of the enlightenment in its rise, the difficulty of understanding what people actually mean today when they declare themselves to be atheists, common mistakes made by both atheism and theism, the failure of modern philosophy to make any serious advance in knowledge, the challenges facing theology in the 21st century and the role of science and mathematics in our understanding of reality. Wayne Hudson is an adjunct professor at Charles Sturt University, the Australian National University and the University of Tasmania. He is the author of many books, including: The English Deists: Studies in Early Enlightenment (2009), Enlightenment and Modernity: The English Deists and Reform (2009), Atheism and Deism Revalued (2014) and Australian Religious Thought (2016). The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is Assistant Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at Charles Sturt University, and author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Mark Spencer, Director of Public Policy at Christian Schools Australia, joins Jonathan to discuss the difficult cultural environment in which Christian schools now must operate. They cover the history, nature and purpose of Christian schools in Australia, the tension between discipleship and mission, the way state-based curricula are taught from a Christian perspective, the place of Christian education in secular Australia, the various controversies surrounding Christian schools, particularly in relation to LGBTIQ issues, the fiasco of the recently failed religious freedom bill and the growing attacks on Christian schools from activists. The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is Assistant Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at Charles Sturt University, and author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Lyle Shelton discusses the sorry saga that led to the dissolution of the Christian Democratic Party in NSW, the lessons to be learned from it and future strategies for Christians seeking to make a difference in the political arena.  Lyle Shelton is Director of Campaigns and Communication for the Christian Democratic Party. He is a former Managing Director of the Australia Christian Lobby, a Queensland Senate candidate with Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives, a former elected member of the Toowoomba City Council and author of I Kid You Not—Nots from 20 Years in the Trenches of the Culture Wars. The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.  You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.

Historian Michael Gladwin joins the show for a conversation about the role and impact of Christianity on the European settlement and foundation of Australia. They look at the role of clergy in the early colonial period, the relationship between church and state and the cultural and political impact of Christians in the formation of Australia. They also discuss the failure of Australian historians to take proper account of the importance of religion in Australian history. Dr Michael Gladwin is Lecturer in History at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Canberra. A graduate of the Australian National University and the University of Cambridge, his research interests include the religious and cultural history of Australia and the British Empire. Michael is the author of Captains of the Soul: a history of Australian Army chaplains (2013) and Anglican clergy in Australia, 1788–1850: building a British World (2015).  The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.  You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.