The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

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. 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 

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

While the shaky ceasefire in Gaza dominates the news from Israel, according to the UN, radical Jewish settlers in the Palestinian West Bank have committed more than 700 attacks so far this year on Palestinians and their property. But one group of Israelis is standing with the Palestinians, especially the farmers trying to harvest their olives, which are a key source of income. Rabbis for Human Rights brings together liberal, Orthodox and Conservative rabbis opposed to the militant settlers. Their spokesman is ANTON GOODMAN. Hollywood comes to the Vatican this weekend, as Pope Leo hosts a bevy of actors, actresses, directors, and producers, including Australian Cate Blanchett. The first American pope has also released a list of his favourite movies, all of them Oscar winners. The Vatican correspondent for Reuters JOSHUA MCELWEE will be close to the red carpet.Tech mogul Peter Thiel is best known as the man who inspired then helped bankroll the political career of US Vice President JD Vance. He made his fortune with PayPal but he’s building a reputation as a quasi-preacher, preoccupied with the biblical notions of Armageddon and the devil. ADRIAN DAUB, a professor of literature and German at Stanford University, has been following Peter Thiel’s deep dive into apocalyptic thinking.GUESTS:Anton Goodman is Director of Partnerships at Rabbis for Human Rights.Joshua McElwee Vatican Correspondent for ReutersProfessor Adrian Daub from Stanford UniversityThis program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People

There has been an escalation of Israeli settler violence against Palestinian villagers, which include destruction of olive trees and armed incursions, often by minors.But there's help at hand for these olive farmers bringing in their harvest, which began in earnest at the beginning of October.It comes from Rabbis For Human Rights – an Israeli organisation who gather groups of Israeli volunteers to help protect the farmers from the settler raids and help with the harvest. GUEST:Anton Goodman is Director of Partnerships at Rabbis for Human Rights.

The second richest man in the world and tech bro extraordinaire, Peter Thiel, has lately been giving lectures on Armageddon and the Antichrist to rapt audiences. These lectures attempt to fuse beliefs about technology and religion. Adrian Daub was unable to get one of the sold out tickets, but has been following these lecture tours with great interest.GUEST:Professor Adrian Daub, a German literary scholar and Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Stanford University

Hollywood comes to the Vatican this weekend, as Pope Leo hosts a bevy of actors, actresses, directors, and producers, including Australian Cate Blanchett.The first American pope has also released a list of his favourite movies, all of them Oscar winners. The Vatican correspondent for Reuters JOSHUA MCELWEE will be close to the red carpet.

A group linked to the Al Qaeda Islamist network is closing in on the capital of Mali, in north-west Africa. This group, known as JNIM, now controls swathes of territory in the Sahel, a region that stretches across several countries in the Sahara. If JNIM takes the capital, Bamako, it would be the first time an Al Qaeda affiliate has seized power in a country. What would that mean for Africa and the Islamic world? Dr TESSA DEVEREAUX has been analysing the situation.On the fiftieth anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government, you’ll hear many theories about Gough Whitlam’s downfall. But ROY WILLIAMS has explored one reason that by no means caused but may have contributed to the events of November 11, 1975. Williams is the author of In God They Trust: The Religious Beliefs of Australia’s Prime Ministers. He also has a very personal connection. His late father, Evan Williams, was a speechwriter and long-time confidante of Whitlam. Roy wonders if a throwaway insult about the faith of then Queensland premier Joh Bjelke Petersen hardened the resolve of Whitlam’s opponents.One of the geopolitical tactics Russia has used in its war with Ukraine has been to divide opinion among the world’s Orthodox Christians. Vladimir Putin is not the first Russian leader to style himself as a champion of Orthodox communities but in Greece and the Middle East, he’s tried to marshal sympathy among Christians. Dr MANOS KARAGIANNIS aas in Australia recently with the Affinity Intercultural Foundation.GUESTS:Dr Tessa Deveraux- Assistant Professor in Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in LondonProfessor Roy Williams - legal academic and authorDr Manos Karagiannis specialises in international security at Kings College, London.This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People

A group linked to the Al Qaeda Islamist network is closing in on the capital of Mali, in north-west Africa. This group, known as JNIM, now controls swathes of territory in the Sahel, a region that stretches across several countries in the Sahara. If JNIM takes the capital, Bamako, it would be the first time an Al Qaeda affiliate has seized power in a country. What would that mean for Africa and the Islamic world? GUEST:Dr Tessa Deveraux- Assistant Professor in Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London

One of the geopolitical tactics Russia has used in its war with Ukraine has been to divide opinion among the world’s Orthodox Christians. Vladimir Putin is not the first Russian leader to style himself as a champion of Orthodox communities but in Greece and the Middle East, he’s tried to marshal sympathy among Christians.Dr MANOS KARAGIANNIS specialises in international security at Kings College, London. He was in Australia recently with the Affinity Intercultural Foundation.