Truth used to be something we argued about. Now we can’t even agree on what it is. In a world of fake news and alternate facts, we each claim our personal truth, our own competing version of reality.So, how does science, religion, and philosophy help us navigate truth when certainty is elusive?What does it mean to live in a time when truth itself feels fractured? When the world is so complex – that we yearn for trust as much as truth? And how do we navigate moral or epistemic disagreement without falling into hostility or relativism?GUESTS:DR CAROLYN FOSTER is an astro-physicist at the University of NSW.Prof ALAN DUFFY from Swinburne university of Technology in Melbourne, where he’s pro-vice chancellor too.DR VICTORIA LORRIMAR is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame.This program was made on Warrang, Naarm, and Walyalup
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Can celibacy actually make us purer and closer to God?
Can celibacy actually make us purer and closer to God? What is it about sex that gets in the way of our divinity?What do some of the world’s major religions say about celibacy or even require of it’s devotees?And, with the very noticeable global decline in the birth rate, are we already seeing a trend towards a more chaste life? If so, can abstinence draw us closer to our spiritual selves?GUESTS:Dawn Eden Goldstein is a theologian, canon lawyer and author of TheThrill of The Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes OnDr Maeve Heaney is also a theologian, author, musician and composer and has written on the subject of celibacy and the Catholic Church and author of Suspended God: Music and a theology of doubtDr Samishka Goyal is a philosopher and teacher at Monash University and has written extensively about Hinduism and JainismThis program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and Naarm
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Is God in the machine?
Can we know God through machines? Can machines know God? And could machines, one day, become godlike themselves? While AI is still in its infancy, it is evolving at lightning speed, and ingraining itself in our lives. From writing our emails, creating our budgets and even serving as our therapists, society is embracing AI as part of our everyday lives. But what about faith? Our spirituality, our souls, our connection to God - these are elements of the human experience that can’t be quantified by science, and reproduced in machines. Or can they? GUESTS:Dr. Declan Humphreys is a lecturer in Cyber Security and Ethics at the School of Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is also one of the winners of the ABC Top 5 Humanity residency programme for 2025.Dr. Jane Compson, Associate Professor of Comparative Religion and Ethics at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Jane is a practicing Buddhist and a trained chaplain. She is also a member of the research team at AI and Faith.Carl Youngblood, is the co-founder and current president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, and has more than 20 years experience in software engineering and technology development. This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and the lands of The Turrbal and Yuggera People.
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How should our leaders behave?
With the Coldplay "kiss cam" fiasco and two corporate careers in tatters we ask the question: Should leaders be held to a higher personal standard than the rest of society? Beyond the memes and outrage, what does this moment reveal about how we expect leaders to behave — not just at work, but in public and online?And what does ethical leadership look like in an era where CEO pay is high, but trust is low? Guests:Dr Tim Dean, philosopher and ethicist from the Ethics CentreDr Nelly Liyanagamage, PhD in Leadership and Lecturer, University of Wollongong, and author of How to Deal with a Machiavellian BossTim Duggan, Journalist and author of best-selling books including Cult Status, Killer Thinking and Work Backwards
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The language of God: Literacy, power, and the sacred word
Is God multilingual? Does the divine speak Hebrew? Arabic? Latin? Or is it something more mysterious?This week on God Forbid, we’re asking: who gets to speak the language of God? And what happens when only a select few can read the sacred texts? From ancient scrolls to colonial classrooms, religion has often been shaped — and controlled — by language and literacy.Guests:Prof Halim Rane, a scholar of Islamic theology and the sociology of religion from Griffith University, his latest book: Covenants with Allah: Keystone of IslamDr Simon Holloway, a sessional lecturer at Melbourne University, his PhD in classical Hebrew and Biblical studies. Simon is the manager of Community and Corporate Programs at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.Dr Laura Rademaker, ARC DECRA Fellow at ANU and historian of Indigenous Australia and Christian missions. Author of Lost in Translations: Many Meanings on a North Australian MissionThis program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and in Naarm.
Religion: it’s at the centre of world affairs, but profound questions still remain. Why are you here? What happens when you die? Does God matter? God Forbid seeks the answers.
Australia