God Forbid

It’s Eastern Orthodox Easter this weekend, where the faithful will announce to each other Christos Anesti. Christ is Risen.
Also risen? The fortunes of Eastern Orthodoxy among men – though this is contested. Over the last 50 years, the numbers of people around the world identifying as religious have dropped. But the numbers of Christians seem to have stabilised, just in the last few years. Why?

It’s Eastern Orthodox Easter this weekend, where the faithful will announce to each other Christos Anesti. Christ is Risen.
Also risen? The fortunes of Eastern Orthodoxy among men – though this is contested. Over the last 50 years, the numbers of people around the world identifying as religious have dropped. But the numbers of Christians seem to have stabilised, just in the last few years. Why?

If you go to the movies, or turn on your TV, you’ll find it hard to avoid the medieval fantasy genre. With its castles and fortresses, cloaks and crowns, and even dungeons and dragons.
The stories are fantastical but of course, fictional in their portrayal of medieval Europe and the Islamic Golden Age.
But how can a better understanding of what actually happened, in a rapidly changing Europe and Middle East, 500 to 1,000 years ago, help us navigate complexities in the world today?
GUESTS:
Dr Michael Barbezat, Research Fellow in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the Australian Catholic University.
Dr Miles Pattenden, Senior Research Fellow in Medieval Studies, also at ACU.
Dr Mahsheed Ansari, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Charles Sturt University. 
This program was first broadcast in October 2023

Evolving digital technologies have supercharged our anxieties about privacy and surveillance. 
These concerns may feel new, but they have always existed. 
Access to privacy is central to human dignity and intimacy - but it is also conditional in a society which values openness and accountability. 
So what should remain seen and unseen? 
When does surveillance become intrusive? 
And can privacy survive the digital age? 
Guests: 
Anita Allen, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania 
Hugh Breakey, Professor of Philosophy, Griffith University 
David Vincent, Professor Emeritus, Open Universities UK, author of Privacy: A Short History

"Don't judge me" is the unofficial commandment of our secular liberal society. We're told so long as you’re not hurting anyone, live however you want. But online, judgement is relentless and cruel. Have we lost the ability to wisely judge, and — eventually — forgive? Or did we never really have it in the first place?