Life & Faith

We’re languishing (still!) after two years of the pandemic. Can a burnout psychologist help?  --- Feeling a bit blah mid-way through 2022… still?  In 2021, organisational psychologist Adam Grant named that pandemic feeling. He called it “languishing” and described it as “the absence of well-being”.  “You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work,” he wrote in the New York Times.  In this episode of Life & Faith, we call it something else: pandemic fatigue. Or just “not coping”. Natasha gives us her take on “not coping” being the new “busy” - in other words, the standard reply to the question “how are you?”. And she tells us how potatoes relate to pandemic fatigue.  We also ask clinical psychologist Dr Valerie Ling how exhaustion and burnout relate to all of the above. For even if these conditions go by different names, they all seem to describe similar things.   It’s enough to make you want to t

Philosopher and theologian John Milbank on left vs right, Harry Potter, and how none of us behave like we’re just atoms. --- If you’re wanting a crash course on “isms” like liberalism, secularism, and populism from anyone, it’s John Milbank. In this wide-ranging conversation with Simon Smart, the philosopher and theologian has a way of never saying quite what you expect him to. He questions the idea that left and right are really in opposition to each other, calls the final Harry Potter book “a profound theological meditation”, and is enthusiastic about people’s longing for paganism. What does he think Christianity might give people that’s surprising? “Pleasure,” he replies immediately. “It would make their lives far more interesting, exciting, and pleasurable - and physical, because they’re essentially alienated from their bodies if they think their bodies are just bits of matter.” Does he think a revival of religion is on the cards? “The reason I do think religion may revive is that it is on the side of com

Simon, Justine, and Natasha debrief on their fave reads/watches of 2022 thus far. --- The CPX team - no surprises here - love a good book or film, and also love a good gossip about them afterwards.  Join Simon Smart, Justine Toh, and Natasha Moore as they gush about what they’ve seen and heard of late.  Natasha repents of her snobbery about audiobooks, having been converted to the form by Trevor Noah’s remarkable memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.  Justine makes the case for her claim (less than halfway through the year) that the fantasy/sci-fi film Everything Everywhere All At Once is the best film of 2022.  And Simon is super impressed by Jonathan Franzen’s latest novel Crossroads - especially by his depiction of people of faith, in the context of a pastor’s family in 1970s Illinois.  Race, faith, family, the multiverse, and struggling through hard times: some themes emerge as the team consider their recent cultural consumption, and try to persuade you to watch or listen as well. 

It’s been 50 years since the Watergate scandal. Our trust in institutions has never quite recovered. --- On June 17, 1972, police arrested a group of burglars at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Evidence linked the attempted burglary to US President Nixon’s campaign for re-election – leading to a Senate investigation that ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation. Since then, the suffix ‘gate’ has been attached to any scandal (political or otherwise), story of mismanagement and abuse, or suggestion of a cover-up. The net effect has been to dissolve people’s trust that they’re being told the truth.  Half a century on, we live in societies of chronic distrust, as measured by annual polls like the Edelman Trust Barometer, and research conducted by organisations like More in Common, which studies polarisation and political division across the West. In this episode of Life & Faith, we revisit the main beats of the Watergate scandal and its reverberations i

What our favourite companion animals can teach us about ourselves – and about God.  --- Are you a dog person or cat lover? You’re one or the other, apparently.  Wth 69% of Australian households now owning a pet, according to a 2021 survey by Animal Medicines Australia, this week Life & Faith is pleased to get controversial: we reveal that Australia’s “two-pet” system has a clear winner. Dogs. We speak to Barney Zwartz, long-time dog tragic, about the dogs in his life: the border collie-labrador cross Nessie, whom Barney dubs “Mary Poppins” because she is “practically perfect in every way”, and Lennie, a border collie-whippet who had a special connection with Barney’s late son Sam.  What explains the human-dog bond? Is it dogs’ “hypersociability”? Or “exaggerated gregariousness”? Professor Clive Wynne, the founder of the Canine Science Laboratory at Arizona State University, just calls it dogs’ capacity for “love”.  Barney draws on Professor Wynne’s Dog is Love: Why and how your dog loves you when discussi

For centuries, all kinds of people have testified that Dante and his epic poem changed their life.  ---  Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path. A 700-year-old epic poem may not be the first place you’d think to turn when life gets messy, painful, or confusing. But across times, cultures, and different walks of life, people say that reading The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri changed - or even saved! - their life. What is it that they find in this strange old book?  In this episode of Life & Faith, Simon and Natasha hear from a scholar and also a few recent - and enthusiastic - readers of Dante about what this story of one man’s imagined journey through the afterlife (hell, purgatory, paradise) has meant to them.  “Dante finds us in hard times,” says Professor Jane Kim from Biola University, who found herself returning to the poem during the peak of the pandemic. “I think for those of us who may be experiencing the proverb

Sexuality, consent and pornography might not be the first topic of conversation we’d raise at a dinner party. But perhaps we should!  --- Issues around consent, pornography and sexuality are a minefield to navigate for young people today and sometimes it’s hard to find helpful places to go to find help. Daniel Principe, Youth Advocate and Educator at Collective Shout, is one source of information and encouragement for young people and his work is hitting a nerve. What are ways to help young women and men flourish together when pornography and objectification are such powerfully warping influences and so hard to counteract. Daniel Principe is out in schools offering a different way to think and to be, and young people are lapping this message up.  Listen to Dan tell something of his story, his passion for the subject and why he thinks there are things that can be done to help people find healthy and life-giving relationships that will serve both individuals and the common good.    Despite the darkness of the s

Steph Judd was a healthy, sporty and musical teenager when, unexpectedly, things that she could, up until then, do naturally and easily, suddenly became physically difficult, and then, eventually, impossible. Steph has now had about 15 years to process a significant physical change and adjust to living with a disability. But she has learned plenty of things about herself and picked up some wisdom along the way. Her thinking and writing on the topic of our limitations offers a counter-cultural approach to engaging not with our “potential” but the things that limit us.  Steph believes there is something vital about coming to terms with those limitations and hence our humanity. In wrestling with her own limits, and accepting her vulnerability, Steph has found she has been opened up to relationship, community and a connectedness that might otherwise have eluded her. This is an honest, refreshing and challenging conversation that cuts against the grain of our culture’s obsession with “maximising” our potential and

Tim Dixon illuminates the forces across the Western World that are driving us apart and the challenge this presents for how we live together in pluralistic societies. --- Tim Dixon gave CPX’s Richard Johnson Lecture in 2019, and in this extended podcast we revisit the timely insights we gained from Tim that night. This speech turned out to be eerily prescient given all that came to pass in the years after it was delivered. In a lively and engaging presentation, we are reminded of the perils of public conversation that is overrun with a spirit of contempt. Our democracies are precious and fragile, and Tim believes there really are things we can do to preserve them.  He offers realistic initiatives that help us withstand the forces of division and strengthen the social glue that healthy societies require. Might faith communities have something unique to offer in this regard? Tim Dixon believes so. --- Explore: Richard Johnson Lecture More in Common

On May 21, Australians won’t simply elect a Prime Minister but the nation’s “comforter-in-chief”.  --- Bushfires, floods, and pandemic: Australians have weathered plenty of crises over the last few years. Who do they look to in times of trouble – and what do they want from those who lead them? In this Life & Faith, we explore an unofficial but significant part of any political leader’s job: their responsibility to not only steer people through a crisis but also comfort them with empathy, compassion, and wisdom.  Regardless of whether we have a Prime Minister or a President, we also want our leader to be a pastor to the nation. Tim Costello, Senior Fellow at CPX, explains the role of the pastor and how former Australian Prime Ministers have inhabited that role over time. Erin Wilson, Professor of Politics and Religion at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, explains how “civil religion” – the intertwining of religious symbols and language with the political state – accounts for the “priestly rol

To sacrifice for Queen and country is one thing, but would you lay down your life for an enemy? --- This week we are repeating an episode that first aired in 2017 when, like this year, Easter and Anzac Day were very close together. “Australian service men and women serve for their Queen, their country and their comrades. They do that willingly, and they do that well. But Christ laid down his life for his enemies, which is just an incredible thing to do when I think about it.” As a member of the Australian Defence Force, and a Christian, Colonel Craig Bickell is all too familiar with the reality – and cost – of sacrifice. In this episode, we asked him about Easter and Anzac Day, what Christian faith has to offer the profession of arms, and how he remains hopeful even in the face of the darker side of humanity. Also, he shares his own journey of faith involving a girl, warrior’s guilt, and a stained-glass window.

The Enneagram helps us ask questions like: who am I, and is who I am good? --- I strive for perfection. I am prepared for any disaster. I seek out experiences that I know will make me feel happy or excited. Have you heard people say “I’m a seven” or “oh, that’s because you’re a five” … if you’re not familiar with the Enneagram, a model which describes people in terms of nine interrelated personality types, that will sound like gibberish. And if you’re into the Enneagram, you’re probably very into it! In this episode of Life & Faith, the CPX team venture into the world of the Enneagram. Simon Smart invites Justine Toh, Natasha Moore, and producer Allan Dowthwaite to take the test, find out their types, and re-examine what they think they know about themselves and their relationships. And Sandra Van Opstal, author of Forty Days on Being an Eight, explains how understanding herself as a “Challenger” has changed her approach to advocacy, parenting, and her own sense of self. “The Enneagram’s main focus as I u

A plumber, a pastor, and a pilgrim forge poems out of what’s right in front of them. --- She will keep you like she keeps the Sabbath.     Did you know that 21 March is World Poetry Day? Do you … care? In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak to three poets about why they write poetry, and find out how intimately linked to real life their words actually are. Sit back and enjoy a feast for your ears as Erin Martine Sessions, Drew Jackson, and Jonathan McKeown bring you poems they’ve written about (respectively) an ancient city; about mass incarceration and the fight for justice; about mushrooms and motherhood.  From very different starting points, all three wrestle to give words to the realities of the world around them - however beautiful, overwhelming, devastating, infuriating, or even repulsive. “Plumbing has really given me a physical connection to both work and my own body that has forced me to come to some kind of reconciliation between this flighty mental side that just wants to remove itself from

From Roman emperors to modern PMs, Life & Faith tackles the fraught relationship between church and state. --- “At the end of the day I am quite happy that the throne-and-altar accommodation was shattered, and that the church does not wield that kind of power.” Dust-ups between religion and government are rarely out of the news for long. Sometimes church and state seem too cosy, sometimes they’re fiercely at odds. What has this relationship looked like, and how should it look? In this episode of Life & Faith, Simon Smart and Natasha Moore trek back to the dramatic beginnings of the church-and-state relationship in the West with Emperor Constantine, make a brief stop among the medieval heights of Christendom, and consider some wisdom for all of us living in a post-Christendom world. All brought to you from some of our favourite and most eminent voices on the topic: Miroslav Volf (Yale), Teresa Morgan (Oxford), Nick Spencer (Theos), David Bentley Hart, and more. Along with cameo appearances from the per

Feel exhausted, cynical, and utterly ineffective at work? There’s a cure for what ails you.  --- Jonathan Malesic had always dreamed of being a college professor. The reality, however, didn’t match up to his expectations. It got to the point where he found it difficult to drag himself out of bed to teach a class. Nothing seemed to help: therapy, medication, even extended leave.  So he quit.  Obviously, that’s not the solution for everyone. But in his new book The End of Burnout: Why work drains us and how to build better lives, Malesic reflects on his own experience as well as our “burnout culture” that primes us for exhaustion.  In this interview on Life & Faith, Malesic describes that culture as a toxic combination of deteriorating working conditions – think stagnant wages, the gig economy, the decline of union membership – as well as our overinvestment in work as a source of meaning and purpose (“do what you love”). Then there’s the “badge of honour” in being a “work martyr” – someone so committed to w

Buildings and public spaces tell a story about what our culture values and who belongs. --- This week, Life & Faith channels popular TV program Grand Designs through its focus on the built environment and how our public spaces express ideals and aspirations for our life together.  Our guest is Kamila Soh, who is pursuing a Masters in architectural history at the University of New South Wales.  Kamila recently contributed a column to The Catholic Weekly about 111 Castlereagh, a luxury apartment development in Sydney boasting pristine views of Sydney Harbour, Hyde Park, and St Mary’s Cathedral. She contrasts the cathedral with the glamorous high-rise – where an off the plan penthouse sold for A$35 million in 2021 – and suggests that the church is a genuinely public space while the exclusive development is not. We also discuss the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral, which revealed the emotional and spiritual connections people feel to place. Then there’s the growing recognition that we navigate public space via

The story of the Hilton Bombing, Evan Pederick, and the Ananda Marga.  ---- On Feb 13 1978 a bomb exploded at the front of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. It had been planted in a garbage bin and as a truck emptied the bin it exploded, killing two garbage collectors and a police officer guarding the entrance to the hotel lounge. Ten years later, Evan Pederick turned up to a Brisbane Police station and confessed to the bombing. What followed was an incredible tale of conspiracy theories, trials, appeals, re-trials, claims of false convictions and the extraordinary situation of Pederick having to try to prove his guilt! Evan Pederick’s journey to prison and beyond involved an attempt to come to terms with his crimes and culminated in him becoming an Anglican Priest. --- Imre Salusinszky's book: The Hilton Bombing: Evan Pederick and the Ananda Marga

Young, married, and living in community housing with 28 men. --- When the pandemic hit, plenty of us reassessed our lives: changing jobs, leaving relationships, taking up a new hobby.  Jayden and Mikyla Battey, a married couple in their 20s, did their own soul-searching and, as a result, decided to move into community housing with 28 men who are at risk of homelessness and face mental health issues and challenging life circumstances. They were looking for a deeper way of living alongside others. They’ve found that as House Managers at Hamer Court, an affordable housing initiative run by the group Servants. In this Life & Faith episode, Jayden and Mikyla talk about the joys and the difficulties of living with vulnerable people, and what it’s like for those on the margins to find a home with each other. We also get a glimpse of what extended lockdowns meant for the residents of Hamer Court who were already socially isolated to begin with.  For Jayden, this way of life is a calling. “My understanding of the

New York Times Australian Bureau Chief Damien Cave on learning to live like an Australian. --- Damien Cave has been the New York Times Australian Bureau chief in Australia since 2017. In that time he has thrown himself into life here, embracing (and being embraced by) the Surf Life Saving community and all the vulnerability and humility required to do that. He says he has learnt extremely important life lessons he didn’t know he needed and has come to love and appreciate his adopted home. With a journalist’s sharp eye, Cave analyses Australia's attitude to risk, community and identity and finds some insights that he says have made his life immeasurably better. This is not the voice of an idealistic tourist, but someone who, by immersing himself in the Australian way of life, has come to recognise its strengths and shortcomings and ultimately, what makes it special.   Here Cave speaks to Life & Faith about risk, community, vulnerability and humility. --- Book: Into the Rip: How the Australian way of risk m

Leila and Danny Abdallah explain how they found a way to forgive the driver who killed their three children.   --- For i4give week, we bring you a conversation with Danny and Leila Abdallah. On Feb 1st 2020 the Abdullahs experienced an unspeakable tragedy when three of their children, Antony (13), Angelina (12), and Sienna (8), along with their cousin Veronique Sakr (11), were killed when a drunk and drug-affected driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the group of children.  The Abdallahs shocked the world when they declared their forgiveness for the driver and refusal to hate him.  The i4give initiative, taking place each year on the anniversary of the tragedy,  encourages people to search their hearts and find someone to forgive. For Life & Faith Simon Smart talks to Leila and Danny about where they found the strength to forgive, the power of forgiveness and what they hope to achieve by urging us all to forgive. “Forgiveness has allowed us to heal and to grow together as a family. Forgiven