The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

After two weeks of hearings at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Australians have a clear picture of a Jewish community experiencing harassment and violence – in the classroom, the campus, the streets, even some workplaces. The commission also heard different opinions on what antisemitism is -- and what's political protest.GUEST:Professor DAVID SLUCKI is director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University. He's been following the hearings.  Part 3. After the StormPolice in the US city of San Diego are treating as a hate crime an attack on a local mosque, in which two teenage boys killed three people then took their own lives. Without the heroic actions of a security guard, they say the attack could have been even worse. San Diego echoes an immense tragedy that took place 7 years ago, much closer to home. An Australian gunman slaughtered 51 Muslims at peaceful prayer at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. This week is the third and final part of our series, After the Storm: How faith and friendship helped three religious communities overcome violent attack, which you can find in podcast at ABC Listen. We recall the Christchurch tragedy with a man who survived but bearing a terrible loss. GUEST:FARID AHMED is the author of Husna's Story: My wife, the Christchurch Massacre and My Journey to Forgiveness.The full episodes of AFTER THE STORM:AFTER THE STORM: The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque massacreAFTER THE STORM: Beyond the horror at the Tree of LifeAFTER THE STORM: Healing after terror

After two weeks of hearings at the  Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Australians have a clear picture of a Jewish community experiencing harassment and violence – in the classroom, the campus, the streets, even some workplaces. The commission also heard different opinions on what antisemitism is -- and what's political protest.GUEST:Professor David Slucki is director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University. He's been following the hearings.  

On the 15th of March 2019, Farid Ahmed and his beloved wife Husna travelled to the Deans Avenue Mosque in Christchurch for Friday prayer. As they parted to pray in their different sections, Farid couldn't know it would be the last time he saw Husna alive.And he couldn't know about her bravery that ultimately cost her life.Husna Ahmed was one of 51 Muslim worshippers murdered that night. Their assailant was an Australian. Farid's response tells a powerful story about his own resilience and his faith.This is part two of a special Religion and Ethics Report series on how faith and friendship helped three religious communities overcome violent attack, as Australia grapples with the aftermath of its own devastating attack at Bondi.GUEST:Farid Ahmed is the author of Husna's Story: My wife, the Christchurch Massacre and My Journey to Forgiveness. 

The most popular, and understandable, image of the far right today usually involves people dressed in black, shouting Nazi slogans or erupting into violence at football matches across Europe. But new research suggests many youths drawn to the extremes are looking for something more basic – a sense of belonging. Some have co-opted very traditional religion, while others try to make a religion out of their political ideology. GUEST:Dr Agnieszka Pasieka of University of Montreal wrote about the “Dreams of the Far Right” for Aeon magazine. She's also the author of Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe. 

New research suggests many far right youths drawn to the extremes are looking for something more basic – a sense of belonging. Some have co-opted very traditional religion, while others try to make a religion out of their political ideology. GUESTS:Dr Agnieszka Pasieka of University of Montreal wrote about the “Dreams of the Far Right” for Aeon magazine. She's also the author of Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe. 

In 2018, a gunman walked into in a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood of Pittsburgh.He killed 11 worshippers in one of America's worst antisemitic attacks. As you'll hear, deep in their Jewish faith and traditions, somehow the survivors of Squirrel Hill found ways to rebuild.This episode takes you to Pittsburgh on October 27, 2018. This is the second episode in our three-part series After the Storm: How faith and friendship helped three religious communities overcome violent attack. GUEST:Mark Oppenheimer is the author of Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighbourhood and teaches in the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, at Washington University in St. Louis.

In a move that defies the stereotype of American mega-churches, the pastor of 24,000-strong Methodist parish in Kansas has announced he's running as Democrat for the US Senate in November. Adam Hamilton is also a best-selling author and podcaster. Hamilton joins a growing chorus of Christian ministers who are reclaiming faith from pro-Trump forces. But he's careful to stress, he's no liberal. GUEST:Kathryn Post from the Religion News Service is following this historic race.

In a move that defies the stereotype of American mega-churches, the pastor of 24,000-strong Methodist parish in Kansas has announced he's running as Democrat for the US Senate in November. Adam Hamilton is also a best-selling author and podcaster. Hamilton joins a growing chorus of Christian ministers who are reclaiming faith from pro-Trump forces. But he's careful to stress, he's no liberal. Kathryn Post, a journalist from the Religion News Service is following this historic race.As the Royal Commission into antisemitism and social cohesion begins public hearings, we begin a three-part series on how three faith communities – Christian, Jewish, and Muslim – responded to mass violence inflicted on them. The gunmen inspired by the Islamic State group who opened fire on the Jewish Channukah festival in Bondi Beach last December brought religious violence to Australia at an unprecedented scale. But as those who've suffered similar tragedy shows, it is possible to rebuild. Our series, After the Storm, has already begun as a podcast on ABC Listen. But we're bringing part of those stories to air. This week, author Kevin Sack looks at the 2015 tragedy at the Mother Emmanuel Church, an historic Black congregation in South Carolina. Kevin spent a decade working on his landmark book, Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church.And you can hear the full length podcast of the Kevin Sack interview here

When a white supremacist gunman opened fire during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, nine worshippers, including their charismatic pastor, were murdered at a bible class in a racist attack.Writer Kevin Sack spent a decade documenting what happened at Mother Emanuel, tracing not only the events of June 17, 2015, but the deeper history of race, resistance, and forgiveness that shaped the community's response.In this episode, you'll hear the story of how that church endured and what its response can teach others confronting religious violence today. This is part one of a special Religion and Ethics Report series on how faith and friendship helped three religious communities overcome violent attack, as Australia grapples with the aftermath of its own devastating attack at Bondi.

The defeat of Viktor Orban's nationalist government in Hungary is causing ripples from the heart of Europe all the way to the Middle East. Orban was a key ally of another nationalist, Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, protecting his government from censure and sanction in the European Union. Hungary's new prime minister Peter Magyar is unlikely to be as friendly. GUEST:Dr Shahar Burla is a contributing editor at The Jewish Independent. 

The defeat of Viktor Orban's nationalist government in Hungary is causing ripples from the heart of Europe all the way to the Middle East. Orban was a key ally of another nationalist, Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, protecting his government from censure and sanction in the European Union. Hungary's new prime minister Peter Magyar is unlikely to be as friendly.  A year ago, more than a hundred cardinals were deep in conversation, even a little conspiracy. They'd just buried their beloved Pope Francis. Now they had to choose a successor to lead 1.4 billion Catholics. But forces outside the church were also trying to shape the result of the conclave. In a new book, The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis, we learn about some the extraordinary planning … and plotting.  Guests:Dr Shahar Burla is a contributing editor at The Jewish Independent. Authors and veteran Vatican reporters Gerard O'Connell and Elisabetta Pique  

A year ago, more than a hundred cardinals were deep in conversation, even a little conspiratorial. They'd just buried their beloved Pope Francis. Now they had to choose a successor to lead 1.4 billion Catholics. But forces outside the church were also trying to shape the result of the conclave. In a new book, The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis, we learn about some the extraordinary planning … and plotting. GUESTS:Co-Authors and veteran Vatican reporters Gerard O'Connell and Elisabetta Pique  

Pope Leo's showing he won't by cowed by Donald Trump, who recently attacked him as weak and liberal after papal criticism of the Iran war. Leo hasn't directly named the US President but during his visit to Africa, he's referred to war, tyranny and to “spending billions of dollars on killing and devastation”.  Vice President J.D. Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, also decided to explain the theology of a “just war” to the pontiff. Some in the Trump administration even believe they're waging a holy war. Where does such language mean and where can it lead? GUEST:Professor Darius Von Guttner is a Papal historian at the Australian Catholic University link

The name Walter Dexter has faded into history but during World War I he was one of the British empire's most famous churchmen. He became most decorated military chaplain ever. Long before he found his faith in the Anglican Church, he had a rollicking life at sea, plunging into the cultures of Asia and Africa. Historian DANIEL REYNAUD has just published Sailor, Soldier Vicar Farmer: The Improbable Life of Anzac Chaplain Water Dexter.GUEST:Dr Daniel Reynaud is Emeritus Professor of History at Avondale University and inaugural Visiting Historian at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park.

It's not just the Iran war that's inflamed tension between the Vatican and the White House. The church has also spoken out against the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on irregular immigration. For the Archbishop of Guam, a US territory in the South Pacific, it's a personal issue. Archbishop RYAN JIMENEZ is an immigrant from The Philippines. He's just been appointed to a top Vatican post and is visiting Australia.GUEST:Archbishop Ryan Jimenez is Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam

Pope Leo's showing he won't by cowed by Donald Trump, who recently attacked him as weak and liberal after papal criticism of the Iran war. Leo hasn't directly named the US President but during his visit to Africa, he's referred to war, tyranny and to “spending billions of dollars on killing and devastation”.  Vice President J.D. Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, also decided to explain the theology of a “just war” to the pontiff. Some in the Trump administration even believe they're waging a holy war. Where does such language mean and where can it lead? Professor DARIUS VON GUTTNER is a papal historian at Australian Catholic University.It's not just the Iran war that's inflamed tension between the Vatican and the White House. The church has also spoken out against the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on irregular immigration. For the Archbishop of Guam, a US territory in the South Pacific, it's a personal issue. Archbishop RYAN JIMENEZ is an immigrant from The Philippines. He's just been appointed to a top Vatican post and is visiting Australia.The name Walter Dexter has faded into history but during World War I he was one of the British empire's most famous churchmen. He became most decorated military chaplain ever. Long before he found his faith in the Anglican Church, he had a rollicking life at sea, plunging into the cultures of Asia and Africa. Historian DANIEL REYNEAUX has just published Sailor, Soldier Vicar Farmer: The Improbable Life of Anzac Chaplain Water Dexter.GUESTS:Professor Darius Von Guttner is an historian at the Australian Catholic University linkArchbishop Ryan Jimenez is Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña, GuamDr Daniel Reyneaux is Emeritus Professor of History at Avondale University and inaugural Visiting Historian at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park.

Donald Trump's onslaught against the Pope is almost overshadowing his first visit to Africa.  The US president accused Leo of being soft on crime, untroubled by the prospect of a nuclear Iran, and in league with the radical left. Trump's angry about the pope's repeated criticism of the US and Israeli war on Iran. But Leo says he's not afraid of Trump. Has there ever been such a deep rift between a pontiff and a major world leader and what are the implications? Vatican historian and commentator Professor MASSIMO FAGGIOLI is with Trinity College, Dublin. While he was in Algeria, the first stop on his Africa trip, Pope Leo visited the Basilica of St. Augustine. It's near the ancient ruins of Hippo Regius. He walked in the footsteps of St Augustine of Hippo, who lived around the year 400 AD. Leo's an Augustinian priest so he was returning to the home of his spiritual father.In the occupied West Bank village of Taybeh, radical Jewish settlers continue their campaign to seize the land long owned by one of the last unified Christian communities in Palestine. Now the Christians are turning to Pope Leo, hoping he'll visiting their village and ramp up pressure on the Israeli government. The parish priest is Fr. BASHAR FAWADLEH.Soon after he returns from his 10-day trip to Africa, Pope Leo will finish his first encyclical. It's almost certainly on the opportunities -- and dangers -- of artificial intelligence. The perils of AI, especially on higher education, have prompted Notre Dame University to set up a new Centre for Technology and Human Futures. The director is Associate Professor VICTORIA LORRIMAR. GUESTS:Professor Massimo Faggioli is professor of ecclesiology at the Loyola Institute at Trinity College DublinFather Bashar Fawadleh is parish priest in Taybeh, a Christian village in the middle of the West Bank in Palestine.Associate Professor Victoria Lorrimar is director of The Centre for Technology and Human Futures at the University of Notre Dame

Donald Trump's onslaught against the Pope is almost overshadowing his first visit to Africa.  The US president accused Leo of being soft on crime, untroubled by the prospect of a nuclear Iran, and in league with the radical left. Trump's angry about the pope's repeated criticism of the US and Israeli war on Iran. But Leo says he's not afraid of Trump. Has there ever been such a deep rift between a pontiff and a major world leader and what are the implications? GUEST:Vatican historian and commentator Professor MASSIMO FAGGIOLI is with Trinity College, Dublin. 

In the occupied West Bank village of Taybeh, radical Jewish settlers continue their campaign to seize the land long owned by one of the last unified Christian communities in Palestine. Now the Christians are turning to Pope Leo, hoping he'll visiting their village and ramp up pressure on the Israeli government. GUEST: Fr. Bashar Fawadleh Taybeh parish priest Related: Israeli settler and Christian conflict in the West Bank 

Soon after he returns from his 10-day trip to Africa, Pope Leo will finish his first encyclical. It's almost certainly on the opportunities -- and dangers -- of artificial intelligence. The perils of AI, especially on higher education, have prompted Notre Dame University to set up a new Centre for Technology and Human Futures. GUEST:Associate Professor Victoria Lorrimar is director of The Centre for Technology and Human Futures at the University of Notre Dame

Andrew West discusses Trump's attack on Pope Leo with James Glenday on ABC Breakfast TV.

Buddhist extremists have been emboldened by religious nationalism in America and beyond. They defy the image of Buddhism and undermine its core teachings.

Pope Leo visits Africa next week on a 10-day tour that will take him to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. Buddhist extremists have been emboldened by religious nationalism in America and beyond. They defy the image of Buddhism and undermine its core teachings.

It's 40 years since the Philippine People's Revolution It was a revolution where barely a shot was fired. Nuns armed with rosary beads helped lead millions of Filipinos in peaceful demonstrations that, 40 years ago, brought down the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.  Ringing in the ears of the people was the voice of a soft-spoken archbishop who urged them to topple a corrupt and increasingly brutal regime.  Just how critical was Cardinal Jaime Sin and the Catholic Church to the People Power revolution?  GUEST: Dr Jethro Calacday, Filipino historian currently at Cambridge University 

Australia is a country where meat is our national icon — we commune around the barbie and love our meat pies. Yet, we also have some of the oldest vegetarian societies and earliest western animal cruelty laws. In the place of The World Today on Good Friday, James Carleton from Radio National's God Forbid philosopher Professor Rachel Ankeny, author Edgar Crook and theologian Professor David Clough to examine what we eat from cultural, ethical and historical perspectives.GUESTS:Rachel Ankeny is Chair and Professor of Philosophy at Wageningen University.Edgar Crook is author of "Abstainers! – a vegetarian and vegan history of Australia" and "Vegetarianism in Australia 1788 to 1948: A Cultural and Social History."David Clough is Chair in Theology and Applied Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.

In the near future, artificial intelligence could do the thinking, and a robotic combination of human and machine do the lifting. But it's a potentially dystopic scenario – the poor, the weak, and those who simply believe in humanity as nature intended could be abandoned. These are just some of major ethical challenges posed by so-called transhumanism. Professor JASON EBERL is a bioethicist at St Louis University in Missouri. On the 8th of April, he'll deliver the annual lecture to the Plunkett Centre for Ethics in Sydney. Each Easter, we bring you stories from places where war and other disasters can try people's faith but where, despite great despair, their religious beliefs survive. ASUNTHA CHARLES has worked with the faith-based aid organisation World Vision in Afghanistan under the Taliban and Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, where 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims fled the military regime in Myanmar/Burma. She was in Australia recently with the Micah Women's Network.Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed down after the Vatican and the governments of France, Italy and even the United States protested a decision to block the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. After Israel's president Isaac Herzog intervened, Netanyahu said the cardinal would have access to all holy sites this Easter.A Sydney bishop is set to take up a top Vatican job. Pope Leo has announced Bishop Anthony Randazzo will become the new Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, meaning he'll be responsible for interpreting and applying church law throughout the Catholic world. He'll become the most senior Australian cleric in the Vatican since the late George Pell, who held was Prefect for the economy.And finally, the pope had some pointed words for the residents of the world's wealthiest state. In a day-long visit to Monaco, where one in three people are millionaires, Leo condemned the “idolatry of power and money” and reminded them Jesus was “an advocate” for the poor and outcast.

Each Easter, we bring you stories from places where war and other disasters can try people's faith but where, despite great despair, their religious beliefs survive.ASUNTHA CHARLES has worked with the faith-based aid organisation World Vision in Afghanistan under the Taliban and Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, where 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims fled the military regime in Myanmar/Burma. She was in Australia recently with the Micah Women's Network.GUEST: Ms. Asuntha Charles is National Director for World Vision Solomon Islands and World Vision International

In the near future, artificial intelligence could do the thinking, and a robotic combination of human and machine do the lifting. But it's a potentially dystopic scenario – the poor, the weak, and those who simply believe in humanity as nature intended could be abandoned. These are just some of major ethical challenges posed by so-called transhumanism. GUEST:Professor JASON EBERL is a bioethicist at St Louis University in Missouri. On the 8th of April, he'll deliver the annual lecture to the Plunkett Centre for Ethics in Sydney. 

There may be a complex challenge for the new Archbishop of Canterbury.Some Brits are claiming Christian identity with a more politicised and dubious intention in mind.Madeleine Davies of the Church Times has been investigating the recent fervour behind the ‘Unite the Kingdom' movement and the response of the Church of England.Plus Donald Trump has always found cheerleaders in the heartland of the US bible belt. But also in Christian Europe. These movements were largely spawned out of a fear that Christian Europe was being lost to mass immigration.But the President's war in Iran and trade policies are unnerving those who once considered themselves allies. Thomas Fazi has been watching this unfold.GUESTS:Madeleine Davies is Senior Writer for the Church TimesThomas Fazi,  is a columnist for UnHerd and Compact magazines 

In the aftermath of the Bondi massacre of 15 mostly Jewish people celebrating Hannukah, state and federal governments have passed hate speech laws. They're part of an effort to build social cohesion in a country scarred recently by growing antisemitism and other forms of religious hatred.  But does banning phrases such as "from the river to the sea" — used usually when supporting a Palestinian state –promote cohesion?  Can any law mandate unity? Criminologists Keiran Hardy and Rebecca Wickes from Griffith University argue in a recent paper that laws can help, but governments also need to look at declining trust, economic opportunity and loneliness. GUEST:Kieran Hardy, Associate Professor in Griffith University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is co-author of We can't coerce our way to social cohesion. Here's what else governments should be doing

Christian Democrats in the US are making a major pitch to win religious votes. Even with growing secularism, the US still has a big Christian majority and, for 40 years, Democrats have struggled to win their trust. But ahead of congressional elections in November, several white protestant clergy have announced they're running for the Democrats. One state politician and seminarian, James Talarico, is now the party's candidate for a Texas senate seat. GUEST:David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney.

In the aftermath of the Bondi massacre, state and federal governments have passed hate speech laws to help build social cohesion. But does banning phrases promote cohesion? Can any law mandate unity? Also in this episode, Christian Democrats in the US are making a major pitch to win religious votes. Will they pose a significant threat to Donald Trump at upcoming midterm elections?GUESTS:Kieran Hardy, Associate Professor in Griffith University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is co-author of: We can't coerce our way to social cohesion. Here's what else governments should be doing David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

Donald Trump found enthusiastic cheerleaders not only in the American Midwest but also the historic heartland of Europe. He spawned imitation movements across the continent, powered by a fear that Christian Europe was being lost to mass immigration. But the president's war on Iran and his aggressive foreign and trade policies are unnerving European parties that were once allies. GUEST:THOMAS FAZI, a columnist for UnHerd and Compact magazines has been watching this breakdown.

The enthronement of Dame Sarah Mullaly as the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury comes amid a lot of talk about a quiet revival in British Christianity. While there is evidence – anecdotal and data – of this rise in people in the pews, the spiritual leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans faces a more complex challenge. Some British people are claiming a Christian identity with political, and other dubious, motives.GUEST: MADELEINE DAVIES of The Church Times has done a deep dive into this trend. 

This week, as part of the ABC's look at the persistence of antisemitism in Australia and the world, the Religion and Ethics team partnered with ABC TV and Big Ideas here on Radio National. In a special episode of Big Ideas, we explored the religious roots of anti-Jewish prejudice because certain Christian and Muslim texts have been manipulated to fit political ideologies. A key turning point came in the 1800s, when a racial form of antisemitism began to supplant religious bigotry, with the most lethal consequence by the 1930s and 1940s. Geoff Levey of the University of New South Wales explained this change to me and my colleague Scott Stephens.  GUEST:Associate Professor Geoff Levey of the University of New South Wales

The bookshelves of the Dalai Lama are groaning with awards for peace and justice work, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But he recently added a more unusual accolade – a Grammy award for the best spoken-word book recording. It's another example of how religion and popular culture are deeply enmeshed. Research by the US-based Faith and Media Initiative suggests audiences, including those with no religious belief, love religious themes on the big and small screens. GUEST:Dr Anna Halafoff is Professor of Sociology at Deakin University who specialises in faith and popular culture 

As Israel and the United States continue their war with Iran, even promising to assassinate the new and hardline ayatollah, Pope Leo has emerged as a champion of international law. He's called for an immediate ceasefire. Tens of millions of people maybe hearing him, but does the leadership in Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran care? Leo understands the brutal history of Iran's regime, but he's worried about the strongest nations behaving as they choose, without restraint. What balance is he trying to strike? GUEST:Dr Miles Pattenden of Oxford University is a papal historian.

As Israel and the United States continue their war with Iran, even promising to assassinate the new and hardline ayatollah, Pope Leo has emerged as a champion of international law. He's called for an immediate ceasefire. Tens of millions of people maybe hearing him, but does the leadership in Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran care? Leo understands the brutal history of Iran's regime, but he's worried about the strongest nations behaving as they choose, without restraint. What balance is he trying to strike? This week, as part of the ABC's look at the persistence of antisemitism in Australia and the world, the Religion and Ethics team partnered with ABC TV and Big Ideas here on Radio National. In a special episode of Big Ideas, we explored the religious roots of anti-Jewish prejudice because certain Christian and Muslim texts have been manipulated to fit political ideologies. A key turning point came in the 1800s, when a racial form of antisemitism began to supplant religious bigotry, with the most lethal consequence by the 1930s and 1940s. Geoff Levey of the University of New South Wales explained this change to me and my colleague Scott Stephens. The bookshelves of the Dalai Lama are groaning with awards for peace and justice work, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But he recently added a more unusual accolade – a Grammy award for the best spoken-word book recording. It's another example of how religion and popular culture are deeply enmeshed. Research by the US-based Faith and Media Initiative suggests audiences, including those with no religious belief, love religious themes on the big and small screens. GUESTS:Dr Miles Pattenden of Oxford University is a papal historianAssociate Professor Geoff Levey of the University of New South WalesDr Anna Halafoff is Professor of Sociology at Deakin University who specialises in faith and popular culture 

Acclaimed journalist Robin Wright of The New Yorker covered Iran from the start of the 1979 revolution, which brought the first ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, to power. She's sceptical that the United States and Israel can bring change through aerial bombardment.GUEST Robin Wright of The New Yorker

Donald Trump says he's liberated the people of Iran to forge their own future, after killing their autocratic leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But as the bombing continues and any organised resistance struggles to emerge, is this ethnically diverse land, with thousands of years of history, at risk of breaking up or descending into sectarian division? Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas specialises in the politics and culture of the Middle East. She's also part of the Iranian diaspora.Acclaimed journalist Robin Wright of The New Yorker covered Iran from the start of the 1979 revolution, which brought the first ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, to power.  She's sceptical that the United States and Israel can bring change through aerial bombardment.As the regime in Iran fell, a handful of Shia Muslim communities in Australia went into mourning for the Ayatollah, drawing criticism from New South Wales premier Chris Minns. Khamenei was a brutal autocrat, but he was also a spiritual leader to many Shi'ites. Is it the role of the state to decide who a religious community can mourn?  Dr Renae Barker specialises in law and religion at the University of Western Australia law.

Donald Trump says he's liberated the people of Iran to forge their own future, after killing their autocratic leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But as the bombing continues and any organised resistance struggles to emerge, is this ethnically diverse land, with thousands of years of history, at risk of breaking up or descending into sectarian division? Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas specialises in the politics and culture of the Middle East. She's also part of the Iranian diaspora.Guest:Professor Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas specialises in the politics and culture of the Middle East. She's also part of the Iranian diaspora.

As the regime in Iran fell, a handful of Shia Muslim communities in Australia went into mourning for the Ayatollah, drawing criticism from New South Wales premier Chris Minns. Khamenei was a brutal autocrat, but he was also a spiritual leader to many Shi'ites. Is it the role of the state to decide who a religious community can mourn?  GuestDr Renae Barker Senior Lecturer, UWA Law School