The Spirit Of Things - Program Podcast

What is Modern Witchcraft? And how might we understand magic in a so-called secular age?

A music special with Father Rob Galea, a Maltese-Australian Catholic priest and musician whose incredible story may soon be heading to Hollywood. And, the Ballarat-based gospel and world music group, Sweet Mona’s Choir.  

Franciscan priest Fr. Richard Rohr reflects upon his spiritual life and new book 'The Universal Christ,' and we remember Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche communities for people with intellectual disabilities.

In search of the soul, and a new way of thinking about our environment.

Pastor and hymnwriter John Bell paints us a picture of Iona, one of the oldest Christian religious centres in Western Europe. And, historian Mark Allon reveals what the ancient Gandhari manuscripts tell us about early Buddhism.

Meredith Lake heads to an iftar dinner at the home of a Turkish Australian family in western Sydney, and Mariam Chehab catches up with award-winning author Michael Mohamed Ahmed for his Ramadan reflections.

How do you put faith on a page? Can a writer disconnect their spiritual self from their writing? On Soul Search today, we remember late poet Les Murray, and head to the Sydney Writers' Festival where a new generation of authors answer the question: "What's God Got to Do With It?"

A rare interview with the Hillsong church reveals the increasing importance of digital technology in growing the church and spreading the word. We'll also hear about an app created for the Jewish community, and take an overview on the rise of digital religion.

How does faith work as a solvent to despondency and fear? This week, Tim Costello and Evert-Jan Ouweneel from World Vision on the power of hope 'in a broken world'. And musician William Crighton on why he's no longer religious, but finds meaning and happiness in the earth around him.

Historian Colin Bale on how bereaved families processed the catastrophe of World War I through the act of choosing an epitaph for their lost ones. And, theologian and quadriplegic Shane Clifton reflects on faith and suffering in our final episode of Spiritual Lifehack.

Katelyn Beaty — the youngest and first female managing editor of Christianity Today — insists it’s time to reconsider women’s work. (This is a special Good Friday episode in place of PM.)

Did you know there's a religious backstory to the British chocolate trade? Today on the program, we'll take a sweet trip through Quaker history, and taste the bitter herbs associated with the Jewish Passover in our new series, Spiritual Lifehack.

We hear from musician Jessie Lloyd about her project to recover the songs sung on Indigenous missions, explore ancient Chinese artworks that reflect Daoist teachings, and mine the riches of religion for practical life advice in our new series Spiritual Lifehack.

Pro-boxer Bianca Elmir, and cross-cultural consultant Tasneem Chopra, share stories of their childhood as contributors to a book called Growing Up Muslim in Australia.

In the darkness of terror, suffering and marginalisation, there are people working hard to shine a light. This week, the link between Islamophobia and the Christchurch terror attack, and we hear from three prison chaplains.

Three women share how the ocean shapes their faith, and brings them closer to God.

What’s left when you lose everything? Providing spiritual care to people dealing with disaster.

From consecrated virginity to nude life modelling, three women from different ends of the religious spectrum reflect on how belief is expressed in the body.

Can sacredness be found in the suburbs? And does it inevitably exist in religious buildings, or not?

Since the 1970s, mindfulness has become a widespread practice, used in business, hospitals, schools and the gym, going well beyond its original Hindu and Buddhist settings. So what’s happened to the spiritual content as mindfulness has gone mainstream?