The Political Animals

Terrorism scholar Kristy Campion joins the show for a deep dive on right wing extremism. Kristy and Jonathan cover the definition of right wing extremism, its history and its diverse ideologies, including white supremacism, ethnonationalism, Christian Identity, Odinism, Satanism, the sovereign citizen movement, Qanon and ecofascism. They also examine the anti-Islam ideologies of right wing terrori...

The Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen joins Jonathan to discuss the rise of Chinese military power, its implications for American power, the prospects of great power conflict in the Asia Pacific, scenarios regarding Taiwan, the American response to China's rise and the defence strategy and military configuration Australia should be pursuing in light of changed strategic circumstances in the region. S...

In this episode, intellectual historian Knox Peden joins Jonathan for a deep dive on cultural marxism. Along the way, they explore the intellectual history of marxism, including Western marxism, the political history of marxist revolutionaries, the Frankfurt School, critical theory, cultural studies, right-wing polemical uses of the term "cultural marxism" and the relationship (and tension) betwee...

In this throwback episode, Simon Kennedy joins Jonathan for a discussion of Roger Scruton's classic work The Meaning of Conservatism. In particular, they hone in on Scruton's conception of freedom and authority and its potential illumination in the current political turbulence of the covid era. Dr Simon Kennedy is Director of the Millis Institute at Christian Heritage College, a research fellow at...

In this episode, political philosopher and gender critical feminist Holly Lawford-Smith talks to Jonathan about sex, gender and the conflict between the radical feminist movement and transgender activists. They cover gender critical feminism, the conflation of sex and gender, the impact of subjective gender identity on women and the law, biology versus identity, non-binary gender identity, the rel...

Stephen McAlpine, author of the 2021 Australian Christian book of the year— Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn't —joins Jonathan for a conversation about the fate of the church in a hostile culture. "The church used to be recognised as a force for good, but this is changing rapidly. Christians are now often seen as the bad guys, losing both respect and influ...

Alex Naraniecki joins Jonathan for a conversation about multiculturalism. Among other things, they discuss the origins of Australia's bipartisan policy of multiculturalism, how that policy morphed from a strategy for managing migrant integration to a celebration of cultural diversity, the Cronulla riot and its fall out, the role of law in successful multiculturalism, the reasons why multiculturali...

Martyn Iles returns to the show for a chat about the challenges of being a Christian in an age of deep political anxiety, from the stresses of covid and the increase in government power and control over life and death to the new religion of secular political power and the attendant temptation of political Christianity. Martyn Iles is Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby , Host of Th...

In this episode, Jonathan chats to Kevin Donnelly about the degeneration of education. They focus on when, how and why education went into decline in Australia in both schools and universities, covering changes in pedagogy, the role of teachers, the purpose of education, the ideology of educators and academics, the corporatisation of the university and more. Dr Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research...

Indigenous commentator Anthony Dillon joins the show for a discussion about indigenous affairs. Anthony provides a fresh perspective that is critical of what he calls "blacktivism," the grievance industry and the view that Australia is a racist country. Issues covered in the conversation include poverty, child abuse, incarceration, Aboriginal deaths in custody, indigenous incarceration rates, the...

The Centre for Public Christianity's (CPX) Natasha Moore joins host Jonathan for a conversation about public Christianity. They begin with an overview of the work of CPX, before moving on to the question of how to define and understand public Christianity more broadly, particularly in light of Christian division, denominational particularity and an often uninterested or hostile secular public. The...

Ben Myers joins host Jonathan in this episode for a deep dive on the fascinating life, times and thought of John Milton (1608–1674). They cover everything from the English Civil War, regicide, political authority, republicanism, the Protestant Reformation, tyranny, censorship, theology, exegesis, the individual conscience, freedom, marriage and divorce, poetry and more.  Dr Ben Myers is Direc...

In this, the second episode in the show's two-part series on European philosophy, polymath guest Wayne Hudson and host Jonathan Cole discuss the contribution and legacy of French philosophy. The enigmatic, controversial and influential thought of Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze serves as a springboard for a wide-ranging diagnostic conversation about contemporary politics, cultu...

In this episode, the first in a two-part series on European philosophy, returning guest Prof Wayne Hudson examines the legacy of German philosophy. He explores the contribution of German giants Kant, Hegel and Schelling and explains the ways in which their thought has been misunderstood in the English-speaking world. He and host Jonathan then embark on a discussion about contemporary science and c...

Eminent constitutional scholar Nicholas Aroney joins host Jonathan in this episode for a wide-ranging discussion of life in the era of covid. They discuss the Australian Constitution, federalism, the legislative power of State and Territory governments, the legal basis of lockdowns and associated measures, legal challenges to lockdown measures, vaccine passports and mandates, the power of health b...

In this special episode, host Jonathan talks to a young politically and theologically conservative Christian who is same-sex attracted and called to singleness. Jonathan's guest talks honestly and courageously about his struggle to come to terms with his sexuality and his faith growing up in a conservative Christian home and belonging to a theologically conservative church. In addition to the gues...

This week, returning guest Stephen Chavura joins host Jonathan for a deep dive on the political and cultural legacy of one of our age's most significant public intellectuals: Jordan B. Peterson. Has Jordan Peterson saved a generation of young basement dwelling deadbeat males from doom? Has he undermined the influence of ideological feminism? Is he one of the greatest theologians of the early 21st...

This week, Jonathan discusses religious freedom with John Steenhof, principal lawyer at the Human Rights Law Alliance. John provides insight into the types of religious freedom cases he handles, the legislative situation regarding religious freedoms in Australia, the developing cultural climate that imperils the free practice of religious faith, the reasons secular society struggles to comprehend...

In this episode, Jonathan discusses the conservative tradition with Damien Freeman, author of Abbot's Right: The Conservative Tradition from Menzies to Abbott (Melbourne University Press). They cover the conservative cast of mind, ideology versus pragmatism, identity and belonging, same-sex marriage and energy policy, the liberal and conservative traditions within the Liberal Party and the politic...

How did it come to this: the pornification of our society? Our children and youth now contend with peer sexual assault and sexual harassment at growing rates and disturbingly young ages. This week Jonathan sits down with Melinda Tankard Reist of Collective Shout for a very honest conversation about the widespread sexual dysfunction of our age and its catastrophic consequences for our children. &nb...

This week, Jonathan sits down with Lachlan Macquarie Institute Director, Dan Anderson, to discuss the formation of Christian citizens and political leaders. What is Christian citizenship? What if anything makes it distinct from other conceptions of citizenship in contemporary Western liberal polities? Is politics a legitimate vocation for Christians? How does a political vocation relate to the chu...

In this episode, Jonathan discusses politics with centre-left blue labor colleague and friend the Reverend Canon Professor Scott Cowdell. They debate the centre-left, blue labor, the radical left, the centre-right, the radical right, political theology, the politics of Jesus and contentious policy questions such as same-sex marriage, abortion and refugees. Scott Cowdell is Research Professor at th...

In this episode Jonathan is joined by the inimitable Prof. Wayne Hudson from Charles Sturt University to review the seminal developments of 2020. They cover the civilisational rise of China, the civilisation decline of America, the consequences of both for the global order, the China-Australia relationship (or what's left of it), as well as covid, economics, law, rights, politics and science.&nbsp...