God Forbid

On God Forbid we’re talking about the sacred strands that sprout from our skulls. 

Whether it’s being grown long, shaved off, or covered up... hair has long been a point of contention for faith communities.  

Claims of both modesty AND freedom come up when we discuss hair coverings... and often a similar piece of fabric will elicit very different responses depending on the religion of the person wearing it.  

From turbans to tonsures, hijabs to high-top fades... hair is more than style, it’s spiritual. 

GUESTS:

Michael D. (David) Barbezat - a historian of medieval European religious history. His first book, Burning Bodies: Communities, Eschatology, and the Punishment of Heresy in the Middle Ages. 

Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa - Director of The Blue Room Theatre in Perth. She’s a writer, performer, theatre and filmmaker. Since her sell-out theatre work Fully Sikh she’s currently producing A Hairy Tale, a documentary exploring female body hair. 

Aseel Tayah - Palestinian-Australian artist, CEO of community art project Bukjeh in Melbourne, and hijabi Muslim.

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land, the land of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people and in Naarm. 

In Australia, and beyond, women are taking on religious leadership in ways that would have been unthinkable decades ago. 

But change and faith is a complex brew. And for every breakthrough, there's backlash.  

And the arguments aren't just theological – they're personal too, touching on tradition, culture, and what it means to be faithful in a changing world. 

So, what happens when the drive for gender equality meets the weight of sacred tradition? 

GUESTS:

• Pastor Sue Westhorp last year was one of three women ordained for the first time into the Lutheran church. 
• Rev. Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, the youngest and first person of colour to hold the office.

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm. 

Technical production by John Jacobs.

Although the Australian population has doubled in size since the early 1970s, the number of marriages registered each year has not increased over this time.

And…interest in poly modes of intimacy are on the rise.

So, what do people want in their intimate relationships and indeed marriages in 2025?

Can we still make a case for monogamy – dedication to “the one” till death do us part? 

Or are we moving towards new models of intimacy?

GUESTS:

• Justine Toh is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity
• Michail Ivanov is a socio-legal academic from the University of Adelaide and author of Polygamy: Proper or Primitive 

• Belinda Tobin, researcher and author of The Moral Dilemma of Monogamy

  Watch a recent Compass episode about polyamory Beyond Monogamy

Is religious appropriation an act of reverence? Or cultural theft? 

Yoga at the gym, meditation via an app on your phone, sage-smudging a corporate office. Religious rituals and traditions are being taken out of their original context and used in everyday life by people outside the culture and faith they're taken from. Could this be considered a kind of theft? Or is this part of a healthy modern cultural exchange? 

To explore the ethical and spiritual implications of wellness-ifying religious practices are two guests researching the impact of these cases. 

GUESTS:

• Prof Liz Bucar, professor in religious ethics at Northeastern University and author of Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation
• A/Prof Shameem Black, associate professor in the School of Culture, History, and Language at the Australian National University and Author of Flexible India: Yoga's Cultural and Political Tensions

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land, the land of the Ngunnawal people, and the traditional land of the Massachusett people

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and John Jacobs

From yoga in the gym, to Buddhist chants in wellness retreats, we live in a time of mixed spirituality, where ritual and practice are globalized, traditions blend, and meaning is borrowed or simply stripped away. 

So, when is religious borrowing respectful, and when does it cause harm?

GUESTS:

• Elizabeth Bucar is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Northeastern University and author of Stealing My Religion 
• Shemeem Black, Researcher at the Australian National University and the Head of Gender, Media and Cultural Studies Program in the School of Culture History and Language, She is the author of The Flexible India: Yoga’s Cultural and Political Tensions

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land. 

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and Tegan Nicholls.

Is a cult a misunderstood religion? Or something much more dangerous?

The line between high-control religions, new religious movements, and 'cults' is as grey as ever. But the fascination we have with these groups is only getting stronger. What counts as a 'cult'? Is it your highly controlling tech workplace? Your gym with a forever-binding contract? Or does the casual use of the word 'cult' do a disservice to those stuck in dangerous and emotionally manipulative religious and spiritual organisations?

To shed some light on the difference between a new religious movement, a cult, and your regular high-control Pentecostal mega-church are the God Forbid guests who have lived, studied, or spoken to survivors of these groups. 

GUESTS: 

• Professor Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, specialising in new religious movements (NRMs) contemporary religious trends and Western esotericism
• Sarah Steel, host and creator of award-winning podcast, Let's Talk About Sects
• Scott Parker, writer and star of stage production, Hillsong Boy

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land. 

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and Tegan Nicholls.

How do different religions treat the dead? What do their burial practices say about the soul? And in an era of environmental crisis and shrinking space, how might death rituals evolve?

GUESTS:

• Dr Paul Tapsell, Māori academic at Lincoln University and expert in Indigenous knowledge systems
• Rev Prof. Vicky Balabanski, Uniting Church minister and ecological theologian, General Editor of the Earth Bible series
• Annie Whitlocke, Buddhist death doula supporting people at the end of life

From fallen angel to Netflix anti-hero, the Devil has had quite the makeover. In this episode of God Forbid, Sami Shah leads a devilishly good panel exploring the many faces of Satan — from ancient Hebrew texts to modern Satanism.

Is the Devil a cosmic villain, a cultural scapegoat, or a misunderstood metaphor? We unpack how different religions and movements have shaped — and reshaped — the Prince of Darkness over time. Why did monotheism need a Devil when polytheism didn’t? What made the Middle Ages so obsessed with demonic possession? And why is the Devil suddenly charming?

GUESTS:

• Robyn Whitaker, New Testament scholar and Uniting Church minister
• Philip C. Almond, religious historian and author of The Devil: A New Biography
• Lilith Starr, Minister of Satan at the Temple of Satan and author of Compassionate Satanism

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

Technical production by Roi Huberman and Tegan Nicholls.

In this special bonus episode of God Forbid, Noel Debien sits down with Dr Paul Collins, former Catholic priest, broadcaster, author of many books on the Catholicism and Pope, including his most recent work - Absolute Power: How the Pope became the most influential man in the world. 

Together Noel and Paul discuss the legacy of Pope Francis and the complex history of the Papacy.

The papal conclave is set to begin on May 7. As the Sistine Chapel closes its doors to the public, preparations are underway for a secret process that will determine the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Coming to you from outside Saint Peter's Basilica this week, the God Forbid panel find out what lies ahead for the Catholic church.