Soul Search

What does it take to be a good doctor in an us-and-them struggle? Dr Lina Qasem Hassan is a Palestinian doctor in Israel and head of the Israeli NGO, Physicians for Human Rights. What’s it like to be a Palestinian doctor in Israel, and what do health services even look like in Gaza right now? 

The Biblical phrase “from dust to dust” tells us humans were made from soil and shall return to it. And care of soil is a shared teaching among the major religions. Science too, tells us we’re connected. Yet it’s being degraded across the world, and there are warnings that 90 per cent of the planet's soil could be seriously damaged by 2050. Can we save it, and where does spirituality meet soil?

Ancient societies had some very elaborate ideas about death – from how to treat the body, to what kind of afterlife to expect.   

How much do those ideas influence how we think about death and the afterlife? And what are some of the ways in which our attitudes are transforming in Australia today?

Corinne Ooms  was, a contestant in the most recent series of the reality show Alone Australia. She spent 70 days, by herself, in the remote west coast ranges of Lutruwita, Tasmania. And there, she had to navigate the psychological challenges of solitude and the physical challenges of survival in the wild.  She experienced a profound change in how she experiences the world and her priorities in life

Younger Australians are less religious than ever before, but that doesn't mean they don't engage with spiritual practices. Astrology and tarot card reading are especially on trend, but rather than telling the future, many practitioners say it connects them with the present. 

Cosmic horror is a genre that asks, what lurks in the in-between places? Who are we in the face of a vast and uncaring cosmos? H.P. Lovecraft's (rather mixed!) legacy is everywhere if you know where to look, but trying to put the ineffable into words has been a human obsession for thousands of years. What do we hope to find by courting the strange and unexplainable?

This NAIDOC week, guest presenter Brooke Prentis has a yarn with two remarkable Aboriginal leaders to find out how they carry strength, vision and legacy through their ministry and art.

The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most recognisable people and on July 6, he's turning 90 years old. Tibetans around the world are getting ready to celebrate, including Grammy-nominated musician Tenzin Choegyal. 

What does community look like for you, and how does it shape your spiritual practice? As we reach the mid-year mark, Soul Search listeners and returning guests share their reflections on finding community in a busy — and sometimes isolating — world. 

When you go to a museum, have you ever wondered who picked out the things you see, and why? Museums are places where we make and find meaning, and they're sites where intangible — often political — questions about history and national identity are documented with and without physical objects.