The Political Animals

Intellectual historian Prof Wayne Hudson returns to the show for a discussion about his latest research project: Australian political thought. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠Jonathan Cole⁠, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of ⁠The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority⁠ and ⁠Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality⁠.

Simon Kennedy joins Jonathan for a conversation about twentieth century American conservative intellectual Peter Viereck and his critique of so-called new conservatism in America. Simon Kennedy has a PhD in history from the University of Queensland (UQ). He is currently Associate Editor of ⁠Quadrant Magazine⁠ and a Research Fellow in the Law School at UQ. His academic research is in the area of law and politics and their interaction with Christianity. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Cole⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. You can contact Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Simon Kennedy joins Jonathan for a conversation about conservative philosophy Eric Voegelin’s essay Politics, Science, and Gnosticism, and in particular his thesis that major 20th century political and intellectual movements are modern manifestations of gnosticism. Simon Kennedy has a PhD in history from the University of Queensland (UQ). He is currently Associate Editor of Quadrant Magazine and a Research Fellow in the Law School at UQ. His academic research is in the area of law and politics and their interaction with Christianity. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Cole⁠⁠⁠⁠, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. You can contact Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Ian Tregenza joins Jonathan for a conversation about the history of Quadrant Magazine and its cultural impact in Australia, and particularly on the nature of conservatism in Australia. Ian is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Sciences at Macquarie University. He works in the areas of political theory, the history of political thought and religion and politics. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Cole⁠⁠⁠, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. You can contact Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Jonathan talks to Libertarian Party member Pietro Angeli about the anarcho-capitalist alternative to the state. Pietro Angeli is a member of the Libertarian Party State Executive in Victoria. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠⁠Jonathan Cole⁠⁠, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of ⁠⁠The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority⁠⁠and ⁠⁠Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality⁠⁠. You can contact Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Jonathan is joined by Tim Wilson, Executive Director of NZ think tank Maxim Institute, for a conversation about faith and politics across the ditch (detch). Tim Wilson is currently Executive Director of Maxim Institute. Prior to this role, Tim was an award-winning journalist working in print, radio and television. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and Newsweek.com. He was TVNZ’s first US Correspondent and has been a business development manager and an English teacher. Tim has written three novels, one of which—Their Faces Were Shining—was a finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr ⁠Jonathan Cole⁠, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of ⁠The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority⁠and ⁠Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality⁠. You can follow Jonathan and the show on ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠, and you can email Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

This is part 2 of Jonathan's conversation with Josh Lewis of the Saving Elephants podcast on the topic of political theology. Check out the Saving Elephants podcast here: "Millennials defending and expressing conservative values." The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

This is the first of Jonathan's two-part conversation with Josh Lewis of the Saving Elephants podcast on the topic of political theology. Check out the Saving Elephants podcast here: "Millennials defending and expressing conservative values." The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Constitutional scholar Nicholas Aroney joins Jonathan for an examination of the legal meaning and implications of the proposed new s129 in the Australia Constitution that establishes the Voice, and which is the subject of a referendum on 14 October. Nicholas Aroney is Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Queensland. He has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters and books in the fields of constitutional law, comparative constitutional law and legal theory. He has held visiting positions at Oxford, Cambridge, Paris II, Edinburgh, Durham, Sydney, Emory and Tilburg universities. You can read Nick's co-authored submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice here and something he has written on First Peoples and the People of Australia here. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Jonathan is joined by Iain Benson for a conversation about values and virtues. They discuss the triumph of technique over purpose in our contemporary culture, the problems with adopting "values" as our primary moral language and the need to recover the ancient moral language of virtue. Iain Benson is Professor of Law at Notre Dame University, Sydney, Australia. He is an academic, lecturer and practicing lawyer in constitutional law and human rights, with a particular focus on freedoms of association and religion, the nature of pluralism, multiculturalism and the relationships between laws, religion and human rigths. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email Jonathan at polanimalspod@gmail.com.

Clive Hamilton joins the show to discuss his left-wing critique of wokeness published in the Sydney Morning Herald. Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the found of The Australia Institute and the author of many books, including Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene, Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia and Provocateur: A Life of Ideas in Action. The article discussed in the show is "Wake up, lefties, and reject wokeness." The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter.

In this episode, Jonathan engages in a conversation about conservatism with political philosopher and radical feminist Holly Lawford-Smith. They do so by discussing Burke's classic text, Reflections on The Revolution in France, which they both read (Holly for the first time) in preparation for the podcast. The conversation ranges across reform versus revolution, the strengths and weaknesses of liberalism, the role and function of religion in society, social hierarchy and more. Dr Holly Lawford-Smith is an Associate Professor in political philosophy in the school of historical and philosophical studies at the University of Melbourne. Her latest book is (with Angie Pepper): Is it Wrong to Buy Sex? A Debate (Routledge, 2023). She is also the author of Gender-Critical Feminism (OUP, 2022). The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authorityand Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook and Twitter.

Free speech warrior Brendan O'Neill joins Jonathan for a discussion about free speech, cancel culture, linguistic tyranny and the Orwellian assault on reality afflicting contemporary Western societies. Brendan is a journalist who has written columns for the Australian, the Spectator and the Big Issue. He is best know for his work at Spiked, where he is Chief Political Writer and formerly Editor. He has published several collections of essays, including Anti-Woke, Duty to Offend and most recently A Heretic’s Manifesto: Essays on the Unsayable. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Jonathan is joined by Russian-Australian scholar Andreas Berg for a deep dive on contemporary Russia. They cover the anarchic chaos of the 1990s transition from communism, the rise of Vladimir Putin, the nature and operation of Putin's regime, the complex and fraught relationship between Russia and Ukraine, the current war in Ukraine, the would-be rebellion of Evgeny Prigozhin's Wagner PMC and the fate of Russia post-Putin. Dr Andreas Berg is an intellectual historian with a PhD from Griffith University on the interplay between the Enlightenment and mystical discourses in eighteen century Russia. For over a decade, he taught the humanities at Griffith and Bond Universities and he is currently pursuing post-graduate study in international relations at the Australian National University. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Jonathan is joined by Pieter Valk for a conversation about how churches that adhere to traditional Christian teaching on sexuality and sexual ethics can care for and support gay and trans Christians. Pieter Valk is the founder and director of Equip, a consulting ministry aimed at helping churches to be places where gay and LGBT Christians can thrive in line with the church's traditional and historic sexual ethic. Valk is also the founder of the Family of Brothers, an organisation aimed at fostering family and community among men called to vocational singleness. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Jonathan is joined by conservative commentator Gray Connolly for an examination of the good, the bad and the ugly of contemporary conservatism. They cover the traditional conservative understanding of government, authority, society, family, duty, inheritance and culture and the many libertarian (and populist) heresies perverting this understanding amongst so-called "conservatives." Gray Connolly is a Barrister in Sydney, Australia. He has a broad public law and commercial law practice, including constitutional law, energy and resources law, and admiralty/shipping law. In particular, Gray has advised the Australian Government on national security law and public law matters. Gray also lectures in constitutional law and he also serves part-time as a Senior Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of the Commonwealth of Australia. Gray served previously as a Naval Intelligence officer in the Royal Australian Navy in the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, East Timor, and the Middle East, including service in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gray writes on what interests him at his blog “Strategy Counsel” and in various publications. Gray’s Twitter is @GrayConnolly. Please note that all of Gray’s opinions are his opinions only and not those of any Australian Government entity. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

John Milbank joins Jonathan for wide-ranging tour of political theology, contemporary secular politics, contemporary political problems, cultural decadence and the opportunities and challenges for a Christian contribution to our contemporary political malaise. John Milbank is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham. He is a co-founder of the radical orthodox movement and author of the seminal book, Theology & Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason. His work traverses systematic theology, social theory, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy, political theory and political theology. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Knox Peden returns to the show to discuss his interesting, and by today's standard unusual, journey from secular intellectual influenced by Spinoza and Marx to practicing Catholic. Dr Knox Peden is an intellectual historian who has taught philosophy and history at the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University and the University of Queensland. He has published widely on French philosophy and on a variety of topics in intellectual history, including Spinozism and Marxism. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram.

Constantine Campbell joins Jonathan for a discussion of his provocative book Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement. They discuss Penal Substitutionary Atonement, the hierarchy of evangelical sins, megachurch culture, Evangelical social and political engagement and more. Constantine Campbell is a New Testament scholar who has taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Chicago, and Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia. He is currently professor and associate director at the Sydney College of Divinity. He is the author of Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram.

Jonathan is joined by sociologist Kristina Stoeckl for a deep dive on the Russian Orthodox Church, tracing its complex journey from repression under Soviet communism to support for Vladimir Putin and source of an orthodox nationalist state ideology. Kristina Stoeckl is Professor of Sociology at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Her main areas of research are sociology of religion, political sociology and social and political theory. She is a leading specialist on Russian Orthodoxy and religion-state relations in Russia. Her most recent book, co-authored with Drmitry Uzlaner, is The Moralist International: Russia in the Global Culture Wars. The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram.