The Big Tent

Changing belief: beyond the manosphere

In episode two of our miniseries on changing belief, Geraldine Doogue and Julie Thorpe explore why so many young men are drawn to online communities that promise seemingly a secure hold amid so much sliding from their grasp: education, jobs, relationships. With demographer Simon Kuestenmacher, they look at the pull of the manosphere, the hunger for belonging and whether older wisdom traditions can still offer a meaning – beyond the clicks. Mentioned in this episode: * Adrian Rosenfeldt's Eureka Street article, Dostoevsky’s underground man and the rise of the manosphere [https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/dostoevskys-underground-man-and-the-rise-of-the-manosphere] * Why More Americans Are Seeking Religion [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/podcasts/the-daily/americans-religion-believing.html] on The Daily podcast * Rutger Bregman's How to start a moral revolution [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/2-how-to-start-a-moral-revolution/id318705261?i=1000739258338], The 2025 BBC Reith Lectures also available on ABC RN Big Ideas ---------------------------------------- We'd welcome your feedback on this miniseries. Please get in touch via our Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/470527097325405] page.

Changing belief: when does belief return?

‘Humanity has never had so many people living beyond the working stage of life as now,' says demographer and social commentator Bernard Salt, 'and we have to work out how to fund it, how to manage it, how to house it, how to care for it and how to deliver a meaning.' Bernard joins Geraldine and Julie first up in this mini-series on changing belief to explore what's disappeared and what might endure in ageing Australia. Recommendations: * Lamorna Ash, Don't Forget We're Here Forever: A New Generation's Search for Religion, and her interview [https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/wrestling-with-the-angel-lamorna-ash/] in The Tablet * Laurence Freeman, ‘An education of the heart’ [https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/an-education-of-the-heart/] in The Tablet ---------------------------------------- We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch via Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/470527097325405].

Travelling with an American pope

‘Peace be with you all!’ Pope Leo’s first words to the world have resounded across continents — for all to hear. Fresh off the papal plane from Africa, CNN's Christopher Lamb [https://edition.cnn.com/profiles/christopher-lamb] speaks with Geraldine Doogue about what it means for the Church, and for the wider world, to have an American pope. A year into his papacy, what’s Leo like, up close? What kind of moral and diplomatic voice is he becoming on the world stage? And what happens when the pope’s words are read through the prism of politics? And a question for listeners: what would you like to hear more of in future episodes? Get in touch via our Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/470527097325405] page or send a review via your podcast feed. Mentioned in this episode: * Christopher Lamb's new book, American Hope: What Pope Leo XIV Means for the Church and the World * Peter Wehner's article in The Atlantic, The American Pope vs. the American President [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/pope-leo-trump-iran/686964/] * Massimo Faggioli's Commonweal article, 'Cool' Catholicism? [https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/massimo-faggioli-youth-conversion-united-states-europe-church-catholic]

Voices from the Pacific: an immigrant bishop

When Archbishop Ryan Jimenez met Pope Leo at the Vatican last year, ahead of his ordination as Agaña’s archbishop in the US territory of Guam, he brought a message from the Pacific: ‘Holy Father, we’re sinking.’ During his recent visit to Australia he spoke with Geraldine Doogue about how church leaders can model genuine participation while also managing the impact of climate emergency and global conflict on local communities. And what lessons does Leo’s leadership of the Catholic Church hold for the Pacific? Archbishop Jimenez was in Australia for the Hélder Camara Lecture at Newman College, Melbourne, and as part of the Bishop Vincent Presents [https://catholicoutlook.org/who-gets-to-be-inside-an-archbishops-vision-for-a-more-inclusive-church/] series in the Diocese of Parramatta. Links: * Archbishop Ryan’s public lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F3G8kVEehc]in Parramatta * Pope Leo’s address to leaders in Angola [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-xiv-address-angola-authorities-civil-society-diplomats.html], and in Equatorial Guinea [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-message-equatorial-guinean-authorities-diplomatic-corps.html] * Geraldine's interview [https://plenary-matters.zencast.website/episodes/at-the-synod-in-rome-ep-4]with Archbishop Ryan at the synod in Rome * Julie's book on the Helder Camara Lectures, Reasons for Hope: Helder Camara, Global Catholicism and the Australian Church [https://www.garrattpublishing.com.au/product/9781923095199/] ---------------------------------------- We'd love your thoughts! Find us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/470527097325405], or send us a review via your podcast feed.

The disruptive legacy of Pope Francis

One year on from the death of Pope Francis, fellow Jesuit Frank Brennan joins Geraldine Doogue to reflect on a papacy that opened doors without dismantling tradition. From issues of conscience to authority, women’s leadership, global Catholicism beyond Europe, and amid escalating war, what might Francis’s disruptive vision continue to ask of the Church today? Further reading: * Francis J. Moloney, ‘The “Jews” in the Fourth Gospel’, The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina Series (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998), and Brendan Byrne, Life Abounding: A Reading of John’s Gospel, St Pauls, 2014, where Byrne writes on p.302: 'Personally, I believe the term “the Jews” should be expunged from all translations in public use and “the authorities” substituted in its place. Sermons and expositions are needed to educate people on the technical meaning of the phrase “the Jews” and the way in which the phrase functions in the Fourth Gospel.’ * Pope Leo's Palm Sunday homily [https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260329-palme.html] * Frank Brennan's Palm Sunday homily [https://catholicoutlook.org/fr-frank-brennans-homily-palm-sunday-2026/] * The final synod report on women: what it says, what it means and what’s next [https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/03/12/synod-final-study-group-report-women/], by America Magazine's Colleen Dulle * Frank Brennan, Pope Francis: The Disruptive Pilgrim’s Guide (ATF Press, 2025) For those in Sydney, Geraldine will launch Frank's book at the Ron Dyer Centre, St Mary's North Sydney, at 6pm Monday 27 April. ---------------------------------------- Thanks for listening! Share your thoughts via Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/470527097325405] on more conversations in The Big Tent.