Vol 34 No 23

18 November 2024

AUSTRALIA

The spirituality of KFC
- Michael McGirr
- 22 November 2024
There’s this other place that is neither heaven nor earth but which you might find in the car park of the third busiest KFC in Melbourne, waiting for your son to finish his shift. A bin beside the car is overflowing with all the packaging that comes with fast food, not to mention the remains of poor dead chooks whose life it is hard to imagine.
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INTERNATIONAL

Don Watson's elegy for an imperfect union
- Barry Gittins
- 22 November 2024
Before the U.S. election, Don Watson predicted the electoral victory of Trump in his essay High Noon, an exploration of a divided America teetering on the edge. Dissecting the economic, racial, and cultural forces that led to a Republican landslide reveals an imperfect union at its most vulnerable.
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INTERNATIONAL

The human cost of war
- Michele Gierck
- 21 November 2024
The war reports we hear on the news often focus on statistics: casualties, destruction, and key figures lost. But the true cost of conflict lies in the long-term human suffering. For those living through war, the trauma endures long after the fighting stops.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

A guitar that sings to the universe
- Warwick McFadyen
- 21 November 2024
David Gilmour’s latest album, Luck and Strange, emerges as a meditative masterpiece, steeped in themes of time, mortality, and the currents of life. With Gilmour’s unmistakable playing style, the album channels the introspection of an artist reflecting on paths taken and those left behind.
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AUSTRALIA

Reading the entrails of an election
- Andrew Hamilton
- 21 November 2024
As Australia watches the U.S. navigate its Trump-era transition, we wait in uncertainty. Any interregnum period is a time for rethinking, for wondering about our own nation, and not just for focusing on another. It is a time to rethink what we have taken granted about what is for the good of Australian society.
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RELIGION

Astute stewards: Implementing the Synod
- Bill Uren
- 20 November 2024
Will the recommendations of the Synod on Synodality inspire lasting change or risk losing momentum? With bishops balancing tradition and reform, the coming year will determine whether this moment becomes one of true transformation.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Gladiator II: Are you not entertained?
- Eddie Hampson
- 20 November 2024
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II promises grandeur. Paul Mescal dazzles, Denzel Washington commands, and sharks make their sword-and-sandals debut. But spectacle overshadows story in a sequel that’s more baffling than breathtaking. Are we entertained? Sort of.
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INTERNATIONAL

Is America ready for a tycoon President again?
- David James
- 18 November 2024
Donald Trump's first term, marred by impeachments, bureaucratic resistance and a pandemic, offered few answers as to how a businessperson might navigate the complexities of Washington. Now, as he returns to office, Trump’s business instincts — and their implications for governance — are once again under scrutiny.
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RELIGION

Why don't we hear about violence against Christians?
- Michael McVeigh
- 18 November 2024
Religious persecution often fades from public view unless it fits a political agenda. Yet Christians worldwide continue to face existential threats, from systemic repression in China to deadly violence in Nigeria. It’s worth reflecting on the cost of indifference and what it means to advocate for justice beyond our culture wars.
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Vol 34 No 23