Elenie Poulos

History’s booming in podcasts – but many of its academics are out of a job We live in momentous times. History podcasts and books are more popular than ever. So why is academic history in crisis?

This is a most excellent piece by @nickbryantoz.bsky.social
highlighting the calamitous decline of the scholarly study of history just when we need it most.

@frankbongiorno.bsky.social @capandgown.bsky.social @michellearrow.bsky.social are national treasures and we need more of them!

The Radical Faith of Walter Brueggemann in 10 Unforgettable Quotes From empire critique to Sabbath rest, Brueggemann’s writing called us to a more courageous, liberated Christianity.

Vale Walter Brueggemann. One of the great Christian theologians. A huge influence on my life. I met him once by chance in the breakfast room of a London B&B and went full fan-girl. He was so kind to me!

The chaos Elon Musk and Doge are leaving behind in Washington Though Musk promised modernization and efficiency, what’s left is a trail of uncertainty and reduced functionality

"Doge is not being left leaderless... Taking over for Musk, according to the Wall Street Journal, is Christian nationalist and key figure in the rightwing Project 2025 manifesto Russ Vought... Vought has said that he wants federal employees to be left “in trauma” and to slash federal funding."

Sebastião Salgado: a photographer of great humanity Salgado produced technically flawless, mesmerising images of some of the world’s harshest realities, from the gold mines of Brazil to the horror of the Rwandan genocide.

Vale Sebastião Salgado. One of the great photographers.

“The planet remains divided, the First World in a crisis of excess, the Third World in a crisis of need.”

The number of Labor women in the HoR is actually monumental. Like, listing the names of women in each party and... just, wow.

#AusPol #AusVotes

Nationals leaving Coalition as David Littleproud announces split with Liberal party after election defeat Formal coalition agreement ending after breakdown in talks with Liberal leader Sussan Ley

I guess we call this a #trialseparation 😳

Australia doesn’t have a federal Human Rights Act – but the election clears the way for overdue reform On election night, the prime minister talked about ‘fairness’ and ‘Australian values’. To legally protect those values, we need a national human rights act.

I'm proud to be involved in the Australian campaign for a national Human Rights Act @aushumanrightsact.bsky.social. As Amy Maguire has written 'The ground has been laid... This project could unite “Australian values” of fairness and equity with protection of human rights in Australian law.'

The unique art of an Australian federal election #democracysausageday

The rise of right-wing Christian populism and its powerful impact on Australian politics An network of Australian Christian groups have adapted the language of global right-wing populism to amplify their influence on Australian politics.

Here I am with Cristina Rocha in @theconversation.com exploring how the Australian Christian Right have adopted and adapted the language of global populism to create a uniquely Australian version of the genre.

Who's Right? Who's Left? What role will religion play in this election? The differing and diverse religious beliefs Australians hold will influence their vote this election.

I had a great chat to SBS for their short-form 'SBS Examines' podcasts on the role of religion in Australia's federal election campaign.

‘Saving Australia’: global populism and the rhetoric of the Australian Christian Right This article examines how the intersection between the Christian Right and populism takes shape in Australia. It analyses how Australian Christian Right (ACR) actors mobilise the ideology, rhetoric...

I'm very excited to have just had the paper I wrote with the brilliant Cristina Rocha about the populist rhetoric of the Australian Christian Right published by the journal Religion, State and Society and you can get it right here for FREE

Thanks so much!

Hi there. I research the Christian Right in Australia and would love to follow up on those statements. Can you tell me where to find them? Thanks so much.

The Promise of American Higher Education No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue

"Seeking truth is a journey without end. It requires us to be open to new information and different perspectives, to subject our beliefs to ongoing scrutiny, and to be ready to change our minds."
- Alan Garber, President, Harvard University

The rise of end times fascism | Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

This from @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social

"The governing ideology of the far right in our age of escalating disasters has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism.

It is terrifying in its wickedness, yes. But it also opens up powerful possibilities for resistance."

Seven Mountain Prophecy is connected to Project 2025.

Just heard that we don’t take US beef because of mad cow disease.

Australian university researchers told ‘woke gender ideology’ among reasons behind Trump funding cuts Researchers receive memo notifying ‘temporary’ funding pause prompting push for Australian government to pursue European partnerships

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Newspapers cannot justify running Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots ads as freedom of speech Journalists have protested their media outlets’ decisions to run the Trumpet of Patriots ads. They were right to do so.

Great piece by Denis Muller on media and Clive's ads.

I've been doing some research with the fabulous Cristina Rocha from @westernsydneyu.bsky.social on the links between the rhetoric of the Australian Christian Right and global populism. We're presenting our research next week at an online lunchtime seminar - everyone is welcome.

Elon Musk is wrong. To spurn empathy is to spur evil Elon Musk claims empathy is a weakness of Western civilisation. Perhaps he fears a more hopeful view of human nature.

Julia Baird is always wonderful to read, and this column is exceptional.

Does this mean that Peter Dutton will adopt what’s left? Or will Dutton need to give up on trumpian politics now that Clive has taken command of the space?

I'm very proud to be on the national advisory committee for the campaign for a Human Rights Act for Australia. It's crazy that Australia has no national instrument that reflects our human rights commitments. It's past time to make this happen.

Just in case people don't know the context, this is a policy called splitting the letters, developed by fundamentalist Christians to use feminist and queer language and culture to split the T off and then turn the others against each other.

You can watch their 2017 conference planning it.

‘Art should not be censored’: Khaled Sabsabi responds to cancellation of Venice Biennale project The Lebanese Australian artist, and curator Michael Dagostino say they are ‘extremely hurt’ by Creative Australia’s decision

Creative Australia claims to be a bold champion of the arts but this is weakness and a betrayal of its purpose. We must stand against polarisation, not bow to it. We must encourage nuanced readings of complex situations. Artists help us to do both. A truly shameful decision.

"Querying “No Religion”: State, Society and Spirituality in Australia" by Anna Halafoff, Andrew Singleton, & Elenie Poulos - Canopy Forum Photo of the State Library of South Australia by Vlad Kutepov on Unsplash The following essays are reprinted and adapted on Canopy Forum in collaboration with the journal, Australian Journal of Law an...

I'm excited to have worked with @annahalafoff.bsky.social and Andrew Singleton on an article for a joint project of The Canopy Forum and the Australian Journal of Law and Religion 'Querying “No Religion”: State, Society and Spirituality in Australia'.

canopyforum.org/2025/02/06/q...

Beavers finish seven-year dam project in two days Despite a seven-year planning process and successfully securing the funding, the Czech Republic’s dam plans went nowhere. Until the animal workers arrived.

I have no words for how much i love this story 😍🔥 www.smh.com.au/world/europe...

Sad and bad news for Australian publishing.

Literally nothing is as MAGA as watching a bunch of self-righteous frauds who pretend to give a damn about Christianity, viciously attacking a minister who preached about caring for the vulnerable while their rapist-felon messiah scoffed at her.

Your religion is short one Jesus.

So this is Trump’s ‘golden age’ – chaos, dysfunction and a coalition of creeps | Marina Hyde Confusing and capricious, he started as he means to go on. To all the leaders pledging to work with him: good luck with that, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

Marina Hyde. That is all.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...