Open House With Stephen O'doherty

The heroism of William Cooper, a Yorta Yorta elder who protested Nazism, will be honoured as part of a massive multi-media commemoration on the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) in Fitzroy. Artistic and musical director for the performance, Warren Wills shared the story on 'Open House'.

AB Bishop has written a beautiful and practical guide to turning your garden into a habitat to attract native animals. She shares a wealth of advice and information in 'Habitat' including how to build places for all sorts of animals to congregate. There are even step by step guides to building an insect hotel and a bee apartment block.

Catholic theologian, Rev Dr Michael Trainor, warns Christians should understand the context of New Testament writings and that the anti semitic "Jews killed Jesus" tone arose from tensions between the Church and Synagogue when the stories were written down generations after the time of Jesus.

Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev made his public debut at nine and is an inspiring musical communicator. He is the grandson of famous Russian pianist Tatiana Nikolaeva who was a contemporary of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Listen: Vic Alhadeff in conversation with Stephen O'Doherty. A shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue left 12 dead and six injured, including …

Brazil has just elected an extreme hardline conservative President who will take office on the 1st of January 2019. Dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" Jair Bolsonaro is an ex-army captain who admires dictators, despises political correctness and has been described as one of the most extreme figures in global electoral politics. Melbourne University Latin American specialist Michelle Carmody spoke on Open House about his win.

How did Australia decide to join what started as a far way European conflict?  And why did they declare war on Germany 40 hours before Britain? Historian, Douglas Newton, told Open House that the offer of an expeditionary force on Monday 3 August 1914 far exceeded the measures agreed between Australia and Britain as necessary.

The Australian War Memorial has launched a new special exhibition, 'After the war', which explores the personal and societal impact and legacy of war. Assistant curator of the exhibition Dr Kerry Neale gave Open House some insights into the objects that have special meaning.

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns of World War One, the 'War to end all wars' fell silent. Director the the Australian War Memorial, Dr Brendan Nelson spoke on Open House about the importance of the 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day.

Australia’s leading humanitarian agency World Vision has backed UNICEF Australia's call for a national policy and implementation agenda for Australia’s children and young people. “It’s not enough to want to do good for children, we must ensure any changes we want to bring about are the right ones and are sustainable,” World Vision’s Senior Policy Advisor for Child Rights, Mercy Jumo, told Open House.

Philippa Lowe and Susan Sohn think we need to talk about sex. Christian sex. They have developed a website called Ministry of Sex to challenge preconceptions about Christians and sex and to educate, inform and counsel people of all ages. 

Unbreakable Threads is the remarkable true story of an Australian mother's fight to free an unaccompanied Hazara boy from detention and include him in her family. It is an extraordinary story of courage and kindness and the ultimate triumph of family over what, at times, seem like insurmountable odds. Dr Emma Adams shared the story on Open House.

The US midterm elections are on and being seen by many as a test of the Trump Presidency. The result may critically alter the balance of power in both the House and the Senate. All 435 seats in the House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. In addition, 39 state and territorial governorships as well as numerous other state and local elections will be contested.

Urban overheating threatens the lives of people in Darwin, but researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Faculty of Built Environment have calculated how many lives could be saved by changing the city.

Sydney’s housing is the second least affordable in the world. In NSW, more than 60,000 people are on the social and affordable housing waiting lists. Magnus Linder of Sydney Alliance and Churches Housing spoke on Open House about some of the concerns.

Emily’s Voice was started by a group of friends concerned about the very high number of abortions in Australia. They approached the issue as a challenge to help Australians fall in love with the unborn, and encourage and support women with an unplanned or crisis pregnancy.

Faith communities in Australia and around the world are not waiting for reluctant politicians to take decisive action on climate change. They taking personal action as part of the global multi-faith campaign, “Living the Change".

Can Christian schools maintain their beliefs and approach the issue of gay students and teachers with compassion, tolerance and understanding? Open House took a timely, deep dive into the important questions of religious freedom, anti-discrimination law and human rights that faith-based schools are negotiating their way through.

New research led by the University of Sydney, has revealed the life expectancy of chocolate Labradors is significantly lower than their black and yellow counterparts. Professor Paul McGreevy says it was a surprise finding and warrants further investigation as Labradors are the most popular pet dog in Australia.

For the first time, scientists are reporting evidence that people around the world are ingesting microplastics. Will it be enough to shock us into action? Boomerang Alliance Deputy Director, Jane Paramor talks to Stephen O'Doherty about the world's rubbish crisis.