Corinne Ooms  was, a contestant in the most recent series of the reality show Alone Australia. She spent 70 days, by herself, in the remote west coast ranges of Lutruwita, Tasmania. And there, she had to navigate the psychological challenges of solitude and the physical challenges of survival in the wild.  She experienced a profound change in how she experiences the world and her priorities in life

Younger Australians are less religious than ever before, but that doesn't mean they don't engage with spiritual practices. Astrology and tarot card reading are especially on trend, but rather than telling the future, many practitioners say it connects them with the present. 

Cosmic horror is a genre that asks, what lurks in the in-between places? Who are we in the face of a vast and uncaring cosmos? H.P. Lovecraft's (rather mixed!) legacy is everywhere if you know where to look, but trying to put the ineffable into words has been a human obsession for thousands of years. What do we hope to find by courting the strange and unexplainable?

This NAIDOC week, guest presenter Brooke Prentis has a yarn with two remarkable Aboriginal leaders to find out how they carry strength, vision and legacy through their ministry and art.

The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most recognisable people and on July 6, he's turning 90 years old. Tibetans around the world are getting ready to celebrate, including Grammy-nominated musician Tenzin Choegyal. 

What does community look like for you, and how does it shape your spiritual practice? As we reach the mid-year mark, Soul Search listeners and returning guests share their reflections on finding community in a busy — and sometimes isolating — world. 

When you go to a museum, have you ever wondered who picked out the things you see, and why? Museums are places where we make and find meaning, and they're sites where intangible — often political — questions about history and national identity are documented with and without physical objects.

Have you ever read a book and wanted to be friends with the characters? For over 200 years, Jane Austen's fictional figures have been companions and inspirations for many readers of her novels.

How might religious traditions animate the world's modern peace movements? What tools do they provide people working towards a more just and peaceful society?

Do you believe in God? It's not a question we ask often, and answering it stretches language — and belief itself — to its limit. Perhaps poetry is the best response! Meredith Lake speaks with Pádraig Ó Tuama at Sacrededge festival about his most recent book of poetry, Kitchen Hymns, which explores this question and more.

What does it look like to explore the sacred on the edges of traditional religion? Meredith Lake and Rohan Salmond visit the Sacrededge festival in Queenscliff, Victoria, an arts and spirituality festival that this year explores "Stories of the Edge: Listening to Story — Discovering our Own".

Eighty years ago on 11 April 1945, American soldiers marched into Buchenwald concentration camp and liberated the people they found there, including 14-year-old Joe Szwarcberg.

It's been 75 years since the publication of CS Lewis' novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. What's so enchanting about the worlds created in children's fiction — in Narnia, Middle Earth, or the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

In the wake of Pope Francis' death, Australian and Pacific theologians reflect on defining elements of his legacy. Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si was the first in papal history to focus on the environment. How might Francis' teaching about the cry of the earth, and the cry of the poor matter in our region?

At the Council of Nicaea 1700 years ago bishops from across the Christian world gathered to settle a theological showdown that rocked the fledgling religion: Who was Jesus — a perfect human? Or God himself? Or something else? What they decided would become the very foundation of the Christian faith itself, and would shape art, religion and culture even today.

Sufism, also known as Islamic mysticism, can be found in all kinds of unexpected places — like Broken Hill, a rural town in far west New South Wales. Sufi music has a special place in the history of Central Australia, and is still played in the desert region, attracting attention and acclaim from Sufis throughout the world.

Culture, history and faith collide in the remote Aboriginal community of Ltyentye Apurte. A former mission town 80kms east of Alice Springs, it remains one of the most Catholic communities in the country.

What can ancient Chinese poetry teach us about the nature of reality? Li Bai and Du Fu are considered two of China's greatest poets. They lived 1,300 years ago, yet their poems are still very popular to this day.

How much mercy do you see expressed in the world around you right now? Millions of Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan — known as the month of mercy — and follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, who is described as someone who embodied mercy.

How can we navigate the ecological crisis of our time? And why does it require a shift in how we think about ourselves?  John Seed has been a rainforest activist for over 40 years. And over the decades he's fostered a diverse spiritual community around care for the environment and reconnection with the natural world.