Selected features and news articles
2024
Fascist bedfellows: How postwar anti-communist zeal seeded the growing influence of far-right extremism in mainstream politics. (The Monthly, December 2024)
The “Cultural Christians” Are Taking Over the Conservative Movement: It’s the hot new thing on the right: dressing up in the trappings of Christianity without being burdened by all the fussy moral obligations of the faith. (The New Republic, 15 November 2024)
The Sexual Abuse Scandal That’s Engulfed the Evangelical Movement: A deep, institutional corruption and a near-total aversion to accountability have condemned church leaders to an endless loop of disrepute. (The New Republic, 20 September 2024)
The Global Rise of Narco-Pentecostalism: Gangsters — and sometimes pastors — are using evangelical Christian networks and beliefs to stamp their authority on illicit trades, from Brazil to Nigeria and beyond (NewLines, 12 August 2024)
The rising fear of American Christians: Why are churches arming themselves? (Unherd, 6 August 2024)
Trump is converting America’s nuns: Catholics in the US are drifting to the Right (Unherd, 4 June 2024)
How Evangelicals Use Digital Surveillance to Target the Unconverted: The hot new thing in proselytizing is an app that allows Christian conservatives to collect data on whole neighborhoods of potential converts. (The New Republic, 13 March 2024)
2023
The Evangelicals Trying to Convert Israelis on the Battlefield: The rise of “Messianic Judaism” has reached the point where IDF soldiers are being proselytized to on the front lines. (The New Republic, 8 December 2023)
What do Christian Zionists think about Jews? The evolving theology has influenced policy towards Israel. (Unherd, 4 December 2023)
Australian Christian group fights claim it was linked to leader of Kenya starvation massacre doomsday cult: Kenyan parliamentary committee report finds Paul Mackenzie, held responsible for more than 400 deaths, was ‘influenced’ by Australians Dave and Cherry McKay, which they vehemently deny. (The Guardian, 28 November 2023)
The Evangelicals Calling for War on Poor People: A new, antisocial strain of the prosperity gospel is making its way into pulpits and breeding new hostility toward the least fortunate Americans. (The New Republic, 23 October 2023)
In Tragedy’s Wake, Kenya Grapples With How To Combat Dangerous Cults: In what has become known as the Shakahola Massacre, Paul Mackenzie is alleged to have forced his Kenyan congregants to fast to death so that they could meet Jesus. Over 400 deaths have been confirmed, prompting a rethink of the boundaries of church and state. (New Lines Magazine, 28 September 2023)
The Australian pastor swaying US politics: An Australian pastor leading an evangelical church in Iowa has become an unexpected kingmaker in Republican presidential politics. (The Saturday Paper, 23 September 2023)
Putin’s holy war on Ukraine: Russia's nationalist project has conscripted the Orthodox Church (Unherd, 20 July 2023)
Is the Catholic Church evading justice? Dioceses faced with abuse allegations are declaring bankruptcy (Unherd, 10 July 2023)
Hispanics are abandoning the Catholic Church: Evangelicalism holds greater appeal for aspiring Americans (Unherd, 23 May 2023)
Demons be gone: meeting America’s new exorcists: Deliverance from demons is a booming practice among evangelical Christians, promising freedom from afflictions ranging from addiction to cancer. (The Guardian, 21 April 2023)
Hillsong and the life of Brian: The Hillsong founder lost control, first of his judgement, then of his authority and finally of his church itself – now, on criminal trial, he’s desperate to control his story. (The Monthly, 1 February 2023)
The Religious Zealot Presiding Over Ethiopia’s Five Conflicts: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sees himself as divinely ordained to lead his nation to greatness, even as he plunges it into violence. (New Lines magazine, 1 February 2023)
2022
The Right-Wing Christian Sect Plotting a Political Takeover: The New Apostolic Reformation doesn’t always admit its own existence, but it’s growing in influence in the Republican Party. (The New Republic, 23 August 2022)
Spiritual union: why Gulf migrants are turning to evangelical Christianity: Pentecostalism is quietly thriving, with pastors saying churches are helping low-paid workers in crisis. (The Guardian, 31 July 2022)
Inside the ‘school’ for men caught paying for sex: Police in Texas and across the US regularly conduct operations to catch men seeking sex workers’ services. Programs bankrolled by evangelical churches promise to change them. (The Guardian, 12 July 2022)
The rise of Christian Nationalism: Their god looks like the guy who stormed the Capitol. (Unherd, 21 June 2022)
The Hillsong Emails: Leaked emails show how the Houston family responded to the scandal that may have ended their reign at the top of the Hillsong megachurch. (The Saturday Paper, 21 May 2022)
Hillsong: scathing internal letter denounces church response to Brian Houston’s ‘unhealthy’ leadership: Exclusive: Senior manager says church indulged Houston’s ‘distinct lack of personal accountability’ over many years and board members should consider resigning . (The Guardian, 22 April 2022)
Hillsong’s Green Room Problem: The rot at the core of the Australian megachurch was obvious to anyone who spent time backstage. (Gawker, 21 April 2022)
Brand or church? Hillsong is facing a day of reckoning: Several years of scandals and a culture of secrecy has led to calls for an overhaul of the global Pentecostal megachurch. (The Guardian, 8 April 2022)
Hillsong is facing catastrophe but the Houstons will be loath to give up control: Analysis: the global church, founded almost 40 years ago in north-west Sydney, has little choice but to launch an independent inquiry. (The Guardian, 27 March 2022)
2020
We're lawyers offering pro-bono services to protesters in Minneapolis. So far, we've received over 200 calls about arrests — here's what it's like on the ground.: Andrew Gordon and Josh Esmay are attorneys at The Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, where they coordinate a legal support hotline and legal assistance for protesters who've been arrested. (Business Insider, 3 June 2020)
Welcome to IDF Fantasy Camp: In which intrepid reporter Elle Hardy learns how to shoot, fight, love, and become quietly terrified of the Christian Zionists who are practicing for the End Times. (Current Affairs, 1 April 2020)
The “modern apostles” who want to reshape America ahead of the end times: The Seven Mountain Mandate is a manifesto for conquering all aspects of American life. (The Outline, 19 March 2020)
The House That Brian Built: Inside The Global Empire That Is Hillsong: From a school hall in suburban Sydney, Hillsong founder Brian Houston has blended commerce and Christ into a global empire that’s defining the future of religion (GQ, 18 March 2020)
Evidence On Trial: Why The Forensic Evidence Is Less Reliable Than We Think: Talk to the average CSI fan and putting criminals away is as simple as spotting the tiniest speck of blood or strand of hair left at a crime scene. But a slew of recent cases suggests that much of the forensic evidence we’ve come to accept as gospel in the courtroom may actually be far less reliable than we think. (GQ, 2 January 2020)
2019
Rough Riders: Inside Angola Prison’s controversial inmate rodeo. (Penthouse, October 16, 2019)
The Tech Giants Might Promise Innovation, Opportunity And Convenience - But At What Cost?: OVER THE PAST DECADE, SOME OF SILICON VALLEY’S BRIGHTEST IDEAS HAVE EVOLVED INTO THE BIGGEST, MOST POWERFUL COMPANIES ON THE PLANET. (GQ, 23 September 2019)
How do you adjust to life on the outside after 40 years in jail?: With precious few reintegration services available to men leaving prison in the US, former inmates are filling the void. (ABC, 14 September 2019)
Alex Jones Looks Set To Be Brought Down Once And For All: For two decades Infowars founder Alex Jones has built a reputation as the loudest, most ludicrous voice on the media fringe. But now, at the very peak of the conspiracy age he helped create, a new series of threats is gathering. (GQ, 10 July 2019)
The Rise of the Rubber Tramps: How more and more Americans are taking to the road and making a vehicle their home. (Penthouse, 23 May 2019)
Silicon Valley billionaires are moving into luxurious doomsday bunkers. Here's why: A growing number of Americans are preparing for social, economic and environmental collapse by moving into remote underground bunkers in the US Midwest. (ABC, 21 February 2019)
2018
'Get up or you're going to jail': Homeless people are the target of this millionaire's private police force: Sidney Torres IV is a property developer and reality television star who, unlike a similar figure in the White House, isn't elected to public office. But that hasn't stopped him tackling law and order in New Orleans. (ABC, 28 December 2018)
When E.W Higginbottom was 3, his dad was lynched. Finally, he's made the body count: While E.W was a sleeping toddler, his father was dragged from his jail cell by a vigilante mob and hanged from a tree as a crowd cheered on. Now, he is remembered with thousands of other African Americans as the country's first national memorial to lynching victims opens (ABC, 25 April 2018)
This 78-Year-Old Nun Wants to Save Everyone on Death Row: “A person is worth more than the worst thing they have ever done,” Sister Helen Prejean says (Broadly, 22 March 2018)
2017
Growing homelessness in Washington, DC: As low-cost housing in America’s inner cities is routed by gentrification, and unemployment and feeble wage growth dogs workers, homelessness is booming – including in the nation’s capital (The Saturday Paper, 7 July 2017)
‘I feel awful’: Welcome to the life of a competitive eater: Stevie has just won her latest competition by downing 10 hotdogs in 10 minutes and she feels awful. Welcome to the life of a competitive eater (News.com.au/NYPost, 28 April 2017)
They fled violence and chaos in Venezuela – now they fear Donald Trump will force them to return: Venezuelans say that they cannot return to Nicolas Maduro's police state (IB Times, 24 January 2017)
Women are turning to ‘self-abortion’ as a last resort in America as ‘fake’ clinics take over: When Lee visited what she thought was an abortion clinic, she was met with the opposite. This is what happens inside a fake clinic (News.com.au, 19 January 2017)
2016
Driverless trucks threaten jobs in 'Trumpland': Technology, now undergoing trials, is being touted as a way of reducing a massive road toll, but it simultaneously threatens to strip many truck drivers of their livelihoods — in an already struggling economy (ABC, 20 December 2016)
Life and death on Georgia's poverty line: In the USA's Deep South, one man's death becomes a symbol for his family of all that is wrong with the American Dream — and why Donald Trump appeals to the working poor (ABC, 7 November, 2016)
A Fellow Traveler Enters the Moscow Cage Match: American MMA fighter Jeff Monson is a posterboy for the Russian Communist Party's propaganda push. But he may be a pawn in a larger game (Foreign Policy, 17 September 2016)
How Gagauzia, a tiny corner of Moldova, became the front line in Erdogan and Putin's war for influence: Gagauzia attracts investment from both Turkey and Russia by playing them off against each other (IB Times, 10 August 2016)
The football world cup for countries that don't exist: From places as far-flung as Abkhazia, the Chagos Islands and Somaliland, an obscure tournament brings together players representing unrecognised states (ABC, 30 May 2016)
'Extreme tours' mark 30 years since Chernobyl nuclear disaster: Thirty years after the world's most catastrophic nuclear accident, the home of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear reactor number four is transformed into an "extreme tourism" theme park (ABC, 11 April 2016)
Route to nowhere: Refugees in no man's land as European doors close: As more nations slam the door on the Balkan route to northern Europe, the small Macedonian border town of Gevgelija finds itself at the epicentre of Europe's refugee crisis (ABC, 9 March 2016)
Soccer, vodka and unrest: the Kyrgyzstan story is a compelling one: Ahead of tonight's World Cup qualifier, most Australians would know little of Kyrgyzstan. But the inhabitants of this small country have known more history in the last decade alone than most of us could remember (ABC, 15 June 2015)