<p>In this episode, Bishop Umbers and Silvana Scarfe chat with Michael Harazin, who is about to commence post-graduate studies in Assyriology and Archaeology, about the cultures which shaped the Ancient Near East and Mesopotamia.</p>

S2EP7 - Humour

The Episcopal Podcast is an initiative of intellectual formation by Bishop Richard Umbers, auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney.
In the context of a fortnightly informal discussion with co-hosts and guests, the podcast aims to bring awareness to the riches that make up the Christian intellectual tradition, which includes philosophy, theology, history, the sciences, languages and the arts. Conversations will last between 30 and 45 minutes and be organised around discussions on specific topics, both historical and contemporary.

The podcast will do more than visit academic museum pieces, but also bring that tradition to bear on the lives of Christians and all of good will. This flows from the basic commitment that genuine intellectual endeavour is not meant to be an opportunity to display the individual prowess of a select class, but works for the common good of all. Because of this, the podcast will make the content of the intellectual tradition as relatable as possible to as many people as possible, without losing sight of the intellectual heart of the program. Because the podcast is aimed for the common good, it also seeks to have an international focus, bringing together guests from Australia and also overseas.

The podcast also aims to partner up with established intellectual formation event providers, including but not exclusive to Scholarship in the Cathedral and the QndA series by the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia. This partnership could involve interviews with presenters, as well as the distribution of audio recordings arising from these events.