On Wednesday morning I try to be at the radio to hear the Religion Report. Yesterday it was an edited version of this year's Acton Lecture given by Father Robert Sirico. There were many misstatements in the lecture which manipulated history to make it sound as though Christianity had a history of pushing religious liberty.

Crittenden would have pointed out the discrepancies in Sirico's statements if the statements had been made in the course of an interview. There are many religious programs of an inspirational, sermonising or expository nature. Religion Report was unique in its questioning attitude and the light it shone on the different aspects of religious activism. It treated religious institutions as organisations which should be questioned the way corporations, unions, governments and other structures in our democratic society are. I doubt that the program will be replaced by another program serving the same function. I will greatly miss both Crittenden and the Religion Report.

The Religion Report has been axed by Sue Howard who is notorioous for her hatred of Radio National. She has a long held reputation for being pathologically unable to look Radio National presenters in the eye (even a decade ago). Sue Howard is hell bent on dumbing down ABC Radio despite the fact budgets from the programs she is axing wouldn't make 30 minutes of TV. Sue Howard wants to fill our airwaves with Melbourne Mush Music, Fox etc and the egocentric ramblings of jaded enfants terrible like Richard Stubbs and Red Symons who alienate the hetrosexual female audience of the ABC.

The typical Radio National audience can't be fagged downloading a podcast and froth at the sight of iPods dangling out of the ears of nonresponsive young people plus they haven't learnt how to make the ear pieces comfortable.

good riddens to what was often earth worshiping rubbish!

Dear auld 'runner', always so thoughtful.

This programme has served many of us well, believers and non-believers alike.

The interviews are good listening, the topics wide ranging, the responses frequently illuminating.

I've learned a lot listening to this programme, and made solid use of the transcripts for my research work, and my research past-times.

One can see the demise of the ABC... the new move into producing some ragtag commercial TV 'Sunrise' clone being yet another curl in the downwards spiral... the 'entertainment' fiasco of the 'breakfast show' when all that's needed is a decent A.M. type programme.

I know nothing about Sue Howard... and she knows nothing about the role of this programme.

Critto has been a 'good sort' and he and his team have served Australia well.... I'm not so sure the 'executives' who brainstorm their way through getting 'bonuses' are contributing too much to the 'national interest', surely one of the toughts behind the role of any national broadcaster?

Where do I get some of these good riddens? I haven't had a decent ridden in years.

Never listened to the show myself I’m an atheist, but if Runner hated it must mean it was a balanced insightful program. One of the thing that Aunty needs to be and do is broadcast things that do appear on commercial stations..