Australia Matters

From threatening to annex Greenland to blaming California Democrats for the state’s deadly wildfires, the Trump circus is back in town – and he’s not even president yet.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Alice Grundy discuss Trump’s empire pantomime, the devastating California fires and the death of Jimmy Carter.

This discussion was recorded on Monday 13 January 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Get your tickets for the Australia Institute’s Climate Integrity Summit 2025 now.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Host: Alice Grundy, Managing Editor, Australia Institute Press, the Australia Institute // @alicektg

Show notes:

‘Australia leases US firebombing aircraft in the northern winter. So what happens when LA burns in January?’ by Mike Foley, The Sydney Morning Herald (January 2025)

The American Empire, Empire with William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

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Just some things.

Greg and guest host Adam Gottschalk discuss the media panic over the falling Aussie dollar, what it means for Greg’s Vegas blackjack losses, and how markets are responding to the incoming Trump administration.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 9 January 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order the first book from our new imprint, What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website. 

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Adam Gottschalk, Anne Kantor Fellow, the Australia Institute // @adamchalksitup

Show notes:

‘Don’t panic – despite the headlines, the Aussie dollar isn’t crashing’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (January 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

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Bri Lee, one of Australia’s most exciting young writers, joins us to discuss her debut novel, The Work, and the politics of power and privilege.

On this Summer Book Club episode of Follow the Money, Bri Lee, the award-winning author of Eggshell Skull, Beauty and Who Gets to be Smart, joins us to discuss The Work, a stunning story of art, power, love and money.

This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 7 May 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

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To join our free Australia’s Biggest Book Club webinars live, register via our website. 

Order the first book from our new imprint, What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website. 

Guest: Bri Lee, author of The Work // @bri_lee_writer

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, The Australia Institute // @ebonybennett 

Show notes: 

The Work by Bri Lee, Allen & Unwin (April 2024) 

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

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Award-winning writer Lech Blaine traces the making of Peter Dutton – from Queensland detective to leader of the Opposition. 

On this Summer Book Club episode of Follow the Money, Lech Blaine joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the rise of Peter Dutton, the evolution of the Liberal Party, and his Quarterly Essay, ‘Bad Cop: Peter Dutton's Strongman Politics’. 

This discussion was recorded on Friday 12 April 2024 and things may have changed since recording. 

To join our free Australia’s Biggest Book Club webinars live, register via our website. 

Order the first book from our new imprint, What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website. 

Guest: Lech Blaine, author of Australian Gospel, Top Blokes and Car Crash // @lechblaine 

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, The Australia Institute // @ebonybennett 

Show notes: 

‘Bad Cop: Peter Dutton's Strongman Politics’ by Lech Blaine, Quarterly Essay 93 (March 2024) 

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions 

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected]. 

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Do Australians truly grasp the impact of a warming planet and what it could mean for our sunburnt country?

On this Summer Book Club episode of Follow the Money, climate scientist and author Dr Joëlle Gergis joins The Australia Institute’s Polly Hemming to discuss Australia’s climate policy inertia and the impact of rising temperatures. 

This discussion was recorded on Friday 28 June 2024 and things may have changed since recording. 

To join our free Australia’s Biggest Book Club webinars live, register via our website. 

Order the first book from our new imprint, What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website. 

Guest: Dr Joëlle Gergis, climate scientist and author // @joellegergis 

Host: Polly Hemming, Climate & Energy Director, The Australia Institute // @pollyjhemming 

Show notes: 

‘Highway to Hell: Climate change and Australia’s future’ by Joëlle Gergis, Quarterly Essay 94 (June 2024)

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions 

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected]. 

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

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Australia’s status quo political culture is under pressure – so what does this mean for the upcoming federal election?

On this Summer Book Club episode of Follow the Money, journalist and author George Megalogenis joins Alice Grundy to discuss the rise of independents and minor parties, Australia’s changing political landscape, and his latest Quarterly Essay, ‘Minority Report: The new shape of Australian politics’.

This discussion was recorded on Friday 6 December 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

To join our free Australia’s Biggest Book Club webinars live, register via our website.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: George Megalogenis, author and journalist // @GMegalogenis

Host: Alice Grundy, Managing Editor, Australia Institute Press // @alicektg

Show notes:

‘Minority Report: The new shape of Australian politics’ by George Megalogenis, Quarterly Essay 96 (November 2024)

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

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We answer your burning questions about the economy in the final episode of 2024.

Why are economists are so bad at predicting what’ll happen in the economy? Why is HECS indexed? And why do we measure labour as a cost but profit as a universal good? On the final episode of Dollars & Sense for the year, Greg and Elinor answer your questions about the economy.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 12 December 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

‘Politicians love talking about ‘middle Australia’. But beware of this misleading metric’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (December 2024)

The world's youngest Nobel-winning economist with Esther Duflo, BBC Business Daily (November 2019)

Wealth and inequality in Australia by David Richardson and Frank Stilwell, the Australia Institute (August 2024)

‘Why won't concrete fly? It's a key question for Australia's economy’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (July 2013)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

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Houses should be a place to live, not a ladder to wealth.

On this episode of Follow the Money, acclaimed financial journalist Alan Kohler joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the policies that created Australia’s housing crisis and what governments can do to fix it.

This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 10 December 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

australiainstitute.org.au // @australiainstitute

Guest: Alan Kohler, author and journalist // @AlanKohler

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

The Great Divide: Australia's Housing Mess and How to Fix It by Alan Kohler (October 2024)

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

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Don Watson joins us to discuss Trump’s beyond-bizarre cabinet selections, Joe Biden’s tainted legacy, and what this might all mean for Australia on the final episode of After America for 2024.

Author and former speechwriter Don Watson joins Dr Emma Shortis on After America to discuss what Trump’s re-emergence reveals about the United States and how Australia might respond differently to a second Trump administration.

This discussion was recorded on Monday 9 December 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Don Watson, author of ‘High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the Brink’

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Show notes:

Donald Trump’s Meet the Press interview (December 2024)

‘High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the Brink’ by Don Watson, Quarterly Essay (September 2024)

‘The Second Coming’ by Fintan O’Toole, NY Review of Books (December 2024)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immigration and public spending are barely keeping Australia out of a recession.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the latest GDP figures and why the Australian economy is in the toilet.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 5 December 2024 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

‘What do the latest GDP figures tell us? That the RBA is still getting it very wrong’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (December 2024)

Wages are growing faster than inflation – but workers are $8,000 worse off than 3 years ago by David Richardson and Greg Jericho, the Australia Institute (November 2024)

‘Election FactCheck: Has the Coalition presided over the most sustained fall in Australian living standards since records began?’ by Peter Whiteford (reviewed by Roger Wilkins), The Conversation (June 2016)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.