Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

For just over three weeks huge street protests have swept across Iran and threatened to topple The Islamic Republic regime of Iran. The regime has responded with a brutal crackdown on dissent and imposing a total internet blackout. President Donald Trump has urges Iranians to keep protesting and has promised that 'help is on its way'.

So how should we understand what’s happening in Iran and why does President Trump care so much. In this podcast extra we trace the story of Iran from the 1953 CIA coup that overthrow the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh and ushered in the rule of the Shah through to the events that lead to the 1979 Iranian Revolution that ousted the Shah and the return of the Ayatollah, and finally, Iran post 1979 and the role that Iranian women have played in resisting the rule of the Ayatollahs.

Is the liberal international rules-based order – that has underpinned international relations for the past 80 years - about to collapse. The United States once its greatest champion is withdrawing funding from hundreds of international organisations, and at the same time unending the global economy by imposing of tariffs across the board. What might this mean for global security, and the global economy and can we blame Donald Trump and his wrecking ball or are there deeper forces at play?

President Trump not only want to make America great, he also wants to make it bigger and incorporating Canada as the 51st state would certainly do that – except for the fact that Canada is a sovereign nation. The story of Canada and the United States and why President Trump wants to turn Canada into the 51st States of the Union.

President Trump wants to buy or take control of Greenland from Denmark. But Denmark has made very clear, they don’t have the right to sell Greenland because Greenland is owned by the people of Greenland. 

Donald Trump is not the first US president to try and buy Greenland. The story of Greenland and America’s many attempts to gain control of the largest island on the planet.

As the world becomes an increasingly dangerous and uncertain place – how prepared are we in Australia to face these new challenges?  This week on Rear Vision the story of one nation that take security and preparedness very seriously – Finland

This year, the Australian Labor government changed the country's superannuation rules — and reduced the 15% tax concession on balances over 3 million dollars

Is this enough? And is our retirement system serving its purpose?

Back in 1996 Pauline Hanson – rocked Australian politics when she was elected to the House of Representative in the seat of Oxley espousing anti-Asian and anti-Aboriginal views. But her time in Canberra didn’t last. Two years later she lost her seat.

Over the next two decades Hanson stood for re-election 8 time, failing at each attempt. She looked like a spent force in Australian politics. But that was wrong – today she is back in federal parliament, and her Party’s numbers are surging. How has Pauline Hanson been able to make such an incredible political comeback.

Rear Vision traces the story of the World Trade Organization from its origins as The GATT - and asks whether the WTO can still play a meaningful role in managing the trade realities of the 21st century?

Australian universities are confronting a firestorm, the loss of foreign students, the lay-off of academics, the underpayment of staff and radical changes to domestic university fees.

Why is our university sector in so much trouble?

Guests 

Raewyn Connell, professor emerita at the University of Sydney

Professor Glyn Davis, The Australian idea of a university

Hannah Forsyth, historian of education and associate Professor at the University of New England

James Waghorne, Senior Research Fellow in the faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne

Presenter and producer Annabelle Quince

Sudan is engulfed in a civil war. We know little about it, but we should. Sudan sits at the crossroad between Africa and the Middle East, and many of its neighbours, the UAE, Egypt, Russia, and Saudia Arabia – are directly or indirectly involved in this conflict.

In this second part of our series on Sudan - Sudan’s deeper history and the regional factors that are shaping the current conflict.