Saturday Extra - Full program podcast

The coronavirus pandemic is giving mainstream journalism a chance to rebuild trust and support, according to the former editor in chief of The Guardian.

The call by the Australian government for an independent inquiry into China's handling of the initial outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the city of Wuhan has caused some controversy between the two countries. Do we need to be concerned and if so, how does the Australian government proceed with China and what are the risks involved?

Even as universities scramble to stay alive, there is no lifeline from the government. What's gone wrong?

Some pundits say capitalism can never recover from Covid-19, and there will need to be bigger government. Others say the future economic recovery rests with the business sector.

Guests:

Adam Tooze

Historian of economic crises

Professor of History and Director of the European Institute at Columbia University

Rana Foroohar

Global economic analyst with CNN, and global business columnist with The Financial Times

Percy Allan

Economist, and former Secretary of NSW Treasury

Public sector advisor

Professor at the Institute of Public Policy and Management, UTS

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The global pandemic has been revealing in many ways in how people, countries and governments manage the situation. But what is it saying about the two major superpowers, the US and China? And where does that leave Australia, a question which has been on the minds of foreign policy experts for some time; now many of them feel its time has come.

Guests:

John Prideux, US editor The Economist and host of the podcast, Checks and Balance.

Richard McGregor, senior fellow at the Lowy Institute, author of numerous books on East Asia, his latest is Xi Jinping; The Backlash

Allan Gyngell, National president of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and host of podcast Australia in the World.

In the last few years, the renewable industry has been going from strength to strength. However 2020 might see that end. So what needs to be done to sustain the industry and protect Australia's electricity prices from the whims of the oil controllers?

The EU has 'Europeanised' regulations around everything from phone privacy to food safety - and this, the 'Brussels effect' is the source of its real and often under-estimated power.

Australian lives and livelihoods now depend on the ability of Australia's public service to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How is coronavirus affecting China, India and the Asia Pacific?

For months now France has been trialling a new form of democracy - bringing citizens together to think about ways forward on climate change policy. Could citizen councils be the future?

All the news looks bad - but are we worrying needlessly about our economy, our health system and our institutions?