The Fifth Estate

In recent times, it seems the Australian Constitution has been in the headlines more often than not. Accordingly, the High Court has been in the spotlight, too.

What are our expectations of the judiciary with regard to keeping the other branches of government in check? How well do citizens, and legislators, understand the constitution and the High Court’s role in interpreting it?

Sally Warhaft is joined by John Hewson and Adrienne Stone for an episode that delves into recent matters facing the High Court, and its role in Australian democracy today.

Sally Warhaft, Adrienne Stone and John Hewson

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Sally Warhaft is joined by John Hewson and Adrienne Stone for an episode that delves into recent matters facing the High Court, and its role in Australian democracy today. What are our expectations of the judiciary with regard to keeping the other branches of government in check? How well do citizens, and legislators, understand the constitution and the High Court’s role in interpreting it?

Sally Warhaft, Shashi Tharoor and Meena Kandasamy — Photo: Sophie Quick

In 2014, Narendra Modi swept into power as Prime Minister of India; he did so on a pro-business, pro-development platform and on a wave of Hindu nationalism.

It was a spectacular victory and, if the decisive recent state election results for his party in Uttar Pradesh are any indication, he remains a popular figure with many Indians – around 80% of whom are Hindus – several years into his leadership.

But India is a country with significant populations of religious minorities. Among other religious groups, especially Muslims, and among some concerned Hindu Indians too, there is deep concern about the rising tide of Hindu nationalism in the population. Of particular concern are Modi’s alignment with the extremist nationalist groups, his history of turning a blind-eye to acts of right-wing violence and vigilantism and the growing culture of media censorship.

Join authors Shashi Tharoor and Meena Kandasamy as they talk politics and religion in the world’s largest democracy, with host Sally Warhaft.

Presented in partnership with Melbourne Writers Festival.

Photo: Sophie Quick

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India is a country with significant populations of religious minorities. Among other religious groups, especially Muslims, and among some concerned Hindu Indians too, there is deep concern about the rising tide of Hindu nationalism in the population. Of particular concern are PM Narendra Modi’s alignment with the extremist nationalist groups, his history of turning a blind-eye to acts of right-wing violence and vigilantism and the growing culture of media censorship. Join authors Shashi Tharoor and Meena Kandasamy as they talk politics and religion in the world’s largest democracy, with host Sally Warhaft.

Judith Brett

Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second Prime Minister, spent 32 years in politics. Renowned for his oratorical ability, superb negotiation skills and workable minority governments, he served as Prime Minister for three separate terms in the turbulent first decade of the new Commonwealth.

As questions of dual citizenship threaten the Commonwealth Government’s majority today, Sally Warhaft speaks to Judith Brett about Deakin’s legacy and the link between the early days of federated Australia and the contemporary situation.

What does it take to govern successfully without a majority? And, if minority governments are the norm in many advanced democracies, why does the prospect loom as a bogeyman in Australian public conversation?

Sally Warhaft and Judith Brett

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As questions of dual citizenship threaten the Commonwealth Government’s majority today, Sally Warhaft speaks to author and historian Judith Brett about Deakin’s legacy and the link between the early days of federated Australia and the contemporary situation. What does it take to govern successfully without a majority? And, if minority governments are the norm in many advanced democracies, why does the prospect loom as a bogeyman in Australian public conversation?

Robert Fisk, Timothy Lynch and Sally Warhaft — Photo: Emily Harms

The Syrian War is the most deadly conflict we’ve seen in the 21st Century so far.

And with 12 million Syrians displaced since 2011 and world powers intervening on all sides – it’s far from a regional problem. The Syrian War is a crisis with ramifications that reach across the globe.

Now in its seventh year, the conflict that began during the Arab Spring has become appallingly complex. The involvement of world and regional powers has served to intensify and prolong the hostilities, turning Syria into a proxy battleground, and casting the possibility of peace further into the distance.

For this Fifth Estate episode, recorded live at the Melbourne Writers Festival, join the Independent’s revered correspondent Robert Fisk and American politics expert Timothy Lynch for a discussion of foreign political involvement in the region. How are the interventions of world and regional powers exacerbating the conflict? Who are the various rebel groups involved and what are their activities in other parts of the region? How are global dynamics shifting – and are we witnessing the collapse of American power in the Middle East?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this Fifth Estate episode, recorded live at the Melbourne Writers Festival, join the Independent’s revered correspondent Robert Fisk and American politics expert Timothy Lynch for a discussion of foreign political involvement in the region. How are the interventions of world and regional powers exacerbating the conflict? Who are the various rebel groups involved and what are their activities in other parts of the region? How are global dynamics shifting – and are we witnessing the collapse of American power in the Middle East?

For this Fifth Estate episode, recorded live at the Melbourne Writers Festival, join the Independent’s revered correspondent Robert Fisk and American politics expert Timothy Lynch for a discussion of foreign political involvement in the region. How are the interventions of world and regional powers exacerbating the conflict? Who are the various rebel groups involved and what are their activities in other parts of the region? How are global dynamics shifting – and are we witnessing the collapse of American power in the Middle East?

In this conversation, we’ll bring together three writers and academics who have examined themes of alienation and social estrangement in their work. William Maley, author of What is a Refugee?, Susan Carland, author of Fighting Hislam, and Rebecca Huntley, author of Still Lucky?, join Wheeler Centre host Sally Warhaft to examine how the idea of ‘stranger danger’ plays out in Australian culture and politics – from media reporting to foreign policy and refugee law. Which groups of people are routinely represented as strangers? And who benefits from demonising these people? What happens when fear outweighs the social, ethical and economic benefits of tolerance? And are we more, or less, tolerant than we think we are?