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In this episode, Antony Loewenstein speaks with political analyst Amy Remeikis about how Pauline Hanson’s rise in the late 1990s reshaped Australian politics — and why her success was not accidental.

They explore the economic anxiety following the early-1990s recession, the cultural shift under Paul Keating, and how John Howard’s message of stability and nostalgia created the conditions for Hanson’s breakthrough. Rather than emerging from nowhere, Hanson’s politics reflected ideas already circulating inside mainstream conservative rhetoric at the time.

The conversation also examines the media’s role in amplifying Hanson’s profile, elevating her claims alongside expert analysis, and helping normalize rhetoric that had previously been considered outside the political mainstream.