Worth Knowing

The old US-led order has ruptured... but Australia is still behaving as though it’s 2012.

In this episode, Matt and Elliot ask what happens when your closest ally can no longer be trusted. From Trump’s America and the Pentagon’s growing alliance with Silicon Valley oligarchs to Albanese’s AI bargains and the A$368 billion AUKUS bet, Australia keeps exporting abundance, importing vulnerability and calling it stability.

Canada and Europe recognise that compliance no longer buys safety and are widening their choices. So why is Australia still rolling over for belly rubs?

Find out in this week's episode of Worth Knowing.

Chapters ➡

00:00 Ten episodes of weekly sense-making
01:30 The bigger bubble that has already burst
03:40 Why Carney’s rupture speech matters
10:15 Albanese and Australia’s leadership vacuum
14:00 Exporting abundance, importing vulnerability
16:45 The AI copyright and data-centre bargain
21:20 Middle powers and tech companies with state-like power
27:05 Why America can no longer be trusted
30:45 The A$368 billion AUKUS question
34:00 Allies, protectorates and sovereign defence
36:30 Albanese, Carney and the schoolyard bully
40:35 Final thoughts and where Australia goes next

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack and your favourite podcasting channels, at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

AI was the elephant in every room at Climate Week NYC. Behind the promises of green innovation looms a ‘brown boost’ in data centres, gas and power.

This week, Elliot reports from New York as he and Matt unpack the real, immediate and enormous energy demand behind the race towards AGI, and the religious promise that once we reach the Promised Land, AI will save us.

Where are the examples? What are the strategies? And can AI companies become good corporate citizens without locking in another generation of gas and coal?

And what hope do we have when even the climate tech VCs are all in on AI and fresh out of decarb?

Find out in this week's episode of Worth Knowing.

Chapters ➡

00:00 AI is the elephant in every room
00:15 A typhoon rolls through New York
02:32 Climate Week becomes AI and Data Centre Week
06:35 The missing global guardrails
07:55 AI’s brown boost
09:09 Nvidia says: trust us, we're surgeons
12:20 Racing towards the Promised Land
16:48 Decentralised energy and good corporate citizens
20:47 Renewables are on a tear
22:26 Patagonia, Twiggy Forrest and Sylvia Earle
27:02 Active hope and Gross Domestic Regeneration
29:41 Why COP31 will not save us
31:58 The war is not yet over  

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack and your favourite podcasting channels, at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

The AI bubble is looking very, very frothy. But after the OpenAI–Hugging Face incident and Andrew Yang’s extraordinary claim, Matt thinks a bubble may already have burst... and something strange, dangerous and potentially extraordinary is emerging underneath.

This week, Matt and Elliot unpack the circular economy of IOUs between AI labs, cloud providers and chipmakers, and what happened when AI agents moved beyond the boundaries of a controlled cybersecurity evaluation.

Why are rival AI leaders suddenly sounding the alarm? And is a choice between human extinction and incredible shareholder value really all that's on offer?

This isn’t another doomer episode. It’s a conversation about what the hell comes next... and who gets to imagine it.

Chapters ➡

00:29 Introduction to the AI bubble and market context
01:58 Lessons from the dot-com bubble and early internet optimism
03:10 The parallels between past crashes and current AI valuations
04:55 The circular economy of AI companies and market interdependence
07:01 Potential for a market crash driven by overvaluation and speculation
12:37 Regulatory challenges and the risk of monopolistic control
15:50 Narrative-driven markets
19:43 The importance of balanced narratives and realistic expectations
21:21 The potential for AI to create a better future if managed wisely
23:14 Call for imagination, regulation, and societal engagement
25:10 Something has happenned
28:17 The Hugging Face Incident and Its Implications
30:28 The bubble that has already burst
35:25 Closing thoughts and upcoming Climate Week event

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

The world is set to blow past 1.5°C, Europe has endured four brutal heatwaves, Nepal has been devastated and a monster El Niño is gathering strength. 

Our political leaders and mainstream media have already moved on. Online, the response has split between “we’re doomed” and “we already have all the solutions”. Matt and Elliot ask what both narratives leave out: the scale, speed and systems change required to actually turn this around. 

From hopium and copium to care, simplification and defiance, this is an emergency broadcast about the climate threshold we have crossed and what the hell we do now. 

Chapters ➡

00:44 Introduction to Climate Crisis
02:15 The Impact of Recent Climate Events
07:06 Political Responses to Climate Change
13:26 The Role of Community in Climate Action
22:12 Framework for Climate Response
30:00 Hope and the Path Forward

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

Australia’s packaging waste is out of control. Industry, recyclers, environmental groups, state governments, councils and consumers agree on what needs to change.

So why has the Albanese government walked away from a political open goal?

Matt and Elliot unpack the reform that could transform Australia’s waste economy, the political calculation that killed it, and why the cost-of-living excuse falls apart as soon as you look at the numbers.

Chapters ➡

00:33 Introduction: Australia's Packaging Waste Crisis
02:19 History of Waste Policy in Australia
04:11 Failure of Voluntary Targets and the 2018 Framework
06:28 Political and Industry Resistance to Reform
08:12 The Role of Regulation and EPR Explained
10:03 Economic and Environmental Benefits of EPR
11:48 Case Studies: Successful EPR Schemes
13:30 The Impact of Inaction and Future Risks
15:45 Call to Action: How Citizens Can Influence Policy
17:43 Conclusion: The Path Forward for Australia

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

One Nation is rising because it understands something the Australian left seems unwilling to admit: the anger is real.

But if migrants, refugees and culture-war targets aren’t the cause of that anger, who benefits from pointing it at them?

Matt and Elliot follow the grievance from Australia’s hollowed-out political centre to two unlikely movements overseas, asking whether the left still remembers how to turn discontent into people power.

Because the system does feel rigged. The real question is who rigged it... and what it would take to build something else?

00:00 Introduction to the Politics of Discontent
02:33 The Global Context of Discontent
05:32 The Role of Major Parties in Australia
06:57 Lobbying and Public Interest
09:57 The Rise of Right-Wing Populism
12:44 Left-Wing Populism: A Missed Opportunity
15:41 The Need for a New Political Movement
18:26 Emerging Movements: DSA and Cockroach Movement
21:28 The Importance of Organising for Change
24:10 The Role of Joy in Political Movements
27:01 Conclusion: The Future of Politics in Australia

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

Tech billionaires increasingly have access to the levers of power inside government, while they tighten their control over the channels we rely on to push back against that power and hold it to account.

This week, Elliot and Matt explore how Silicon Valley’s self-styled disruptors became part of the governing class - from Peter Thiel’s network inside the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE, to the unnamed algorithms who are the new editors-in-chief of our politics and culture.

What happens when the people inside government also control the public square? And if politicians can be voted out but platform owners cannot, who will push back against Big Tech's big build of their very own private state?

Chapters ➡

00:00 Introduction to the influence of big tech on society
02:29 Historical parallels: religion and power in governance
04:09 Private Wealth and Political Power
06:08 Peter Thiel's Political Network
09:39 DOGE and the Conflict of Interest
11:43 Silicon Valley's Broken Promise
17:52 Algorithms Replace Editors
21:55 How Algorithms Shape the Information Diet
23:28 Profit, Monopoly and Democratic Power
26:43 Why Platform Power Can't Be Voted Out
28:05 Media Literacy and Alternatives

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

Australia has spent decades digging things up, selling them overseas and buying the finished product back. 

Are we about to do the same with AI? Supplying the minerals, land, energy, water and hosting servers while foreign companies own the intelligence?

Without a vision, and unless we start building, Australia risks becoming a subservient vassal state in the new AI economy.

In this episode, Elliot and Matt ask who really owns Australia’s AI future.

And one recent 76-hour glimpse of what happens when access is switched off shows just how much might be at stake.

Chapters ➡

00:00 Introduction to Australia's AI and Innovation Identity
02:02 The 'Lazy Nation' Economy: Land, Property, and Mining
03:55 Data Centers and the Future of Australia's Economy
06:01 Sovereign Risk and Dependency on Foreign AI Models
07:30 Ownership of AI Data and Infrastructure Challenges
09:40 Historical Patterns of Tech Industry Domination
11:13 Policy and Strategy Gaps in Australia's AI Future
13:14 The Role of Government and Sovereign Capability
15:07 Building Local Capability and Sovereign Ownership
16:51 Taxation, Revenue, and Economic Impact
18:56 The AI Bubble and Investment Opportunities
20:41 Hosting AI on Local Servers vs Cloud Solutions
21:12 Security, Privacy, and Open Source AI Models
21:56 The Potential for an AI Economic Reckoning
22:47 Historical Tech Bubbles and Future Opportunities
23:48 The Need for Strategic Investment and Capability Building
24:53 Australia's Industrial Age Mindset and Future Vision
25:36 Building a Community and National AI Strategy
26:33 The Urgency of Innovation and Sovereign Capability
27:39 Conclusion and Call to Action for Australia's AI Future

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is often served up as the neat solution to AI job disruption. Lose work, receive a payment, and everything will be OK.

In this episode, Elliot and Matt come at that promise from different positions. Elliot makes the optimistic case for the freedom UBI could unlock. Whereas Matt is more sceptical... especially of those who treat it as a silver bullet.

They explore the targeting problem and what a flat payment means for workers facing vastly different income losses. Then there is the big question: who pays, and how do we ensure the companies capturing the productivity gains contribute?

Chapters ➡

00:17 Introduction to Universal Basic Income
03:04 Historical Context and Examples of UBI
05:43 Concerns and Critiques of UBI
08:12 The Role of Technology and AI in UBI
10:49 Funding UBI and Economic Implications
13:40 The Future of Work and UBI
14:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts on UBI

Watch and subscribe to the channel now as well as our substack and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

What happens if AI transforms work faster than Australia can adapt?

In the first episode of Worth Knowing, Matt and Elliot explore what AI job disruption could mean for Australian workers, and why the unemployment rate may not tell us the full story.

The Caldera Institute’s AI Work Cliff modelling stress-tests a scenario in which 20 per cent of Australia’s AI-exposed workforce experiences job loss, reduced hours or income downgrading. The result: 1.08 million workers affected and $48.9 billion in household income at risk each year.

Most may remain “technically employed”, even as their incomes fall. Australia could enter a hollow boom: productivity, investment and GDP keep rising while the wage base supporting households quietly erodes underneath them.

AI will create opportunities as well as disruption, but the warning signals are lighting up the board. What should workers do now? And how do we make the transition planned and intentional?

Chapters ➡

00:00 Highlight Teaser
00:30 Introduction
00:45 The Impact of AI on Jobs
11:21 Understanding AI Job Disruption
17:22 Industry's Role in AI Transition
19:57 Navigating the Future of Work
23:14 The Upside of Disruption
24:37 Wrap Up

Watch and subscribe to the channel now as well as our substack and on your favourite podcasting channels at worthknowingpod.com