Episodes
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The not-so-wasted years
Why has the Fraser government been so overlooked, by Labor and the Liberals alike? What did a government with progressive, conservative and reactionary wings get done in a time of global upheaval? Why does Malcolm Fraser's era sound so familiar in 2026? On this episode of Democracy Sausage,...
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The corporate capture of our universities
Why are Australia's publicly funded universities some of the least accountable institutions in the country? What went wrong at the University of Wollongong, and what does it reveal about who really runs our universities? Has rudeness in public life been mistaken for authenticity? On this episode…
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Midterm reckoning: Trump, Texas and a test for democracy
How has the attack on Helen Haines changed the conversation about political violence in Australia? Are the US midterms about to become a referendum on an unpopular president? Could Democrats take the Senate, with Texas, Michigan and Kansas suddenly in play? In this episode of Democracy Sausage,...
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The One Nation vote: a map of government neglect
Why are Australia's least resilient communities turning to One Nation? What happens when the major parties take their heartland seats for granted? Can Labor's "shallow" 2025 win hold together in 2028? Redbridge Group director Kos Samaras joins Mark and Marija to unpack the new Australian…
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Not here to fix Labor
Is Labor's managerial, middle-of-the-road style a sensible way to steer through rough seas, or does it leave room on the left for someone selling a bigger vision? If Pauline Hanson can do it to the Coalition, can Shoebridge do it to Labor? Or is Australia simply heading for a multi-party era…
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The Alchemy of Leadership
What did John Howard understand about survival and self-correction that his six successors never quite grasped? Why do so many of our prime ministers trace their drive back to fiercely ambitious mothers — and what does that pattern tell us about who gets to lead? Is the Liberal Party's current...
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Forty Years On
What are the five forces reshaping Australia's economy and society over the next four decades? What it will take to keep Australians' faith in government alive while managing them? What can younger Australians expect from future governments? Treasurer of Australia and ANU Alum the Hon Dr Jim...
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New game, new rules
Is too much political capital being put into meaningless foreign policy platitudes rather than defining what modern Australian security looks like? If Australia's shared values with its allies are contradicted can we still rely on those principles to steer policy with them? Can Australia take a...
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Whose Side Are You On?
Is Australia's looming digital duty of care about censorship, as its critics claim, or about handing control back to the people whose attention is being sold to advertisers? With Meta's $18 billion US settlement still fresh and an exposure draft due out within hours, independent MP for Curtin…
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Three Shocks
For the first time since federation Australia's population is made up of a majority of migrants and their children, changing the electoral maths for our politicians - have our leaders caught up to the times or are they getting left behind? Labor has learned how to win an election, but does the...
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Hostile complexity
Why has David Farley's and Pauline Hanson's immigration number not matched up — and does it even matter to One Nation's supporters? What do focus groups really say when people explain why they're giving up on the major parties? If many disaffected voters want a left-wing agenda of "taking back…
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Insiders and Outsiders
Twenty-five years ago, Insiders went to air for the first time – the morning after the Aston by-election, before smartphones, before social media, and long before anyone had to explain what a fax machine was. So how much of what's changed in Australian politics since has really been about the...
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You win some, you lose more
Why has the government fallen so far short of the Murphy Report's recommendations despite around 80 per cent of Australians wanting gambling ads banned? How did an under-resourced Northern Territory regulator end up overseeing a $34 billion-a-year industry? Why do inducements — not just the...
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Job (Un)Ready
Is a policy that students, staff and vice-chancellors all agree has failed still standing because no one in government wants to spend the political capital to fix it? Can universities rebuild trust and student voice after a string of governance crises, from the ICAC probe into the University of...
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Command, Control and Conformity
How did a Prime Minister sitting on one of Labor's largest-ever majorities turn his national conference into a masterclass in silence — and what does that say about who's allowed to argue inside the party? Is Albanese's "command and control" PMO disciplined governance or a party too afraid of its...
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The Cohesion Question
Why has social cohesion — a concept researchers still can't agree how to measure — become one of the most contested ideas in Australian politics? What separates the multiculturalism built by successive Australian governments from the harder, more exclusive boundaries being drawn by Pauline Hanson...
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Antidote to the far right
Is the collapse in trust of Australia's institutions, the retreat of unionism from everyday working life, and the alliances forged in Victoria's Covid lockdowns and reactivated by the 2023 Voice referendum responsible for the rise of the far right? Is One Nation's surge a passing spike, or the…
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Angertainment
Is social media now a more powerful force reshaping Australian democracy than any politician, party, or policy? Why has Pauline Hanson spent thirty years in the political wilderness only to emerge as the country's most potent electoral force in 2026? Can the anger-entertainment industrial complex...
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Two Teals, One Ticket
Have Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender just become the party they always swore they weren't? Can a "free vote" constitution and no party room really survive contact with a Senate seat? Does the donation and spending caps from the last parliament leave community independents with no real choice…
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Broken Britain and the Burnham Moment
How did a Prime Minister who won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history find himself gone within two years — and what does his fate tell us about the limits of triangulation politics? Is Andy Burnham's victory a genuine realignment moment for British Labour, or is he...
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Race for the base
How long will the honeymoon last for One Nation? Can Pauline Hanson create a robust political party to be competitive at the next election? How do populist leaders like Trump, Farage, and Hanson convince the working class that their wealthy backers back them? With One Nation rising in the polls,...
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Contest for the populist vote
Does the experience in the US, Germany, and Brazil reflect the Australian experience? How have institutional structures insulated centrist parties against new political threats? Can the rise of anger captured by the populists be effectively tested, and has Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani shown...
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China in the world
Can Australia manage the tensions between our strategic relationship with China and the alliance with the United States? Does membership of AUKUS and the Quad damage our China relationship? How significantly are societal and economic issues - such as the role of women in decision making, aging...
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A Democracy Sausage for the Teacher
Have young voters lost faith in the major political parties and politics in general? Did the recent federal budget go far enough in addressing the generational wealth gap and what will it take for political parties to successfully engage young voters? In this special classroom edition of…
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Budget, Smudge-it: truth, details and the aspiration wars
Will the budget changes reconnect young and disaffected Australians to the benefits of the economy? Is Angus Taylor’s vision likely to arrest the decline in support to One Nation? Is the ALP open to creating a sovereign wealth fund as outlined by Pauline Hanson? Treasurer of Australia, Dr Jim...
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Budget fight
Has the social deficits of broken promises put the government 'on the ropes'? Could Labor have 'pulled their punches' in this budget? Does the zeitgeist allow governments to adjust the status quo? Join Mark and Marija from the 'ringside seats' as they analyse labors 'chin-leading' budget.
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By-election tea leaves
In the wake of a dominant political victory, what are the challenges for One Nation in navigating a path to opposition status in Australian politics? Does Angus Taylor have the political capital to survive the long road back to political relevance for the Liberal Party? Will One Nation’s...
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Democracy and the fiscal paradox
What responsibilities should the government have? Can hypocrisy be ignored if the government's narrative is perceived as authentic? Does the lack of access to education help to explain the erosion of democratic ideals? Professor Nicholas Biddle joins Democracy Sausage to make sense of the...
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Litmus test for Sir Keir’s leadership
After a landslide election victory, why has Labour plummeted in the polls? Can Sir Keir’s leadership survive and who are the likely contenders? Will the conservative party capitalise on Labour’s disfunction, or is Reform UK set to benefit from record levels of dissatisfaction with government?…
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Crisis in orthodox politics
With One Nation polling plateauing, can Barnaby Joyce reinvigorate a party without policy and remain ahead of a Coalition veering to the right? What does the Liberal party stand for and will the unity ticket with the Nationals survive? Will Labour capitalise on changing public sentiment and start...
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Stormy waters
Have the US achieved their principle objectives in Iran? Will the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz improve the US negotiating position? Will Australian naval capability be useful if formally called upon? Jennifer Parker joins Democracy Sausage to shed light on the American military blockade of...
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Finis Pacis Americanae
Have the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine demonstrated the limits of great power aggression? Can American prestige survive the chaotic and devastating conflict in Iran, and the fallout around the globe? Charlie Miller joins Democracy Sausage to shed light on American military adventurism and the…
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Opportunity in chaos
What does the Middle East conflict mean for Australia and how instructive is the past in drawing parallels with the chaos of today? Will a global recession benefit One Nation in marginal, outer suburban electorates? How worried should the National Party be in the upcoming Farrer by-election? Can...
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One Nation watershed
Will the Liberal and National parties do better in the Victorian election and the Farrer by-election? Can One Nation build itself into a national political force, beyond its Queensland heartland and newfound popularity in South Australia? Will poor leadership and discipline unravel One Nation...
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The scales of war
What are the legal implications of Australia's participation in the Gulf? Is International Law being undermined by the US? How are the powers of influence tipping the scales of justice? Leading international law expert Donald Rothwell joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the legal implications of…
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Insider view
What were the domestic pressures in Israel and the US for attacking the Iranian regime? Has the international rules-based order been permanently eroded or is the current conflict lawful? How does the Australian government plan consular service responses in a time of conflict and what is the…
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Pub politics
Can Angus Taylor rebuild public confidence in the Liberal Party and will Migration play out well for them? What are the risks for Angus Taylor in the Farrer by-election? Will One Nation capitalise on the disarray in the Liberal party? ‘Live to tape’ at the Australian National University…
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Conservative cleavage
How long does Angus Taylor and the Liberal party have to redefine themselves in a changed electoral landscape? Can the major parties develop serious policy in the era of grievance politics? What is ‘cross-cutting cleavage’? With a new opposition leader and the return of Nationals to the shadow...
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Building social cohesion
What has fuelled grievance politics and anti-system sentiment in Australian politics? How does policy reform in housing and education build social cohesion and why are One Nation successful in harnessing voter discontent? How have policy settings created intergenerational inequity and will the…
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Realignment of Australian Politics
How has the preferential voting system masked the decline of the major parties and why is the decline worse for the Liberals and Nationals? Can One Nation capitalise on the trend? How does ‘voter softness’ play out amongst the ‘aggrieved’,and what lessons are there from similar democracies?…
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Anatomy of a conservative crisis
What were the structural factors in the split of the coalition? How did the culture wars and deindustrialisation change the conservative base? Can the liberals regroup to become an effective opposition? Former federal politician, Jason Falinski joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the fractures...
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Conservative crisis
How did the politicisation of a national tragedy backfire for Sussan Ley? Can the coalition survive? Who will reign supreme in the fight for the right? With an early return to federal parliament, political scientist, Dr Jill Sheppard joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the politicisation of a...
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Politics remastered
National Affairs journalist, Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, an historic election victory, the vexed question of political authority, and declining trust in major parties. Will Albo develop a significant reform agenda in 2026 or will he stick to the modest...
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Albo's conservative ambition
Historian and author Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, a landslide federal election victory, the rise of Teal and independent politicians and the split in the conservative Coalition. Will Labour grasp the reform ‘nettle’ and tackle complex structural issues...
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Fighting the good fight?
Political journalist and author Sean Kelly joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his Quarterly Essay examining the Albanese government and asks what today's Labor actually stands for. Why has Labor become a graveyard of lost futures, discarding reform policies after political failures? Can Anthony...
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Gas, gambling and governance
Independent ACT Senator David Pocock joins Democracy Sausage to challenge both major parties on climate policy, gambling reform and political transparency. Have gas companies captured both major parties on energy policy? Why won't Labor ban gambling advertising when 80% of Australians support it?...
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Fifty years on from the Dismissal
In this special live recording from the 2025 Whitlam Symposium, Mark hosts a star-studded panel discussing the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal. Was Sir John Kerr's decision to dismiss Gough Whitlam constitutionally correct but politically catastrophic? Did Malcolm Fraser's blocking of supply in...
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The vista of the new
Political journalist and author Troy Bramston joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his new biography of Gough Whitlam and asks how a government could be so transformative yet so chaotic. How did Whitlam's government profoundly change Australia in less than three years despite being shambolic and...
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Barnaby's gambit
Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to examine Barnaby Joyce's political future and asks whether One Nation is really a viable option for the former Nationals leader. Will Barnaby Joyce defect to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party? Why did David Littleproud allegedly tell Joyce he wasn't…
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The elephant on meth
Political scientist Feo Snagovsky joins Democracy Sausage to explore the uncanny valley between Canadian and Australian politics and ask whether Mark Carney can govern while sleeping next to an 'elephant on meth'. How did Trump's annexation threats unite Canadians like never before? Why does...
About this show
Mark Kenny takes a weekly look at politics and public affairs with expert analysis and discussion from researchers at The Australian National University and beyond.
Hosted by
The Australian National University
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