All Episodes

Ep. 191: Tim Watts MP on AI sovereignty, safety and Australia’s choices

Ep. 190: Graham Fletcher on managing China

Ep. 189: Contesting Australian grand strategy (and doing your homework)

Ep 188: Missiles, Pacific integration and managed competition

Ep 187: No deal (on Hormuz)

Ep 186: Deal or no deal on Hormuz?

Ep. 185: Shangri-La and other (non-Iran) news

Ep 184: Learning lessons on Iran

Ep. 183: Hormuz—the new nuclear

Ep. 182: Another wild 48 hours on Iran, plus the Australian lens

Ep. 181: An even more dangerous phase looms in Iran

Ep. 180: How will the Iran conflict end?

Ep. 179: Iran — Two weeks in

Ep. 178: The attack on Iran

Ep. 177: Tariffs, power, and the US Supreme Court

Ep. 176: Davos, Greenland and Carney’s speech

Ep. 175: How should we model Greenland?

Ep. 174: AI and policy, both foreign and domestic

Ep. 173: The implications of Venezuela

Ep. 172: The "Four Rs" of Australian foreign policy

Ep. 171: Trump-Xi, leverage & US foreign policy

Ep. 170: Trump, Albo and (Saint?) Kevin

Ep. 169: Tim Watts MP on the Indian Ocean Region & inputs to successful foreign policy

Ep. 168: Reporting from China on the bilateral relationship

Ep. 167: Development and strategy in the South Pacific

Ep. 166: The global economy: Tariffs, industrial policy, and a fraying order

Ep. 165: China in 2025 and what's changed

Ep. 164: Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs

Ep. 163: PM Albanese visits China

Ep. 162: Israel attacks Iran; no Albo-Trump meeting

Ep. 161: Shangri-La 2025; 3.5% of GDP on defence?

Ep. 160: PM to Jakarta, Vatican; FM to Pacific; think tank influence?

Ep. 159: A PM's Chief of Staff on the world facing Australia

Ep. 158: Trump’s influence on the Australian election?

Ep. 157: Catching up on SE Asia (incl. Trump and China)

Ep 156: Tariffs - exemptions and the state of play

Ep. 155: Tariff 'pause' - rapid reactions

Ep. 154: Linking markets to geopolitics in tariff responses

Ep. 153: Trump tariffs - Rapid reactions

Ep. 152: Aussie reactions to Trump, & PRC warships; NZ-Cook Islands

Ep. 151: Incoming govt brief, 2025 edition

Ep. 150: Gutting USAID; a MAGA-friendly development policy?

Ep. 149: The (geopolitical) loneliness of Australia

Ep. 148: Canada/Mexico tariffs (Darren’s rapid reaction)

Ep. 147: Early Trump days with Zack Cooper

Ep. 146: Darren, on anything and everything

Ep. 145: A conversation about power

Ep. 144: Deals with Nauru and PNG

Ep. 143: Thinking through Trump 2.0

Ep. 142: Reacting to Trump's return

Ep. 141: Economic security, from the private sector

Ep. 140: India post-election; Quad cooperation

Ep. 139: Chronic versus acute threats to US democracy; Fukuyama’s “last man”

Ep. 138: Pacific Islands Forum: Policing, Taiwan and (always) geopolitics

Ep. 137: One year of Australia's new international development policy

Ep. 136: Harris, Trump, the media and democracy

Ep. 135: Political decay or democratic renewal? (Harris-Biden 'emergency' episode)

Ep. 134: Debating the future of Australia-China relations

Ep. 133: What might “cooperate with China where we can” actually mean?

Ep. 132: “Stabilisation” of the PRC bilateral, viewed from DC

Ep. 131: A progressive Australian foreign policy?

Ep. 130: Economic security, made in Australia

Ep. 129: Unsafe and provocative actions by the Chinese military

Ep. 128: Sols vote; nests of spies? growing AUKUS? Palestinian statehood?

Ep. 127: A China-led international order?

Ep. 126: The international economic order—Past, present, and future

Ep. 125: Wang Yi visits Australia

Ep. 124: Ukraine, Gaza, and international order

Ep. 123: ASEAN in Melbourne

Ep. 122: Indonesia, before and after the election

Ep. 120: Where to from ”stabilisation” in Australia-China relations?

Ep. 121: Reviewing 2023; speculating about 2024

Ep. 119: When domestic policy is foreign policy (and the PM’s travels)

Ep. 118: A US perspective on Australia’s defence policy

Ep. 117: Canada-India (emergency episode)

Ep. 116: Australia’s international development policy

Ep. 115: The domestic politics of AUKUS and Pacific security pacts

Ep. 114: And we’re back. Australia-China; US-China

Allan Gyngell and Australia in the world

Ep. 112: Cold War 2?

Ep. 111: AUKUS plans; India; red alerts

Ep. 110: Ukraine, one year on

Ep. 109: Balloons; FM’s UK speech; France 2+2; DM on sovereignty

Ep. 108: PM in PNG; duelling ambassadors; reviewing 2022

Ep. 107: Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts

Ep. 106: FM’s DC speech; 2+2s ; a polycrisis?

Ep. 105: G20/Xi bilaterals; FM/DM speeches; midterms

Ep. 104: 20th Party Congress; export controls; Australia-Japan

Ep. 103: Nuclear escalation; UNGA meetings; Track 1.5s

Ep. 102: A formal statement on China? Australia’s head of state

Ep. 101: Taiwan

Ep. 100: Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Ep. 99: Much travel & many speeches; PRC meeting; PIF; Lowy poll

Ep. 98: A (very) busy first few weeks

Ep. 97: Incoming government brief, 2022 edition

Ep. 96: Campaign foreign policy lessons; AUKUS leaks?

Ep. 95: Solomon Islands and China enter a security pact

Ep. 94: Pre-election foreign policy speeches by Morrison and Albanese

Ep. 93: The invasion of Ukraine and updating priors

Ep. 92: Our own foreign policy election “debate”

Ep. 91: Ukraine

Ep. 90: Lessons from 2021; expectations and hopes for 2022

Ep. 89: Democracy summit; S. Korea visit; Olympic boycott; communicating foreign policy

Ep. 88: Biden/Xi; Dutton/Wong; COP26; Solomon Islands

Ep. 87: On truth and trust in diplomacy (Morrison vs Macron)

Ep. 86: Global Trends 2040 (Part 2), with Heather Smith and Katherine Mansted

Ep. 85: Global Trends 2040 (Part 1), with Heather Smith and Katherine Mansted

Ep. 84: AUKUS revisited; Quad leaders; China & CPTPP; Taiwan

Ep. 83: Debating AUKUS—Deterrence, sovereignty and risk

Ep. 82: Afghanistan evacuation; US alliance at 70; ministerial meetings; 9/11 reflections

Ep. 81: Gary Quinlan (Part 2): Australia-Indonesia relations, ASEAN, and the future of multilateralism

Ep. 80: Gary Quinlan (Part 1): On Indonesia in the world, and diplomacy in a time of COVID-19

Ep. 79: Afghanistan

Ep. 78: New DFAT Secretary; Exchange hack and Pegasus; APEC; return to Afghanistan?

Ep. 77: Debating democracy and the “competition of systems”

Ep. 76: Morrison’s Perth speech; PM Lee’s China advice; an energised G7; bilaterals with UK & France

Ep. 75: PM to NZ; Samoa; Kabul embassy closure; Belarus; lab leak

Ep. 74: Linda Jakobson (Part 2): Australia-China relations; Taiwan

Ep. 73: Linda Jakobson (Part 1): On China, Chinese politics, and Finlandisation

Ep. 72: Leaving Afghanistan; Aust-NZ-China relations; Biden-Suga summit

Ep. 71: Myanmar—tragedy, complexity & power; PNG & Covid-19; Dutton to Defence

Ep. 70: Alaska, “competitive co-existence” & duelling sanctions; Quad outcomes; OECD Cormann

Ep. 69: Biden’s early days; Quad; Pacific Islands Forum

Ep. 68: Natasha Kassam on preparing for a China-led world

Ep. 67: NZ-China-Australia; Myanmar; Xi's WEF speech; Australia-Malaysia CSP

Ep. 66: Revisiting the Capitol; a declassified Indo-Pacific strategy; Five Countries (!), & fresh ideas for Aussie FP?

Ep. 65: Processing events at the U.S. Capitol

Ep. 64: A cabinet reshuffle, politician ambassadors, the Richardson Review and summer homework

Ep. 63: Climate change and Australia, with Howard Bamsey

Ep. 62: A wild week in Australia-China relations

Ep. 61: Short- and long-term questions for Australian foreign policy

Ep. 60: US election rapid reactions

Ep. 59: Malabar and an emerging balancing coalition; Senator Abetz and loyalty tests; diplomacy and quarantine

Ep. 58: Mailbag! US failures; fearing abandonment; the Quad & democracy; grading China policy; DFAT in 2050

Ep. 57: Foreign interference & the Australia-China relationship; trilaterals; PM Suga; Thai protests

Ep. 56: Aussie journalists depart China (and other bilateral tensions); Foreign Relations Bill; Abe’s legacy; Tony Abbott

Ep. 55: Richard Maude returns (Part 2): China, models of cooperation, & what Australian foreign policy can do

Ep. 54: Richard Maude returns (Part 1), and Darren in the Beirut Blast

Ep. 53: Consulate closures & deteriorating US-China relations; AUSMIN; Defence Strategic Update

Ep. 52: ABC journalist Stephen Dziedzic on reporting Australian foreign policy, media-govt relations, and the Wolverines

Ep 51: Lowy Poll 2020; India-China; DFAT's travel advice for China; Allan's brush with tabloid fame

Frances Adamson, DFAT Secretary, on our 50th episode

Ep. 49: US turmoil; India CSP; G-7; WHO lessons; HK; Australian geoeconomics

Ep. 48: Harinder Sidhu, former High Commissioner to India, on the Australia-India relationship

Ep. 47: Heather Smith on fixing the G20, industrial policy, tech competition, and what economists get wrong

Ep. 46: Australia-China tensions over a Covid-19 inquiry

Ep. 45: The WHO; “mask diplomacy”; DFAT & Covid-19

Ep. 44: The United States, and the alliance

Ep. 43: The consequences of Covid-19

Ep. 42: Covid-19 update; ASIO speaks; Morrison hosts Jokowi & Ardern

Ep. 41: Richard Maude on the Indo-Pacific, models of world politics, and Australian foreign policy

Ep. 40: Coronavirus; Huawei in the UK; the WTO, and UK / EU trade deals

Ep. 39: The 2020 Raisina Dialogue

Ep. 38: Gordon de Brouwer on economics vs security, climate change, and effective policymaking

Ep. 37: The bushfires, internationally; the Soleimani killing; reviewing 2019, looking ahead to 2020

Ep. 36: Ex-ASIO head Duncan Lewis (Part 2): foreign interference and national security policymaking in Australia

Ep. 35: Ex-ASIO head Duncan Lewis (Part 1): on his military & govt career, and the challenge of terrorism

Ep. 34: All things China (again)! Defectors? Sleeper agents? MP visas & Hong Kong

Ep. 33: US leadership: vision vs reality; RCEP; human rights in China; Syria, the Kurds and US credibility

Ep. 32: The Australia-China Relationship

Ep. 31: Debating PM Morrison’s Lowy Lecture

Ep. 30: Australia’s High Commissioners to Solomon Islands and Samoa discuss diplomacy in the Pacific

Ep. 29: PM Morrison visits the Trump White House; prisoners in Iran; energy security; a visit by Fiji’s PM; climate change

Ep. 28: PM’s trips to Vietnam & the G7; alliance management in the Gulf; Kashmir; PNG

Ep. 27: Clare Walsh, DFAT Deputy Secretary on multilateralism, aid and development

Ep. 26: AUSMIN; Hastie op-ed; HK protests in Australia; Pacific Islands Forum

Ep. 25: David Gruen, Australia’s G20 Sherpa

Ep. 24: Director-General of ASIS in his first ever interview

Ep. 23: Morrison’s Asialink-Bloomberg speech; Lowy Poll; G20

Ep. 22: Hong Kong protests; Shangri-La Dialogue; US-Iran tensions

Ep. 21: Interview with Rebecca Skinner, Associate Secretary at Defence

Ep. 20: Huawei and decoupling; PNG; four elections; new ambassadors; Bob Hawke

Ep. 19: An incoming government brief: What will the election winner face in the new term?

Ep. 18: Terrorism and counter-terrorism in the wake of the Sri Lanka attacks

Ep. 17: Geoeconomics; Australia’s consular operations

Ep. 16: Brexit, more Brexit, & new funding for Australia-China relations

Ep. 15: Towards reinvigorating Australian foreign policy studies (LIVE @ ANU)

Ep. 14: North Korea after Hanoi; India-Pakistan crisis deescalates; Indonesian FTA

Ep. 13: Five eyes and 5G infrastructure; problems for Aussie coal

Ep. 12: What we learned from 2018, looking ahead to 2019

Ep. 11: Dennis Richardson

Ep. 10: ASPI’s Danielle Cave and Tom Uren on “cyber”

Ep. 9: US-China rivalry through the lens of regional summitry

Ep. 8: Australian foreign policy speeches, China and Australia's South Pacific pivot/balance, Victoria on the Belt and Road, US midterms and Brazil’s new president

Ep. 7: Jerusalem and the Iran nuclear deal, Khashoggi and Myanmar, Trump vs. the INF and UPU, and quieter Australian diplomacy

Ep. 6: Mike Pence’s Hudson Institute speech and the state of Sino-US relations

Ep. 5: UN General Assembly Meetings; US-China trade war; Australian foreign aid

Ep. 4: Change at the top; Huawei and 5G, PM Morrison to Indonesia

Ep. 3: Turnbull’s “China reset” speech, Australia’s soft power review, and interview with Miles Kupa

Episode 1: The rules-based international order with Allan Gyngell and Darren Lim

Episode 2: Elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, the new trilateral infrastructure investment fund, and how worried should Australia be about the United States?