Centre for Independent Studies
421 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingLet’s share good ideas. 💡
The Centre for Independent Studies promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can prosper.
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Episodes
On Liberty EP81 | Kathryn Stoner | The Russian Invasion And A New Global Order
March 14, 2022 23:16 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBTo the eternal shame of Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin cronies, Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has opened a new era in global politics. As a consequence, it has seriously undermined the post-Cold War international system. What can the West do about it beyond fulminating on the sidelines? Russia has developed an outsized ability to exercise considerable influence abroad. And despite having an economy smaller than Italy’s, Russia has managed to spread its tentacles around the world. The ...
On Liberty EP80 | John Sweller | We Must Follow The Educational Science
March 07, 2022 03:59 - 30 minutes - 28 MBOn the show this week, we welcome CIS contributor and University of NSW academic, Emeritus Professor John Sweller. Author of the recent CIS papers: Why Inquiry-based Approaches Harm Students’ Learning and Some Critical Thoughts about Critical and Creative Thinking. In his recent paper, he writes that the science on learning is settled and that schools must reflect this. Professor Sweller argues, those who write curriculum, train teachers, and make policy often don’t know or follow the educat...
On Liberty EP79 | Stephen Loosley | Culture And The New Cold Wars
February 27, 2022 22:57 - 27 minutes - 25 MBJoin us for the return of On Liberty for 2022 as we talk to senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre Stephen Loosley to find out what film can teach us about the possible cold wars to come. As Russia masses troops on the Ukrainian border and China ramps up its military presence in the South China Sea and South East Asia, the development of new Pacific and global alliances such as the quad and AUKUS creates tensions amongst the world superpowers, it seems like a...
S2E10 | Nick Cater ‘Liberalism needs moral vision not just economics’
February 08, 2022 01:00 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBRob and Nick discuss the liberalism of Robert Menzies for whom the independence of the individual was paramount and whether liberalism is somehow in tune with the human soul and, if so, why is it not widespread in today’s connected world? Nick explains to us that liberalism has a strong moral vision that works in practice. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politi...
S2E9 | Gordon Menzies ‘Liberalism as fundamentalism?’
February 01, 2022 01:00 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBGordon's book is available on Amazon now; https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0817QK9KR Rob and Gordon discuss issues arising from Gordon’s 2020 book Western Fundamentalism in which he critiques the unquestioning, and therefore ‘fundamentalist,’ adoption of democracy, free marked economic liberalism and sexual freedom as basic. Rob and Gordon discuss why liberalism has been so effective in producing economic prosperity but why it is ineffective if spread to other areas of human life. They discus...
S2E8 | Simon Mordant ‘Why liberalism is essential to the arts’
January 25, 2022 01:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBRob and Simon discuss how important liberalism is as philosophy of freedom and equality, despite concerns it is not applied uniformly across the board. Simon is particularly concerned about what he sees as a widening divide between haves and have-nots. Although there are limits to liberalism, larger government is not the solution. Business leaders and the community need to have a stronger voice in terms of some of the policy settings that are required to create a better society. Long-term s...
S2E7 | Nyunggai Warren Mundine ‘Liberalism says No to the Voice to Parliament!’
January 18, 2022 01:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBRob and Warren discuss at length why Warren believes liberalism is good for indigenous Australians, why the voice to parliament proposal is not a good idea, and why the unjust deprivation of the lands of the First Australians, as regrettable as it is, does not delegitimise our nation. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. Follow C...
S2E6 | Andrew Bragg ‘Liberalism says Yes to the Voice to Parliament!’
January 11, 2022 01:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBRob and Andrew discuss some of the provocative ideas in his recent book Buraadja; The liberal case for national reconciliation (Connor Court 2021). Andrew is concerned that it is an anomaly that there are a number of special laws for a particular people in Australia but no proper way that they can have a say in them. He believes that a voice to parliament can be consistent with liberal principles and answers criticisms of his position. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free ...
S2E5 | Chandran Kukathas ‘Liberalism is scepticism of power’
January 04, 2022 01:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBRob and Chandran discuss Chandran's journey from a young socialist to a thoughtful liberal. Chandran understands the essence of liberalism as a commitment to individual freedom but also a commitment to equal freedom. Chandran and Rob discuss how differently liberalism expresses itself in different cultures and how liberal institutions and ideas are all over the world, even in countries like Singapore, which explicitly disavows liberalism. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes fr...
S2E4 | Hannes H. Gissurarson ‘Liberalism needs conservatism too’
December 28, 2021 01:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBRob and Hannes discuss everything from the pirate radio station he once ran to important thinkers like medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas and Friedrich von Hayek. Hannes believes that the best kind of liberalism is what he calls conservative liberalism, which is a long tradition, which combines the price mechanism with the decentralisation of knowledge on one hand and traditional morality on the other. Much of the discussion arises from Hannes’ recent book Twenty-Four Conservative-Liberal T...
S2E3 | David Kemp ‘Liberalism’s remarkable Australian Story’
December 21, 2021 01:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBRob and David discuss the remarkable story of ‘the liberal project’ in Australia. David has written a five-volume history of the liberal project from the days of the arrival of Governor Philip in 1788 to the end of the Menzies prime ministership in 1966. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. Follow CIS on our Socials Twitter - h...
On Liberty Ep78 | Harry Kazianis | Will 2022 Bring Peace On The Korean Peninsula
December 17, 2021 00:35 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBSouth Korea’s president Moon Jae-in has called for a final settlement of the 1950-52 Korean War, but North Korea's Kim Jong-un is having none of it. Or is it his little sister, the increasingly outspoken Kim Yo-jong, who is the real power in Pyongyang? She seemingly left the possibility open -- if the United States is willing to meet her price.
S2E2 | Simon Cowan ‘Economic liberalism under threat’
December 14, 2021 01:00 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBRob and Simon discuss why, despite the unparalleled success of international liberalism in lifting people out of extreme poverty, we are now in danger of abandoning the very policies that made this possible. Simon describes the move away from liberalism as a worldwide phenomenon affecting both the left and right of politics. As Simon puts it, is “Liberalism is losing its ground support and also it political and financial might.” Good policy lead to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice a...
S2E1 | Henry Ergas ‘The heart of liberalism’
December 07, 2021 02:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBIn a wide-ranging discussion, Rob and Henry explore the heart of the liberal project. Liberalism emerged as a philosophy and ideology that afforded people freedoms and an alternative to civil war. Yet, it is the balance between order and freedom, which requires both tolerance and responsibility. Liberalism does not bring a single overarching purpose to society but rather ways of proceeding together. Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the...
On Liberty Ep77 | Glenn Fahey | Maths Wars Expose The Great Divide In Education
December 06, 2021 06:02 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBAustralian student achievement has declined more steeply and more consistently than almost any other country, most notably in mathematics. At the same time, it’s clear that maths is now more critical than ever, to the success of students – both at school and beyond. Recent CIS research identifies that Australian teachers often have an unbalanced approach to how maths is taught in classrooms. This appears to be because teachers are victims of poor preparation from university-based Initial Tea...
On Liberty Ep76 | Michael Johnston | Will Future Generations Share Our Enthusiasm For A Democracy
November 30, 2021 02:46 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MBwe welcome Dr Michael Johnston from the Victoria University of Wellington. He will discuss how education systems can better promotive active and informed democratic citizens. Michael argues that doing so requires more than drumming a curated narrative about nationhood and nationalistic ideals into school curricula. Rather than recourse to “history wars” and the like, he recommends that education systems help young people to revere the cultural values that underpin liberal democracy – politic...
On Liberty Ep75 | Rowan Callick | China's Risky Path To Riches
November 26, 2021 03:00 - 29 minutes - 296 MBThe Chinese Communist Party is at the peak of its power as it enters its second century and Xi Jinping’s ‘New Era’ policy is a high-stakes revolution that is triggering alarms. These are gloriously red days for Chinese communism. But are they marking dawn or dusk, as this dangerous narrative unfurls?
On Liberty Ep75 | Rowan Callick | China’s Risky Path To Riches
November 26, 2021 03:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBThe Chinese Communist Party is at the peak of its power as it enters its second century and Xi Jinping’s ‘New Era’ policy is a high-stakes revolution that is triggering alarms. These are gloriously red days for Chinese communism. But are they marking dawn or dusk, as this dangerous narrative unfurls?
On Liberty Ep74 | Gigi Foster | The Great COVID Panic
November 23, 2021 03:08 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBIn the Great Panic of early 2020, nearly every government in the world restricted the movement of its population, disrupted the education of its children, suspended normal individual liberties, and hijacked its healthcare system, to assert control of people’s lives in the name of fighting Covid.
On Liberty Ep73 | Paul Fletcher | Governing In The Internet Age
November 09, 2021 00:36 - 31 minutes - 29 MBWe talk to Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. We'll discuss Paul's recent book Governing in the Internet Age (Monash University Publishing). Over the past thirty years, the internet has transformed virtually every area of human activity, presenting enormous boosts to economic activity. For ordinary Australians, the internet provides an unprecedented opportunity to shop, work, and communicate online. It has become fundamental for daily li...
On Liberty Ep72 | Dr James Kierstead | How Democratic Was Athenian Democracy?
November 02, 2021 22:08 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBThis week as we talk to classicist Dr James Kierstead about the pasts and futures of ancient Athenian democracy. The Western world likes to trade its democratic institutions to ancient Greece, but the Greek model of citizenship was very different from our own, and Athens was far from the only democracy in the Greek world. We'll be asking Dr Kierstead about the Athenian constitution, how it operated in practice in the era of high democracy, the meaning of ancient Greek citizenship, and what it...
On Liberty Ep71| Natasha Kassam | Taiwan Should Be Allowed To Join The CPTPP, But Will China Let It?
October 11, 2021 01:49 - 28 minutes - 227 MBWe talk to Natasha Kassam, director (Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program) at the Lowy Institute, about China's military pressure, economic coercion, diplomatic isolation on Taiwan in recent years. In most international fora, China’s participation is a given, and Beijing has the upper hand. Australia and other countries advocate Taiwan’s inclusion on the margins. Yet this time Taiwan may actually be a better candidate for the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP...
On Liberty Ep71 | Natasha Kassam | Taiwan Should Be Allowed To Join The CPTPP
October 11, 2021 01:49 - 28 minutes - 26 MBWe talk to Natasha Kassam, director (Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program) at the Lowy Institute, about China's military pressure, economic coercion, diplomatic isolation on Taiwan in recent years. In most international fora, China’s participation is a given, and Beijing has the upper hand. Australia and other countries advocate Taiwan’s inclusion on the margins. Yet this time Taiwan may actually be a better candidate for the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP...
On Liberty Ep70 | Peter Jennings | AUKUS, AUSMIN, And The
October 05, 2021 03:41 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBWe talk to Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), about submarines, China, and the future of the Australia-UK-US security partnership. Hot on the heels of the AUKUS announcement and the nuclear-powered submarines deal, Scott Morrison hitched a ride with Marise Payne and Peter Dutton to attend the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Washington, DC last week. While the foreign and defence ministers met their US counterp...
On Liberty Ep69 | Sean Jacobs | What Would Neville Bonner Make Of Identity Politics Today?
September 27, 2021 02:01 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBThis month marks 50 years since the first Indigenous Australian delivered a maiden address to federal parliament. This was a great achievement for Neville Bonner, who served as a Liberal senator from 1971 to 1983. Bonner, according to a new biography, understood the tension, even chasm, between protest and compromise. “If you want to beat the system, you do it in a sensible, quiet way,” he argued. At a time when we are becoming accustomed to outbreaks of acute racial sensitivity – trigger wa...
On Liberty Ep68 | Richard Alston | The EU And Its Flaws
September 21, 2021 03:43 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBWe welcome Richard Alston former Liberal Senator for Victoria and senior cabinet minister in the Howard Coalition government. He is also author of recent CIS paper Reflections on the EU Project and its Flaws: A fatal conceit about markets and the real world. With worthwhile intentions, The EU, and its predecessor bodies, were set up with the aim of ending the long history of frequent and bloody wars between European neighbours. Its fundamental purpose was to promote greater social, political ...
On Liberty Ep.63| Jordan Williams | What Lies Ahead For An Isolated New Zealand?
September 14, 2021 23:26 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBWe welcome Jordan Williams, executive director and co-founder of the New Zealand Tax Payer's Alliance. Buoyed by the support of the vast majority of voters, New Zealand had managed to shield itself from Covid-19, but what lies ahead for an isolated New Zealand? With a housing crisis playing out, an imminent interest rate rise and excessive government spending on vanity projects, how is the Ardern Government faring?
On Liberty Ep 67 | William Coleman | Was Federation A Bad Idea?
September 14, 2021 23:25 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBWe welcome William Coleman, Reader at the Research School of Economics at ANU. He is the prize-winning author, or co-author, of eight books including recently, Their Firery Cross of Union; A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation (Connor Court). Recently writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Chris Uhlmann wrote 'Scott Morrison now cannot travel through the country he governs. The Prime Minister is a prisoner in Canberra and his political fortunes in the run-up to the next elec...
On Liberty Ep66 | Scott Prasser | Royal Commissions And Public Inquiries In Australia
September 08, 2021 04:45 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBWe welcome Scott Prasser, senior policy advisor and CIS scholar. In his recent book, Scott argues hardly a day passes in Australia without a public inquiry or royal commission being appointed, a report being released, or someone calling for an inquiry to be appointed. Since federation, the Commonwealth alone has appointed nearly 140 royal commissions and some 500 other public inquiries. Some inquiries last for years and cost over $300million – others are more focused and economical. So what d...
On Liberty Ep.65 | Senator Bridget McKenzie | The Legacy Of John 'Black Jack' McEwen
August 29, 2021 23:23 - 29 minutes - 226 MBWe welcome Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Senator for Victoria since 2011. Senator McKenzie has held ministerial office in the Turnbull and Morrison Governments and has served as her party's Senate leader since 2019. In late 2020, McKenzie authored 'John McEwen: right man, right place, right time' (Connor Court), in this book she argues that his policies, known as ‘McEwenism,’ forged the nation’s post Second World War economic boom ushering in an era of unprecedented full employment and prosperi...
On Liberty Ep.65 | Senator Bridget McKenzie | The Legacy Of John ’Black Jack’ McEwen
August 29, 2021 23:23 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBWe welcome Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Senator for Victoria since 2011. Senator McKenzie has held ministerial office in the Turnbull and Morrison Governments and has served as her party's Senate leader since 2019. In late 2020, McKenzie authored 'John McEwen: right man, right place, right time' (Connor Court), in this book she argues that his policies, known as ‘McEwenism,’ forged the nation’s post Second World War economic boom ushering in an era of unprecedented full employment and prosperi...
On Liberty Ep.64 | Stan Grant | What Does The Return Of The Taliban Mean For Afghanistan & The World
August 24, 2021 08:20 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBAfghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani fled the country over the weekend, leading to a complete collapse in government administration and a rapid Taliban takeover of the entire country. A one-time Abu Dhabi based correspondent for CNN and former anchor for Al Jazeera in Doha, Australia's own Stan Grant brings a depth of in-region experience to the analysis of Afghan affairs. Today we ask Grant how the Taliban were able to sweep to power so rapidly, who was responsible for the collapse of Americ...
On Liberty Ep.62 | Ehud Yaari | The New Israeli Government And Geopolitical Tensions
August 11, 2021 00:01 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBOn the show this Wednesday, we welcome Ehud Yaari visiting expert at the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and one of Israel's leading public affairs commentators. This episode will focus on the recently sworn in Bennett–Lapid Israeli Government, the Biden Administration's actions in the Middle East six months on from his inauguration, as well as a geopolitical overview of the region. Israel’s status as the only liberal, democratic nation amidst a vast expanse of autocratic and illibe...
On Liberty Ep.61 | William Maley | How A Peace Process Went Wrong
August 02, 2021 23:38 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBThis episode focuses on Afghanistan’s future prospects given Australia’s recent closure of its embassy in Kabul, and the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan after 20 years. We'll discuss the implications of the US withdrawal, the ‘peace process’ that was supposed to flow from the US-Taliban agreement, and what scenarios could play out should the Taliban regain control.
On Liberty Ep.60 | Stephan Livera | Bitcoin Volcano
July 25, 2021 05:30 - 28 minutes - 26 MBWe welcome podcast host, Bitcoin maximalist and co-founder of Ministry of Nodes, Stephan Liveria. This episode will focus on cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. Bitcoin started the year at an all-time high. Then, there was controversy after Elon Musk criticised the cryptocurrency for its allegedly damaging impact on the environment. Now, El Salvador has made Bitcoin one of its official currencies.
On Liberty ep.59 | Armelle Rebuffet | Bastille Day 2021: Franco-Australian relations
July 23, 2021 02:02 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBWe welcome French Consul (Commercial), Armelle Rebuffet. We'll discuss how BusinessFrance works to strengthen Franco-Australian relations, how covid-19 has impacted the way French companies view and engage with Australia and the main barriers and obstacles for Australian businesses looking to move. BusinessFrance works connecting French and Australian companies and how they assist Australian companies to settle and invest in France.
On Liberty Ep.57 | Peter Baldwin | A New Dark Age? Identity Politics And The Threat To Civilization
July 17, 2021 02:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBAs Sydney starts another round of lockdown, we are pleased to say we will still be able to produce the weekly On Liberty -- fitting, considering it is the reason we started the show in the first place! This week we ask, if liberalism falls will that usher in a 'new dark age'? If so, what, exactly, will go dark? Freedom of speech and the press, democratic elections, and independent judiciaries are the foundation of the contemporary civilization, not only of the West but of the whole world. B...
On Liberty Ep.58 | Dr Anthony Dillon | Indigenous Truth - Telling
July 13, 2021 01:21 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBOn the show this Wednesday, we welcome CIS contributor and Australian Catholic University academic, Dr Anthony Dillon. Writing in The Herald Sun recently, Anthony says proponents for truth-telling of Australia’s past selectively advance a sanitised version and are disinterested in inconvenient truths facing Indigenous Australians today. Anthony argues that truth-telling hasn’t extended to sensitive contemporary issues, such as the tragic rates of child abuse, violence, and suicide inflictin...
On Liberty Ep.56 | Bob Graham | Can Australia Succeed In Commercialising Science?
June 29, 2021 06:24 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBAustralia does a lot of great science, but has a poor record of translating that science into benefits for society. At least, that's what the education minister has been telling us. This week we talk to an eminent Australian scientist to hear about a home-grown translational medicine success story -- and to find out what barriers still stand between basic research and commercial applications. This week we talk to Prof Bob Graham of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a specialist in...
On Liberty Ep.55 | David Goodman | The Communist Party In Chinese Society
June 23, 2021 03:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBWith the Australian and Chinese governments arguing in increasingly shrill tones, has Australia really "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people"? In China's official view of the world, the Party and the people are one. But is that really true? And how is the Party's role in society changing in the 21st century?
The State Of Our Economy | Josh Frydenberg | Tom Switzer
June 21, 2021 23:08 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBSince last month’s federal budget, the Centre for Independent Studies has lamented that the Coalition government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has embraced the political left’s economic credentials as interventionists and big spenders. Will Canberra’s historic spending blowout lead to an inflation surge, prompting higher interest rates? Will it just steal economic growth from the future in return for a temporary surge in the next year to 18 months? Will the spending blowout in aged care,...
On Liberty ep.54 | Chris Merritt | Has ICAC gone too far?
June 15, 2021 01:26 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBWith their sensationalist public questioning of Premier Gladys Berejiklian's private life the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has attracted renewed attention. Some may argue that ICAC must break a few eggs in order to obtain the proverbial, corruption-busting omelet. But has ICAC gone too far? Is the rule of law being undermined in NSW? Join us with Chris Merritt. Chris is vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia and commentator, who writes regularly fo...
On Liberty Ep.53 | Dr Bella D'Abrera | Australians Reject Identity Politics
June 07, 2021 02:50 - 31 minutes - 189 MBOn the show this Wednesday, we welcome Institute of Public Affairs’ Dr Bella d’Abrera. Speaking with The Australian recently, Bella reveals that new polling proves parents are concerned schooling has become overly politicised and out of step with mainstream values. Bella argues that, as a fundamentally egalitarian society, divisive ideologies like critical race theory, have no place in Australian schools. She cites proposed changes to the national curriculum as evidence of a radical turn to...
On Liberty Ep.53 | Dr Bella D’Abrera | Australians Reject Identity Politics
June 07, 2021 02:50 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBOn the show this Wednesday, we welcome Institute of Public Affairs’ Dr Bella d’Abrera. Speaking with The Australian recently, Bella reveals that new polling proves parents are concerned schooling has become overly politicised and out of step with mainstream values. Bella argues that, as a fundamentally egalitarian society, divisive ideologies like critical race theory, have no place in Australian schools. She cites proposed changes to the national curriculum as evidence of a radical turn to...
On Liberty Ep.52 | David M Jones | Have Postmodern Politics Launched Us On A Ship Of Fools?
May 31, 2021 05:06 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBDid the fall of the Soviet Union usher in the end of history for everyone, or only for a small class of comfortably well-off professionals in a few rich countries? How did big ideas replace practical politics, and what does it mean for our future now that politics have come roaring back? Was the presidency of Donald Trump an aberration, or a sign of things to come? And perhaps most importantly: is sin really such a bad thing, after all? This week, Wednesday 26 May 2021, we talk to Prof Davi...
On Liberty Ep.51 | Dr John Humphreys | Federal Budget 2021 Recap
May 24, 2021 22:38 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBFrom childcare subsidies to jobseeker increases and big infrastructure spending this years' 2021 Federal Budget is being touted as one of the largest in our nation's history. While elevated iron ore prices will help to offset its impact we are staring down multiyear deficits and debt. Join guest host, Simon Cowan and CIS research associate, John Humphreys as they cover what the mainstream media has missed.
50. On Liberty | Peter Khalil MP | Democracy Under Threat In Myanmar And Throughout The Region
May 13, 2021 23:30 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBAs Myanmar's military takeover risks spinning into civil war, what can Australia do to help? Do "middle powers" matter? How secure is our region, and what can we do to improve it? If democracy really is threatened in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, what can Australia do to help preserve it? Join us for our 50th episode this week as we ask Mr Peter Khalil MP what Australia can do to promote democracy in an increasingly benighted region. Khalil is the Member for Wills in Victoria and D...
49. On Liberty | Star Wars Day | Libertarian Edition
May 11, 2021 23:37 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBScience fiction is often seen as the domain of - the nerds. But, the genre has a long and inextricable link with libertarianism. This is the argument made by podcaster, writer, and teacher, Jordan Alexander Hill in his brilliant Quillette essay, "The Libertarian History of Science Fiction." Jordan joins us to discuss his essay and we voyage from the early days of science fiction; the impact of the pulps; the influence of John Campbell; the Prometheus awards, and beyond. May the force be w...
On Liberty Ep.48 | Dr Fiona Mueller | Education Or Enstupidation? English In The Curriculum
May 04, 2021 03:19 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBHow can students be expected to develop into intellectual adults if they are never exposed to the best reading that the English language has to offer? The New South Wales curriculum acknowledges that English is the national language of Australia, but what is it actually doing to educate the state's children in its use? Join us this week as we "talk English" with educationalist Dr Fiona Mueller, author of "From Education to Enstupidation -- Teaching English Language and Literature in Austra...
47. On Liberty | Dr Zachary Gorman | Magna Carta; 800 Years Of Freedom.
April 23, 2021 00:33 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBThe Magna Carta has become an enduring symbol of freedom, a triumph over power and tyranny. But would you be surprised to learn that, not only did the great charter have many lives it, "was completely misrepresented?" This is the story, beautifully and methodical told, in historian Dr Zachary Gorman's latest book: Summoning Magna Carta: Freedom's Symbol over a Millennium. Through impeccable research that takes the reader from Runnymede; through England's 17th century civil war and the Crus...