Episodes
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Gray Connolly is a Barrister-at-Law in Coram Chambers in Sydney, Australia. His practice is mainly in constitutional law, public law, as well as corporations and resources law. Gray has advised the Australian Government on national security and public law matters.
Gray served previously as a naval intelligence officer in the Royal Australian Navy in the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, East Timor, and the Middle East, including service in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gray also periodically writes on national security and governance matters from a conservative perspective. He keeps a blog at “Strategy Counsel” and his Twitter is @GrayConnolly
Wide-ranging discussion befitting a man with such deep and broad knowledge about so many things. We cover his political development, Ukraine, Middle East, China, Big Australia, and how close we are to our modern day Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
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Virginia is a former ABC journalist and now freelance writer based on a farm in southern NSW where she lives there with her husband and four kids.
She is a regular contributor to The Australian, author of soon to be published book “All Mothers Work”, and founder of www.parentsworkcollective.org.au
She recently spoke at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in Sydney where we met. In this interview we discuss:
How we can improve the image of motherhood in the media, why this is necessary, and how this might be achievedWhat a sensible pro-natalist / family policy looks like and how we need to make parenting less of a heroic undertaking than it currently isWhat she makes of the "tradwife" phenomenonWhat single professional career-minded women do and don't understand about motherhood - pros and consWhether she considers herself a feminist and her views on Simone De Beauvoir, Betty Friedan and othersAnd much more
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Episodes manquant?
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I speak with UK academic Dr Daniel Pitt about his recent book on Post-liberalism and the Future of Conservatism. We discuss among other things:
The situation in the UK today and why, despite having many erudite and interesting intellectuals, journalists, podcasters on the right, British politics is such a basket case at the momentHow British conservatism differs from conservatism in the new worldWhether and how liberals and conservatism should cooperate?Why Australia does not have the same intellectual tradition when it comes to "conservatism"What "national conservatism" actually means and how it differs (if at all) from past versions of conservatismWhere "red toryism" and "blue labour" are now What a post-liberal and future conservative future looks like.And much more.
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My guest today is Tim Andrews is Director of Consumer Issues for Americans for Tax Reform based in Washington DC.
He was previously Executive Director of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance is or has been on the boards of a host of free market think tanks globally including the HR Nicholls Society, and the Australian Libertarian Society. He previously ran the very successful Friedman Conferences in Sydney for many years.
We discussed:
The current mood in Washington DC and how people are reactingHis interpretation of Trump policy framework and whether it really differs from the previous Reagan centre-right Washington ConsensusHis views on Ukraine war His views on immigration and his personal experience with the Cronulla Riots in SydneyOur long standing argument on trade policy and why he still is in favour of free tradeWhether if any of his policy positions have changed since Trump rise in 2015. How the Trump presidency could go wrong and whether the current national conservative moment could in turn followed by a more libertarian moment in due courseAnd much more.
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Jordan and Dan catch up to discuss the US Election (with joy)!
Among other things we discuss:
Why Gen X and Gen X swung strongly behind TrumpHow Trump 2024 differs from 2016What the new coalition of Tech Bros (Elon, Theil, etc), Media Bros (Rogan, Tucket, etc) , Health Bros (RFK Jr, etc), and Thinking Bros (JD Vance, Vivek, etc) make the MAGA agenda stronger and more durableHow the Australian mainstream media and the political class still don't get itHow the UK political class are especially cluelessHow it could all go wrong and right over the next 4 years -
Interview with Hon John Ruddick MLC has been a Libertarian member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 20 April 2023. He is the first member of that party to be elected to the NSW Parliament.
Before entering parliament Ruddick was a long-standing member of the Liberal Party and prominent proponent of reform. He is the author of a 2018 book "Make the Liberal Party Great Again". In this episode we discuss:
How The Libertarian Party plans to influence the Liberal Party of Australia in a similar way that the Greens influence the Labor PartyWhether open primaries for selection of leaders and representatives can work in AustraliaWhere the libertarians differ and agree with the Trump programme on trade, immigration and foreign policyWhether libertarianism is in conflict with the nation-state -
We interview noted Australian liberal economist Dr Alan Moran about his recent piece in The Spectator regarding the unprecedented demographic decline Australia and other nations are experiencing.
We discuss amongst other things:
Causes of this decline and possible carrot and stick solutionsWhat the true economic costs of raising kids is and how this should be compensatedWhy treasury forecasts with population have been so wrong and whether economics has treated demographics seriously enoughThe problems of baby bust happening at the same time as mass immigrationWhether neoliberalism is in part responsible for the decline and whether current policy setting need to be readjustedWhat a Trump victory means for trade and liberalism generally The Spectator piece here: https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/10/can-subsidies-help-australians-make-more-babies/ -
Dan Ryan, Executive Director of NatCon Australia and Jordan Knight, Founder of Migration Watch get together for regular catch-up:
We discuss among other things:
Thoughts on recent Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) event in Sydney which we both attended - pros and cons, best and worst speakers, etc.The high end arts and culture style of ARC - pros and consThe extent to which national conservative themes were touched on by speakers on stage (not much) but which were discussed at length by many attendees on sidelinesHow real threat to US and West is descent in to South American politics rather than Cold War or WWIIHow battles of the future less about ideology and more about demographyThoughts on upcoming US election and what it means for Australia -
We speak with Isaac Stone Fish the founder and CEO of Strategy Risks - a business intelligence firm focusing on geopolitical risk.
He is the former Beijing correspondent for Newsweek and worked in China for many years. Amongst his many other current roles he serves as a contributor to CBS News, is an adjunct at NYU's Center for Global Affairs and has positions on the Atlantic Council and the Council on Foreign Relations
He is the author of America Second: How America’s Elites are Making China Stronger (Knopf) and lives in New York City.
https://www.isaacstonefish.com/
https://www.amazon.com.au/America-Second-Americas-Elites-Stronger/dp/0525657703
Among other things we discuss:
What US-China relations would look like under President Trump or President HarrisHis book "America Second" and the history of influence peddling by former senior American officials in ChinaKey issues such as Xinjiang, Taiwan, TikTok, Telsa, China and US Tech entrepreneursWhat a more ethical and sophisticated approach for companies "engaging" with China should look like -
We speak with UK academic Dr Kit Kowol about his newly released book, "Blue Jerusalem: British Conservatism, Winston Churchill, and the Second World War"
We discuss among other things:
Why did British public vote out in a landslide Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party in 1945?How might the United Kingdom and the British Empire have been different if the Conservatives had won in 1945?Lord Beaverbrook and how his realist views were reflective of a significant part of the Conservative PartyOther myths about WWII and the early post war period that should be discardedBook available here:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Blue-Jerusalem-British-Conservatism-Churchill/dp/0198868499
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We chat with Jillian Spencer a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Brisbane.
In April 2023, she was stood down from her job as the senior staff specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital for raising concerns about gender interventions for children. Since that time, she has spoken out in the media about her concerns which led to further allegations of breaching the Code of Conduct. She remains suspended from her job.
We discuss:
How she became increasingly concerned about "gender affirming" treatment in AustraliaWhy the Australian gender clients have ignored the Cass Review in the UK which recommended against puberty blockers and gender affirming care What explains the increase in the number of kids presenting with gender dysphoriaWhat she has learnt about her colleagues and her profession, people generally, and about herself during this processHer recently released paper criticising the Queensland Gender Service evaluation (which essentially dismissed the Cass Review) can be found here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10398562241280351 -
Regular catch up between Dan Ryan and Jordan Knight Among other things we discuss:
CPAC and Quillette functions we respectively attended, their pros and cons, and to what extent they these existing organizations get NatCon and the new rightThe recent admission by the Assistant Immigration Minister that migrants to have provided only "marginal economic benefit" to AustraliaA discussion of some of our respective media appearances, NatCon podcasts guests, and articlesWhether Australian governments are really implementing any serious change on immigration and whether they get the new reality at all on tradeThe various ways the immigration system is being rorted and how bad things are with illegal immigration in the United States -
I speak with social commentator Bettina Arndt - who famously started off as Australia's first public sex therapist and "the person most strongly identified with Australia's sexual revolution", but who has now become a controversial critic of modern feminism.
Among the topics we cover:
Bettina's family history, why that shaped her view of the world, and how she and her father were very much at the heard of modern Australian liberalismWhy she first got interested in sex, academically speakingWhether he attitude towards the sexual revolution has changedWhether there is a concerned campaign to delegitimise her and her work Why has the relationship between the sexes has become so politicised and whether it should necessarily be soWhether there ways the relationship between the sexes can be improvedWhat her top issues are now -
We speak with well respected Australian liberal academic, Dr William Coleman about Australian Federation in 1901 and Australian nationalism more generally.
Our discussion centres around Dr Coleman's book, "Their Fiery Cross of Union - A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914", which is critical of federation project and many of those involved.
Topics we cover include:
Whether there were really any practical alternatives possible?Whether the Australian constitution is really as flawed as claimed and how it could have been better?Whether Dr Coleman is too hard on the Australian Founders (compared to the American Founders and other nationalist leaders)?Whether our national immigration and foreign trade policies implemented at Federation, which liberals bemoan, were necessary at the time and important for the development of Australia?The relevance of Australia's founding to today's discussions about nationalism and importance of nation-state, trade, and immigration policies, being conducted as part of the "national conservative" movement in US, Europe and elsewhere. -
We interview former NSW Police Minister Carl Scully who together with Assistant Commissioner Mark Goodwin are the authors of an important new book "The Cronulla Riots - The Inside Story".
We discuss:
- What actually went on in December 2005 and how the true significance of these events has been misunderstood
- How the aftermath and revenge attacks were far more serious that what took place on Cronulla Beach and how the police responded
- How both the media and academics misunderstood and mischaracterised these events
- Some very positive elements that came out of the events in 2005 and how this reflects well on the Australian community
- What in his view it takes to make immigration a success
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We interview Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) www.cis.org and a nationally recognised and influential expert on immigration issues in the United States
Among other things we discuss:
What exactly is going on in Springfield, Ohio and why it matters more than whether cats and dogs are being eatenWhat problems the US has with illegal immigration that Australia has been able to avoidWhy US centre-right has until recently talked very differently about immigration than in AustraliaWhy legal immigration is the problem as well as illegal immigrationWhere we go from here. -
Interview with academic Dr John Lee, senior consultant for the US Dept of Defense and former national security adviser to Australian Government.
Among other things we cover:
1. Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers upcoming trip to Beijing
2. What Australia's trade and investment relationship should be like with China
3. How Xi Jinping doesn't really differ that much from his predecessors
4. Ideology v culture in foreign policy
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My guest today is John Roskam who is the the former long-time executive director and now senior fellow of the Institute for Public Affairs (IPA), a well-known centre-right think tank based in Melbourne, Australia. He writes a regular column for the Australian Financial Review, which he has done for over 20 years.
In this episode we discuss:
How the philosophy of the Institute of Public Affairs has changed over the years and why it originally supported tariffs among other thingsHis views on Australia's Federation and the "Australian Settlement" and whether the criticism from liberal free market types is justifiedWhy he thinks the "Washington Consensus" has changed and what this means for the Canberra bipartisan consensus and how it might need to change going forward.His current views on foreign policy, immigration, trade and much, much more. -
Interview with Gerard Rennick, Senator for the State of Queensland, Australia. Always interesting chatting to Gerard who is, whatever you may think about particular policy positions, a very authentic guy and has given a great deal of thought to where Australia is going.
We cover issues such as (a) how government decisions actually made both in Australia and internationally (b) what explains why governments across the world increasingly seem to move in lockstep (c) his criticism of the bipartisan consensus on trade, foreign policy, and immigration.
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