Events on the streets of Melbourne last week shocked everyone.
The chaos, violence, anger and disruption pulled the curtain back on a sub-culture of disparate extremist groups - from anit-vaxxers, right wing nationalists, conspiracy theorists and hardcore fascists.
In the middle of it - the Union movement targeted in an attack centred on the offices of the CFMEU.
So what is going on here? Why is the far right trying to infiltrate unions and exploit the fault lines in our communities that have opened due to the pandemic?
And just as importantly, how are they doing it, and what should we do in response?
To answer these questions, Francis and Sally are joined by Dr Josh Roose who is a Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute Melbourne.
Josh has served on a number of advisory panels to the State and Federal Governments on Violent Extremism.
His book The New Demagogues: Religion, Masculinity and the New Populism (Routledge) was released in 2020.
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About the hosts
Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg
Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly
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