Fire at Will

The overwhelming majority of academic articles come and go with little fanfare. There may be the odd admiring nod from a professor, or a few lively debates in university tutorial rooms. But that’s normally about it.Unless you are Professor Bruce Gilley. In 2017, Bruce authored a watershed paper titled, ‘The Case for Colonialism.’ It sparked a global furore. Far from cowered, Bruce has just released a new book, also titled ‘The Case for Colonialism’, that doubles down on his argument: colonialism was, on balance, good for the colonised, and good for the world.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Buy 'The Case for Colonialism' here.

It’s that time of the year when many of us will sit down and write. It could be resolutions. It could be reflections. It could be that book that everyone has inside them. There's just one problem. It's really hard.To crack the code of writing, Will is joined by one of the most successful crime fiction authors of all time, Jeffery Deaver. Jeffery has sold over 50 million novels in 25 languages, won numerous awards and counts Ian Rankin, Harlan Coben and Lee Child among his fans. His latest novel, The Watchmaker’s Hand, has just been released.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Buy 'The Watchmaker's  Hand' here.

It's hard not to see America as a country in decline. Foreign policy attention is stretched, political debate is toxic, the national debt is eye-watering, and the institutions have been ideologically captured. However, America has been written off before. It's geographic, demographic, economic and military advantages remain the envy of the world.To discuss American politics as we enter a defining year in the country's history, Will is joined by best-selling author, host of The Gorka Reality Check, and former Deputy Assistant to President Trump, Sebastian Gorka.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Follow Seb here.

As we approach the end of 2023, it’s easy to become despondent about the fate of the West. War rages in Ukraine and the Middle East, as China eyes off Taiwan. The cost of living crisis is becoming unbearable for average families. Illiberal ‘wokeism’ continues to infect our institutions. And the Anglosphere leaders elected to guide us out of this mess appear woefully ill-equipped to do so.To discuss the state of the world, and the small matter of the future of western civilisation, Will is joined by the Executive Director of the Centre for Independent Studies, and former Editor of The Spectator Australia, Tom Switzer.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Learn more about The Centre for Independent Studies here.

Australiana is now Fire at Will - your safe space for dangerous conversations.For over 30 years, Naomi Wolf was lauded as a feminist icon, a bestselling author and a darling of liberal America. Her investigative journalism during the COVID pandemic led to those labels being replaced overnight with pejoratives like 'conspiracy theorist' and 'anti-vaxxer'. Unbowed and unbroken, Naomi continues to stand against tyranny in the finest tradition of classical liberalism. Her new book is titled 'Facing the Beast: Courage, Faith, and Resistance in a New Dark Age'. Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Buy 'Facing the Beast' here.

Satire is one of the most important ingredients of a healthy public discourse. But it is under threat across the west. Comedy, once the most subversive of artforms, has caved to the woke mob. Misinformation laws threaten to curtail free speech even further. And perhaps some of us have lost the ability to laugh at the irreverent and the politically incorrect.Joel Berry is not one of those people. Joel is the Managing Editor of the Babylon Bee, one of (if not the) most popular satirical websites on the planet. Millions of people read the Bee’s content every month.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Read The Babylon Bee here.

Who was the most influential person in history? Why do empires fall? What is the biggest misconception about WWI? Napoleon or Alexander the Great? And why are men so obsessed with the Roman Empire?All these questions (and more) are answered by the host of Hardcore History, Dan Carlin. Hardcore History is widely recognised as one of the greatest podcasts of all-time. It reimagined the telling of history for the modern media age.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Visit Dan's website here.

Today, colonialism is viewed by many as the original sin of British history. The truth is far more complex. Theologian, ethicist, and author Nigel Biggar is one of the very few public figures with the courage to take a holistic approach to the study of the British Empire.His latest book is titled ‘Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning.’ It offers a moral inquest into the colonial past, forensically contesting damaging falsehoods and thereby helping to rejuvenate faith in the West’s future.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Buy ‘Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning’ here.

For the second time in his life, Laurence Fox is engulfed in a cancellation storm. It has taken a heavy toll, but he refuses to be silenced.In this wide-ranging conversation with Will, he discusses cancel culture, GB News, the failure of multiculturalism, the future of conservatism and the sad decline of London.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.

The forensic, long-form political interview remains possibly the best, and certainly the most entertaining, mechanism for political accountability. Can it survive in an age of spin, social media and soundbites?To answer that question, Will is joined by Rob Burley. Rob is one of the most respected and experienced editors in British political television, with a CV that includes stints as editor of the BBC’s live political programs, The Andrew Marr Show, Politics Live and Newswatch. His new book, ‘Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?’, is a history of political television and a love letter to its highest form: the long-form, forensic political interview.Follow Australiana on social media here.Subscribe to The Spectator Australia here.Buy 'Why is this lying bastard lying to me?' here.