
Follow The Money
Economics and politics explained in plain English
Latest episodes

Dec 27, 2023 • 29min
Profits v Wages, what's driving inflation? - Rerun | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. This episode, we're listening back to one of our most popular episodes from the year with our Executive Director Richard Denniss, digging into the cycle of corporate profits, inflation, and low wages. This was recorded on Wednesday 7th June 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Richard Denniss, Executive Director, the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 27, 2023 • 57min
The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney’s median house price is the second most expensive on Earth, after Hong Kong’s. Alan Kohler discusses his latest essay and tells the story of how we got into this mess – and how we might get out of it. This was recorded on Tuesday 28th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Alan Kohler, Finance Presenter, ABC News // @AlanKohler Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 20, 2023 • 59min
Politics in the Pub: End of Year Wrap | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. This year has been a doozy in Australian politics, and we need to talk about it. We invited a panel of distinguished press gallery journalists along to our Politics in the Pub live event, to give us the low down on what's happened, and wrap things up for us for the year. This was recorded on Wednesday 29th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guests: Amy Remeikis, Political reporter, Guardian Australia // @AmyRemeikis Adrian Rollins, Economics correspondent, the Canberra Times // @RollinsA Pablo Viñales, Political Correspondent, SBS News // @pablovinales Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 13, 2023 • 22min
Big Petrostate Energy
The United Nations annual climate conference, COP28, is wrapping up, and it's crunch time. Is there going to be a mention of actually phasing out fossil fuels? Or will we have more of avoiding the issue? This was recorded on Tuesday 12th December 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Polly Hemming, Director, Climate & Energy program, the Australia Institute // @pollyjhemming Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 6, 2023 • 21min
'Thylacine of the Sea' vs. the Salmon Industry
The Maugean skate, native to Macquarie Harbour, is running out of time. It's facing extinction, due in large part to the Tasmanian salmon industry. This was recorded on Monday 4th December 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Eloise Carr, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @GeneveraE Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 29, 2023 • 20min
Clive Palmer of...Singapore?
Clive Palmer, one of Australia's richest men, is suing Australia for at least $41.3bn, claiming it breached the ASEAN free trade agreement in relation to coal exploration permits. But he's doing so...as a foreign investor? Stephen Long explains how Clive Palmer’s controversial legal strategies challenge Australia’s trade agreements and environmental laws. Stephen Long is a Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor at the Australia Institute, and Walkley Award winning journalist, previously at ABC's Four Corners. This was recorded on Tuesday 28th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 22, 2023 • 28min
International Charm Offensive
In a less than ideal week for the government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has copped some criticism for how much overseas travel he’s been doing. Most PMs have been subject to criticism for travelling, so how seriously should we take it this time? This was recorded on Tuesday 21st November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Emma Shortis, Senior Researcher, International & Security Affairs program, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 19, 2023 • 21min
Introducing Dollars & Sense with Greg Jericho
Economic data can tell us a lot about what's happening in society and the economy. Introducing the Autralia Institute's brand new podcast, Dollars & Sense, with Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. In Dollars & Sense, each week, Greg Jericho will dive into the latest economic figures, and explain what they can tell us about what's happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. In this episode, Greg unpacks the latest wage price data and why lots of people got a payrise in the September quarter. Recorded on Thursday 19 November 2023. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or visit our website. Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute's fortnightly-ish newsletter. Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work Producer: Jennifer Macey Theme Music: Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 16, 2023 • 15min
How to Investigate Research Misconduct
Australia is one of the few countries with a developed research sector that does not have a research integrity watchdog, instead relying on research institutions to initiate and oversee investigations into their own researchers. This was recorded on Wednesday 15th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Kristen Scicluna, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the Australia Institute // @kristenscicluna Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 8, 2023 • 29min
The Pain is the Point...Again
The RBA has delivered its first interest rate rise since Michelle Bullock took over from Philip Lowe as Governor, up 25 basis points to 4.35%, the highest in 12 years. So what needs to change for the pain to stop? This was recorded on Tuesday 7th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @GrogsGamut Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot SessionsSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.