Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

John Kerry being appointed as President-elect Joe Biden’s special climate envoy has the potential to encourage much stronger action by the world’s nations to tackle climate change. But it comes at a time when the great powers of the US, China, and Russia are at loggerheads on a wide variety of issues. So how will the global climate change, and what does this mean for Australia?President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the US election, and his appointment of John Kerry as his special climate envoy, could finally shift global action to tackling climate change more assertively. But can the world come together to tackle this emergency even as its great powers divide on issues such as trade and the coronavirus? And where does this rapidly changing global environment leave Australia? On this Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny is joined by Professor John Blaxland and Dr Siobhan McDonnell to talk climate change, the history of disaster in Afghanistan, great power contestation, whether Australia can rise above its climate wars, and more. Siobhan McDonnell is a legal anthropologist with over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific on land use, gender, and climate change. She is a Senior Lecturer at Crawford School of Public Policy, and the lead negotiator on climate change for the Vanuatu government.John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies and former Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University (ANU).Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times. Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this Democracy Sausage Extra, award-winning journalist and author Malcolm Knox joins Mark Kenny to discuss the saga of Israel Folau - former star rugby union player sacked for sharing anti-LGBTQ views on social media - and how free speech got so complicated.The sacking of former star player Israel Folau by Rugby Australia for his comments on social media once again revealed faultlines which had recently been laid bare during Australia’s marriage equality plebiscite. So what did the saga reveal about freedom of expression in Australia? What is the significance of groups like the Australian Christian Lobby in Australia’s public discourse? And, with ‘free speech’ very much a political battleground, what might the future hold? On this Democracy Sausage Extra, Professor Mark Kenny speaks with Australian journalist and author Malcolm Knox about the Israel Folau issue, Australia’s evangelical movement, and the ‘culture wars’. This episode was recorded live as part of the ANU/Canberra Times ‘Meet the Author’ series.Malcolm Knox is the former literary editor and an award-winning journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald. Malcolm is the winner of three Walkley Awards. His novels include A Private Man, winner of the Ned Kelly Award, The Life, The Wonder Lover, and Bluebird. His most recent book is Truth Is Trouble: The Strange Case of Israel Folau, Or How Free Speech Became So Complicated.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A study released last week looked at the true numbers of COVID-19 infections based on mortality rates. In doing so, it painted a grim picture for a number of countries including the United Kingdom. On this Democracy Sausage, we hear from one of the authors of that report, Professor Quentin Grafton.Australia may have the coronavirus largely under control for now, but elsewhere in the world countries are still suffering staggeringly high numbers of infections and deaths. But a study published last week ‘backcasted’ true rates of infections based on mortality. In doing so, it found infection rates in some countries far higher than official statistics suggest: in the UK the study suggested infection rates are 16 times higher than the published numbers. On this Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny is joined by regular podleague Dr Marija Taflaga and one of the authors of the report, Professor Quentin Grafton. The panel talk about Europe and the US’ COVID-19 challenge, Australia’s response, and Quentin makes his pitch to Netflix for a new documentary called The Clown.Quentin Grafton is Professor of Economics, Australian Laureate Fellow, Convenor of the Water Justice Hub, and Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. He is also chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance and Editor-in-Chief of Policy Forum.Marija Taflaga is Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Brexit Britain to Trump’s obsession with the stock market, and from era-defining infections to ideology vs interests, this week on Democracy Sausage Extra we look back over some of our favourite bits of the podcast from the last 18 months.Why do some Brits have a ‘yearning for chaos’? Is it really ideology that drives government spending decisions? What do Donald Trump and stock market ‘day traders’ have in common? And how has disease defined human progress? These questions and many many more are answered on this week’s very special Democracy Sausage Extra. With Mark Kenny away, Martyn Pearce takes charge of the barbecue tongs as we take a look back at some of our favourite interviews over the last 18 months of The Sausage.Kieran Gilbert is Chief News Anchor for Sky News, co-anchor of First Edition and anchor of AM Agenda on Sky News Live.David Speers is an Australian journalist and outgoing Political Editor at Sky News Australia. He has been the host of PM Agenda, The Last Word, and Speers. Beginning in 2020, he now hosts ABC’s Insiders.Brian Schmidt AC is Vice-Chancellor and President of The Australian National University. He was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.Liz Allen is a demographer and social researcher with quantitative and qualitative expertise at The Australian National University and author of The Future of Us: Demography gets a makeover.Stan Grant is the Vice Chancellor’s Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University. He was formerly ABC’s Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs Analyst.Jim Chalmers has been the the Shadow Treasurer since 2019 and the Member for Rankin in the Australian Parliament since 2013.Richard Denniss is Chief Economist and former Executive Director of The Australia Institute. He is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator, and former Associate Professor at Crawford School of Public Policy.Ros Taylor is Research Manager for the LSE Truth, Trust & Technology Commission and Managing Editor of the LSE Brexit blog.Bevan Shields is Europe Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He was previously Federal Editor and Canberra Bureau Chief.Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s leading political and cultural commentators. He is a columnist and writer for The Irish Times, the 2017 winner of both the European Press Prize and the Orwell Prize, and author of Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain.Jonathan Swan is National Political Reporter for Axios, covering Republican leaders in the United States federal government and the White House.Jane Golley is an economist and Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at The Australian National University.Marija Taflaga is Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this Democracy Sausage, we discuss how policymakers get their messages right (and so badly wrong) with government media and communications experts Fiona Benson and Jannette Cotterell, plus pod regular Marija Taflaga.How can governments build public trust at a time when following public health directions is literally a matter of life and death? With COVID-19 vaccinations showing promising signs, how can governments convince citizens that it’s safe and beneficial in the midst of a vocal anti-vaccine movement? And how has the changing media and social media landscape impacted the way governments communicate with their constituents? On this special episode of Democracy Sausage presented as part of the GovComms Festival, we discuss the dark art of government communications with former ministerial press secretary Fiona Benson, government relations consultant Jannette Cotterell, and regular podleague Dr Marija Taflaga.Jannette Cotterell is a Managing Director of Executive Counsel Australia, a government relations and media consultancy. Prior to entering strategic communications and lobbying, she was a television producer with the Nine network, BBC Television in London, and Seven Network in Australia.Fiona Benson is founder of FJ Partners Strategic Advisory. She is a former press secretary to two federal cabinet ministers, and specialises in devising innovative stakeholder engagement, media, and communications strategies.Marija Taflaga is Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia.Martyn Pearce is a presenter for Policy Forum Pod and the Editor of Policy Forum.Policy Forum Pod is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Subscribe on Android or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite a clear result in the US election, Donald Trump is refusing to accept that his presidency will come to an end on 20 January. So will the Trump campaign's legal challenges achieve anything? On this Democracy Sausage Extra, Mark Kenny speaks with expert in judicial politics, Zoe Robinson.The United States presidential election has been called, but President Trump is refusing to accept the outcome. So will the president’s legal strategy work? Is the partisan nature of the United States’ legal system likely to have any impact on the proceedings? And is Australia’s judiciary as apolitical as many Australians like to think? On this Democracy Sausage Extra, Professor Zoe Robinson from ANU School of Politics and International Relations joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss judicial politics and legal challenges to the presidential election result.Zoe Robinson is a Professor of Political Science at ANU. She also holds a position as Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After days of waiting the US finally has a new president. But while Donald Trump may have been comprehensively beaten, Trumpism, and Trump’s supporters, are far from defeated. So what comes next for this toxically-intensified partisan polity? Mark Kenny is joined by US analysts Jen Hunt and Charles Miller, as well as regular podleague Marija Taflaga.Arguably the most contentious election of our time has been concluded – pending legal cases – and Donald Trump has become a one-term president. And while Trump was able to get more votes this time around - and the second highest tally of any presidential candidate in history - he wasn’t able to pull off an electoral college win over his rival Joe Biden. But what comes next for the US? Will Trump’s call to get his supporter base out on the streets to protest work? Do any of his team’s legal challenges have any chance of success? And will Trump spend his remaining time in office doing what he can to protect himself from future prosecution? Our stellar cast of stars and stripes experts - Dr Jennifer Hunt and Dr Charles Miller - tackle these issues and many more with Professor Mark Kenny and regular podleague Dr Marija Taflaga.Jennifer Hunt is a Lecturer at ANU National Security College and a Research Associate at the US Studies Centre.Charles Miller is a Lecturer at ANU School of Politics and International Relations with a focus on military conflict.Marija Taflaga is Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times. Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new month-long lockdown as the country grapples with high COVID-19 infection rates and a stretched National Health Service. But will the British people and its politicians – so compliant and supportive of the threat first time around – be as willing to back the new measures? Mark Kenny talks to Democracy Sausage UK regulars Elizabeth Ames and Bevan Shields.In the face of staggeringly high infection rates, a track and trace system that has long since been overwhelmed, and a National Health Service under serious threat, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has locked down the country to tackle its second wave of coronavirus crisis. But while the first time around the UK population was behind the measures, this time around Johnson is facing intense criticism from the public and within his own party. Joining Professor Mark Kenny to talk about the UK’s COVID-19 response are Democracy Sausage regulars Elizabeth Ames and Bevan Shields. The panel also discuss the unfolding US election result, and the merits of Clumber spaniels.Elizabeth Ames is an international trade policy expert. She is currently Director of the Britain-Australia Society and Trustee of the Menzies Australia Institute at King’s College London.Bevan Shields is Europe Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He was previously Federal Editor and Canberra Bureau Chief.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The bushfire royal commission report released last week put climate change at the front and centre of its analysis, if not its recommendations. But as Australia has achieved such success in using scientific advice to respond to COVID-19, can it also start following the advice of scientists on tackling climate change? Mark Kenny is joined by Arnagretta Hunter, Mark Howden, and Marija Taflaga to talk bushfires, state vs federal responses, and the roadmap for addressing climate risk.Last week’s report from the bushfire royal commission once again shone a light on the importance of tackling climate change, even as we navigate a global pandemic. But it arrived in the same week that Australia was able to achieve zero new COVID-19 infections – a result that has been driven by listening to and acting on scientific advice and modelling. So can Australia’s leaders take those lessons and apply them to the climate crisis? Could it be that the states lead the federal government in acting on the issue? And will the messages from the Commission’s report change the way we talk about economic risk when it comes to climate? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny is joined by Professor Mark Howden, Dr Arnagretta Hunter, and Dr Marija Taflaga. Mark Howden is the Director of the Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University (ANU).Arnagretta Hunter is a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.Marija Taflaga is Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times. Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From health concerns over obesity to drug dependency, governments have the power to creatively solve widespread societal problems. So why does the blame for these issues so often fall at the feet of individuals? Mark Kenny talks to Keith Dowding about his new book, It’s the Government, Stupid.While individuals can and do make bad decisions, governments have the power to influence behaviour and tackle widespread societal issues – from the health issues associated with obesity to problem gambling. But has a cult of personal responsibility blinded us to recognising the responsibility that government has to act and respond? In this Democracy Sausage Extra, Professor Mark Kenny talks to Professor Keith Dowding about his new political philosophy book, It’s the Government Stupid: How governments blame citizens for their own policies.Keith Dowding is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Political Philosophy at The Australian National University's College of Arts and Social Sciences.Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.