Lowy Institute

Latest Episodes:

Professor Philip Bobbitt on his career, his uncle LBJ, and fatherhood Jul 08, 2021

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In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Professor Philip Bobbitt, one of America’s leading experts on constitutional law and national security, and the nephew of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Philip has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations and is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence at Columbia University Law School.

Philip reflects on the presidents he has worked with, the US response to the coronavirus pandemic, the future of US-China competition, and how history will judge his uncle Lyndon.

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Michelle Grattan and Katharine Murphy on Australian foreign policy Jul 07, 2021

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In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Natasha Kassam talks with Michelle Grattan, Chief Political Correspondent at the Conversation, and Katharine Murphy, Political Editor of Guardian Australia. They discuss how Australian foreign policy has played a changing role in Australian politics, how Prime Minister Scott Morrison has moved from ‘negative globalism’ to being a multilateralist, Australia’s response to COVID-19 and ‘Fortress Australia’, and the fraught politics of climate change.
Michelle Grattan is one of Australia’s most respected political journalists, who has been a member of the Canberra parliamentary press gallery for more than four decades. She has written for all the major Australian newspapers, including as editor of The Canberra Times. Michelle is currently Chief Political Correspondent at The Conversation and has an academic appointment at the University of Canberra.
Katharine Murphy has been Guardian Australia's Political Editor since 2016, working in Canberra's parliamentary press gallery for 23 years. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra in October 2019 and holds an academic appointment there. Katharine's latest publication is her 2020 Quarterly Essay, The End of Certainty: Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics.

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Matt Pottinger on his career, working for President Trump, China and COVID Jul 02, 2021

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Michael and Matt speak about President Trump’s approach to foreign policy, the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future of both US and Australian relations with China. Matt explains what originally interested him in China, speaks about his time in the Marine Corps, and reveals why he resigned from the White House after the Capitol siege of 6 January.

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The Director’s Chair: Matt Pottinger on his career, working for President Trump, China and COVID. Jun 30, 2021

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In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with the former US Deputy National Security Adviser, Matthew Pottinger. Matt started out as a journalist based in China, served in the US Marine Corps, and joined the Trump administration first as the Asia senior director at the National Security Council and later as Deputy National Security Advisor.
Michael and Matt speak about President Trump’s approach to foreign policy, the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future of both US and Australian relations with China. Matt explains what originally interested him in China, speaks about his time in the Marine Corps, and reveals why he resigned from the White House after the Capitol siege of 6 January.

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The Communist Party's big birthday Jun 30, 2021

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China’s ruling communist party celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding on 1 July 2021. Not only is it the world’s largest political party, with over 90 million members, it is also the richest, presiding over an economy en route to surpass that of the US.
Richard McGregor, Lowy Institute senior fellow, hosted a discussion with three leading China specialists about the anniversary and what it means for Australia and the world.
Chris Buckley is an award winning New York Times China correspondent.
Melinda Liu has spent more than a quarter century living and working as a foreign correspondent in Beijing; she is Newsweek's Beijing Bureau Chief.
Steve Tsang is director of the China Institute at SOAS university in London.

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Aus-PNG Network: In conversation with PNG Pandemic Controller David Manning Jun 25, 2021

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Papua New Guinea has been contending with a Covid-19 outbreak that has put its fragile health system under intense pressure. Case numbers have in recent weeks stabilised but there are concerns that vaccine hesitancy and limited resources are leaving the country facing the threat of a third wave of cases.
Since early 2020, Police Commissioner David Manning has been at the forefront of the Papua New Guinea’s pandemic response. First as the Emergency Controller and since the middle of last year as the designated Pandemic Controller, he has been at the centre of responses from public health orders, travel requirements and quarantine through to coordinating testing and tracing efforts.
In Conversation event with PNG Police Commissioner and Pandemic Controller David Manning, hosted by the Australia-Papua New Guinea Network’s Shane McLeod.

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In conversation with Stan Grant Jun 25, 2021

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In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Lydia Khalil talks with Stan Grant about the erosion of democracy, the impact of globalisation, and the role of liberal values in the modern world.
Conversations is a Lowy Institute podcast in which Institute researchers and some of the world's leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.

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In conversation with Lawrence Wright Jun 23, 2021

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A conversation with one of the foremost chroniclers of American life. Author Lawrence Wright discussed his new book, The Plague Year, which tells the story of Covid-19 on a global and an intimate scale, illuminating the medical, economic, political and social ramifications of the pandemic. Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove interviewed Wright about his writing and journalism career, and the state of US politics.
Recorded on 22 June 2021.

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In conversation with Ted Hui, the Hong Kong legislator-in-exile Jun 18, 2021

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A conversation with Ted Hui, the pro-democracy politician who made the tough call to abandon Hong Kong and seek refuge in Australia. How did the crackdown on the city’s democratic freedoms affect him and his family? What happens to Hong Kong now? How will he fight for his city’s freedoms from his home in Adelaide?
Ben Bland, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program and author of Generation HK: Seeking Identity in China’s Shadow, moderated this conversation with Ted Hui.
Ted Hui is a Hong Kong politician in exile. He served in the Hong Kong Legislature for four years and the District Council for ten years before fleeing to Australia in 2021. Hui is an advocate for Hong Kong’s freedom, initiated the 2021 Hong Kong Charter, and has been placed on a wanted list in Hong Kong for allegedly breaching the National Security Law.

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Climate change and Australia: The politics, the public and the policy Jun 16, 2021

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A conversation about Australia’s climate change debate. How did we get here? What does the public think? And how will Australia be placed in the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow?

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