Lowy Institute

Latest Episodes:

COVIDcast: COVID-19 and the International Economy Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Roland Rajah sits down with the Institute's Director of Research, Alex Oliver, to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. Roland is Director of the International Economy Program and the Lowy’s lead international economist.
This episode examines one of the key questions about the economic impact of COVID-19 ̶ whether the shock will be temporary or longer-lasting. Roland explains why he believes the economic fall-out will permanently change the global economy, at least in some respects.
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.

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Enrico Letta on global leadership, COVID-19, and the European project Apr 09, 2020

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In this episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, about running a major European power, his relationship with world leaders, global governance during COVID-19, and the future of the European project.

Enrico Letta served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2013 to 2014. He is the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris, one of the top international relations schools in the world.

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Panel discussion: Michael Fullilove and Richard McGregor on US-China rivalry in the coronavirus era Apr 09, 2020

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The biggest geopolitical rivalry of the 21st century has just been jolted into a new period of uncertainty and risk by the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia’s leading authority on US foreign policy, Dr Michael Fullilove, and senior China analyst, Richard McGregor, examine the implications of this global health and economic emergency for the most important international relationship of our time. Lowy Institute Director of Research Alex Oliver chaired this first-ever Lowy Institute Live event, which was live-streamed and included audience questions.

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COVIDcast: Geopolitics and the coronavirus pandemic Apr 08, 2020

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In this episode, the Director of Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, Ben Bland, sits down with Hervé Lemahieu to discuss geopolitics and the coronavirus pandemic. Hervé is the Director of our Asian Power and Diplomacy Program and an expert in global politics.
In this episode, our Institute experts discuss how coronavirus created a man-made pandemic of mistrust and chaos, which is testing social cohesion and globalisation to its core. Ben and Hervé debate the merits of middle-power diplomacy and discuss whether coronavirus has transformed the world as we know it, or simply exposed the dangers that were already lurking within the international system.
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVIDcast: Pandemic in the Pacific Apr 02, 2020

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In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, sits down with Jonathan Pryke and Shane McLeod to discuss how the crisis of coronavirus is affecting Australia’s immediate neighbour, the Pacific Islands. Jonathan is the Director of our Pacific Islands Program and an expert on politics, economics and development in the Pacific. Shane directs the Lowy Institute’s Australia-PNG Network and was formerly a foreign correspondent in PNG.
In this episode, our Institute experts discuss the current situation in the Pacific, including responses to date by particular governments and leaders; specific risks of coronavirus to the Pacific, including the burden on its health care system and the impact on tourism; widespread fear and misinformation surrounding the virus; and Australia’s role in the global response to coronavirus in the Pacific Islands region.
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVIDcast: crisis looms in Southeast Asia Mar 26, 2020

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In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Ben Bland, Director of our Southeast Asia Program and resident expert on Indonesia’s political system, to discuss the depth of the challenge facing Australia’s largest neighbour and the response from President Joko Widodo.
This episode focuses on how Indonesia, and the rest of Southeast Asia, is faring amid the global pandemic. Our Institute experts discuss the varying political responses across the region, the impending economic crunch and impact of geopolitics.
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lord Mervyn King on COVID-19, radical uncertainty and economic forecasting Mar 26, 2020

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In the second episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Lord Mervyn King about COVID-19, global economic downturn, the UK's response to the virus, Brexit, and what Lord King terms the 'radical uncertainty' of economic forecasting during a global crisis.

Lord King served as the Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, including the period of the global financial crisis.

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COVIDcast: the China story Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, sits down with Richard McGregor, our resident senior China expert and author of several books on China’s politics and government.
This episode focuses on the story of China. Our Institute experts discuss US-China power competition, including the recent expulsion of American journalists from China and Hong Kong, Chinese disinformation and propaganda, something we’ve dubbed the 'geopolitics of infection etymology' and more.
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Susan Glasser and Peter Baker on COVID-19, America and Trump Mar 19, 2020

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In the first episode of The Director's Chair, a new Lowy Institute podcast, Michael Fullilove speaks with Susan Glasser of The New Yorker and Peter Baker of The New York Times about COVID-19, the Trump administration and America.

Susan Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she writes the weekly Letter from Trump’s Washington. Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times.

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Tim Watts on democracy and the authoritarian challenge Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

Today, the liberal democratic model faces its biggest challenge in generations. Since the global financial crisis, democratic systems have faced a crisis of public confidence, and open economies have struggled to deliver the broad-based growth of the past.
At the same time, in a number of nations around the world, an alternative model of ‘techno-authoritarianism’ has emerged in which mass surveillance and artificial intelligence are being used to build systems of social control.
Tim Watts MP addressed the Lowy Institute in Canberra on 27 February 2020 and discussed the ways these competing models of organising society are challenging the health of our democratic institutions – political parties, parliaments, and the media.
After the address, Mr Watts joined Lowy Institute Director for International Security, Sam Roggeveen, for a conversation and Q&A.

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