Lowy Institute

*/ ?>

Latest Episodes:

Tariffs, Trump and the Indo-Pacific: Reading Washington’s signals Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

In this Lowy Institute event held in Melbourne, former US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun offers his candid assessment of how the Trump White House views the Indo-Pacific.

Drawing on his experience as a son of Detroit and his deep knowledge of US trade and security policy, Stephen Biegun examines the forces reshaping Washington's approach to the region: from sweeping tariffs and alliance burden-sharing to the looming question of China.

Following his address, Stephen Biegun was joined in conversation by Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM.

Stephen Biegun served as US Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea in the first Trump administration. He previously held senior roles at Ford Motor Company and the US Senate, and served on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump Strategy: Stephen Biegun's 2026 Owen Harries Lecture Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

What is the strategy driving Donald Trump's assertive use of American power?

In the 2026 Owen Harries Lecture, former US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E Biegun offers a frank insider's assessment of President Trump's foreign policy across both his first and second terms.

He discusses President Trump's reorientation of US policy toward China, the Abraham Accords, his efforts to maximise pressure on Iran, and the dramatic raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Stephen Biegun traces the historical precedents behind President Trump's decisions and examines the logic, and the limits, of a foreign policy built on fear, leverage, and dealmaking.He argues that a strategy designed to produce fear in adversaries and respect from everyone must be accompanied by consistent reassurance to friends.

Following the lecture, Stephen Biegun joined Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM for a conversation exploring these themes further.

Since 2013, the annual Owen Harries Lecture has honoured the significant contribution made to the international debate in Australia and the United States by Owen Harries, who was a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. This event is part of the Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellowship.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's Southeast Asia blind spot with Michael Wesley Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Australia's cultural and strategic ties lie in the Western world and its economic links are overwhelmingly in North Asia. So what is Southeast Asia to Australia? Why does the region matter, and what should Australia do to overcome its long-sightedness?

Michael Wesley is one of Australia's most incisive observers of world affairs. On Wednesday 18 March 2026, he joined the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen to discuss why Australia perennially overlooks Southeast Asia in its strategic and economic considerations.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One more in a series of shocks: What the Iran conflict reveals about modern geoeconomics Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Lowy Institute Lead Economist Roland Rajah and Nonresident Fellow Jenny Gordon discuss the economic implications of the expanding conflict in Iran. They put recent events in context, unpacking how we should understand and address the ongoing geoeconomic shocks.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women, security, power and policy Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

To mark International Women’s Day, Lowy Institute fellows Susannah Patton and Serena Sasingian speak with Lydia Khalil in a wide-ranging discussion on women in international relations. They explore how gender equality strategies fit into realist power politics, how the global rise of “strongman” politics is threatening hard-won gains for women worldwide, and the relationship between gender equality and national power. They also reflect on their own careers and offer ideas for what meaningful progress could look like.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on sovereignty, middle powers, and dealing with Trump Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Lowy Institute in Sydney for a special event on Wednesday 4 March 2026.
Speaking at a moment of acute global uncertainty, Prime Minister Carney reiterated his argument that the rules-based international order is not in transition but in rupture, and that middle powers like Canada and Australia cannot afford to wait for it to be restored. He outlined why sovereignty in the 21st century extends far beyond borders and defence, how middle powers can build collective strength through issue-based coalitions, and why legitimacy and trust are advantages the great powers cannot buy.
Prime Minister Carney also addressed the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Canada's recalibrated relationships with China, India, the United States, and United Nations, and his approach to dealing with President Trump.
More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ely Ratner: The China challenge — Has America lost its way? Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

What went wrong with America's China strategy — and can it be fixed?

In this Lowy Institute event, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner traces America's long evolution from engagement to strategic competition. He delivers a pointed assessment of where the Trump administration has departed from that trajectory, and he sets out the implications for US allies, including Australia.

In conversation with the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen, Dr Ratner also looks ahead to what a more serious US approach towards China would require.

This event was recorded at the State Library Victoria in Melbourne on Monday 16 February 2026.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2026: The year of rupture Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

After barely a month, the year 2026 is already setting a bewildering geo-political pace. A presidential snatch-and-grab raid in Venezuela, anti-government riots in Iran, a fight over Greenland and a military upheaval in China have all buttressed Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney’s claim that the emerging new global order is a rupture, not a transition.

Hear from a panel of Lowy Institute experts as they examine what these diverse, dispersed events mean, both in and of themselves and for middle powers like Australia.

The panel was chaired by Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia; and feature Susannah Patton, Director of the Southeast Asia Program and Project Lead for the Asia Power Index; James M. Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer, author, and former Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China; and Andreas Radtke, a former German diplomat, and head of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Australia.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future of Australian aid Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

It has been just over a year since the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to America's foreign aid budget and the shuttering of USAID. With other major donors also slashing their aid programs — potentially causing 22 million additional avoidable deaths by 2030 — what does this mean for Australia's development efforts? A new OECD review of Australia's aid program provides a timely opportunity to assess the health and future direction of Australian development assistance.

The Lowy Institute’s Roland Rajah and Grace Stanhope are joined by Cameron Hill from the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University and Bridi Rice, CEO of Development Intelligence Lab, to discuss the global aid landscape, Australia's comparative advantage in the region, and the tensions between short-term transactional wins and long-term transformational development.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Follow Roland Rajah on X and LinkedIn.

Follow Grace Stanhope on LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senator Tim Ayres on the Australian Government’s National AI Plan Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

On 3 December, the Institute welcomed Senator Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science, to Bligh Street to launch the Australian Government’s National AI Plan. His speech outlined how we can harness the opportunities of AI, spread the benefits across society, and keep Australians safe.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Watch this event on Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.