Monsoon Pod

Latest Episodes:

Populism vs The World Jan 11, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of the Monsoon Podcast, Guy Exton puts populism centre stage, exploring its characters in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

For better or for worse, 2018 was a year of populism.

Champion cricketer Imran Khan was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, President Duterte of the Phillipines finished his second year of office, and the impacts of Brexit's Vote Leave and the policies of US President Donald Trump continued to ripple across the world. What is populism, how did we get here, and where to next?

On this Monsoon Podcast, Guy Exton accompanies Dr Jessica Genauer on a journey around the world’s populist democracies.

Dr Jessica Genauer is a lecturer at the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University. Her recent PhD thesis examines the impact of election system design during periods of regime transition in the Middle East and North Africa.

Feature image source: The Epoch Times

Music: Ride of the Valkyries - from "Die Valkyrie" by Richard Wagner, performed by American Symphony Orchestra.

Million-dollar pencils and the billion-dollar question Jan 04, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of the Monsoon Podcast, Nanumi Starke untangles the taxing debate on multinational tax avoidance.

How could paying little to no tax on billions of dollars in profit possibly be legal?

Globalisation has brought the world closer, but it has also ushered in an era of highly imaginative tax avoidance. How does it work, what can Australia do, and just what do million-dollar pencils have to do with it?

On this Monsoon Podcast, Nanumi Starke wades into the murky world of tax with three experts in the field, demystifying the lingo on the way.

Johan Van Der Walt is a PhD student at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance. His research interests include the shift from ‘tax secrecy’ to ‘tax transparency’ and the impact this shift could have on compliance attitudes.

Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Federal Member for Fenner in the Australian Capital Territory. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was Professor of Economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard.

Jim Killaly is a Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy. He was Deputy Commissioner in the Large Business and International area of the Australian Tax Office and has represented Australia on various OECD working parties.

Feature image source: Scara

Music: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Show notes | The following were referred to in this episode:

Corporate Tax Avoidance report - Part III: Much heat, little light so far – Commonwealth of Australia

Fair Game: Is Australia vulnerable or getting its fair share? – Jim Killaly

Pakistan's nuclear black market Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Monsoon Podcast, Maxwell Lowe looks at the life and legacy of AQ Khan, the man behind the Pakistan's nuclear black market.

In 2004, Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer (AQ) Khan appeared on state television and forcibly confessed to illegally supplying nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea for over three decades.

Famous for his role in developing Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, AQ Khan revealed himself to be the largest black market exporter of nuclear technology in history. Today Khan’s legacy can be seen through the world’s most volatile nuclear hot spots which threaten the lives of millions every day.

In Pakistan, Khan is still seen as a national hero. Yet despite the scale and reckless consequences of his actions, he has largely been forgotten outside his home state.

How did AQ Khan transform himself into the world’s most powerful nuclear smuggler and why was he able to continue for so long? Maxwell Lowe looks at Pakistan’s nuclear bomb and the life and legacy of AQ Khan.

Hassan Abbas is a professor of International Security at the National Defence University in Washington D.C and senior adviser at the Asia Society. Previously, he was the distinguished Quaid-i-Azam Chair Professor at Columbia University and fellow at Harvard University. Before his academic career, he worked in the governments of Benazir Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf. His latest book Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb: a Story of Defiance, Deterrence and Deviance chronicles the story of AQ Khan and nuclear developments in South Asia.

Feature image source: rabedirkwennigsen on Pixabay

Music: Man Down and Master Disorder by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Trump’s Space Force: much ado about nothing? Dec 06, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Monsoon Podcast, Luke Courtois speaks to four distinguished experts about the newly announced branch of the US military: Trump’s Space Force.

The space domain is becoming increasingly contested, with a host of state and non-state actors entering the fray. It is in this context that US President Donald Trump announced the Department of Defence would set up a new branch of the military called the ‘Space Force’.

What is behind this initiative? Despite becoming an instant meme on social media, should we be taking the idea more seriously? Luke Courtois invites four experts into the space age to explore this hotly debated but nonetheless critical development.

Namrata Goswami is a senior analyst and associate author based in Montgomery, in the US state of Alabama. She regularly consults for the NATO Partnership for Peace Consortium ‘Emerging Security Challenges Working Group’ and is a Senior Analyst and Subject Matter Expert with Wikistrat and Auburn University Futures Lab.

Malcolm Davis is a senior analyst in Defence Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). His work focuses on the emergence of new technologies, strategy and capability development. Malcolm has also written extensively on Australian space policy and space capabilities.

Richard Menhinick served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for forty years. In the RAN he was deployed to the Middle East, including operations at sea during the 1990-91 Gulf War. He spent the last three years of his military career within the US Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida. He retired as a naval commodore, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University.

Benjamin Zala is currently a Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty Fellow at Harvard University. His research focuses on nuclear politics and the impact advanced conventional weapons may have on states’ nuclear doctrines. He is also a Research Fellow in the Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University.

Feature image source: SpaceX-Imagery on Pixabay

Music: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

The fourth industrial revolution Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

In our very first Monsoon Podcast, Cherry Zheng speaks to Ehsan Nabavi, a research fellow at the 3A Institute, about the new machines and why the Institute is looking to build a whole new discipline to deal with their implications.

From the Uber you caught yesterday to elections around the world, make no mistake: artificial intelligence and big data are revolutionising society. These technologies can’t just be left up to their designers to manage, because already they are filtering down into every aspect of life. Just why has this been called the fourth Industrial Revolution, and what should we do about it?

Ehsan Nabavi is currently a Research Fellow in 3A Institute at the Australian National University (ANU). He completed his PhD at ANU School of Sociology in 2017. In his transdisciplinary research program, Ehsan explores how emerging engineering tools can reshape the ways in which government reaches decisions, and society makes choices, as well as how they can reshape both government and society themselves.

Feature image source: geralt on Pixabay

Music: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License