The National Conservatism Institute of Australia Podcast

My guest today is Dr Simon Kennedy an Australian academic specialising in the history of legal, political and religious ideas.He was a Visiting Fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest in early 2023, and is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Danube Institute, also in Budapest. His first book was published with Edinburgh University Press in 2022, and is entitled Reforming the Law of Nature: The secularisation of political thought, 1532-1689. His second book is on education, entitled Against Worldview, and published with Lexham Press.Today we discuss:- His recent paper entitled "Young Men in Crisis: What Can Australia Do?"- The nature of this crisis, what its underlying causes are, and the extend to which the challenges facing young men are new and unprecedented- The related issue of the feminisation of our institutions including the churches and the impact this is having on our politics and society, and- What can be done about it.And much much more.https://www.ac.edu.au/faculty-and-staff/simon-kennedy/main/https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/24133https://www.page.org.au/2026/03/young-men-in-crisis/

My guest today is academic Salvatores Babones author of new book "Dharma Democracy: How India Built The Third World's First Democracy".Today we discuss:The extent to which Narendra Modi and the BJP should be part of the global "new" rightIs the BJP a nationalist party and how it differs from the traditionally dominant Indian National Congress How minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others are treated by the BJPHow western democracies should view modern India and the BJP and whether there are legitimate concerns regarding its power and influenceAnd much, much morehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Baboneshttps://profiles.sydney.edu.au/salvatore.baboneshttps://www.amazon.com.au/Dharma-Democracy-India-Built-Worlds/dp/1923224735

My guest today is William Clouston, leader of the Social Democratic Party in the UK. Today we discuss: - What the SDP believes, its history, and why it has not yet achieved the same prominence as parties like Reform UK and Restore Britain - Why the current liberal consensus is failing - Why it is unsustainable position to be a social conservative and an economic liberal - What changes the UK needs to see on housing, immigration, the nationalisation of utilities, trade, and a range of other policy measures - What the SDP realistically hopes to achieve in the years ahead And much much more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(UK)

My guest today is the Hon John Anderson AC, who is amongst other things the former deputy Prime Minister of Australia, successful podcast host, and one of the founders of The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Today we discuss:What explains the cratering of support for traditional centre-right parties across the western world?What he understands by the "new right" and what changes are need in policy and thinking from the Howard eraWhether a re-evangilization of society is enough to solve our current societal problemsWhether Donald Trump is a conservative and what lessons Australia can draw from the new ideological change in WashingtonAnd much much more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Anderson_(Australian_politician)https://www.arc-conference.com/https://aspireconference.org.au/

My guest today is Misha Saul, who is a technology investor and co-founder of Dragonfly AI, an investment and advisory firm. Today we discuss:Misha's recent article in the Manhattan Institute's City Journal on "How AI Will Reshape Society"What is likely to mean in selected industries and how likely change is going to occurWhich demographics will be hit the hardest, what it means for our politics, and how it is likely to fundamentally change our understanding of what "work" is and our workdaysThe geopolitical implications and also what it means at a personal levelAnd much much more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/misha-saul-6bb5b569/https://www.kvetch.au/https://www.city-journal.org/article/artificial-intelligence-society-future

My guest today is David Furse-Roberts a well-known Australian academic who amongst his many books has written a biography on the great 19th Century British parliamentarian and social reformer, Lord Shaftesbury. Today we discuss: Who Lord Shaftesbury was, his background, and his political and religious conversionHis criticisms of laissez-faire capitalism, his alternative Tory paternalist approach, and what he would have made of today's global economyHow he might have viewed today's libertarian right, the radical left, and MAGA, and our politics more broadlyAnd much much morehttps://www.amazon.com.au/Making-Tory-Evangelical-David-Furse-Roberts/dp/1532654308

My guest today is Harrison Pitt, Senior Policy Fellow at Restore Britain.Today we discuss:What is Restore Britain? What does it hope to achieve? What’s wrong with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK? And whether the goal of Restore is to keep Reform honest or genuinely replace them?How he is approaching key new right issues like changes to trade and foreign policy which are not talked about as much as immigration in the UK?How practically and reasonably he thinks the demographic transformation of the UK can be reversedHow new right / national conservative movements can help each other in Australia and the UKAnd much much more. https://x.com/Harry_pitthttps://x.com/RestoreBritain_

My guest today is Brian Marlow a well-known policy advisor and campaign director in Australia who has worked with centre-right parties and organizations here for many years. Today we discuss: 1. An in depth assessment of the post-mortem review of the Liberal Party’s 2025 Federal election campaign 2. The change in policy and ideological thinking required in the Liberal Party and why there needs to be a better understanding of the new right and political conservatism more generally. 3. Our assessment how things will pan out over the next few years and why there the mainstream parties still have not provided an adequate diagnosis of the radicalism that has emerged let alone given any sense they understand the change required. 4. Discuss our own strategies going forward to help bring about change. And much much more I hope you enjoy our discussion. https://x.com/BrianTaxpayers https://www.reviveaus.com/

My guest today is Mary Winkels an independent regulatory and policy advisor and mother of 4. Today we discuss: Her recent opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review and what the new advocacy group "Childcare Choice" is hoping to achieveWhy childcare policy is likely to be a key issue at the next federal electionWhat explains the ideological divide on this issueWhy raising children is so difficult today and what really can be done about failing birth ratesAnd much much more I hope you enjoy our discussion.https://www.afr.com/by/mary-winkels-p538jjhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-winkels-02893580/

My guest today is Tom Switzer who is a well-known Australian commentator and foreign policy expert. Tom has worked at a variety of publications and think tanks across the Anglosphere including the American Enterprise Institute, The UK Spectator, The Australian newspaper, amongst others. He currently hosts a foreign policy focused podcast called "Switzerland". Today we discuss: The US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, what this means for the region, and whether this represents a fundamental change in Trump's foreign policyWhat role Israel has played in this latest action and whether this was legitimateWhy a realist foreign policy perspective has had few champions in Canberra over the yearsHow Australian trade policy should be adjusted with China and othersHis thoughts on the 30th anniversary of the election of the Howard governmentAnd much much morehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Switzerhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/switzerland-with-tom-switzer/id1867017379

My guest today is Keith Wolahan former MP for the Victorian Federal Seat of Menzies. Today we discuss: - His recent essay on the future of the centre-right in metropolitan Australia and how our situation, in his view, differs from that of the UK and USA - The challenge that immigration, housing and the changing nature of the workforce pose to the liberal party and how we need to move on from the Howard era - Some of his key data findings and in particular the Chinese vote - His plans for the future And much more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Wolahan https://inflectionpoints.work/articles/liberal-foundations

My guest today is Charles Cornish-Dale aka "Raw Egg Nationalist" who has published a new book entitled "The Last Men - Liberalism and the Death of Masculinity".Today we discuss:Whether liberalism and masculinity are really in conflictWhy "new right" in the UK, Europe and Australia have not yet adopted US MAHA style policies and why they shouldThe link between endocrine disruptors and transgender issuesThe scale of harmful chemicals in the environment to what extent this is intentionalWhat can be done at both a personal and political level How many eggs he actually "slonks" per dayAnd much much morehttps://x.com/Babygravy9

My guest today is former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. Today we discuss:His new book "Australia: A History - How An Ancient Land Became A Great Democracy"What he means when he says "Australia has been fundamentally a 'liberal' project"Whether Australia would have been different if we had not adopted the restrictive rules on immigration and high tariffs policies at FederationWhether he agrees with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the foolishness of "free trade"How countries like Australia decide, given the mixed results of the last 30+ years, what conflicts they should get involved or continue with in futureWhether "liberal values" are sufficient to define or keep nations togetherWhat he thinks of myAnd much, much more.https://www.tonyabbott.au/

My guest today is Emma Dawson, Executive Director of the Australian Labor Party's think tank, the Chifley Research Centre. Today we discuss:What the increasingly inexact and unhelpful terms, "left" and "right", mean these days as well as what she understands by the term "populist"How the Australian Labor Party has moved on from the Hawke-Keating-Howard era and where it has notHer thoughts on "liberalism" and "free trade"Whether it is possible to have an adult conversation about immigration in AustraliaWhy young women are turning to the radical leftAnd much morehttps://www.chifley.org.au/https://x.com/ChifleyResearch

My guest today is George Owers, author of the widely acclaimed new history book “The Rage of Party” about Britain in the late 17th and early 18th Century.Today we discuss:How the first political parties – the Whigs and the Tories - developed during this periodWhy this period has been relatively ignored compared to other times such as the Tudor, Elizabethan and Victorian erasThe wild media environment and political characters during this time andWhat political conservatives can learn from studying this periodAnd much much more.I hope you enjoy our discussion.https://www.amazon.com.au/Rage-Party-George-Owers-ebook/dp/B0F98H6Q14https://x.com/CapelLofft?lang=en

My guest today is Dr John H Lott Jr who is a widely recognised as one of the leading academic voices in the gun control debate and is visiting Australia in the near future.Today we discuss:What the data shows about the effectiveness of Australia's gun lawsThe impact that restrictive gun laws have on crimeHow mass shootings are less likely where citizens are armedWhat he sees as the future of gun policy in the United States and AustraliaAnd much morewww.crimeresearch.orghttps://x.com/JohnRLottJr?lang=enhttps://www.amazon.com/stores/John-R.-Lott-Jr/author/B074V2X2MP?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1769739164&sr=1-3&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

My guest today is Cheng Lei, a well-known Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for many years in China as journalist for both Western and Chinese news networks. She was infamously imprisoned in Beijing for many years on allegations that her reporting "endangered China's national security" before eventually being released after pressure from the Australian government.Today we discuss:- Her career and professional background, how she originally got a job in the media and what the main differences are between Chinese and Western media organizations.- How her views on China have changed over the years and whether too much blame is given to Xi Jinping- How central should human rights concerns be in our relationship with China and what can be done to assist other imprisoned dissidents.- What her plans are for the future.And much much more.https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460766576/cheng-lei-the-extraordinary-memoir-of-surviving-chinas-secret-prisons-for-readers-of-kylie-moore-gilbert-peter-greste-and-sean-turnell/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Lei_(journalist)

My guest today is Adam Creighton, a Senior Fellow and Chief Economist for Institute of Public Affairs and is also a columnist for The Australian newspaper. Today we discuss: The aftermath of the Covid hysteria, whether we will ever get a true reckoning, and what it has revealed about Australia's political and journalistic cultureHis views on trade policy in the US and whether there should also be changes in AustraliaWhy he changed his former advocacy for Big AustraliaWhether the centre-right in Australia also needs to undergo the intellectual change that has occurred in the United States over the last few years And much more https://x.com/Adam_Creighton https://ipa.org.au/author/adamcreighton

My guest today is Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.Today we discuss:Her involvement with the Australian music industry, the influence of black American rap music in aboriginal Australia, and revelations that her husband has experienced cancelation because of their positions on political matters such as the Voice referendum.Why the LNP did so poorly at the last federal election and what can be done to replicate the success that people like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage are experiencing in other English-speaking countriesHer views on multiculturalism, whether many who talk about it really understand what different cultures are like, and how she combines some traditional folklore as part of her identityWhat other areas of policy outside of aboriginal affairs interest her. And much much morehttps://www.jacintaprice.com/

My guest today is academic and prolific author Michael Lind who has for many years been one of the most prominent advocates for change in American industrial and trade policy. Today we discuss: The evolution of his thinking over the years and why he early rejected the open-borders libertarian right.The current state of Trump's policies, whether they have been beneficial to working Americans, the threat that some of the tariffs will be overturned by the Supreme Court and what will and should come nextWhat he means by "populism" and how it should be understoodThe problems with Howard and Abbott era views on trade policy and how a nation like Australia should rethink its trade and industry policiesAnd much morehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lind

Professor Tor Hundloe is recognised as Australia's pioneer of environmental economics, having been at the forefront of research, teaching and practical management in this field for almost four decades. He has served as President of the Queensland Conservation Council, Councillor of the Australian Conservation Foundation, a founding member of the Queensland and National Environmental Law Associations, founder and president of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, Environment Commissioner for the Industry Commission and Chair of Keep Australia Beautiful. In 2003, he became the first Australian to be awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of his contribution to environmental economics. The Golden Rule: To Walk in Each Other’s Shoes, Professor Hundloe explores the moral and political challenges to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/THE-GOLDEN-RULE-To-walk-in-each-other%E2%80%99s-shoes-by-Tor-Hundloe_p_656.htmlhttps://environment.uq.edu.au/profile/9170/tor-hundloe