The Long-Read Essay: Democracy, Power and Australia at the Crossroads

The Long-Read Essay: Democracy, Power and Australia at the Crossroads

2025 was the year the comforting myths finally fell away. In this long-read essay, we trace how democratic institutions – globally and in Australia – proved far more fragile than many assumed, as misinformation, authoritarian politics and media failure reshaped the political landscape. From Trump’s return and Elon Musk’s political interference, to the catastrophic war on Gaza and Australia’s own shallow election campaign, the year exposed a deep crisis of leadership, media courage and moral clarity. Yet amid the disillusionment, there are faint but real signs of renewal: growing scepticism of mainstream media, the rise of independent voices, and a questioning of Australia’s place in a changing world. This long-read episode asks a simple but urgent question: at the crossroads revealed in 2025, will Australia choose to continue to drift, or seek a democratic renewal? #AUSPOL

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Song listing:
  1. ‘La Femme d’Argent’, AIR.

Episoder(311)

The climate change floods, goodbye Jerusalem and a new attack on Medicare

The climate change floods, goodbye Jerusalem and a new attack on Medicare

The floods in eastern Australia have been the focus of political attention over the past week, with major flooding events in Victoria, southern New South Wales and the northern parts of Tasmania – the...

21 Okt 202242min

Media Diversity, Broken Promises and the Return of the Ruby Princess

Media Diversity, Broken Promises and the Return of the Ruby Princess

There have been calls for a parliamentary inquiry into media diversity in Australia, and generally, the behaviour of the mainstream media – and these calls have been made for about 20 years or so. The...

14 Okt 202247min

CPAC culture of complaint, the Frontier Wars, and Liz Truss does Labor a big tax favour

CPAC culture of complaint, the Frontier Wars, and Liz Truss does Labor a big tax favour

The Conservative Political Action Conference rolled into Sydney last week, and it’s an extreme libertarian group who are maniacally angry, loud, abrasive, in-your-face, and filled with endless complai...

7 Okt 202242min

Anti-Corruption Commission One Step Closer, Lambie Mischief, And Dutton’s Makeover

Anti-Corruption Commission One Step Closer, Lambie Mischief, And Dutton’s Makeover

The anti-corruption commission is one step closer to reality – the Labor government tabled its Bill in Parliament this week, despite all the claims from conservative media that the Prime Minister, Ant...

30 Sep 202241min

A Taxing Budget And Renewables, Stacking The Boards, And A Long Road To The Republic

A Taxing Budget And Renewables, Stacking The Boards, And A Long Road To The Republic

After a fortnight where most of Anglosphere was preoccupied with the death of a British monarch, life is getting back to normal and to the real things that matter: there’s a Budget coming up soon, and...

23 Sep 202248min

End of Monarchy: Time to unleash the beast and release the Republic

End of Monarchy: Time to unleash the beast and release the Republic

Australia lost a head of state last week, and gained a new one, even though nobody voted for King Charles, and nobody was asked about it. And this will keep happening until Australia becomes a republi...

16 Sep 202242min

The troubles over the horizon, anti-union propaganda, a bad Governor–General and Liberal Party future up in the air

The troubles over the horizon, anti-union propaganda, a bad Governor–General and Liberal Party future up in the air

The federal government is still feeling the warm inner glow after the Jobs and Skills Summit, which was the first public display of the consensus politics the Prime Minister talked about during the fe...

9 Sep 202246min

The sinister Robodebt scheme, Labor’s 100-day anniversary and the jobs/skills crisis

The sinister Robodebt scheme, Labor’s 100-day anniversary and the jobs/skills crisis

Robodebt was one of the most disastrous acts of public administration in Australia’s history and the condemnation has arrived from all sides of politics – former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, Labo...

2 Sep 202243min

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