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(305)

The Wrong Government For The Times And The End Of Neoliberalism

The Wrong Government For The Times And The End Of Neoliberalism

The coronavirus crisis is likely to be with us for some time to come and governments have been doing their best to manage the crisis, but it seems some countries are doing better than others.The Morri...

26 Mar 202032min

Coronavirus, Caretaker Conventions Smashed, And The Turning Of The Tide Against Morrison

Coronavirus, Caretaker Conventions Smashed, And The Turning Of The Tide Against Morrison

Everyone is talking about the coronavirus but, unlike most of the media and most of the government, we'll leave the medical debate to the medical fraternity and discuss the politics and economics of t...

13 Mar 202040min

The New Year Of Political Corruption And Solutions For Parliamentary Reform

The New Year Of Political Corruption And Solutions For Parliamentary Reform

Another year, another round of political corruption to deal with. Scott Morrison claimed "a miracle" caused him to win the 2019 election but, as with most claims of divine intervention, that old human...

11 Feb 202044min

Climate Change Again, The Angus Beauty Myth Turns Ugly, Goodbye 2019

Climate Change Again, The Angus Beauty Myth Turns Ugly, Goodbye 2019

The climate change debate is heating up to a temperature even hotter than the NSW bushfires. Just as the Prime Minister has decided to take a holiday somewhere in the Pacific and instructing the media...

19 Des 201929min

Forged Democracy, Labor Reviews Itself, And Climate Change Politics Fired Up

Forged Democracy, Labor Reviews Itself, And Climate Change Politics Fired Up

Democracy fell down a few rungs when Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, used forged documents to attack an opponent. Did he know they were forged? Did he forge the documents himself? Answers to these ques...

13 Nov 201937min

Mr Morrison Goes To Washington, QAnon And Celebrity Politics

Mr Morrison Goes To Washington, QAnon And Celebrity Politics

Scott Morrison has been to Washington and back, and a State Dinner was held in his honour. While grandstanding and hurling insults at China might not be the best way to protect a $40 billion per year ...

18 Okt 201930min

Impending Economic Disaster, A Compassionate Conservative And We Need To Talk About Albo

Impending Economic Disaster, A Compassionate Conservative And We Need To Talk About Albo

There's a disaster facing the Australian economy and, unfortunately, the best the Liberal–National Government can do is blame the Labor Party – even though they haven't been in office since 2013 – or ...

11 Sep 201932min

Unfunded Empathy, Taking Sides, Diversionary Nuclear And S44 Solutions

Unfunded Empathy, Taking Sides, Diversionary Nuclear And S44 Solutions

We are very impressed to hear there is a new part of the political lexicon: unfunded empathy. It's the bureaucratic way of saying: "get %$knF!!" and we are just wondering how many focus groups were ne...

6 Aug 201940min

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