Making sense of Australia’s place in the world, Between the Lines puts contemporary international issues and events into a broader historical context, seeking out original perspectives and challenging accepted wisdoms.
Australia is ill prepared for the new reality of climate disasters and the crisis in Sri Lanka, some are calling for an emergency election and what is needed from the international community
What do people think about Australia's foreign policy. Results from the 2022 Lowy poll In troubled times do UN Peacekeepers make a difference? The challenges for Papua New Guinea as they head to a general election.
Olivier Knox discusses the mostly Republican witness testimony on the January 6th attack on the US Capitol building. Cindy McCreery looks at CHOGM — the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda and the organisation's purpose, place and priorities. Steve Ratuva explains why Australia, and other big powers, are guilty of overlooking and under estimating Pacific Island nation's agency, ability and autonomy.
What it will take for Ukraine to be able to join the EU? Has Australia has signed up for too many strategic regional groups and dialogues and is it time to review and prioritise? What's at stake in battle between the State of Florida and the Disney corporation?
Greg Barton reviews Prime Minister Albanese's official visit to Indonesia. A blunt assessment of Boris Johnson's tenure as UK PM. Would things turn out differently for President Richard Nixon if Watergate occurred today?
Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik urges for more support during her speaking tour of Western Europe and describes the situation in her war torn country. William Stoltz discusses his new paper ‘A regrettable necessity: The future of Australian covert action. Anthropologist Manvir Singh considers the prevalence of ownership and private property rights in hunter gather societies and explains why the idea of primitive communism is flawed.
Damien Cave, the New York Times bureau chief here in Australia considers the big fault lines that have led to deep and lasting divisions in US politics and society. Richard McGregor reviews the grand tours by the U.S President and the Chinese Foreign Minister through the Asia Pacific. It's crowded and anytime now a fight could break out but there's no sheriff in sight - which is why outer space is being compared to the wild west.
Osama Bin Laden's declassified personal papers and correspondence have prompted a re-evaluation of the infamous terrorist and his reach, power and influence following the 9/11 attacks. From Beirut, Kim Ghattas reports on Lebanon's election results. Is there is any light at the end of the tunnel for this deeply troubled country?
Why and how did Ferdinand Jnr win so convincingly in this week's election in the Philippines? What's life like under the Taliban for the long suffering people of Afghanistan. How the geopolitical realities of Europe play out both on and off the stage at Eurovision.
(Repeats) Former Prime Minister John Howard evaluates his time in office. Peter Edwards and Jacinta Carroll on the Dept. of Home Affairs and the legacy of the Hope Royal Commissions into intelligence. Oxford university historian Rana Mitter on how the new Chinese nationalism is being shaped by a re-interpretation of China's role in World War Two.
James Philips discusses the American constitution-its origins and influences. Deborah Tabart's passionate advocacy for the koala. Jonathan Dimbleby's WW2 history: Operation Barbarossa and how Hitler lost the war.
Journalists Chris Kenny and Jacqueline Maley assess the Federal election campaign. Gideon Rachman discusses the rise and popularity of the autocrats. Kylie Moore-Gilbert's memoir Uncaged sky: My 804 days in an Iranian gaol.
Veteran correspondent Jean Lee explains why 'it never pays to forget North Korea'. Steven Schwartz remembers those brave souls who challenged and changed mainstream thought. Shelia Fitzpatrick's concise history of the Soviet Union: from Lenin to Gorbachev.
Francis Fukuyama defends liberalism and assesses the situation in Ukraine. Former P.M Kevin Rudd offers a way forward in the fraught China–U.S relationship.
Ed Luce discusses Biden's 'gaffe' and the illusion of global consensus on Ukraine. Anne-Marie Brady explains why China's move in the South Pacific is concerning and provocative. Margret Cameron-Ash offers a new account of how and why Britain established a penal colony in Australia.
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs - Alexander Downer discusses international relations. Max Hastings contrasts the 1962 Cuban missile crisis with the current situation in Ukraine. Economists Su-Lin Ong and Joanne Masters offer their views on the Australian economy and the global economic outlook
Is a rules based world order still possible? Putin's 2015 war in Syria and the legacy of his strategically successful intervention. Malcolm Fraser- a dominant figure in Australian political history. Geoff Raby assesses his foreign policy record.
The invasion of Ukraine has triggered a marked change in attitudes towards security in Europe and Asia with both Germany and Japan increasing their spending on defence. Anne Henderson's biography of Liberal senator Margaret Guilfoyle.
Putin's domestic opposition. The view from South-East Asia. Prospects for net zero.
John Bolton: the Ukraine, Russian and China. 'Only Richard Nixon could go to China in 1972' – Evelyn Goh explains how and why. Parnell McGuiness on the left's double standards.
A challenge to the mindset that the U.S can be everywhere all the time. Does Albo have the right tools to do the job as PM ? Australia attacked 80 years ago. Satirist P.J O'Rourke remembered.
Myanmar: The state of the nation one year after the military coup. Winston Churchill's legacy critically reappraised. Cartoonist Bill Leak remembered.
Paul Kelly's new book Morrison's Mission, China's growing influence in the South Pacific and the pandemic's social and cultural legacy.
Tensions increase between the US and Russia over Ukraine, will 'Party-gate' bring down Boris Johnson? And reading the federal election tea leaves
What can past pandemics, earthquakes, famines or wars teach us about how to prepare for the next one?
Who were the Russian migrants who made it to Australia during the Cold War?
After the recent passing of Andrew Peacock, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg describes his legacy; and former treasurer, Chris Bowen, says the fakes, the fraudsters and the snake-oil merchants are winning the political contests.
Nicolle Flint MP talks about the sexist abuse she's faced throughout her career, not from within her own party, but from political opponents and activists outside of Canberra; and does 'cancel culture' threaten what remains of our liberal public discourse, or is uncensored free speech a dangerous proposition?
It's 25 years since the coalition was elected to an eleven year term in power. As leader, John Howard represents one of the greatest political comebacks in modern history. How did he do it?
As the US-China rivalry intensifies, what does it mean for Australia?
Biden's approach to foreign policy, the crisis of Australian democracy, and 80 years since Pearl Harbour
America won the Cold War but why did they lose the post-Soviet peace? And the far-right's unlikely shift to end climate change skepticism
Does America's inflation rate mean faster rising interest rates in Australia? And what does the disappearance of Peng Shuai say about China?
Did Putin really play a role in Trump's 2016 election victory? And the US-China pact for action on climate change
Is the India - Australia relationship even more important than the Quad?
Will Glasgow address the right issues to tackle climate change?
The balancing act of teaching both Indigenous and European- Australian history. And the Chinese government denial of the Wuhan lab 'theory'
Can anything meaningful be achieved at COP21? And the passing of Colin Powell
After the 'boring' result of the recent election, what is Germany's post-Angela Merkel future? And two opposing senators take on China.
Are vaccine passports the answer to achieving a COVID-normal life? And how the Philippines are targeted by China
Will our new security alliance with the US and the UK just provoke China? And Anthony Albanese on his working-class constituents.... and rugby league
Does the AUKUS alliance constitute a loss of sovereignty? And how the next generation will cope with the COVID recovery
Paying tribute to Neville Bonner, our first Aboriginal MP and how has North Korea's tyrannical regime coped with COVID-19?
Bush, Obama, Trump or Biden: who should we blame for the crisis in Afghanistan? And COVID has exposed our increasingly fractured federation. But was it flawed at its 1901 inception?
How has ISIS affected the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan? And Philip Ruddock on the 20th anniversary of the Tampa crisis
How does the Taliban victory in Afghanistan affect America's reputation?
As the Taliban storms into Kabul, Paul Wolfowitz reflects on the 'never-ending war' and Biden's withdrawal of troops
Could the 2020s be a good economic decade for developing nations? And the very interesting Labor people you've never heard about
Indonesia is now the epicentre of COVID. How did the outbreak spiral out of control? And the 'Wuhan lab' theory gains more attention
It's been 18 months since the COVID outbreak in Australia, yet half the country is in lockdown. Is a zero cases strategy still justified?
Is Canberra's response to China in our national interest or is it driven by hysteria and xenophobia?