Podcasts about labor party

With two weeks to go until polling day, the prime minister speaks to Full Story. In this wide-ranging interview, political reporter Josh Butler and Full Story co-host Nour Haydar ask Anthony Albanese about the global upheaval caused by Donald Trump, the epidemic of violence against women and whether he thinks Labor can unseat Peter Dutton

Just over halfway into the election campaign, Australians have now heard from both major parties on their solutions to the housing crisis. But with the flooding of media messaging, are voters able to tell the difference in what's being offered? And while there have been missteps on both sides – Peter Dutton pulling his son in front of the cameras, and Anthony Albanese's awkward moment with Tanya Plibersek – the odds are increasingly in Labor's favour. Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry discuss why we could get majority Labor government, what happens when politicians deploy their family on the campaign trail, and how Donald Trump is the unavoidable third candidate in this election See all our Australian election 2025 coverage Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Topics:A Deep Dive into Socialist Equality: Elections, Policies, and the FutureIn this special episode of 'The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove' podcast, host Trevor is joined by Max Boddy and Warwick Dove from the Socialist Equality Party. The discussion delves into the hurdles faced by the party in registering candidates due to stringent requirements by the Australian Electoral Commission. Warwick shares his journey from industry worker to party member, highlighting the limitations of trade unions and the Labor Party. Max discusses his political awakening at university and the necessity of socialism as a response to the failures of capitalism. The conversation expands to the party's policies on housing, the impact of the anti-Semitism campaign, and the broader goals of socialist revolution. The episode concludes with a reflection on the challenges posed by identity politics and mainstream media's role in shaping public perception.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:33 Party Registration Issues05:53 Warwick's Background and Union Experience17:18 Max's Background and Political Awakening20:31 Critique of Capitalism and Call for Socialism26:12 Addressing Common Criticisms of Socialism35:25 Specific Policies and Election Talking Points37:05 Redirecting Military Spending to Public Programs37:50 Critique of Housing Policies and Tax Structures39:11 Media's Role in Shaping Public Perception39:55 Antisemitism and Legislative Responses44:02 The Intersection of Media and Government53:07 Revolutionary Optimism and Workers' Struggles01:07:49 Identity Politics and the Working Class01:12:27 Final Thoughts and Call to ActionTo financially support the Podcast you can make:a per-episode donation via Patreon or one-off donation via credit card; orone-off or regular donations via Paypal orif you are into Cryptocurrency you can send Satoshis. We Livestream every Monday night at 7:30 pm Brisbane time. Follow us on Facebook or YouTube. Watch us live and join the discussion in the chat room.You can sign up for our newsletter, which links to articles that Trevor has highlighted as potentially interesting and that may be discussed on the podcast. You will get 3 emails per week. After the fiasco mentioned in episode 454 I can't use Mailchimp anymore so for the moment, send me an email and I'll add you to a temporary list until something more automated is arranged.We have a website. www.ironfistvelvetglove.com.auYou can email us. The address is trevor@ironfistvelvetglove.com.auYou can send us a voicemail message at SpeakpipeTranscripts started in episode 324. You can use this link to search our transcripts. Type "iron fist velvet glove" into the search directory, click on our podcast and then do a word search. It even has a...

The Australian Labor Party (ALP), currently led by Anthony Albanese, has been around since the 1890s. We take a brief look at the party's history and how it's become the ALP we know today.

Are you better off than you were three years ago? It's a question you'll hear more and more during this cost-of-living election, as Labor and the Coalition try to convince voters they have a plan that will help where Australians are hurting the most.Reged Ahmad talks to economics editor Patrick Commins about why we need bolder reform to make the next decade better than the last

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed $1 billion towards mental health. The Labor Party says the investment recognises a critical workforce gap in mental health care that needs to be addressed. The coalition has previously promised a similar boost to the sector, but with a focus on additional subsidised support sessions.

“The bosses have two parties,” they said. “We need one of our own.” In 1996, representatives and activists from hundreds of local and international unions came together to launch a workers' party — long missing from U.S. politics. Labor Party participant and economist Howard Botwinick discusses the organization's challenges and promise, and the lessons from its rise and fall — including how the failure to build leftwing politics rooted in the working class created a vacuum that was ultimately filled by the right. Resources: Labor Party Archive The post Lessons from the U.S. Labor Party appeared first on KPFA.

The federal election campaign was barely a week old when Donald Trump rearranged the world trading order. And in Australia, the leaders covered a lot of ground. But in a campaign lacking inspiration, where is the promise of hope? Tony Barry and Barrie Cassidy examine the impact of new tariffs on Australia just four weeks out from the election. They also debate Dutton's plan to cut public sector workers, and wonder: is it too much to ask for some big ideas? Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Polls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverage Anywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guide Listen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: Gina Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast

A week in to the federal election campaign and both parties have provided soundbites, but have been light on promises and policy. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, are hyper focused on cost of living, but when asked about their plans to offer real relief answers have been hard to come by.Bridie Jabour talks with the editor, Lenore Taylor, the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally about holding politicians to account, and if voters deserve more from their leaders

Election Countdown 2025 is on!Stephen Donnelly is joined by former Senator and former ALP campaign director, David Feeney, and former ALP national organiser and Deputy Chief of Staff to Daniel Andrews, Jessie McCrone.They unpack the first week of the campaign, answering questions like:Key battleground seats to watch?How will Trump's assault on our trade agreements influence the campaign?Do leader debates really matter?Which Tory got their hands on a typewriter this week?If you're looking for your politics fix, we've got you covered.New episodes every Friday.CHAPTERS:00:00 Episode Start01:49 Guest Introduction04:08 Campaign Kickoff22:15 Campaign Narrative35:10 The Debate Forecast50:20: This Week's AwardsThe presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au Support the showNew episodes out every Friday.If you like the show leave a comment below or leave us a review on Podchaser: https://bit.ly/36uFbp8Support the show on Patreon. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Cov kev tshab txhais txog cov kev xaiv tsa tsoom fwv teb chaws Australia xyoo 2025 thiab pab nom The Australian Labor Party (ALP/Labor).

At the electoral crossroads, Guardian Australia's political reporter Krishani Dhanji talks to Essential Media's executive director Peter Lewis about what risks and rewards await Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese as they gamble over the projection of strong v steady leadership to win the hearts and minds of Australian voters. Plus: who would people most want to have a beer with?

The Australian Labor Party, currently led by Anthony Albanese, has been around since the 1890s. With the election just weeks away, SBS explains a bit more about the party.

The Australian Labor Party, currently led by Anthony Albanese, has been around since the 1890s. - Habang papalapit na ang pampederal na halalan, kilalanin natin ang mga partido na maghaharap sa eleksyon. Simulan natin sa Australian Labor Party na nabuo noong 1980s at kasalukuyang pinamumunuan ni Anthony Albanese.

Kos Samaras, a director of the political consultancy firm Redbridge and a former Labor Party official joins to talk about the polls and the parties prospects.Mentioned in this episode:How Australian Democracy Works'How Australian Democracy Works' edited by Politics Editor Amanda Dunn is out now in all good book stores.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has visited the governor general to dissolve parliament and kick off a five-week election campaign. Polling day will be Saturday 3 May. Political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy gives Reged Ahmad a quick update on what we can expect – before he heads off on the trail

Now the cat is out of the bag - we are going to vote on Saturday, May 3rd. Over the next 5 weeks, Labor, Liberals, Nationals, other small parties and many independents will be vying for our vote. A key issue will be the high cost of living. On Tuesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers surprised the nation with an unforeseen tax cut, which, however, will only take effect in the future. Last night, opposition leader Peter Dutton responded to the Labor Party's election budget and in turn promised cheaper gas for a year and more. Voters are now deciding who is better at managing the economy. - Nun ist die Katze aus dem Sack - am Samstag, den 3. Mai gehen wir zur Wahl. In den kommenden 5 Wochen werden Labor, Liberale die Nationals, andere Kleinparteien und viele Unabhängige um unsere Stimme buhlen. Ein Kernthema werden die hohen Lebenshaltungskosten sein. Am Dienstag überraschte Treasurer Jim Chalmers die Nation mit einer unvorhergesehenen Steuersenkung, die allerding erst in Zukunft greift. Gestern Abend reagierte Oppositionsführer Peter Dutton auf den Vorwahlhaushalt der Labor Party und versprach seinerseits billigeres Benzin für ein Jahr und mehr. Jetzt entscheiden die Wähler, wer die Wirtschaft besser leitet.

Listeners, what were you doing in 2004? Perhaps you were strolling down the street in low rise jeans, Uggs, and a Livestrong bracelet listening to Outkast's “Hey Ya!” Or maybe you were sitting in a movie theater ready to have your mind blown by Ashton Kutcher's tour de force performance in The Butterfly Effect. Well, the folks joining us on this week's episode of our podcast may have missed some of that stuff because they were too busy building a movement for healthcare justice! 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Healthcare NOW, the national organization fighting for Medicare for All that brings you your favorite podcast! If you're a regular listener, you probably know that I was the Executive Director of Healthcare NOW for 11 years, and Gillian is the current Executive Director, but today we're taking it back to 2004 and talking with some of the OGs who started it all! This episode features some of our very favorite people -- the leaders in the healthcare justice movement who have made Healthcare NOW what it is today (the creator of your favorite podcast content!): Mark Dudzic is a longtime union organizer and activist.  He served as national organizer of the Labor Party from 2003 to 2007 and was a cofounder of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer in 2009.  He has been a member of the Healthcare Now board since its founding in 2004. Lindy Hern is the Chair of the Sociology Department at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and President of the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. She has been on the Healthcare NOW board since 2009 and is the author of “Single Payer Healthcare Reform: Grassroots Mobilization and the Turn Against Establishment Politics in the Medicare for All Movement."  Donna Smith is an advocate for single payer, improved and expanded Medicare for all. Her journalism career included work as a stringer for NEWSWEEK magazine, editing and reporting for the Black Hills Pioneer in South Dakota, as well as appearances on CNN and Bill Moyers Journal, and as one of the subjects in Michael Moore's 2007 film, SiCKO. She worked for National Nurses United and traveled more than 250,000 miles advocating for health justice. She now serves as the National Advisory Board chair for Progressive Democrats of America. Walter Tsou is a Board Advisor to Physicians for a National Health Program and on the Board of HCN.  He has been a long time single payer healthcare activist.  Walter is a former Health Commissioner of Philadelphia and Past President of the American Public Health Association. Cindy Young has been a healthcare activist for over 40 years. She has served on the Health Care Now board since 2012. In her retirement, she serves as a Vice President for the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), whose principle goal is to establish a single payer system in California. If this episode doesn't give you your fill of Healthcare NOW history, you can always check out Lindy's book or this sweet tribute to our founder Marilyn Clement. And of course, if you want to keep up the good work of all these amazing folks, you can make a donation to support our work!

'Life and Politics is bumpy', so says Janet McCalman AC, a super smart lady born in 1948 who has been a lifelong Labor Party supporter and fabulous historian-writer here in Melbourne. Janet's books include 'Struggle Town' (1984), 'Journeyings', (1993) a story about class and education along the 67 tram, to 'Sex and Suffering'. Her family has French roots in North Africa and WWI created a big trauma line through it. Her parents met through the Communist Party. Janet came on, in part, to let us know about the Labor Academy, an independent group supporting traditional labor values. She says Labor people are terrific human beings. The Academy's latest little red book is '12 things you need to know about Labor'. It was published in January this year. It's highly accessible and includes chapters like 'Doing stuff together: collectivism and the social contract'. We look forward to taking a look at that and we thank Janet very much for joining us this week.laboracademyvic.au 

Fresh questions have been raised about the environmental impact of salmon farming in Tasmania with conservation groups funding attack ads aimed at Labor. Guardian Australia's climate and environment editor, Adam Morton, speaks to Reged Ahmad about how the controversial salmon farming industry has risen to the top of the federal election agenda

The unofficial election campaign is about to intensify, with a pre-election budget just days away. With political messaging coming thick and fast, both parties will be trying to sell their vision to the public. But with Australian society becoming increasingly fragmented, will the same campaign strategies cut through? Bridie Jabour talks with the editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, about what is dividing voters, and how these fractures are shaping our politics

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news we are slipping in the Happiness rankings, and slipping fast in the inequality measures within it.But first, last week's American initial jobless claims report brought no surprises, coming it at a similar level to the prior week and exactly as anticipated. But they season factors suggested they should have decreased a bit more than they did. There are now 2.13 mln people on these benefits, +6 more than year-ago levels.There were a lot more existing homes sold in the US (excludes new-built homes) in February that either in January or than were expected. But they were still at a lower level that a year ago, and the volume of listings rose +5.1% from a year ago.The latest regional Fed factory survey was from the Philly Fed and its rust-belt region, and while it remained positive, most markers declines in March. New order level declines were part of that.And that is consistent with the Conference Board's latest update of American leading indicators, which declined in February.Across the border in Canada, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, producer prices rose +4.9% in February from a year ago, an easing of the price pressure from January. But it is still the second fasted rise on this basis since the end of 2022. Raw material cost increases are keeping this measure up.And staying in Canada, their central bank boss signaled a policy change overnight in light of the economic impacts from US tariff threats; rather than setting policy on a median term outlook, the ime may have come for faster, more nimble responses to short-term pressures, he suggested.China kept its Loan Prime Rates unchanged at today's review with the one-year rate, a benchmark for most corporate and household loans, steady at 3.1%, while the five-year, a reference for property mortgages, holding at 3.6%. Both rates are record lows.Taiwanese export orders starred again in February. They soared by +31% from a year ago to US$49.5 bln, easily beating market expectations of +22% growth and rebounding sharply from a small January slip. You can see why the mainland government covets the independent offshore island.German producer prices rose only modestly again, a trend they have been in for four months now after exiting deflation over the past 17 months.The English central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 4.5% at their overnight meeting. This was as expected.In Australia, their February labour market data was a surprise disappointment - for the ruling Labor Party at least. The number of people in paid employment fell by -53,000 when a +30,000 rise was widely expected. This is not a small miss, and 'unwelcome' ahead of their upcoming election campaign. But the number of people jobless also fell, and by -11,300, which managed to keep their jobless rate unchanged at 4.1%. The reason both fell is because their participation rate fell to a nine-month low of 66.8%, down sharply from January's 67.2%. People are leaving their workforce faster than usual, many of them boomers. Monthly hours worked in all jobs shrank. Financial markets didn't react badly because it probably will shift the RBA away from worrying about 'tight labour markets' and open up the possibility of rate cuts.Global container freight rates fell another -4% last week to be -31% lower than year-ago levels. But they are still +59% higher than pre-pandemic levels, even though the down trend is gathering pace. Again it is lower rates on outbound cargoes from China to the US that is driving the decline. Bulk cargo rates however were +3.6% higher than week-ago levels, -17% lower than year-ago levels, but still +60% above pre-pandemic levels (which were unusually low, it must be said).In another global report, New Zealand is virtually tied with Australia as the 12th happiest country in the 2024 edition of the World happiness Report released overnight. The usual Scandinavian set is at the top, with Costa Rica, but oddly, both Israel and Mexico now rank higher than us, which seems a little odd. Neither Australia nor New Zealand rank well on the inequality measures.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.24%, down -4 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at just on US$3038/oz and up a net +US$5 from yesterday.Oil prices are up another +50 USc from yesterday at just on US$68/bbl in the US and the international Brent price is at just on US$72/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at 57.5 USc and down -40 bps from this time yesterday in a continuing retreat. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 53 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just on 66.8, and -40 bps lower.The bitcoin price starts today at US$83,747 and down -1.0% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been moderate at +/- 2.2%.You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

As the prime minister hits his highest approval ratings in 18 months, the Guardian Essential poll goes deep into demographics this week. Why do young Australian men support Trump and Dutton more than anyone else? Could Dutton take advantage of this trend? Guardian Australia's political reporter Josh Butler talks to Essential Media's executive director Peter Lewis about the shifting political landscape ahead of a delayed election

Tom Elliott has been alerted to an "odd" Labor Party meeting which took place in the Box Hill Town Hall last night.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caller Craig and Vice President of the Freedom Party Greg Cheesman joined Tom Elliott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Western Australian Labor Party will govern the state for a third consecutive term, after a resounding defeat over the Liberals. Labor premier Roger Cook says his party has been rewarded for delivering a sensible and stable government. - Die Western Australian Labor Party wird den Staat eine dritte Amtszeit in Folge regieren. Labor-Premier Roger Cook sagt, seine Partei sei dafür belohnt worden, eine vernünftige und stabile Regierung bereitgestellt zu haben.

Has the interest rate cut made any difference to how people intend to vote at the upcoming federal election? Guardian Australia's political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy and Essential Media's executive director Peter Lewis discuss how voters are responding to major political parties' campaign rhetoric on key issues affecting their lives

In this episode, Charles shares all his insider knowledge about what's happening behind the scenes in the Labor Party. Will Albo get knifed before the election, and by who? Meanwhile, Dom takes a look at the polls and tries to determine what type of landslide we should expect. Watch OPTICS on ABC iview here:https://iview.abc.net.au/show/opticsCheck out more Chaser headlines here:https://www.instagram.com/chaserwar/?hl=enClick here to claim bulk billing on your life-saving medication:https://chaser.com.au/support/ You can lose the ads and get more content! Become a Chaser Report VIP member at http://apple.co/thechaser OR https://plus.acast.com/s/the-chaser-report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the relative decline of mainstream media and the rise of podcasts, influencers, and infinite scrolling, how is the Australian Labor party faring in the race to modernise their political campaigns?And how can social democratic parties around the world continue to compete and adapt to the ever-changing new media landscape? What role does data analytics play in shaping effective messaging, and driving innovative, efficient campaigns?On this week's episode of Socially Democratic, Stephen Donnelly sits down with James Booth, an Australian transplant to Washington D.C. and an expert on campaign data and messaging. They discuss, among other things, takeaways from the U.S. Presidential Election, the long road to changing public perception, and the surprising strength of analogue.Enjoy!CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction2:23 Meet James Booth19:34 Where Australian Campaigns Fit In29:41 U.S. Election Hindsight54:08 Winning the “Battle of the Thumbs”The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au Support the showNew episodes out every Friday.If you like the show leave a comment below or leave us a review on Podchaser: https://bit.ly/36uFbp8Support the show on Patreon. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and Instagram.

The Lowest Moral Denominator.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Those who declare war are willing to kill as many as it takes to reach their goal.(The Lowest Moral Denominator)My first week at Havenstone, I'd biked to work alone on most days and I'd enjoyed that. I'd have treasure it more if I had glimpsed my future. I loved people, not crowds. I knew about violence, yet I had no affection for it. I was a confirmed bachelor. Now I was staring down both barrels of marriage. I had had also become a walking arsenal with a lethal omnipresent entourage.This situation was so fucked up that I had to stop by Caitlin's place just to see Aya. My favorite sprite gave me a hug and reminded me that I had to do what I could, not worry about what I couldn't do. She was my 9 year old Svengali. She was my little Valkyrie. In truth, she was the only woman knew I loved and that was the love of a father for his daughter.On the elevator ride up to the penthouse suite of the Midtown Hilton, I thought about Dad. What would Ferko Nyilas do in my shoes? It would be easy for someone who didn't know him to imagine my dad getting up on his high moral horse and telling me to just do the right thing, except that wasn't him. What he'd tell me was to not pass the buck. I had to deal with this, unless I knew someone else who could and would do it better.It wasn't about 'being a man'; it was being a member of the Human Race. We all pitched in and got the job done, or it didn't get done, and millions died because we refused to accept any responsibility for what was going on. That was my Dad, 'do what you can' and 'never be afraid to ask for help if you need it'. After the age of ten, he never told me I had to do anything. He'd tell me what needed to be done and leave it at that.So I wouldn't forget the pictures I knew I'd be seeing before too long, the innocent dead. If the sorrow broke me, it broke me. Until it did, I could not turn away. I had to 'do what I could'. That put me heading to a meeting at three o'clock in the afternoon in the penthouse suite.After my non-breakfast with Iskender, we had driven straight to Havenstone, where I demanded an immediate, private meeting with Katrina. This wasn't an info-dump and then out the door. No, I was part of the process now, one of those fools who were responsible for the lives of others. Katrina and I had argued about compartmentalizing my terrifying news.Her reasoning was clear. We were at war with the Seven Pillars. The basis of the 7P strength was China, so anything bad that happened to China was good for the Amazon Host. I nixed that. It was Katrina's job to think about our security. It was mine to juggle how we related to the rest of the planet. Absent the Golden Mare's opposition, Katrina couldn't stop me from doing my job as I saw fit.The Golden Mare was out of immediate contact, so we moved forward on my proposal. Katrina called Javiera, validated Vincent's call, and then suggested she bring in someone from the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Ft. Detrick. Katrina wouldn't tell her why.I dispatched Delilah to talk to her MI-6 guy while I made my way to Nicole Lawless's law offices. I need to talk to my Aunts. An hour later, I dismissed a somewhat piqued Nicole from the room, then laid out the upcoming crisis to my Mom's clones. I hesitated a minute before dropping the other bomb, Grandpa Cáel was back.Was I sure? I countered with, "Do you know who Shammuramat was?"Why, yes they did; Grandpa had a bust of her in his main office."Well, she's back, in the flesh and that spells all kinds of problems".The six aunts present agreed. They invited me to fly to Europe with five of them. Much to their surprise and joy, I agreed. I told them I would be a party of twelve with plenty of firepower. They were less pleased about that.I exited that scene, only to engage in another, somewhat unrelated, bit of diplomacy. I met with Brooke and Libra for lunch. They brought Casper, who was seeing a specialist in New York and had expressed an interest in seeing me again. Into that volatile mix, I placed my request: 'Could Brooke put up a friend for a couple of weeks while I made other arrangements?'Yes, this was a 'bizarre' friend. Yes, this was a violently bizarre friend. Yes, she walked around with enough weaponry to scare a seasoned SWAT officer. And yes, she was a mass murderer. Cool,, if I agreed to stop by and see how this 'friend' was doing, and gave Libra advance notice too, then they were fine with it.Thus Shammuramat, Sakuniyas, Saku became Brooke's roommate. Insane? Not really. Putting Saku inside Havenstone on a regular basis was going to result in a blood bath. Saku was abrasive and she was a criminal in the minds of her 'sisters'. This gave her an 'out', some space and time with a civilized person who she couldn't emotionally bowl over.If Saku got physical with Brooke, we both understood that House Ishara was going to cancel her return performance. Amazons could defend themselves, so we were fair game for her rude behavior. Brooke couldn't, so she was hopefully out of bounds. Saku had agreed to the arrangement without comment.She'd already figured out that no other Amazons wanted her around and there simply wasn't room at my place. With that chore done, I was able to see Miyako off before her flight to Tokyo by way of Seattle. Selena was with her, but not going. Miyako did have three Amazons in case things got rough.The Marda House guard woman looked mature and humorless. Her age wasn't a problem. She was a grandmother, yet if she thought she couldn't keep up, she'd have taken herself to the cliffs before now. It turned out she had been in Executive Services before returning to House Marda. My diplomat, I didn't know her, but she seemed eager enough. The member of House Ishara was a brand new recruit named Jenna.She was from Acquisitions and spoke seven Asian languages, including Japanese. She looked absolutely thrilled to be heading off into danger. I instructed the younger two to obey the Mardan. In private, I 'advised' the Mardan that our main mission was to be of aid to the ninja. Information gathering would be secondary. More Amazons were on the way. She gave me a nod.For this critical mid-afternoon meeting at the Midtown Hilton, Wiesława lead the way off the elevator. Buffy went next, then me and finally Saku. Delilah and Vincent had already arrived with their appropriate factions. Katrina took a separate elevator, with Elsa and Desiree. Pamela was, somewhere. After she'd pointed out a half-dozen people from four different agencies in the lobby, she told me to not wait while she went to the bathroom.At the door of the Penthouse were two familiar faces from the NYPD, Nikita Kutuzov and her partner, Skylar Montero. When Javiera's investigation followed me to New York, they had been drafted into the taskforce."Hey ladies," I smiled. My last meeting with Nikita hadn't gone well."Cáel," Nikita smiled back. "How have you been?""More trouble than normal," I shook her hand."We can tell," Skylar relaxed somewhat. As Nikita's partner, she had to know that our relationship had soured when she started investigating me. Katrina's group came up."I think you are the last to arrive," Nikita informed us. This time, Desiree was the first one through the door. I could hear the conversation trail off. Wiesława went next, then Katrina, me, Buffy, Saku and finally Elsa. I decided to toss 'civilized' behavior out the window seconds after entering. Virginia Maddox of the FBI, the initiator of the Amazon children's airlift, was here.I hugged her and after a moment, she hugged me back."Priya says hey and," she blushed slightly, "she's counting the days, all forty-five of them.""Don't forget, I owe you," I grinned then patted her shoulder. Javiera was next."Cáel," she headed my familiarity off. She was a Federal Prosecutor after all."This is the head of this taskforce, Jonas Baker (deep breath) Associate Deputy Undersecretary of Analysis for Homeland Security {ADUAHS} (deep breath)." I extended my hand, so he shook it. He looked somewhat annoyed by this whole encounter. Javiera was duly nervous because of his poor initial attitude. The introductions went around.Half way through it, Pamela showed up, from where, I didn't know. Delilah, her MI-6 boss and the British professional killer Chaz were there, much to the chagrin of the Americans. Vincent was there with Javiera. Cresky was representing the CIA plus there was ATF, ICE, Riki Martin (?) from the State Department and a man in a civil servant's salary suit and a military demeanor, Captain Moe Mistriano."Fine," Mr. Baker began. "I hope you aren't wasting our time." His gaze flicked between Katrina and me."May the Blessed Isis bring understanding to our meeting," I intoned, in old Egyptian."What was that?" Baker turned on me."Praying for guidance," I replied. Isis wasn't in the Amazon pantheon, but I could sure use her help at this point. Baker was going from put-out to pissed-off. If that is how they wanted to play it, their choice. "Are you the specialist from Ft. Detrick?" I asked the Captain."Yes, I am and I hope this is worth my time as well," he gave me a steady gaze. Oh, I really needed that."Anthrax, China," I stated and weighed his response. Oh yeah, I had his attention now, which meant his bio-warfare unit had some idea about what was happening in China."Care to enlighten me?" Baker inquired. He had gauged his medical expert's reactions as well and he didn't like what the biological warfare specialist was not saying."Mr. Baker," the Captain decided to go first. "Roughly fifty-five hours ago, we got wind that there was a massive Anthrax outbreak in Western China. Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Nei Mongol administrative regions have all reported outbreaks."Holy Shit!" Riki Martin gasped. Her dark, whip-like, Hispanic features noticeably paled."That sounds suspiciously like bio-terrorism," Jonas Baker turned on me."You'd be right about that," I refused to evade. "It is and it is about to get a whole lot worse.""The PRC has a robust vaccine program," the Captain stated. "That is why they aren't making a public stink about it. They have the problem well under control.""Damn, " I closed my eyes and lowered my head. In some deep section of my mind, I had fanned the feeble flames of hope that somehow, the Earth  and  Sky program had derailed. "That is the 'whole lot worse' I was talking about. The terrorists aren't terrorists. They, ""What do you mean they are not terrorists," Baker snapped. "They, ""Shut up and let the man speak," Katrina said calmly."Who are you again?" he glared at Katrina. "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem and I'm here to make sure this problem is dealt with. I am not here to play footsie with you. I am going to be asking some tough questions and you had better answer them.""I'm Cáel's boss," Katrina smiled. "Since we came here to help you and you don't want to let us speak, we are leaving. Cáel."The Amazons didn't turn and leave. No, we backed up toward the door."You can't start talking about an ongoing terrorist threat and then walk out the door," Baker argued."Javiera, I apologize," I looked her way. "Mr. Baker, Javiera's a smart cookie. I'm sure she's given you every bit of information that has come across her desk. That means you know we consider ourselves an independent nation-state without borders. You can't intimidate us. We feel no obligation to obey your legal system and we operate internationally," I kept going."Now, as we are trying to repay Javiera's kindness in our time of need, you are treating us like criminals currying favors. Blow it out your ass, you pompous bureaucrat" I concluded. "We aren't the problem here.""If that's the way you want it," he shrugged. "Javiera, arrest them." Pause."Sir, you do realize that if I give that order, there is a good likelihood they will resist with force?" Javiera replied calmly. Baker looked around the room."We outnumber them and these are law enforcement officers," he insisted. "Now, ""I wouldn't count on that 'outnumbered' thing," Delilah chimed in.Chaz and MI-6 dude didn't seem to be onboard with his plan. "I have reason to believe Cáel has information on a highly virulent weaponized Anthrax program. If our US allies aren't interested, Her Majesty's government certainly will be." That did interest the MI-6 senior officer."That is all the more reason to put these people into federal custody," Baker stated."Then what, Mr. Associate Deputy?" Chaz said. "Are you going to torture them for time sensitive data? In my military service, I've met some truly hard characters. Some people you can put a gun to their child's head and they'll tell you what you want to know. Not this group. They'll memorize your face and wait for a chance to make you pay, whether you kill the kid, or not.""That's my read on them as well," Agent Vincent Loire added."Mr. Baker, I worked under you when we were both in Counter-terrorism," Virginia spoke up. "I think you are mishandling this. Invoke the Patriot Act and all we get is a roomful of statues. I've fought beside these, Amazons and I'm reaffirming my report to Ms. Castello (Javiera), they do not believe their behavior is wrong.At some point in their fifties, they commit ritual suicide. They make their twelve year old daughters fight for their lives. They murder their male infants. Sir, they are an alien society, indoctrinated at birth to believe they are spiritual inheritors of the ancient Amazons mentioned by Homer during the time of the Iliad.They fanatically believe in a pantheon of goddesses and possess very little inclination for integration. They think they are superior to everyone in this room, except for Cáel, he's an oddity," Virginia pleaded."That legion of crimes is yet another reason to arrest them," Baker just wouldn't give up."What you have described, Agent Maddox is a right wing nut cult, like the Branch-Davidians at Waco. Arrest them.""What are the charges?" Javiera's face blanked out."Conspiracy to commit terrorist acts; aiding and abetting an international terrorist organization," Baker snapped."Everyone, put down your firearms and blades," Katrina ordered. I didn't have the status to give that order except to my own. For that matter,"Team, disarm," Elsa commanded her Security Detail people. Technically, Katrina couldn't order those girls to forego their primary mission, defend the Host. Out came the guns.The group of us went over to one wall, put our backs to it and sat down. Pro forma, Virginia, Vincent and the ATF guy drew their firearms. By this time, both Riki and the Captain looked ready to explode."Tell us what you know about this terrorist conspiracy and, " Baker said."We invoke our Right to Council," I raised my hand."You are being charged under the Patriot Act, smart-ass," Baker sneered. "We can hold you indefinitely if we can show a risk to National Security, such as a terrorist attack in China.""I apologize for dragging you into this," I turned to Katrina. "You too, Saku." Saku shrugged."I told you there is no benefit in helping 'these people'," Katrina comforted me. She meant non-Amazons and it was rather sad that it was looking like she was right and I was wrong."Unless you want to grow old and grey in Guantanamo, I suggest you start talking now," Baker threatened.There was no bravado on our part. We didn't zone out, or ignore him. We looked at him the same way we would a yappy dog while continuing to scan the room. Being disarmed didn't make us defenseless. It merely limited our options."Sir," Riki tapped Baker."If the People's Republic of China finds out we withheld details of a terrorist attack on their soil, that would be BAD, with a capital 'B'.""I have to call this in," the Captain shook his head."Wait until we have active intelligence," Baker said. The Captain completed his call."I don't work for you, Sir. I work for the Department of Defense and that man," the Captain pointed at me, "strung two words together he shouldn't have. Now, I don't know any of you people. I was told to come here, so here I am. I do know, Sir, that you are ignoring the advice from your experts about the expected results of standard interrogation techniques.You are acting on two assumptions which I find to be fictitious," the Captain was clearly furious. "First, you seem to think this won't get out, and you are wrong. Why? We have no idea who these people have talked with. We can only believe that any person outside of their organization can use that revelation for their own ends. Secondly, you haven't grasped the extent of the emergency.Chinese citizens are already starting to drop dead as we speak. This variant of Anthrax is highly contagious, fast-acting, and appears to be incredibly fatal. No nation on Earth has enough Anthrax vaccine on hand to protect their entire population, and that still implies that the vaccines we currently have will work on this new bacteria. Need I go on?"Then Captain Mistriano went back to talking softly with his companions back at Ft. Detrick. The MI-6 chief made his own call. This was his job after all. Before Baker could even start to threaten the Brit, Delilah and Chaz had their guns out, though pointed down. The US law enforcement operatives were far more leery of challenging agents of a friendly foreign power."I will make sure to tack on charges for all those deaths you are facilitating," Baker piled it on. "The US government might find it necessary to send you to the People's Republic of China to face charges there. After all, you claim to not be US citizens." None of us responded verbally. We looked at him. We certainly heard him speak, but his '

What is the difference between Labor and Liberals? Why is Albo perceived as "the weak one" and Dutton as "the strong one"? What has Labor done on climate action, housing, cost of living, First Nation's rights, women's health and rights, and geo politics? Also what REALLY happened on that Trump call? Abbie sits down with THE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA! LINKS Follow Prime Minister Albanese on IG @albomp Check out @itsalotpod on IG at https://bit.ly/itsalot-instagram . Review the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://bit.ly/ial-review Follow LiSTNR Entertainment on IG @listnrentertainment Follow LiSTNR Entertainment on TikTok @listnrentertainment Get instructions on how to access transcripts on Apple podcasts https://bit.ly/3VQbKXY CREDITS Host: Abbie Chatfield @abbiechatfield Guest: Prime Minister Albanese @albompExecutive Producer: Lem Zakharia @lemzakhariaDigital and Social Producer: Oscar Gordon @oscargordon Social and Video Producer: Zoe Panaretos @zoepanaretosIt's A Lot Social Media Manager: Julia ToomeyManaging Producer: Sam Cavanagh Find more great podcasts like this at www.listnr.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few books are timelier than Ian Goldin's new The Shortest History of Migration. Drawing from his personal history as a South African emigrant and his experience working with Nelson Mandela, the Oxford based Goldin explores the when, why and how humans move - from the prehistoric peopling of the planet to today and tomorrow's migrants. He addresses current political tensions, including J.D. Vance's recent criticisms of European migration policies and Elon Musk's controversial stance on immigration. Goldin argues that migration has been fundamental to human progress and economic growth, while acknowledging that there are legitimate questions about unregulated immigration policy. Here are the five KEEN ON take-aways from our conversation with Goldin* Migration patterns have remained remarkably consistent (about 3% of global population) over the past century, though absolute numbers have increased with population growth. However, what has changed dramatically is the creation of formal borders, passport controls, and our perception of migration.* There's a growing disconnect between political rhetoric and economic reality. While many politicians take strong anti-immigration stances, economies actually need migrants for their dynamism, particularly in aging societies. This is evidenced by Silicon Valley's success, where over half of tech entrepreneurs are migrants.* The distinction between economic migrants and refugees is crucial but often conflated in public discourse. Goldin argues that different policies are needed for each group - economic migration can be managed through choice, while refugee protection is a humanitarian obligation.* Local pressures versus national benefits create tension in immigration debates. While immigration's economic benefits often accrue nationally and long-term, the immediate pressures on housing, public services, and infrastructure are felt locally, leading to public resistance.* Future migration patterns will be dramatically reshaped by demographic changes, climate change, and automation by 2050. Goldin predicts that current debates about keeping people out may reverse as developed countries compete to attract migrants to address labor shortages and maintain economic growth.Full transcript of the Goldin interviewKEEN: Migration is back in the news. A couple of days ago, J.D. Vance was in Europe, in Munich, attacking Europe over its migration policy. Meanwhile, European politicians have slammed France's call to be inclusive of far-right parties which are hostile to immigration. Immigration is really one of the most controversial issues of our age, perhaps of any age, as is underlined by my guest Ian Goldin, one of the great thinkers on globalization. He has a new book out this week in the U.S., "The Shortest History of Migration." Ian is joining us from Oxford, where he lives and teaches. Ian, what do you make of this latest violent spat in Europe? Is it something new or just more of the same?GOLDIN: I think it is an escalation of previous trends. For the U.S. to come to Europe and talk about domestic policies represents a change not only in tone and intensity but also in diplomacy. Politicians don't tend to go to other countries—UK and European politicians don't go to the U.S. and tell the U.S. how to run itself. So it is different when the vice president of the U.S. comes to Europe and comments very directly about individuals, meets with far-right leaders, and basically tries to advise Europe on what to do. It's a big step up from what we've seen before, and it's very polarizing.KEEN: This term "far right"—and it's not a term that I know you invented, you just used it—is it appropriate to describe these anti-immigrant parties in Europe and indeed in the U.S.? The AfD in Germany, the Reform Party in the UK, the MAGA movement in America. Are they all premised on hostility to immigration?GOLDIN: Immigration unites parties across the political spectrum, and anti-immigration is certainly not the preserve of far-right parties. Even the Labor Party in the UK at the moment has come out as very hostile to immigration. But what's different about Vance's visit to the UK is that he met with the AfD leader in Germany, didn't meet with the leader of the government. He's the only major global leader who's met with the AfD. Similarly, we've seen members of Trump's cabinet, like Elon Musk, endorsing the Reform Party in the UK and pumping up what I think are legitimately described as far-right parties on the political spectrum in Europe. But as you say, it's not the exclusive domain of the far right to be anti-immigrant. This is sweeping the board across the spectrum in many European countries and in the U.S. The Democrats are also pretty anti-immigration.KEEN: You brought up Musk. You have something in common with him—you're both South African migrants who've made good in the West. There's something very odd about Musk. Maybe you can make more sense of it, particularly given what you have in common. On the one hand, he is the poster child for globalization and migration. He was brought up in South Africa, came to the U.S., made a fortune, and now is the richest man in the world. On the other hand, he seems to be the funder of all these reactionary, anti-immigrant parties. What's going on here?GOLDIN: There's a lot to be said. Musk was an immigrant himself, just like Trump's grandfather was to the U.S., just like many members of the Cabinet's forebears were. So there's a contradiction of people who really owe their histories and where they are to immigration being so anti-immigrant. Personally, I not only come from the same town and went to the same high school in Pretoria, South Africa, but I've met him. He came to Oxford—if you look on the Oxford Martin School website, you'll see a conversation we had when he brought the first Tesla up to Oxford. I think he's moved a long way in the last years. It's difficult to explain that, but clearly what he's saying today is not the same as he was saying 5 or 10 years ago.He and others like Peter Thiel are very strong supporters not only of MAGA but of similar parties in Europe. I think it represents a new force—the amount of money these people have is very significant, and they do make a real impact on politics. Indeed, it's likely that Musk directly through his giving had material impact on the U.S. presidential election. Rich people have always given to political parties and owned media, but this is a whole new level of engagement where extremely rich people can influence outcomes.KEEN: The subtitle of your book, "The Shortest History of Migration" is "When, Why, and How Humans Moved from the Prehistoric Peopling of the Planet to Today and Tomorrow's Migrants." It's an ambitious book, though short. Has something changed over the last 50 or 100 years? Humans have always been on the move, haven't they?GOLDIN: There have been dramatic changes. One change is the creation of borders as we know them today and passports, border controls. That's relatively recent—before the First World War, people could basically move around without the controls and identity documents we know today. Secondly, there are many more countries now, well over 100 countries. The number of borders has greatly increased.The cost of travel and the risk associated with travel—I don't mean dangerous crossings across the Rio Grande or the Sahara, but air travel, ship travel, and motor vehicles—has gone down dramatically. The world population has increased significantly. Although the share of people migrating hasn't budged over the last hundred years—it's about 3% of the world's population—the absolute numbers have increased because 3% of 8 billion people is clearly a much bigger number than 3% of what it was around 2 billion 100 years ago.The big change has really been in the way we think about migrants today compared to, for example, the age of mass migration when 20-25% of the U.S. was migrant in the period 1850-1892, before the First World War.KEEN: But wasn't that also fair to say in the U.S. that there have been cycles of anti-immigrant politics and culture where at points the border was open and then got slammed shut again?GOLDIN: Yes, very much so, particularly in the post-Second World War period. We have what we might see again now, which is this two-handed approach. On one hand, politicians trying to be very strong on migration and saying things which they feel appeal to voters, and at the same time in practice very different things happening.We've seen that in many countries where the rhetoric on migration is very strong, where there are attempts to show that one is doing a lot by policing, by deporting, by building walls, etc. But the numbers of migrants actually go up because of the need for migrants. The stronger the economy, the more migrants you need; the older the economy, as the workforce ages, the more migrants you need.GOLDIN: Migrants are a source of economic dynamism. They are much more likely to create startups. It's no accident that Musk is a migrant, but well over half of Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs are migrants. It's a characteristic of migrants that they are much more productive, typically. They're much more likely to invest and to start up businesses. So if you want to have a dynamic economy and if you want to look after the elderly and pick your agriculture, you need migrants. I'm sure that even those in the government of the U.S. that are violently anti-immigrant recognize these things. That's where the tension will be played out.KEEN: You argue today's rich countries owe much of their success to the contributions of migrant workers. Is there any argument against migration? You're clearly on one side of the debate. What's the best argument against allowing migration into your country?GOLDIN: I'm not utopian in the sense that I do believe we need border controls and need to regulate the number of migrants who can come in. Clearly, we need to keep some people out—criminals and sex traffickers, for instance. But where we get real problems is that migrants can put a lot of pressure in the short term on resources. You see this in housing markets. People are feeling a lack of affordability of homes in dynamic cities—San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, New York, London, and many others. And it is true that in part this is because of the number of immigrants in these cities.Now, the immigrants also contribute and make these places dynamic. So it's a virtuous circle, but one has to address the concerns of citizens who say they cannot afford a home or public transport is too crowded, or that the lines are too long at hospital emergency services. These are real concerns. The challenge we face is that investment in resources, in public services, in housing, in transport and so on hasn't kept pace with population growth in dynamic cities particularly, and people are feeling the pinch.There's not much truth to the claim that immigrants undermine wages. In fact, there's quite a lot of evidence that they create jobs and lift wages. But there's also a short-term and long-term issue. The costs are often local, so people feel in a particular locality that they're overwhelmed by the number of immigrants, while the benefits are national and long-term. The immigrants build the houses, work in the hospitals, demand goods and services. They're buying things, building things, creating things. But that doesn't all happen at the same place at the same time.The other important thing is to distinguish between migrants and refugees. A lot of the problems that societies have is because these things are conflated. When I think of migrants, I think of economic migrants, of students, of people coming that are going to benefit themselves and the countries, but have a choice. Refugees are different. Refugees have a legitimate fear for their lives if they do not get refugee status. Governments need very different policies for refugees than they do for migrants.KEEN: You've mentioned the US, the UK—your book breaks down immigration around the world. You argued that the US is home to the largest absolute numbers of migrants, 51 million. Is the US still symbolically the place where the pro-anti migration argument gets played out? Trump, of course, has been outspoken and arguably it was really the reason why he was elected president again.GOLDIN: Yes, I think it is the place where it's being played out. It has the most migrants. It's a society we've always thought of historically as being constructed by migrants. It's an immigrant country—of course, it displaced an indigenous people that were living there before. But it is a society now that's basically come from elsewhere. The future dynamism of the US, where the US is going to be in ten, 20, 30 years' time, is going to depend to a large extent on its policies on immigration. If it throttles the source of its lifeblood that created the country that we know as a dynamic world-leading economy, it's going to fall back.KEEN: Musk is, as always, a little bit more complicated than he seems on immigration. On the one hand, he's obviously opposed to mass immigration. On the other hand, as a tech billionaire, he's sympathetic to qualified people coming into the country. And there seems to be a division within the Republicans between Musk and people like Steve Bannon, who seem to be opposed to all forms of immigration. Is this an important debate that you think will be played out on the American right?GOLDIN: Yes, I think it's extremely important. Both Musk and Steve Bannon have said pretty harsh things about the other side of this debate. Musk gets that the US needs tech workers. The tech industry is dependent on Indian and many other programmers. He's aware that the leaders of many firms, including Microsoft and Google, are immigrants, as is he. He's been focusing on the need for high-skilled immigrants. Steve Bannon is taking the fundamentalist MAGA line, claiming immigrants will take jobs—of course, they don't take jobs, they create jobs.My own guess is that Musk is going to win this particular debate, both because he's right at the center of power and because the businesses around him also get it. For agriculture, it's absolutely essential to have immigrants across the economy. Business will be crying out. And interestingly enough, as I highlighted in my Project Syndicate piece, a lot of Republican governors have been asking for immigration.KEEN: You mentioned you and Musk were born in the same South African town. You worked for Mandela. How do you place the colonial experience in your history of migration—where the white Europeans who showed up and conquered Africa, were they migrants, or something different?GOLDIN: They were migrants—migrant armies, migrant businesspeople, migrants, settlers. Some of them, particularly in Australia, were convicts shipped out. They often were underdogs doing it out of desperation. My grandparents migrated to South Africa because they were in that state. My grandfather on my father's side was from Lithuania, in Russia, where those who remained were all killed. Those of my mother's side who stayed in Austria and Germany were all killed. These were migrant refugees.The impact of colonialism was devastating. This goes back to the first settlers in the Americas—600 Spaniards who landed probably led to the death of over 20 million Native Americans through guns, germs, and steel, but mainly through germs. And before the colonial period, there was slavery, which is a terrible stain on humanity. Over 20 million people were forced into this absolutely inhumane system across the Atlantic. Slavery wasn't new—it had existed from before the first millennia. But the industrialization of it, the scale and horror of it, and the number of people who died in transit, that was new.I emphasize in the book that not all migration is good, and that migration is often a very unhappy experience, a brutal experience. But we need to try and understand this historical context. Certainly with immigration today, we need to make it more humane, better, and recognize that often what migrants do, they're doing to support their families, to create better opportunities for themselves and future generations. And the recipient countries need it too. The question is, can we better manage it?KEEN: Should the two histories be seen side by side—the images of North Africans and sub-Saharan Africans coming to Europe, children dying on beaches—should we be thinking about this as a counter-migration, a consequence of the European colonization of Africa?GOLDIN: There are clearly some links, but Africa is where it is today as a result not only of its colonial history and slavery, which often was driven by African slave kings before Africa was colonized. There are much more recent explanations as well—massive mismanagement of resources in Africa, the despotic actions of governments. The refugees coming to Europe are often in fear for their lives, whether it's being called up into the Eritrean army or what's happening in Somalia and Sudan. These people are escaping to protect their lives and to sustain people left behind through remittances.KEEN: Your book is very personal. You dedicate it to your grandparents. You write with the sensibility of a relative of migrants and a man who's migrated himself. You seem to be a citizen of the world. This is a labor of love, isn't it?GOLDIN: It is. I wrote another book on migration in 2012, "Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future." When the publishers came to me with this series, I leaped at it. I learned an enormous amount doing it. It's difficult to compress the whole history of migration, which is everything about humanity really, into 250 pages. But the main aim was to raise a sensibility that we're all migrants and that we need to better understand the role of migrants in our own personal histories and our countries' histories. These migrants are not "other people"—they are where we come from. I believe fundamentally that migration is what makes humans an exceptional species. It's the reason we've thrived. If we hadn't migrated, we would have died out.KEEN: So you don't buy the argument that the world is divided into the "somewheres" and the "everywheres"—the thesis that some people are locked into a place for generations, and others like yourself move around all the time?GOLDIN: I've debated that with David Goodhart. I think what he's picked up on, which I empathize with, is that people have an identity based on place. It's important not to deny that identity. But what his argument completely fails to pick up on is that firstly, that can be threatened. My mother's parents thought they were absolute Viennese—my grandfather was on the Viennese Opera Committee. It didn't help him when they decided to kill all the Jews in Vienna. My grandparents on my father's side were upright members of the Lithuanian community running a small business—that didn't help them.There's no evidence that having immigrants in your society makes you weaker or threatens your community. Indeed, if you want your community to thrive, you're going to need immigrants—not only to do the work that your community doesn't want to do, whether it's picking fruit or cleaning hospital floors, but to keep the place dynamic. That's what these governors in the US who are calling for more immigrants have recognized about their dying towns in the Midwest. They need immigrants to keep their communities alive.Dynamic cities are great examples of places which thrive on being melting pots. The magnetism of them is quite phenomenal. Look at Dubai, which I was in last week—90% immigrant.KEEN: Let's cast our eyes forward. What might the future hold for migration? Are there conceptual differences as the 21st century evolves? By 2050, will the debate be the same? Could technology change it? Musk is trying to settle on Mars—might that be the difference in 25 years' time?GOLDIN: It would be easier to settle at the North or South Pole than on Mars. I think there will be major differences by 2050. One of the major drivers is going to be demographic change. We're seeing a very rapid reduction in birth rates in well over half the countries of the world. We're going to see big labor contractions in labor markets in North America, Europe, and across Asia. As societies age and people live longer lives, we're going to see great shortages of labor.I think the fragility of different places is also going to be played out. Extreme climate and weather will lead to very different migration patterns. Oceans are going to rise, there'll be flood plains, intense weather, extreme droughts, lack of water by 2050. A place like Miami is going to be very threatened.AI will likely take over repetitive jobs, manufacturing, call centers. But the jobs that people will want in our wealthier societies—hospitality, elderly care, massages—these are what economists call non-tradable services. We'll need more of these, and they cannot be done remotely. They are unlikely to be done by machines by 2050. We're not going to want machines giving us massages or meals.So I think we're likely to see Europe, North America, and many parts of Asia turn the current debates on their head—from keeping people out to how we get more people into our societies. Population will start declining very rapidly, and workforces will decline before populations decline.KEEN: Finally, Ian, you write about the history of passports. You say they began in the early 20th century. With our increasingly sophisticated technology of data, how will that play out in your future history of migration?GOLDIN: I think it's going to play out differently in different places. The big question is how much we trust those who have the information. How we feel about it in Europe will be different from how people feel about it in China. One of the amazing experiments of the late 20th century is that within 27 countries in Europe, there are no passport controls. It's proved to be a remarkable, successful experiment.I hope increased surveillance becomes part of a bigger bargain in which we accept more people into our societies, treat them more fairly, protect them, and give them rights. But we also say we don't want some people to come, and we are able to control this. It gives people confidence that they don't feel out of control. So I do see a silver lining if it's used in a humane and effective way. The risk is that it's not, and people are continually forced into dangerous passages across the Mediterranean or the Rio Grande. That's what we need to work against.KEEN: There you have it. Amidst all this controversy about migration, some wisdom from Ian Goldin. Thank you so much.GOLDIN: Thank you so much for having me and all the best to you and to all your listeners.Ian Goldin is the Oxford University Professor of Globalization and Development and founding director of the Oxford Martin School, the world's leading center for interdisciplinary research into critical global challenges, where he has established forty-five research programs. Previously, he was vice president of the World Bank and its Head of Policy, responsible for its collaboration with the United Nations and key partners. He served as adviser to President Nelson Mandela, has been knighted by the French government, and is the author of three BBC series. Ian has been an advisor to numerous businesses, governments, and foundations and is a founding trustee of the International Center for Future Generations and Chair of the CORE Econ initiative to transform economics. He is the author of twenty-five books, including Age of the City, which was selected by the Financial Times as one of its best books of 2023.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Find out how the first interest rate cut impacts politics and the federal election in Australia. - Alamin ang epekto sa pulitika at pederal na halalan sa Australia ng unang beses na pagtapyas sa interest rate.

Guardian Australia's political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy and Essential Media's executive director Peter Lewis discuss the mood of voters and look at the challenges of running a successful election campaign in the era of Trump

Laws on political donations, often seen as the murky underbelly of politics, are getting a rewrite. Labor – with the help of the Coalition – has brought in new legislation but some of the changes have infuriated the crossbench. Reged Ahmad speaks to former judge and now chair of the Centre for Public Integrity Anthony Whealy on what we know about those who donate to political campaigns and whether the new laws could lock out independents

On a cloudy day in Melbourne's West, campaign workers in clashing t-shirts formed lines outside of schools and community centres. Residents, who often suffer from congested roads, this time navigated foot traffic on their way to the voting booth. February 8th, 2025 was the day of the Werribee by-election. It came after long-serving Labor MP, Tim Pallas announced his retirement - kicking off Labor's first real pressure test of the year. Stephen Donnelly sits down with seasoned pollster and campaign researcher, John Armitage, for a spirited discussion about why the Werribee by-election matters, and what Labor can learn from this moment as they rise to meet the challenges of 2025.CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction04:33 Werribee By-Election Overview16:23 The Liberal Strategy23:56 Lessons for Labor36:31 The Western Front47:21 Prahan52:36 Wrap UpThe presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au Support the showNew episodes out every Friday.If you like the show leave a comment below or leave us a review on Podchaser: https://bit.ly/36uFbp8Support the show on Patreon. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Dr. Einat Wilf, a former member of Israel's Labor Party and co-author of The War of Return, joins Adaam James Levin-Areddy once again to discuss President Donald Trump's supposed plan to encourage Palestinians to voluntarily self-deport from the Gaza Strip—and what it means for the future of the conflict. The Agenda: —Consequences for aggressors —Where does the money go? —No one knows Gaza's future —What is Gaza? —The drip, drip, drip of hostages Show Notes: —Friday's Dispatch Podcast Roundtable mentioning the Trump-Netanyahu meeting —Dr. Wilf on The Remnant —Dr. Wilf and Adaam discuss the history of UNRWA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Deputy Premier joined Tom Elliott after a busy weekend for the Labor Party in Werribee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal opposition leader Peter Dutton says the state government's Suburban Rail Loop has turned into a "cruel hoax".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Kennett was … ripping the heart out of country areas.”25 years ago in Victoria, Jeff Kennett's Liberal Party was up for re-election.  Holding a large majority of seats, they were expected to win the election and entrench another generation of conservative rule in Victoria.But, in the background, the Steve Bracks-led Labor Party was building momentum in unlikely places. What resulted was a political upheaval that surprised everyone - even, until the final stretch, Steve Bracks.In this week's episode, Stephen Donnelly is joined by the 44th Premier and the man himself, Steve Bracks. He tells us how they did it, and why assuming leadership of the party was one of toughest choices of his career. CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction01:46 The Back Story12:51 Replacing John Brumby19:48 Steve's Strategy23:39 Going Head to Head with Kennett26:49 Reaching Out to the Regions31:40 The Prognosis36:33 Election Night45:06 Courting the Independents53:53 Declaring Victory57:24 Successive Wins59:22 Mic Drop!The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au Support the showNew episodes out every Friday.If you like the show leave a comment below or leave us a review on Podchaser: https://bit.ly/36uFbp8Support the show on Patreon. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and Instagram.

The federal government is promising $3bn to improve the national broadband network – but is this enough to fix Australia's internet? Reged Ahmad talks to reporter Josh Taylor about why the NBN remains expensive and slow compared with many other countries' internet and what can be done to make it better

When Fatima Payman was first elected to Australia's senate - she didn't imagine she'd go to war with the Prime Minister two years later.Back in May, the country's first ever hijabi lawmaker broke ranks with the governing Labor Party and accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.Despite attempts by her party to rein her in, she refused to stay quiet about what she saw happening in Gaza, and became increasingly vocal about her party's silence on the issue, and Australia's continued trade deals with Israel.​​By June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suspended her from the caucus, then from the party, and by July she'd been exiled permanently.Today, she continues to advocate for Palestinian rights as an independent senator, and her fiery critiques of the Labor government are even bolder.This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we speak with Senator Fatima Payman about navigating her young career in Politics as an outsider determined to speak from her conscience.We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

There is still no date for the federal election but Anthony Albanese has switched to campaign mode, hitting electorates across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia all in one week. With the prime minister's approval rating sliding, a potential interest-rate cut on the horizon and Donald Trump reclaiming the keys to the White House, Nour Haydar talks to political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy about the events that could shape federal politics this year

A version of this essay was published by deccanherald.com at https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/h-1b-rape-gangs-and-fact-checks-when-narratives-boomerang-3351471For students of media, the last week of December and the first week of January have been a treat: a rare occasion to watch narrative wars in real time.The first manufactured narrative was the all-out attack on H1-B Indians. An impartial Martian, on observing this, would have concluded that if only the million Indians (mostly engineers) were sent back pronto to India, all of a sudden world peace would break out, or whatever heralds the Millennium for those who believe in all that.Au contraire, it was a mountain being made out of a molehill, an astroturfed story that didn't have legs. It is true that there is resentment in the US about illegal aliens, as the 10 million or so that Biden allowed in are going to be a burden on the country both socially and economically. Illegal immigrants are committing horrific crimes, for example setting a woman on fire in the New York subway.The subway story got visibility for a day or two (according to Google Trends), but then all of a sudden the narrative switched to H1-B Indians taking jobs away from natives. With a heady cocktail of xenophobia, racism and religious bigotry, the story turned into a tirade against Hindus in particular, and how primitive India is, according to extreme right-wing MAGA Trumpies.‘Manufacturing consent' usually has somebody instigating it, and normally it is the US left wing: remember the ‘critical caste theory' circus and accusations of casteism against two engineering managers at Cisco in California, that fell apart in court? Tablet magazine had a long read titled Rapid Onset Political Enlightenment on the ‘permission structure' created by Democrats like Obama to manipulate public opinion: a proverbial Deep State operationBut this time the US right wing was also in the fray. So you have to look further for possible puppeteers. The usual suspects would be China and Pakistan, as those most keen to put India down. But it may be Britain, based on anecdotal evidence: the Economist magazine's choice of Bangladesh as the “country of the year” while Hindus are being genocided there; and the Financial Times' decidedly sour take on D Gukesh's staggering chess world championship win.Brits continue to be severely prejudiced against India; they left a divided subcontinent with lots of fault lines; and they cannot come to terms with their fall and India's simultaneous rise. Whitehall also has disproportionate influence on the Anglosphere.But the H1-B controversy boomeranged on them, as it embroiled Elon Musk, who had been on such a visa, as he stoutly defended the idea that the US needed to attract talented immigrants.It is a bad idea to fight Elon Musk, because he has Trump's ear, and more importantly, he has the megaphone of X (earlier Twitter). He demonstrated that by bringing up what the entire British establishment had swept under the carpet: the long-running industrial-scale ‘grooming' and rape of young white girls by Pakistani gangs. The cases in towns like Rotherham and Rochdale and many others got some publicity earlier, but that has long receded in the public memory.But Musk turned the tables by highlighting the appalling allegation that as many as 250,000 underage (some as young as 11), mostly working-class white girls, often residents of foster homes (where they were because of problems with their families), were systematically targeted mostly by Pakistani-origin Britons. The girls were gaslighted, raped, gang-raped, tortured, forced into prostitution, trafficked, mutilated, and, in some cases, killed. It is horrendous sexual exploitation.Even more appallingly it appears that UK authorities (including police and politicians) and the media deliberately suppressed all this in the interests of “preserving communal harmony”, a euphemism for political correctness and fear of violence. And instead of calling the perpetrators “Pakistani Muslims”, the term used was “Asian”, which is misleading. It wasn't Chinese, Japanese, or Indians doing it, it was almost 100% Pakistani Muslims.It is even alleged that Keir Starmer of the Labor Party, the UK Prime Minister, may be implicated because he was Director of Public Prosecution (2008-2013). This is a major crisis. The Anglosphere was falling apart already with Trump's obvious contempt for Trudeau, which may have been partly why the latter quitOn top of this, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was dispensing with ‘fact-checkers' and going with community notes, a la X. This is an implicit admission that much of the narrative on Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram etc. has been fake.2025 is off to a good start. Manufactured narratives are in headlong retreat.Here's the AI-generated podcast about this essay, by NotebookLM by Google: 770 words, 8 Jan 2025 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Bongino Report: Early Edition, Evita covers California leadership's catastrophic failure to prevent raging fires, Biden's $500 million more for Ukraine, and the Labor Party voting no on a child rape gang inquiry. Check out our amazing Sponsor -Coat Defense : Go to CoatDefense.com and use code EVITA  LA Already Shipped Firefighting Equipment To Ukraine, And Now Biden Is Planning Another Handout As California Burns Navy Veteran Suing CNN For Defamation Breaks Down At Trial: ‘I've Just Been Completely Destroyed' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Dinesh reveals Great Britain’s dark secret, and it doesn’t just implication Keir Starmer and the Labor Party, but virtually all the main institutions of English society. Robert Malone, M.D., inventor of mRNA and an internationally renowned scientist, joins Dinesh to talk about the aftermath of the Covid scandal and what we should make of the so-called bird flu epidemic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his 2025 New Year address, President Xi Jinping expressed his expectation for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to work together toward a shared and prosperous future. In recent years, cross-Strait relations have grown increasingly complex. To better understand the trajectory of the evolving dynamics, host Liu Xin spoke with Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of Taiwan's Labor Party, the island's prominent left-wing party. What mark has history left on him? And how does he perceive the current state of cross-Strait relations?

It's Wednesday, December 4th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark 1,500 people loot harvest of Christians in India Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports eight villages in India's central state of Chhattisgarh  banned Christians last month. The village resolutions told Christians to either leave or renounce their faith in Christ. Otherwise, the believers would have their property and fields looted. The resolutions affect about 100 Christians. Soon after, a mob of 1,500 people, many of them Hindus, looted the harvest of the Christians who received little assistance from local police. Forty villagers had to leave their homes following the looting. In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus said, “There is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.” South Korean president declares Martial Law (audio of South Korean protestors) South Korea  erupted in chaos on Tuesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a martial law declaration. Yoon claimed he was trying to eliminate “anti-state” forces at work among his political opponents in the country. He accuses them of sympathizing with communist North Korea.  It's the first martial law declaration since 1980. The military attempted to enter the Parliament building, and hundreds of people gathered to protest the move. South Korea's parliament quickly voted that the martial law declaration was invalid. Yesterday morning, President Yoon rescinded the declaration after the tense standoff, reports Reuters. 23 Conservative Party members voted for British euthanasia bill After the British Parliament voted for the euthanasia bill in a 330-275 vote, let the record show that 23 Conservative Party members joined 234 Labor Party members who voted for the bill. Conservative Party leader, and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,  a Hindu, voted in favor of the bill. However, previous Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and Liz Truss had publicly stated opposition to the bill. Pro-death euthanasia laws have been incorporated into the ex-Christian nations of Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Australia; as well as Columbia and Ecuador. Trump picks reformer Kash Patel to lead FBI In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump announced last Saturday that Kash Patel is his pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Patel served during Trump's first administration as Chief of Staff for the Department of Defense and wrote the book entitled Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.  In his endorsement of Patel's book, Trump wrote, “We will use this blueprint to help us take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government!” Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas commented on the pick. CRUZ: “He has a serious, professional background. He was a prosecutor. He was a public defender. He was a senior intelligence staffer on Capitol Hill. He was a senior intelligence staffer in the White House. He was the Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense. He was the deputy director of National Intelligence.  "And I got to say, all of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, all of the people pulling their hair out are exactly the people who are dismayed about having a real reformer come into the FBI and clean out the corrupted partisans who sadly have burrowed into senior career positions at the FBI.  "The FBI and the Department of Justice are two institutions incredibly important to the rule of law in the United States. I revere both. And one of the most tragic consequences of four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is both the DOJ and the FBI have been politicized and weaponized. And I think Kash Patel is a very strong nominee to take on the partisan corruption in the FBI."   Guttmacher: Abortions up 10% between 2020 and 2023 The U.S. Center for Disease Control has issued a report  indicating that the number of abortions in the U.S. had decreased by 2% between 2021 and 2022, and a 1% decrease between 2020 and 2022.  However, earlier this year, another report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute concluded the number of abortions in 2023 of 1,027,000 was a 10% increase between 2020 and 2023.  Medication abortions, which include those issued by "virtual clinics" through the mail, were up 31% in just three years. Today, 63% of abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, and 37% are surgical abortions.  Office mortgage delinquency hit 10.4% The delinquency rate of office mortgages has spiked to 10.4%, just about where the index was in 2010, during that last great recession. Vacancy rates are higher than ever, causing defaults on these commercial loans. Visual Capitalist tracks the survival rate of U.S. businesses over the last 10 years. 35% are still functioning, with farming businesses touting the highest survival rate of 51%. Mining and technology companies were the lowest at 25% and 29% respectively. Bible sales grew 22% And finally, the sale of printed Bibles is up this year. U.S print book sales increased only 1% from January through October this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, printed Bible sales grew by 22% over the same period! In 2023, 14.2 million Bibles were sold in the U.S. During the first 10 months of this year alone, 13.7 million were sold. It's not clear what all is behind the increase in Bible sales. One theory was offered by Amy Simpson with Tyndale House Publishers who noted a growing interest in the Bible among Gen Z and college students. She said, “You have a generation that wants to find things that feel more solid.” Psalm 119:160 says, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, December 4th, in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

What is motivating Netanyahu's coalition government to undermine Israel's democratic checks and balances, even as a ceasefire with Hamas becomes a serious possibility?   In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine how the Jewish State's early decades under Labor Party rule influenced the current government's actions, and explore how Israel can heal from deepening partisan rifts.   JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven's Sake. Click here to learn more.

Guardian Australia's chief political correspondent, Paul Karp, and Essential Media's executive director, Peter Lewis, discuss the public's disappointment with Labor's handling of the housing crisis and what that means for the party in the lead-up to a federal election