After America

On this special episode, we’re joined by two commissioners from the new community-led, independent inquiry into the AUKUS security deal. This episode was recorded live on Thursday 4 June. Support the research powerful interests fear. Make a tax-deductible donation to the Australia Institute's End of Financial Year Appeal before 30 June. Guest: Karina Lester, Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman and...

Even as the Trump administration facilitates the demise of the international order the United States helped create, the Australian government’s embrace of Aukus ties the two countries ever closer. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss op-shop submarines, the Democrats’ review of the 2024 election, and Trump’s Iran loop. This episode was rec...

Despite the global upheaval caused by the Trump administration, the Australian government is trying to plough on with AUKUS as if Biden was still in charge. On this episode of After America , Guardian Australia journalist Ben Doherty joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the likelihood of the Australia ever receiving a nuclear-powered submarine, the “dangerously undemocratic” secrecy around...

Stuck in a quagmire of its own making in Iran, the Trump administration has little to show for its diplomatic efforts in Beijing. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the fallout from Donald Trump’s China visit, how Xi Jinping got the commentariat talking about long-dead Greeks, and why Trump’s approval rating is still hitting new depths. This e...

A majority of Australians now think Donald Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than either Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping. On the 100th episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss new Australia Institute polling on Australians’ views of Trump, the deadlock between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, and what it might take for the Australian governm...

160 years after the American Civil War, the Confederacy is ascendent. On this episode of After America , Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the Trump administration’s withdrawal of troops from Germany, why the United States is losing its war on Iran, and the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act. This episode was recorded on Monday 4 May. The latest Vantage Point essay,...

Violence is a feature of American democracy. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis reflects on yet another appalling yet unsurprising act of political violence in the United States, before Mother Jones journalist James West joins the show to discuss the midterm elections and whether real fractures are emerging in the MAGAverse. This episode was recorded on Thursday 23 April Australian...

After tearing up the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama, Trump is trying to bomb his way to a better outcome and it’s failing spectacularly. On this episode of After America , nuclear policy expert Jon B Wolfsthal and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Iran negotiations, the risks of this conflict metastasising, and how Trump is continuing to break down the guardrails around the...

The Trump administration’s failure to reach an agreement with Iran to end the war shouldn’t come as a surprise. On this episode of After America , Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the consequences of failure in US-Iran negotiations, the oxymoron of Trump administration “diplomacy”, the future of NATO, and what this all means for Australia. This episode was recorded on...

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has been disastrous. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the situation with the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, why airport security workers in the US aren’t getting paid, and why, despite plenty of evidence suggesting it’s a terrible deal, some Australian policymakers remai...

Far from winding down, tit-for-tat threats on civilian energy infrastructure suggest the US-Israel war on Iran may enter a new spiral of violence. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the war on Iran and how American sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, before Professor James Laurenceson joins the show to talk about the impact of the c...

The Trump administration’s war on Iran is the most “incompetent, incoherent” war the United States has fought in a century, according to one US Senator. On this episode of After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the Trump administration’s apparent failure to plan for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Pete Hegseth’s attacks on American media, and...

The Australian government has been trying to placate Trump in order to secure the AUKUS submarine deal – and now we are seeing the results. On this episode of Follow the Money and After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss the illegal US-Israel war in Iran, the implications of the conflict for the Middle East, and why Australian personnel were on board an American nuclear-powe...

In the MAGAverse, it’s white men who are born to rule – at home and abroad. On this episode of After America , Elizabeth Pancotti from Washington DC-based think tank Groundwork Collaborative joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the State of the Union, Trump’s vile attack on Somali-Americans, and how tariffs are driving up prices in a deeply unequal American economy. This discussion w...

The ‘president of peace’ has started another war with Iran, with no apparent regard for the consequences. On this episode of After America , Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the assassination of its leader, Trump and Netanyahu’s cynical messages for the Iranian people, what this war means for nuclear proliferation, and the Australian gover...

The ‘president of peace’ is at it again: threatening Iran again and boasting that his ‘board of peace’ will look over the United Nations. On this episode of After America , Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the potential consequences if the United States again strikes Iran, the first meeting of Trump’s grotesque ‘board of peace’, and the striking...

By removing guardrails around nuclear weapons, the Trump administration is making the world a far more dangerous place. On this episode of After America , Jon B Wolfsthal, former Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security Affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the expiry of the New START nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia, AUKUS and Australia’...

As American democracy teeters, the Australian government is trying to pretend everything is just fine. On this episode of After America , Ben Doherty, Guardian Australia senior reporter covering international affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the mass layoffs at the Washington Post , the lack of transparency around the AUKUS submarine deal, and why the Australian government still has its h...

With each passing day, the Make America Great Again movement is becoming more battle-hardened and less likely to disappear once Trump leaves office (whenever that may be). On this episode of After America , author and former speechwriter Don Watson joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the trajectory of the Trump administration, why Australia can’t avoid the rupture being brought about by the MAG...

Autocrats cannot rise to power by themselves. On this bonus episode, Dr Emma Shortis speaks to Justin Bergman, The Conversation ’s International Affairs Editor, about Stephen Miller, the key Trump ally who’s been described as the most powerful unelected bureaucrat in the United States – possibly the world. This episode was made by The Conversation for their six-part series on the...

The Trump administration may have killed what remained of the post-war international order, but last week Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered its eulogy. On this episode of After America , Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis discuss the global “rupture” identified by Prime Minister Carney, President Trump’s petulant response, why Trump’s apparent climbdown over Green...

American alliances aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. On this episode of After America , Matt Duss joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the Trump administration’s new tariffs against Europe, what if anything it might do in Iran, and its threats to prosecute political opponents. This discussion was recorded on Friday 16 January (AEDT) 2026. A time for Bravery: what happens whe...

From Minnesota to Greenland, the Trump administration is bulldozing guardrails meant to protect human life and dignity. On this episode of After America , Professor Elizabeth N Saunders from Columbia University joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the “chaotic cruelty” of the Trump administration, its escalation of hostilities over Greenland and whether it will strike Iran. This discussion...

The Trump administration’s imperial march is gathering pace. On this episode of After America , Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the credibility of the Trump administration’s threats against Greenland and elsewhere, and the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

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