Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

International relations expert Charles Miller joins Mark Kenny on this Democracy Sausage to discuss the Ukrainian forces’ ability to strike back against Russia, Putin’s chaotic military mobilisation, and the nuclear threat. What does the effectiveness of Ukraine’s offensive operations to push back against Russian forces mean for the future of the conflict? What does the incompetence of the Russian...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , climate scientist and lead author of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment report Joëlle Gergis joins us to discuss climate change and why this may be the most significant moment in human history.  Will the 2020s be the decade when humanity rises to the challenge of climate change? On this episode of Democracy Saus...

On this Democracy Sausage , journalist David Speers, political scientist Marija Taflaga, and host Mark Kenny discuss the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the politics surrounding Australia’s slated stage three tax cuts. What will the death of Australia’s head of state mean for the future of both the republican debate and the Voice to Parliament? And is the government facing a choice between bad p...

This week on Democracy Sausage , parliamentarian Andrew Leigh laces up the boots to give 110 per cent alongside Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga, tackling the economy, wrestling with Australian sporting culture, and serving his ace new book, Fair Game .   Should business leaders be better at giving ‘full credit’ to the team? How can Australia be better at scouting up-and-coming economic talent?...

Defamation expert and President of the Australian Bar Association Matt Collins joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga on this episode of Democracy Sausage to discuss Lachlan Murdoch’s defamation suit against Crikey and what it might mean for the future of Australian media. Will Lachlan Murdoch’s defamation case against Private Media, a small Australian media company, do News Corp’s reputation more ha...

Kieran Gilbert, Chief News Anchor at Sky News Australia, joins The Australian National University’s Marija Taflaga and Mark Kenny to discuss former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments.  Why did Scott Morrison secretly appoint himself as minister in five portfolios during his tenure? What are the implications of the former prime minister’s actions for Australia’s de...

Shirley Leitch, Paul Pickering and Katrina Grant from The Australian National University join Mark Kenny to discuss how to make social media a safe and constructive space. How has social media changed the way we see the world? In the wake of the 2019 Christchurch massacre and the January 6 insurrection, how can policymakers ensure these platforms don’t continue to be hives of violence and discrimi...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Charles Miller and Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to review the past six months of the war in Ukraine and the road ahead for democracy. Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s national address with The Australian National University last week, and as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth month of warfare, how have Ukraine and its Western a...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Peter Martin joins Mark Kenny to unpack the latest economic update to the nation, and challenges ahead for the Australian and global economy. What do unemployment and inflation numbers actually tell us about the state of the economy? How do economists account for Australia’s most vulnerable people? And what does an independent review of the Reserve Bank of Au...

On this parliamentary sitting day after Australia’s “earthquake election”, Frank Bongiorno, Marija Taflaga and Mark Kenny discuss some of the challenges facing the new government and what kind of prime minister Anthony Albanese might be. How will the new Labor government manage negotiations with the Greens and the independent members of the crossbench? How will the Liberal-National opposition mana...

Host Mark Kenny discusses multiculturalism in the Australian political system with Sukhmani Khorana, Fan Yang, and Marija Taflaga on this episode of Democracy Sausage . What did we learn about the make-up of Australian society from the national census? How have migrant voters engaged with, and sometimes been instrumentalised by, political parties? And is it time for political actors to stop thinki...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Elizabeth Ames and Sophia Gaston join Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to unpack the Conservative Party’s leadership spill and the legacy of Boris Johnson.  What will Boris Johnson’s political legacy be and how might it shape the future of the United Kingdom? How will the current economic crisis influence the policies and priorities of Britain’s Conservative Pa...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Jennifer Hunt joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss recent events in the United States, including the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v Wade, loosening gun control, and the Capitol riot hearings against the backdrop of the health of the country’s democracy. Is former President Trump’s influence only now finding its full expression? Is the politicisa...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Nicholas Biddle and Intifar Chowdhury join Mark Kenny to discuss what was important to Australian voters at the recent federal election. How did voters’ priorities change throughout the election campaign? Did the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a rise in electoral empathy? And do younger Australians think about their vote differently to older age groups? Associate...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Ed Coper joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss how the teals’ disrupted the traditional media and political machine.    What are the secrets behind the teals’ communication success? How does digital and creative messaging disrupt the media machine? And what can the major parties learn from the way teals’ candidates ran their campaigns? Comm...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , independent Senator Rex Patrick joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss Australia’s “total policy failure” on submarines, solving issues in the gas market, and why this parliament must be more transparent than the last. How did Australia get to a point of policy failure in its Future Submarine program? Despite producing “more gas than you can poke a st...

On this episode, our panel of political scientists - Carolyn Hendriks, Shirley Leitch and Marija Taflaga - join Mark Kenny to discuss the unprecedented success of independent candidates in the federal election. How important was grassroots community engagement to the success of independent candidates in the recent federal election? What might the future hold for regional candidates who, despite no...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , acclaimed journalists Karen Middleton and Malcolm Farr join Mark Kenny to pick apart the Australian federal election result.  After a massive election loss, how will the Liberal Party recover - and will it do so by stepping to the left or the right? Is the ‘teal wave’ likely to be temporary, or will a more varied electoral map become a permanent feature...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , journalist Kieran Gilbert, author Judith Brett, and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny fire up the barbecue one last time before Australians head to the polls.  After months of anticipation, Australia’s political future is about to be decided. So how have Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese performed throughout the federal election campai...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Frank Bongiorno, Marija Taflaga and Mark Kenny fire up the barbecue for the sizzling penultimate episode before Australia's election day. Will the second prime ministerial debate of this election campaign go down as the worst ever? What might the record numbers of voters pre-polling mean for the major parties’ chances of winning government? And what might the...

In this live Democracy Sausage and Policy Forum Pod crossover episode, Nicholas Biddle joins Sharon Bessell, Arnagretta Hunter and Mark Kenny to talk about what issues matter to voters and why good policy so often gets lost in translation in Australia’s political system. How can political candidates and policymakers address long term, intergenerational issues like climate change? What do voters me...

With political and economic storm clouds brewing across the globe, Mark Kenny, Marija Taflaga, and University of New South Wales economist Richard Holden discuss what these challenges mean for Australia and the federal election campaign. How concerned should Australians be about the state of the global economy? What might these economic storm clouds mean for Australian politics? And how do the eco...

On the 200th episode of Democracy Sausage , recorded live at The Australian National University, youth advocate Yasmin Poole, journalist Ross Solly, and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to discuss the first week of the election campaign and what it means for Australia. How important are election campaigns, really? What surprises may emerge from women and young people voting? And...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , the Australian Electoral Commission’s Evan Ekin-Smyth joins us to talk about the incredible logistical effort that’s going into this federal election, before political scientist Charles Miller joins Mark Kenny to discuss the Ukraine crisis. How is the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) preparing for the country’s largest peacetime logistical exercise, the...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage , historian Chris Wallace and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to discuss the imminent federal election campaign. Did Prime Minister Scott Morrison miss an opportunity to call an election at the end of 2021? How important is approval of a prime minister or opposition leader for a party’s prospects at an election? And how will the internal turm...