Policy Forum Pod

There’s more to wellbeing than the absence of injury or illness, and prevention is often more effective than a cure. Could these lessons about healthcare also apply to public policy? On this week’s podcast, hosts Martyn Pearce and Sue Regan chat with a man who has spent his career at the highest levels of public policy and public health. In a wide-ranging interview, Sir Harry Burns, Scotland’s for...

Last week, the world watched as Pakistan headed to the polls to elect a new government. Victory has been claimed by cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, who has managed to overturn the decades-long two-party system by campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. On this Policy Forum Pod Extra , Moeen Cheema chats with Edwina Landale about Pakistani populism, military micro-management, and Khan’s...

In 2016 the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint for global development. With 17 Goals divided into 169 targets, this blueprint is a complex policy challenge – not least because it’s far from clear how different countries, cities and communities are to make it functional at a local level. Enter the Young Persons’ Plan for the Planet , a pilot program helping you...

Children are making the news in harrowing ways. As the international community commemorated World Refugee Day last month, images of kids in cages under Trump’s immigration policy went viral around the world. This week also marks five years of mandatory detention in Pacific islands for refugees who came to Australia by boat – including more than 100 children who remain on Nauru. In a world on the m...

How do we create more diversity in the workplace? On this episode of Policy Forum Pod , we discuss the ins and outs of equality and inclusion by taking a look at policy implementation in the public sector. It seems like diversity and inclusion are words being thrown around more and more often. Both the private and public sectors want to claim that they are doing everything they can to ensure that...

Policy Forum Pod turns 50 this week! So, in this special pod we take a look back at some of the presenters’ favourite moments, and some moments they would probably like to forget. From Brexit to basic income, and from outer space policy to the very personal space of housing policy, Policy Forum Pod has covered a lot of ground over the last couple of years. And on this week’s special 50th episode,...

A lawyer, an economist, and a philosopher sit down at a table to discuss ethics. This might sound like the start to a joke, but the topic of this week’s podcast is no laughing matter. When it comes to public trust in leaders to tell the truth and do the right thing, Australia tends toward the bottom of the rankings. On this episode, Nicky Lovegrove and Sharon Bessell hear from legal expert Associa...

On this week’s Policy Forum Pod , we take a look at the hopes and headwinds in Timor-Leste’s under new Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak – from personality politics and gender inequality, to an economy that’s on the brink of a 'fiscal cliff'. Despite being one of Australia’s closest neighbours, Timor-Leste doesn’t usually get too much attention from mainstream media. But you might see it in the news...

It’s the football and international relations podcast you’ve been waiting for. With the World Cup kicking off this weekend, we bring together three Russia experts to commentate on the world game, Putin and politics. Elizabeth Buchanan, Matthew Sussex, and Olga Krasnyak chat to Policy Forum ’s Maya Bhandari about reputation and legitimacy, energy markets and football sponsorships, soft power and As...

More than two-thirds of Australia's Federal Parliament are men. More than 96 per cent are aged 35 and older. You shouldn't need an economics or law degree to work out whose voices are not being heard. On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, four young women discuss how to give youth a greater say in public policy. We hear from Nip Wijewickrema, Ashleigh Streeter-Jones and Caitlin Figueiredo about the...

In 2016, when Finland launched its Universal Basic Income (UBI) program, it was applauded for being at the forefront of social welfare. But even though the Finnish experiment received strong early praise, Finland’s government has decided not to continue the program past the end of this year. Nevertheless, this experiment has given researchers valuable insights which will shape the global conversat...

Is it time to say farewell to the Asia-Pacific? In recent years the idea of an ‘Indo-Pacific’ has swept through foreign policy circles all throughout our region. Yet despite its growing popularity in Canberra, Washington, New Delhi and Tokyo, the new mental map is not without its critics. On this special Policy Forum Pod, we play you a public lecture by Rory Medcalf on Indo-Pacific strategy and wh...

If you paid attention to Australia’s recent budget, you may have heard that the government has put aside $41 million towards launching a new national space agency. The aim is to kick-start a multi-billion dollar industry, putting Australia firmly on board the global space revolution as new technology takes off in the decades ahead. Sound out of this world? Don’t miss this stellar latest podcast wi...

Anyone engaged in policymaking knows that it’s a complex business. But how often do policymakers take the time to think about the number of complex systems that have a bearing on their work? On the latest podcast, Helen Sullivan chats with Deborah Blackman, Claudia Pahl-Wostl, and Datu Buyung Agusdinata about how thinking about the science of systems can lead to better policymaking. Hosted on Acas...

At the end of 2017, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a significant restructuring of Australia’s intelligence and security agencies: the creation of a new super-department of Home Affairs. What will the change mean for Australia’s national security? Will the country see a much-needed centralisation of intelligence, or is the change trying to fix a system that’s not broken? On th...

Of the world’s population of more than 7.3 billion people, almost 900 million go to bed hungry. By 2050, there will be at least 2 billion extra mouths to feed. How can we step up our efforts to end world hunger, while also ensuring we’re ready for the food challenges of the 21st century? On this week’s podcast, we hear from Asit K Biswas, one of the world's leading experts on water and environment...

A recent survey has found that the overwhelming majority of Australians believe the dream of home ownership will be out of reach for future generations. But just how big a problem is housing affordability in Australia? Does the country really face a housing shortage, or are there other factors at play? On this week’s podcast, we ask experts Ben Phillips and Cukkoo Joseph all our burning questions...

The first industrial revolution saw the rise of the steam engine. The second saw electricity and mass production, while the third led us to computers, the Internet, and the arrival of the Digital Age. Many say we’re now entering the fourth industrial revolution, where robotics, big data, and artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the nature of work in the 21st century. What will this ch...

What comes to mind when you think of Iceland? Maybe you think of a tiny population, sub-zero temperatures, and dramatic Arctic landscapes. Maybe, if you cast your mind back a few years, you think of Icelandic banks collapsing amidst the Global Financial Crisis, or mass protests following the Panama Papers scandal. But what might not come to mind is the role Iceland is playing in some very big glob...

Fears of artificial intelligence taking over the world may still be the stuff of science fiction. However, advances in automation are already having an effect on people and causing unemployment. Could taxing robots be the key to helping workers replaced by robots? On this Policy Forum Pod, we chat to Professor Roberta Mann about the benefits and challenges of automation taxation. Hosted on Acast....

The world has just celebrated International Women's Day for 2018. This week we're taking a look at an important part of the movement for gender equality – the issue of violence against women. We're talking with Professor Sally Engle Merry about international efforts to measure violence against women, whether the Sustainable Development Goals are giving momentum to the issue or complicating it stil...

Terry Waite is the co-founder of Hostage UK, an organisation that provides support to those taken hostage and their families. But Waite is perhaps better known for his own, terrible, experience being taken hostage. In 1987, while working as a hostage negotiator for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Waite travelled to Lebanon to negotiate the release of hostages there. While in Beirut, he was captured...

On this Policy Forum Pod, we chat with Jeni Klugman, a lead author of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index, and discuss what insights this new global ranking can provide to policymakers in building a more just, inclusive and secure world for women. Dr Jeni Klugman is a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government’s Women in Public Policy program at Harvard University, and Managing Director at t...

Grand corruption costs the global economy countless billions every year, but is the world doing enough to tackle the issue? On the new Policy Forum Pod, we talk to the senior US judge leading the charge for an international anti-corruption court. Mark L Wolf is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and someone with a long track record of tackling corruption...

The words 'politics' and 'ethics' might be a bit jarring to read together in the same sentence. And yet, many politicians are in fact guided by a desire to make a positive impact in the world. So for those in the business of politics and policy, how can we best focus our efforts so we can be most effective in ‘doing good’? And what of the ethics of individuals in positions of immense political pow...