The National Security Podcast

Why should policy practitioners and law makers focus their attention on space? What does space security look like from a gendered perspective? Is commercialisation disrupting the way that space is used for warfare? And why is space diplomacy important for Australia – regionally and internationally?  In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Dr Cassandra Steer joins Dr Danielle Irelan...

Despite what you’d infer from the news articles, nuclear-powered submarines form just one part of the AUKUS Agreement. There is a whole other portion of the pact focused on other technological capabilities. What is AUKUS pillar two? What kind of projects are underway under the auspices of this pillar? Are current export control regimes of AUKUS nations fit for purpose? And is expanding pillar two...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Sweden’s Ambassador to Australia His Excellency Mr Pontus Melander and Latvia’s Ambassador to Australia His Excellency Mr Marģers Krams join Dr Will Stoltz in conversation. They discuss how their countries approach building national resilience in response to a range of complex conventional and hybrid threats.  His Excellency Mr Pontus Melander...

How can fiction influence national security policy and its development? What is the role of fiction in future scenario planning? How does reading fiction assist with developing empathy, and why is this important to the national security community? In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Danielle Ireland-Piper, Chris Uhlmann and John Birmingham join Dayle Stanley in conversation to d...

In the final National Security Podcast episode of the year, some of the team from the ANU National Security College take stock of Australia’s security landscape in 2022. Dayle Stanley, Elise Stephenson, Rory Medcalf and Will Stoltz also discuss what they’ll be keeping an eye on in 2023, and the years to come. Dayle Stanley is the Director of Strategy & Engagement at the ANU National Security C...

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia will be the first non-nuclear state to acquire nuclear propulsion technology. What impact could this have on the nation’s nuclear security standards? And how could it affect Australia’s standing as a non-proliferation player? In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Scott Roecker and Jessica Bufford from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) join Profes...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, the United Kingdom's Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific, joins Professor Rory Medcalf in conversation. How will the United Kingdom’s Integrated Review refresh affect Britain’s Indo-Pacific policy? What does AUKUS mean for the United Kingdom? And what’s the future of Australia-UK cooperation? In this episode...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , eminent Russian foreign policy scholar Professor Akihiro Iwashita joins Professor Rory Medcalf in conversation. How does the history of conflict between Japan and Russia affect relations today? How has the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacted their relationship? And what strategic challenges does the China-Russia relationship present for Japan and...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Professor the Hon Gareth Evans, former Australian Foreign Minister and former Chancellor of The Australian National University, joins Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss repositioning Australia in a new geopolitical environment. In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Professor the Hon Gareth Evans – a longstanding and influential voice i...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , we bring you the final instalment of the Women in National Security mini-series, produced in collaboration with Accenture. To celebrate the final episode of the Women in National Security mini-series, the ANU National Security College hosted a networking event and live podcast recording with more than 250 women at the National Gallery of Australia...

In this episode, Lisa Curtis — Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security — joins Will Stoltz and David Andrews from the ANU National Security College to discuss the Biden Administration’s new National Security Strategy. A new national security strategy from Australia’s most important ally deserves close attention. What is a national security strategy in the American context? What are...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Australia’s Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil MP and the former head of Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre Ciaran Martin join Katherine Mansted in conversation. The recent data breaches at Optus and Medibank remind us how valuable, yet vulnerable, Australians’ personal data is. The hacks — which are two of the worst in the country’s h...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , outgoing Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Major General Paul Symon AO (Retd), joins Professor Rory Medcalf AM to reflect on his long career in the national security community. The head of the Australian intelligence agency tasked with collecting human intelligence from around the world is preparing to retire. In a ra...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , we bring you the ninth instalment of the Women in National Security mini-series, produced in collaboration with Accenture. In this episode of the National Security Podcast , hosts Gai Brodtmann, National Security College Futures Council member, and Meg Tapia, Principal Director for Defence and National Security at Accenture, are joined by Dr Danie...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi Dr C Raja Mohan joins Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss India’s strategic direction. In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Dr C Raja Mohan, a longstanding and highly-repsected analyst, joins Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss India’s strategic direction. They discuss the futur...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Peter Khalil MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, joins Rory Medcalf in conversation.  What are the big strategic issues that will shape Australia’s future? How should Australia respond to more frequent challenges from authoritarian regimes? And what role should politics play in Australian national secu...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , we bring you the eighth instalment of the Women in National Security mini-series, produced in collaboration with Accenture. In this episode of the National Security Podcast , hosts Gai Brodtmann, National Security College Futures Council member, and Meg Tapia, Principal Director for Defence and National Security at Accenture, are joined by Lindy C...

In this special episode of the National Security Podcast , we kick off a mini-series exploring the AUKUS technology-sharing arrangement, a year on from its announcement.  The AUKUS technology-sharing arrangement – between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia – is set to, among other things, fundamentally change the nature of Australian sea power and introduce nuclear-powered su...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Director of the CSIRO National Artificial Intelligence Centre Stela Solar joins Olivia Shen and Dr Will Stoltz from ANU National Security College to discuss ethical artificial intelligence and the strategic implications of rising global competition in artificial intelligence development.  Stela Solar – prominent Australian expert on artificia...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Nick Rasmussen, inaugural Executive Director of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, and Kristy Campion, Lecturer of Terrorism Studies at Charles Sturt University, join Will Stoltz to unpack they ways terrorism and violent extremism have evolved since the 9/11 attacks, and how Australia and the United States are combatting these threats...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , chair of the European Parliament’s China delegation Reinhard Bütikofer joins Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss how Europe, Germany, and Australia are approaching the China challenge. In a fascinating conversation, Reinhard Bütikofer — a leading voice on Europe's national security stance — reflects on the China challenge. He outlines how European a...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , we bring you the seventh instalment of the Women in National Security mini-series, produced in collaboration with Accenture. In this episode of the National Security Podcast , hosts Gai Brodtmann, National Security College Futures Council member, and Meg Tapia, Principal Director for Defence and National Security at Accenture, are joined by Sophia...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Dr Huong Le Thu and Gatra Priyandita join Dr Will Stoltz to discuss how Southeast Asia’s technology and development needs intersect with geopolitics and great power competition in the region.  How do nations in the region balance the conflict between immediate needs and those that are more long-term and strategic? Is regional leadership in So...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Professor Joanne Wallis and Adjunct Professor Ian Kemish AM join Nicola Rosenblum to discuss the future of Australian diplomacy in the Pacific. It’s been a busy year for diplomacy in the Pacific, with visits to multiple countries by China’s Foreign Minster Wang Yi and Australia’s newly-minted Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Attention for the region h...

In this episode of the National Security Podcast , Dr Mika Aaltola, Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, joins Rory Medcalf to shine a light on the distinctly Finnish way of safeguarding a small democracy’s national security in an unforgiving strategic environment. A major consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the historic decision by Finland and Sweden to join NATO...