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The National Security Podcast
ANU National Security College
300 episodes
Expert analysis, insights and opinion on the national security challenges facing Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
More about the show
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Episodes page 1 of 6
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AI has changed the game: can Australia keep up?
How has AI fundamentally changed Australia’s cyber security landscape, and are our traditional ways of managing cyber risk still fit-for-purpose? What does sovereignty mean for Australia when the most powerful AI…
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Can middle powers shape the balance of power? Geopolitical update part 2
How concerned should Australia be about the UK’s ability to deliver its side of AUKUS? What role can middle powers play as the international order becomes more fragmented? How should Australia and its partners…
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Iran, Ukraine and the limits of American power: geopolitical update part 1
How much strategic bandwidth does the United States have as it manages the Iran war, Ukraine and its wider global commitments? How are conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East changing the nature and cost of modern…
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Espionage, foreign interference and Australia’s national security laws
How do we balance effective national security laws with protecting individual rights and democratic freedoms? Where is the line between legitimate foreign influence and foreign interference? How well do Australia’s…
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The maritime gateway: ports and border security
How do ports sustain Australia’s economy, border security and defence preparedness? What are the biggest strategic challenges facing Australian ports? What role do ports play in combating organised crime and…
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How thirsty is AI? Competing for Australia's most strategic resource
Can Australia reframe water as a national security issue, rather than only an environmental or social policy concern? Can Australia realistically pursue both AI leadership and sustainable water management? What…
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Is Australia ready for the next pathogen threat?
How is health connected to national security? What role should the military play in health security – and where are the limits? How can Australia improve coordination across agencies before the next crisis arrives?…
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NZ Chief of Army on Plan ANZAC and the future of land power
What is the future trajectory for Plan ANZAC? How does a small nation like New Zealand (NZ) contribute to collective security in the Indo-Pacific? How does NZ’s strategic identity differ from Australia’s? What…
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AUKUS at five: facts and fears
Does the flare up in recent AUKUS debates represent the perspectives of the broader Australian public? Does Australia have a credible Plan B if part of AUKUS falters? Can Australia sustain the political will and…
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Security, power and the perspectives we miss
Can national security be fully understood through hard power alone? Is it time for Australia to have a broader national security strategy – one that goes beyond defence and brings in federal, state and community…
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Beyond oil: what the Hormuz crisis means for Australia
Why is the Strait of Hormuz crisis about more than crude oil, and what does it reveal about Australia’s hidden supply-chain vulnerabilities? What should investment in supply chain resilience look like for Australia?…
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“The future is expensive” – managing cost-of-living while investing in security
How should government balance national preparedness with cost-of-living pressures? Can Australia strengthen fuel security, defence capability and supply chain resilience without undermining productivity and living…
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2026 National Defence Strategy: evolution, not revolution
What are the real differences between the 2024 and 2026 National Defence Strategy – and why is this an evolution, not a revolution? How is Australia thinking about national resilience, and what does a…
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Truth, trust and the algorithm: can democracy keep up?
How are everyday Australians experiencing misinformation in their daily lives, and why does it feel increasingly overwhelming? How are platforms and algorithms shaping what we see? What impact is this having on trust…
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No worries? What Australians think about security, risk and resilience
Why do Australians place peaceful and safe communities above more traditional security priorities? Why are AI-enabled attacks, economic crises, supply chain shocks and disinformation rising above more conventional…
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What is driving the war in Iran – and what comes next?
Why did the United States and Israel choose to strike Iran now – and what are the strategic consequences of that decision? What lessons have been learnt from Iran’s asymmetric response? Can Iran’s protesters…
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Plotting a through line: February 2026 geopolitics update
Is there a strategic through line or an explanatory logic behind the Trump Administration’s actions in Venezuela, Greenland and Iran? What is the current state of the Transatlantic Alliance? What are the implications…
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Modernising Australia's border security
Why do Australia’s borders require a fundamental rethink? How can Australian governments build on the vision of Australia’s borders as a national strategic asset? How can new forms of border governance, such as the…
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Why organised crime is now a national security threat
Why has serious and organised crime – estimated to cost Australia $82.3 billion each year – become a national security issue? How is the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) responding to this? What are…
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Pat Conroy on defence reform, industry and the Pacific
How integrated is Australia’s approach to statecraft across defence, diplomacy, development and industry – and how visible is that integration to the public? What is the strategic logic behind Australia’s expanding…
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The future will thank us: an intergenerational approach to security
What is intergenerational security and how does it intersect with traditional concepts of national security? How do intergenerational dynamics and differing interactions with technology, social media and AI impact…
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Australia’s Chief of the Defence Force: reflections on half a century of service
How is the Australian Defence Force preparing for the challenges of a changing world? Does the appointment of a naval officer as the Chief of the Defence Force signal a shift in focus to the maritime domain? What…
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Seeing the unseen: why geospatial intelligence is important
What are the origins of the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), and how has the organisation developed within the National Intelligence Community? How does AGO contribute to the broader remit of…
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Democratic resilience in the digital age
What is democratic resilience and why is it a national security issue? Why is it important to preserve public trust and participation in the electoral process and what are some of the challenges to this? Apart from…
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Sustaining deterrence and building defence industrial resilience
Do the US and other Western allies still maintain an edge over China in defence industry and innovation? How are partnerships between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea reshaping the global balance of power? How do…
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What Finland can teach Australia about national security
How does Finland view strategic linkages between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions? What is the Finnish model of ‘Comprehensive Security’, and how does it work in practice? How does Finland communicate…
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Evolving lessons in counterterrorism from 9/11 to 2025
How has the terrorism threat landscape evolved since 9/11, and what makes today’s challenges more complex? How is the counterterrorism response evolving in response to today’s rapidly shifting global landscape? How…
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Indonesia’s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific and beyond
How has Indonesia’s foreign policy evolved under President Prabowo? Is Indonesia slowly moving from being ‘non-aligned’ to being ‘multi-aligned’? How have recent US foreign and domestic policies affected its…
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The evolution of strategic deterrence
How has strategic deterrence evolved from the Cold War to contemporary times? What is ‘strategic substitution,’ and how has China used it to craft its unique approach to deterrence? How does the ‘Golden Dome’…
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Partners with limits: inside the China–Russia relationship
How aligned are China and Russia's strategic interests? How is this relationship playing out in relation to competing spheres of influence in Central Asia? What are the key points of friction in the China-Russia…
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PM Albanese's China visit and the future of the Aus-China relationship
How has the Australia-China relationship changed since the Prime Minister’s last visit to China in 2023? From China's perspective, how does its relationship with Australia fit into its current worldview? And how has…
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How can we avoid conflict in our region?
What are some of the key mechanisms for avoiding conflict? Why is ASEAN a key player in preventive diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region? What challenges are faced in trying to prevent conflict in the region? And what…
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Unpacking the Australia-US relationship with “our man in Washington”
Is America retreating from global leadership? Is this just a temporary wave of tension in the bilateral relationship, or might it signal a broader, long-term shift? Are the current AUKUS debates in Australia cutting…
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A decade at the helm: in conversation with Rory Medcalf
How has Australia’s security landscape changed over the last decade? How was the Indo-Pacific concept born, and how has it evolved? What are the biggest threats facing Australia right now? In this episode, Rory…
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Nuclear flashpoint: Iran strikes, non-proliferation, and future threats
What impact will US and Israeli air strikes on Iran have on global non-proliferation efforts? How is Trump reshaping the US's leadership in nuclear non-proliferation? Could shifting international security dynamics…
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Disasters, distrust, and disinformation
What are some of the challenges societies face because of mis- and disinformation during disaster response? How can Australia adapt to deal with these challenges? What lessons can we learn from incidents around the…
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Iran, Israel and the future of Middle East security
Where do the other Middle East countries and the Gulf nations stand on the Iran-Israel conflict? How do they view the US’ changing foreign policy? What were the motivations behind the recent US and Israeli attacks on…
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The trans-Tasman alliance: strengthening Australia-NZ security ties
What is the ‘foreign policy reset’ undertaken by New Zealand’s National government, and how does it differ from the previous Labour government’s approach? How can New Zealand and Australia strengthen their alliance to…
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In conversation with Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff
Why is the Indo-Pacific of importance to Canada? Will it have a more consistent presence in the region in the future? How is Canada adapting its defence capabilities to meet the demands of a rapidly changing…
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AI, rights and rules: who’s accountable in an automated world?
Can differing global approaches to AI regulation and investment work together, or are we headed toward fragmented, siloed systems? How can AI governance in developing nations be supported as part of regional aid and…
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Australia decides 2025: national security priorities
How is the re-elected Labor Government expected to approach national security and foreign policy in its new term of office? Can Australia strike a sustainable balance between its alliance with the United States and…
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Transatlantic security crisis? NATO and Europe's strategic dilemma
Is Europe ready to defend itself without the United States? What roles do major countries like France, Germany, the UK, and partners like Australia play in this equation? How is the European defence industry…
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Insidious and underappreciated? The impact of gender-based violence on national security
What is the link between gender and extremism? What makes it a national security issue? Can domestic violence act as a ‘comorbidity’ for extremism and radicalisation? Should the Australian Government consider…
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Why Taiwan’s security matters to Australia and the world
What kind of external pressures and foreign interference is Taiwan facing? How does Taiwan balance its status as a global tech giant with its regional security vulnerabilities? In what ways are Australia’s interests…
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China's evolving relationship with the United States
How does China’s leadership view the relationship with the US, and how has that perspective evolved over the years? How might China seek to take advantage of recent actions by the Trump Administration that have…
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Is Australia prepared? Lessons from the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review
Is Australia doing enough to make intelligence useful for policymakers, parliamentarians, and cabinet ministers? How can Australia build an intelligence workforce with a diverse range of skills, interests and…
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Aid, development, and Australia’s national security: why it matters now more than ever
What impact will cuts to foreign aid have on security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific? Why is international development essential to Australia’s diplomacy and security outlook? Do the recent Trump tariffs and…
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How global shocks, supply chains, and innovation impact food security
What are the biggest contemporary threats to food security? How do global shocks affect supply chains? How will the Trump tariffs impact Australian and global food security? How can Australian research help bolster…
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China's naval activity off Australia: coercion or common practice?
Was China's live fire exercise off Australia's coast permissible under international law? What might have been the rationale behind this exercise? Does this fit into a bigger pattern of Chinese maritime coercion, or…
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Russia, the US, and the (uncertain) future of “the West”
What parallels can be drawn between Russia’s democratic decline and challenges facing the US and other Western democracies? What are the prospects for genuine peace after Putin's invasion of Ukraine? With the US’…
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