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Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny
The Australian National University
300 episodes
Mark Kenny takes a weekly look at politics and public affairs with expert analysis and discussion from researchers at The Australian National University and beyond.
More about the show
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Episodes page 1 of 6
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The corporate capture of our universities
Why are Australia's publicly funded universities some of the least accountable institutions in the country? What went wrong at the University of Wollongong, and what does it reveal about who really runs our…
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Midterm reckoning: Trump, Texas and a test for democracy
How has the attack on Helen Haines changed the conversation about political violence in Australia? Are the US midterms about to become a referendum on an unpopular president? Could Democrats take the Senate, with…
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The One Nation vote: a map of government neglect
Why are Australia's least resilient communities turning to One Nation? What happens when the major parties take their heartland seats for granted? Can Labor's "shallow" 2025 win hold together in 2028? Redbridge Group…
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Not here to fix Labor
Is Labor's managerial, middle-of-the-road style a sensible way to steer through rough seas, or does it leave room on the left for someone selling a bigger vision? If Pauline Hanson can do it to the Coalition, can…
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The Alchemy of Leadership
What did John Howard understand about survival and self-correction that his six successors never quite grasped? Why do so many of our prime ministers trace their drive back to fiercely ambitious mothers — and what does…
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Forty Years On
What are the five forces reshaping Australia's economy and society over the next four decades? What it will take to keep Australians' faith in government alive while managing them? What can younger Australians expect…
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New game, new rules
Is too much political capital being put into meaningless foreign policy platitudes rather than defining what modern Australian security looks like? If Australia's shared values with its allies are contradicted can we…
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Whose Side Are You On?
Is Australia's looming digital duty of care about censorship, as its critics claim, or about handing control back to the people whose attention is being sold to advertisers? With Meta's $18 billion US settlement still…
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Three Shocks
For the first time since federation Australia's population is made up of a majority of migrants and their children, changing the electoral maths for our politicians - have our leaders caught up to the times or are they…
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Hostile complexity
Why has David Farley's and Pauline Hanson's immigration number not matched up — and does it even matter to One Nation's supporters? What do focus groups really say when people explain why they're giving up on the major…
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Insiders and Outsiders
Twenty-five years ago, Insiders went to air for the first time – the morning after the Aston by-election, before smartphones, before social media, and long before anyone had to explain what a fax machine was. So how…
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You win some, you lose more
Why has the government fallen so far short of the Murphy Report's recommendations despite around 80 per cent of Australians wanting gambling ads banned? How did an under-resourced Northern Territory regulator end up…
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Job (Un)Ready
Is a policy that students, staff and vice-chancellors all agree has failed still standing because no one in government wants to spend the political capital to fix it? Can universities rebuild trust and student voice…
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Command, Control and Conformity
How did a Prime Minister sitting on one of Labor's largest-ever majorities turn his national conference into a masterclass in silence — and what does that say about who's allowed to argue inside the party? Is…
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The Cohesion Question
Why has social cohesion — a concept researchers still can't agree how to measure — become one of the most contested ideas in Australian politics? What separates the multiculturalism built by successive Australian…
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Antidote to the far right
Is the collapse in trust of Australia's institutions, the retreat of unionism from everyday working life, and the alliances forged in Victoria's Covid lockdowns and reactivated by the 2023 Voice referendum responsible…
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Angertainment
Is social media now a more powerful force reshaping Australian democracy than any politician, party, or policy? Why has Pauline Hanson spent thirty years in the political wilderness only to emerge as the country's most…
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Two Teals, One Ticket
Have Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender just become the party they always swore they weren't? Can a "free vote" constitution and no party room really survive contact with a Senate seat? Does the donation and spending…
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Broken Britain and the Burnham Moment
How did a Prime Minister who won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history find himself gone within two years — and what does his fate tell us about the limits of triangulation politics? Is Andy…
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Race for the base
How long will the honeymoon last for One Nation? Can Pauline Hanson create a robust political party to be competitive at the next election? How do populist leaders like Trump, Farage, and Hanson convince the working…
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Contest for the populist vote
Does the experience in the US, Germany, and Brazil reflect the Australian experience? How have institutional structures insulated centrist parties against new political threats? Can the rise of anger captured by the…
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China in the world
Can Australia manage the tensions between our strategic relationship with China and the alliance with the United States? Does membership of AUKUS and the Quad damage our China relationship? How significantly are…
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A Democracy Sausage for the Teacher
Have young voters lost faith in the major political parties and politics in general? Did the recent federal budget go far enough in addressing the generational wealth gap and what will it take for political parties to…
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Budget, Smudge-it: truth, details and the aspiration wars
Will the budget changes reconnect young and disaffected Australians to the benefits of the economy? Is Angus Taylor’s vision likely to arrest the decline in support to One Nation? Is the ALP open to creating a…
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Budget fight
Has the social deficits of broken promises put the government 'on the ropes'? Could Labor have 'pulled their punches' in this budget? Does the zeitgeist allow governments to adjust the status quo? Join Mark and Marija…
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By-election tea leaves
In the wake of a dominant political victory, what are the challenges for One Nation in navigating a path to opposition status in Australian politics? Does Angus Taylor have the political capital to survive the long…
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Democracy and the fiscal paradox
What responsibilities should the government have? Can hypocrisy be ignored if the government's narrative is perceived as authentic? Does the lack of access to education help to explain the erosion of democratic ideals?…
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Litmus test for Sir Keir’s leadership
After a landslide election victory, why has Labour plummeted in the polls? Can Sir Keir’s leadership survive and who are the likely contenders? Will the conservative party capitalise on Labour’s disfunction, or is…
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Crisis in orthodox politics
With One Nation polling plateauing, can Barnaby Joyce reinvigorate a party without policy and remain ahead of a Coalition veering to the right? What does the Liberal party stand for and will the unity ticket with the…
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Stormy waters
Have the US achieved their principle objectives in Iran? Will the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz improve the US negotiating position? Will Australian naval capability be useful if formally called upon? Jennifer…
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Finis Pacis Americanae
Have the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine demonstrated the limits of great power aggression? Can American prestige survive the chaotic and devastating conflict in Iran, and the fallout around the globe? Charlie Miller…
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Opportunity in chaos
What does the Middle East conflict mean for Australia and how instructive is the past in drawing parallels with the chaos of today? Will a global recession benefit One Nation in marginal, outer suburban electorates?…
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One Nation watershed
Will the Liberal and National parties do better in the Victorian election and the Farrer by-election? Can One Nation build itself into a national political force, beyond its Queensland heartland and newfound popularity…
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The scales of war
What are the legal implications of Australia's participation in the Gulf? Is International Law being undermined by the US? How are the powers of influence tipping the scales of justice? Leading international law…
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Insider view
What were the domestic pressures in Israel and the US for attacking the Iranian regime? Has the international rules-based order been permanently eroded or is the current conflict lawful? How does the Australian…
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Pub politics
Can Angus Taylor rebuild public confidence in the Liberal Party and will Migration play out well for them? What are the risks for Angus Taylor in the Farrer by-election? Will One Nation capitalise on the disarray in…
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Conservative cleavage
How long does Angus Taylor and the Liberal party have to redefine themselves in a changed electoral landscape? Can the major parties develop serious policy in the era of grievance politics? What is ‘cross-cutting…
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Building social cohesion
What has fuelled grievance politics and anti-system sentiment in Australian politics? How does policy reform in housing and education build social cohesion and why are One Nation successful in harnessing voter…
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Realignment of Australian Politics
How has the preferential voting system masked the decline of the major parties and why is the decline worse for the Liberals and Nationals? Can One Nation capitalise on the trend? How does ‘voter softness’ play out…
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Anatomy of a conservative crisis
What were the structural factors in the split of the coalition? How did the culture wars and deindustrialisation change the conservative base? Can the liberals regroup to become an effective opposition? Former federal…
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Conservative crisis
How did the politicisation of a national tragedy backfire for Sussan Ley? Can the coalition survive? Who will reign supreme in the fight for the right? With an early return to federal parliament, political scientist,…
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Politics remastered
National Affairs journalist, Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, an historic election victory, the vexed question of political authority, and declining trust in major parties. Will…
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Albo's conservative ambition
Historian and author Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, a landslide federal election victory, the rise of Teal and independent politicians and the split in the conservative Coalition.…
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Fighting the good fight?
Political journalist and author Sean Kelly joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his Quarterly Essay examining the Albanese government and asks what today's Labor actually stands for. Why has Labor become a graveyard of…
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Gas, gambling and governance
Independent ACT Senator David Pocock joins Democracy Sausage to challenge both major parties on climate policy, gambling reform and political transparency. Have gas companies captured both major parties on energy…
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Fifty years on from the Dismissal
In this special live recording from the 2025 Whitlam Symposium, Mark hosts a star-studded panel discussing the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal. Was Sir John Kerr's decision to dismiss Gough Whitlam constitutionally…
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The vista of the new
Political journalist and author Troy Bramston joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his new biography of Gough Whitlam and asks how a government could be so transformative yet so chaotic. How did Whitlam's government…
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Barnaby's gambit
Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to examine Barnaby Joyce's political future and asks whether One Nation is really a viable option for the former Nationals leader. Will Barnaby Joyce defect to Pauline Hanson's…
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The elephant on meth
Political scientist Feo Snagovsky joins Democracy Sausage to explore the uncanny valley between Canadian and Australian politics and ask whether Mark Carney can govern while sleeping next to an 'elephant on meth'. How…
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Stonking majorities, weak mandates
Political scientists Jill Sheppard and Pat Leslie join Democracy Sausage to ask whether the Albanese government is strategically waiting or simply drifting through its second term. Why did Labor walk back its modest…
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