Lowy Institute Conversations

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Welcome to Lowy Institute Conversations – a podcast in which Lowy Institute researchers and some of the world’s leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 10, 202622 min

Stabilisation with caveats: Former ambassador Graham Fletcher on the Australia–China relationship

China blocked trade, froze out ministers, and left lobsters rotting on the tarmac, and still couldn't force Australia to budge. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, former Australian ambassador to Beijing Graham Fletcher joins Research Director Mihai Sora to discuss what "stabilisation" really means for the Australia–China relationship — from rare earths and the Port of Darwin to Taiwan and the ever-present shadow cast from Washington. Fletcher argues the current "sweet spot" is harder won — and more fragile — than it looks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 5, 202628 min

Are we entering a new illiberal order?

The way authoritarian and illiberal states interact has changed. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have gone from defending themselves against perceived liberal pressure to actively building the institutions of an alternative order. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Nick Bisley, the author of a new Lowy Institute paper analysing this cooperation, speaks with the Institute's Sam Roggeveen about the boot camps teaching authoritarian states how to control information, the improbable rise of BRICS, and why this messy, opportunistic coalition might be harder to counter than a formal alliance ever was.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 29, 202628 min

Neighbours, not family: Rethinking Australia’s Pacific story

Australia calls itself the Pacific's partner of choice. But is the relationship built on mutual understanding, or is it driven by Canberra’s anxiety about China?  Professor Joanne Wallis, the author of a new book with Jack Corbett, Neighbours, joins the Lowy Institute’s Serena Sasingian to discuss Australia's uneasy colonial history in the region, the gap between its "Pacific family" rhetoric and its strategy of denial, and why aid hasn't bought the influence Canberra hoped for.  Wallis makes the case for a different frame altogether: not family, not chessboard, but neighbours.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 10, 202626 min

Australia's Pacific diplomatic blitz and China's missile test

It's been the busiest fortnight in Australia–Pacific diplomacy in recent memory. In the space of ten days, Australia signed the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu, the Vuvale Union and a surprise Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji, and saw the Pukpuk Treaty with Papua New Guinea come into effect — all while marking Solomon Islands Independence Day and flagging a comprehensive treaty with Honiara by year's end. On the very same day the Fiji deals were signed, China tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile over the Pacific, sparking claims of a deliberate signal to the region. Sam Roggeveen is joined by Dr Connor Graham to unpack the missile test, why Pacific nations have responded more cautiously than Australia and New Zealand, and what China really wants from the region.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 8, 202625 min

The India paradox: Trusted more, but not understood

As India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Australia for the third time, new Lowy Institute polling reveals a curious paradox: Australians now trust India more than the United States or China, yet many Australians can't name its leader. The Lowy Institute’s Dr Ram Sethi Fellow, Dhruva Jaishankar, joins India Chair Shruti Pandalai to analyse what's driving the relationship's rapid growth in defence, trade and education — and why understanding remains stubbornly shallow. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 30, 202628 min

Southeast Asia in the crossfire: Can ASEAN hold the line?

Southeast Asia has always sat at the intersection of great power competition, but the pressures bearing down on the region today are testing its institutions, alliances and sense of common purpose like never before. Since the United States went to war with Iran and blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, soaring fuel and fertiliser costs have pushed several Southeast Asian nations into a state of emergency. Border tensions, the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, and an increasingly fierce rivalry between Washington and Beijing are all straining the region's capacity to hold together. In this episode, Lowy Institute Southeast Asia Program Director Hunter Marston speaks with two of the region's leading analysts — Dr Lina Alexandra from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta and Dr Ja-Ian Chong from the National University of Singapore — about what Southeast Asia needs to do to maintain its relevance, its unity, and its peace. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 10, 202628 min

The nuclear arms race nobody is talking about

The New START Treaty has expired, China is quadrupling its nuclear arsenal, and the Trump administration has yet to prioritise arms control. Rose Gottemoeller, a former chief US negotiator of New START and ex-Deputy Secretary General of NATO, speaks with the Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen about the growing risks of a three-way nuclear stand-off, what the wars in Ukraine and Iran reveal about the future of warfare, and why she will always be a believer in arms control agreements. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 2, 202628 min

The West's systemic failure to learn from modern war

"On pretty much every measure, Putin is failing and he doesn't really have a lot of options moving forward."  Russia is losing ground, its defence industry has plateaued, and Ukraine is striking deeper into Russian territory than at any point in the war. So what does that mean for how the conflict ends — and what can Australia learn from the battlefields of Europe and the Middle East? Lowy Institute Senior Fellow for Military Studies Mick Ryan joins International Security Program Director Sam Roggeveen to assess the shifting momentum in the Ukraine war, the emergence of a new theory of offensive operations, and why Western militaries — Australia included — are failing to absorb the lessons of modern warfare. Mick's latest Lowy Institute analysis paper, Modern war and the systemic learning deficit in Western military institutions, is available free on our website. More on this topic: Ukraine is turning the tables, Financial Times, Christopher Miller and Max Seddon More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 28, 202623 min

Australia’s sports diplomacy playbook

Sport can be one of the great unifying forces in international affairs. But is Australia making the most of its opportunities off the field?  In this episode, Andrew Griffits speaks with Mark Falvo, Interim CEO of Netball Australia and one of Australia’s most experienced sporting administrators, about how Australia approaches major sporting events as tools of foreign policy.  They also cover the diplomatic missed opportunities of the past, the soft power potential of the upcoming 2027 Netball World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup, Australia's sporting engagement with Asia and the Pacific, the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, and the contested line between sports diplomacy and sports-washing. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 21, 202623 min

Myanmar at a crossroads: Five years after the coup

Myanmar has been in a state of violent upheaval since the military seized power in 2021, leading to a nationwide resistance and the collapse of vital state functions. Myanmar’s parliament recently convened for the first time in five years, with the former commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing appointed as president. Hunter Marston, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, and Sean Turnell, a Senior Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program and former economic adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, discuss the current state of the resistance in Myanmar, prospects for the country’s economy, and what the international community can do to encourage dialogue between all parties. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Lowy Institute Conversations

About the show

Listen to episodes

Stabilisation with caveats: Former ambassador Graham Fletcher on the Australia–China relationship

Are we entering a new illiberal order?

Neighbours, not family: Rethinking Australia’s Pacific story

Australia's Pacific diplomatic blitz and China's missile test

The India paradox: Trusted more, but not understood

Southeast Asia in the crossfire: Can ASEAN hold the line?

The nuclear arms race nobody is talking about

The West's systemic failure to learn from modern war

Australia’s sports diplomacy playbook

Myanmar at a crossroads: Five years after the coup

Is this your show?

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