Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Dec 12 2024 327 ep. 48 mins 1.9k

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny Podcast artwork

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.
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Hungry for hope in the new year

Dec 12 2024 54 mins

Historian Frank Bongiorno and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Democracy Sausage to look back on 2024 and ahead to upcoming election year. After a turbulent year for democracy, does incumbency offer an advantage anymore? What does this say about the Albanese government’s chances next year? And what is Peter Dutton’s vision for Australia (and what are his

Punishing kids for adult failures

Dec 04 2024 40 mins

Teen journalist Leonardo Puglisi and youth justice expert Faith Gordon join Democracy Sausage to discuss social media bans. How can we manage the very real harms of social media – for young people and society? Is the youth social media ban the first step towards safer social media or purely performative? And can large tech and social media companies be regulated

Perception and judgement

Nov 26 2024 44 mins

Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga discuss the final sitting week of 2024, what drives political deal making and how politicians interpret public opinion. With the last sitting week upon us, how long until an election is on the horizon? What do the politics behind the Greens’ shift to back Labor’s housing policy say about the current political climate? And what do

Big money, big influence, big parties

Nov 19 2024 53 mins

Independent MPs Kate Chaney and Zali Steggall join Democracy Sausage to talk campaign finance reform and how it impacts your choice at the ballot box. Will Labor’s election finance reform bill strengthen democracy or give major parties an unfair head start? What do the details of the bill look like? And what does this tell us about major parties and their willingne

Throwing in the Trump wild card

Nov 12 2024 55 mins

Marija Taflaga and Elise Stephenson return to Democracy Sausage to discuss the ripple effects of a new Trump era. What influenced Trump’s decisive win in the US presidential election? Does this signal another global shift toward populist, strongman leaders? And what will this mean for the upcoming election in Australia? On this episode of Democracy Sausa

Big crisis, little change

Nov 04 2024 40 mins

Former climate change envoy Howard Bamsey joins Democracy Sausage to talk about the expectations and challenges of COP29 post the U.S. election. The climate emergency is at its tipping point as world leaders prepare to meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29). But with time for change melting away as quickly as the glaciers,

A perilous occupation with Peter Greste

Oct 29 2024 45 mins

Peter Greste joins Democracy Sausage to talk press freedom — what happens when it's taken away and how to protect it. In a world where journalists have their homes and workplaces raided under national security rounds, how can we preserve the public's right to know? With no explicit constitutional right to freedom of expression, how can Australia protect press freedom?&n

Yeah nah, what’s Australia?

Oct 22 2024 48 mins

Julianne Schultz joins Democracy Sausage to talk about understanding ourselves, wrestling with the past and creating a more inclusive future. What’s behind the silence and lack of post-Voice analysis? How can Australia confront its true history? And how can we modernise our democracy and constitutional processes? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Profess

The loss of a Voice

Oct 16 2024 46 mins

Valerie Cooms, Virginia Marshall and Shireen Morris join us to reflect on the Voice campaign. As we pass the one-year anniversary of the Voice campaign, we reflect on whether Australians ever truly understood what they were voting for? What derailed the Yes campaign? And how do we grapple with continued the flow-on effects of this failed referendum? On this epis

The real estate democracy

Oct 09 2024 45 mins

Brendan Coates and Peter Martin join Democracy Sausage to discuss fixing the housing crisis, negative gearing and capital gains tax. There has been plenty of media coverage about the Labor government asking Treasury to review negative gearing and capital gains tax rules. So how did we get here? What are the political sensitivities and missed opportunities in tackling these hou