After America

After America

The United States we thought we knew is gone. And it isn’t coming back. Every week on After America, Dr Emma Shortis examines the second Trump presidency, its impact at home and abroad, and how Australia can help shape our rapidly changing world for the better. Presented by the Australia Institute.

Episodes

July 22, 2026 31 mins

No one knows what’ll happen at the November midterms or the next presidential election. Is the Australian government prepared for the worst-case scenario?

On this bonus episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis joins Glenn Connley to discuss the upcoming midterm elections in the United States, how the Trump administration has been chipping away at the guardrails of American democracy, and whether the Australian government is ...

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Former Washington Post journalist Anna Fifield reflects on her time at the paper, the state of American media, and New Zealand’s role in the world.

On this episode of After America, New Zealand-based journalist Anna Fifield joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the American media during Trump’s second term, views of the United States and China in New Zealand, and what the Australian government can learn from Kiwi diplomacy.

...

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Introducing The Australia Institute's new podcast series, What's the Point? with Richard Denniss.

Subscribe to the show on YouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

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On the first episode of What’s the Point?, Richard Denniss discusses the reasons behind One Nation grabbing the headlines, why it is highly unlikely Pauline Hanson will be Prime Minister after the next el...

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July 13, 2026 32 mins

Even with his luxury jet grounded, Trump and his administration have flown the United States into a strategic black hole.

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the demise of an Iran agreement that never really lived, the latest NATO summit, the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, and the evolution of the Australian government’s diplomacy in the Pacific Island region.

This episode was recor...

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On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, in a heat wave, delayed by storms, Donald Trump gave a very Donald Trump speech.

We expected that. But what can we expect next? On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the November midterm elections and what they might bring. After Emma’s trip to Brussels and Berlin, they also reflect the contrasts between European and Australian...

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Trump’s “peace” “deal” with Iran is already falling apart.

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm joins Angus Blackman to discuss the negotiations between the United States and Iran, where it all went wrong for British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and European views of Trump’s America.

This episode was recorded live on Friday 26 June.

Support the research powerful interests fear. Make a...

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With the men’s football world cup underway and after a UFC event on the White House lawn, the relationship between sport and politics seems especially close in the United States right now.

On this episode of After America, Dr Lindsay Owens joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss World Cup ticket pricing, the consolidation of corporate power in Trump’s America, the impact of the war on Iran on the US economy, and fighting back ...

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Donald Trump pledged to reach a better deal with Iran than the Obama administration negotiated in 2015. He hasn’t – and probably won’t.

On this episode of After America, foreign policy analyst Matt Duss and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the war on Iran, what the administration might be planning with regards to Cuba, the UFC fight on the White House lawn, and what a more progressive Australia-US alliance could look like.

...

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On this special episode, we’re joined by two commissioners from the new community-led, independent inquiry into the AUKUS security deal.

This episode was recorded live on Thursday 4 June.

Support the research powerful interests fear. Make a tax-deductible donation to the Australia Institute's End of Financial Year Appeal before 30 June.

Guest: Karina Lester, Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman and International Campaign to Abolish N...

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Even as the Trump administration facilitates the demise of the international order the United States helped create, the Australian government’s embrace of Aukus ties the two countries ever closer.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss op-shop submarines, the Democrats’ review of the 2024 election, and Trump’s Iran loop.

This episode was recorded on Monday 1 June.

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Despite the global upheaval caused by the Trump administration, the Australian government is trying to plough on with AUKUS as if Biden was still in charge.

On this episode of After America, Guardian Australia journalist Ben Doherty joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the likelihood of the Australia ever receiving a nuclear-powered submarine, the “dangerously undemocratic” secrecy around key elements of the AUKUS agreement...

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Stuck in a quagmire of its own making in Iran, the Trump administration has little to show for its diplomatic efforts in Beijing.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the fallout from Donald Trump’s China visit, how Xi Jinping got the commentariat talking about long-dead Greeks, and why Trump’s approval rating is still hitting new depths.

This episode was recorded on Monday 18 May...

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A majority of Australians now think Donald Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than either Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping.

On the 100th episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss new Australia Institute polling on Australians’ views of Trump, the deadlock between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, and what it might take for the Australian government to get out of the AUKUS submarin...

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160 years after the American Civil War, the Confederacy is ascendent.

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the Trump administration’s withdrawal of troops from Germany, why the United States is losing its war on Iran, and the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act.

This episode was recorded on Monday 4 May.

The latest Vantage Point essay, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The Battle for Pu...

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Violence is a feature of American democracy.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis reflects on yet another appalling yet unsurprising act of political violence in the United States, before Mother Jones journalist James West joins the show to discuss the midterm elections and whether real fractures are emerging in the MAGAverse.

This episode was recorded on Thursday 23 April Australian time.

The latest Vantage Point essa...

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After tearing up the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama, Trump is trying to bomb his way to a better outcome and it’s failing spectacularly.

On this episode of After America, nuclear policy expert Jon B Wolfsthal and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Iran negotiations, the risks of this conflict metastasising, and how Trump is continuing to break down the guardrails around the use of nuclear weapons.

This episode...

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The Trump administration’s failure to reach an agreement with Iran to end the war shouldn’t come as a surprise.

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the consequences of failure in US-Iran negotiations, the oxymoron of Trump administration “diplomacy”, the future of NATO, and what this all means for Australia.

This episode was recorded on Friday 10 April.

Guest: Allan Behm,...

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The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has been disastrous.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the situation with the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, why airport security workers in the US aren’t getting paid, and why, despite plenty of evidence suggesting it’s a terrible deal, some Australian policymakers remain committed to the bit with AUKUS.

T...

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Far from winding down, tit-for-tat threats on civilian energy infrastructure suggest the US-Israel war on Iran may enter a new spiral of violence.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the war on Iran and how American sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, before Professor James Laurenceson joins the show to talk about the impact of the conflict on China and the postponed T...

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The Trump administration’s war on Iran is the most “incompetent, incoherent” war the United States has fought in a century, according to one US Senator.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the Trump administration’s apparent failure to plan for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Pete Hegseth’s attacks on American media, and the Australian government’s re...

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