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
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,...
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...
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...
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...
The Australian government has been trying to placate Trump in order to secure the AUKUS submarine deal – and now we are seeing the results.
On this episode of Follow the Money and After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss the illegal US-Israel war in Iran, the implications of the conflict for the Middle East, and why Australian personnel were on board an American nuclear-powered submarine when it sank an Irania...
In the MAGAverse, it’s white men who are born to rule – at home and abroad.
On this episode of After America, Elizabeth Pancotti from Washington DC-based think tank Groundwork Collaborative joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the State of the Union, Trump’s vile attack on Somali-Americans, and how tariffs are driving up prices in a deeply unequal American economy.
This discussion was recorded on Friday 27 February.
The ‘president of peace’ has started another war with Iran, with no apparent regard for the consequences.
On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the assassination of its leader, Trump and Netanyahu’s cynical messages for the Iranian people, what this war means for nuclear proliferation, and the Australian government’s “deeply disappo...
The ‘president of peace’ is at it again: threatening Iran again and boasting that his ‘board of peace’ will look over the United Nations.
On this episode of After America, Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the potential consequences if the United States again strikes Iran, the first meeting of Trump’s grotesque ‘board of peace’, and the striking similarities between a(nother) sha...
By removing guardrails around nuclear weapons, the Trump administration is making the world a far more dangerous place.
On this episode of After America, Jon B Wolfsthal, former Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security Affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the expiry of the New START nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia, AUKUS and Australia’s nuclear capabilities, and why &ldq...
As American democracy teeters, the Australian government is trying to pretend everything is just fine.
On this episode of After America, Ben Doherty, Guardian Australia senior reporter covering international affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the lack of transparency around the AUKUS submarine deal, and why the Australian government still has its head in the sand over Trump.
This disc...
With each passing day, the Make America Great Again movement is becoming more battle-hardened and less likely to disappear once Trump leaves office (whenever that may be).
On this episode of After America, author and former speechwriter Don Watson joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the trajectory of the Trump administration, why Australia can’t avoid the rupture being brought about by the MAGA movement, and where Democratic lea...
Autocrats cannot rise to power by themselves.
On this bonus episode, Dr Emma Shortis speaks to Justin Bergman, The Conversation’s International Affairs Editor, about Stephen Miller, the key Trump ally who’s been described as the most powerful unelected bureaucrat in the United States – possibly the world.
This episode was made by The Conversation for their six-part series on the rise of Trump, The Making of an Aut...
The Trump administration may have killed what remained of the post-war international order, but last week Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered its eulogy.
On this episode of After America, Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis discuss the global “rupture” identified by Prime Minister Carney, President Trump’s petulant response, why Trump’s apparent climbdown over Greenland may not save NATO, and what thi...
American alliances aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
On this episode of After America, Matt Duss joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the Trump administration’s new tariffs against Europe, what if anything it might do in Iran, and its threats to prosecute political opponents.
This discussion was recorded on Friday 16 January (AEDT) 2026.
A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is avail...
From Minnesota to Greenland, the Trump administration is bulldozing guardrails meant to protect human life and dignity.
On this episode of After America, Professor Elizabeth N Saunders from Columbia University joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the “chaotic cruelty” of the Trump administration, its escalation of hostilities over Greenland and whether it will strike Iran.
This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 13 January ...
The Trump administration’s imperial march is gathering pace.
On this episode of After America, Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the credibility of the Trump administration’s threats against Greenland and elsewhere, and the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
This discussion was ...
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Defense Secretary Hegseth doesn’t want the US military to fight with “stupid rules of engagement”.
On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Angus Blackman discuss the American ‘double-tap’ strike on an alleged drug boat, Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to share sensitive military information, and why Trump spent a night posting 160 times on Truth Social.
This discussion was recorded on Frida...
Trump’s statements about resuming American nuclear testing left administration officials scrambling.
On this episode of After America, Dr Ruth Mitchell, neurosurgeon and Nobel Prize winner with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Trump’s nuclear testing claims, American healthcare under RFK Jr.’s lea...
Rumours about America's role in the dismissal of Gough Whitlam have circulated for decades – but is there any truth to them?
On this special episode of After America, we explore the state of the Australia-United States relationship under the Whitlam government, the machinations at the time around the renewal of Pine Gap, and the previously untold account of Dr Liz Cham, former executive assistant in the office of Prime ...
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