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 ‘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 ...
By negotiating an end to the government shutdown without getting anything much in return, some Democrats have gone back to their old trick of resisting the President by giving him exactly what he needs.
On this episode of After America, Crikey’s Charlie Lewis joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss Congress’ failure to extend life-saving health insurance tax credits, Trump’s inability to make the Epstein files go away, a...
In New York City, California, New Jersey and Virginia, American voters sent Trump and Republicans a clear message.
On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis joins Angus Blackman to discuss the results of last week’s sweeping election victories. They discuss what it all means for the Democratic Party, how the MAGA-verse is responding, and the impact of the longest federal government shutdown in American history.
T...
Trump and Xi may have come to a “deal”, but their meeting was a wasted opportunity. Plus: what do Australians think about our relationship with the US?
On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis joins Angus Blackman to discuss some new Australia Institute polling, which shows that Australians are less than convinced that we “share values” with Trump’s America. Emma is then joined by Dr Fra...
You may not be able to take the ‘president of peace’ at his word, but you can trust Trump to have his own interests in mind.
On this episode of After America, Matt Duss joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss Trump’s deployment of troops in the domestic United States, the administration’s attacks on Venezuela, negotiations over Gaza and Ukraine, and what it really means when the President makes a promise.
This dis...
Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Donald Trump was relatively drama-free, but the devil is in the detail when it comes to the president’s ‘commitments’ on AUKUS and critical minerals.
On this crossover episode of Follow the Money and After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss why Australia is still unlikely to receive any Virginia-class submarines, why the “shared values” that suppose...
Donald Trump may have declared the war on Gaza over, but a welcome-but-shaky ceasefire and lasting peace are not the same thing.
On this episode of After America, Judge Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and 2025 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss accountability in international law and the prerequisites for genuine peace.
This discussion was recorded on Monday 13 October 2025.
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