The CIS Event Experience
From the studios of CIS our events team brings you engaging discussions from our live events, featuring lectures, panel discussions, and conversations with leading experts. From economic policy and social issues to international relations and cultural debates, our events explore the ideas and challenges shaping our world. Tune in from anywhere to be part of the conversation. Find us wherever you listen to your podcasts and subscribe now to ensure you never miss an episode!
Episodes
In this episode, NSW Premier Chris Minns and New Zealand Housing Minister Chris Bishop hosted CIS Chief Economist Peter Tulip for a wide-ranging discussion on housing affordability and reform.
Together, the panel explored the challenges of housing policy, the role of politics and community attitudes, and what governments can do to make homes more accessible for the next generation. Premier Minns said Labor’s housing reforms had bee...
India maintains the world's largest democracy with 75 years of continuous constitutional rule - yet international democracy rankings place it alongside countries with military coups and authoritarian regimes. What's really going on?
Former CIS executive director Tom Switzer sits down with author Salvatore Babones as part of the launch of his new book "Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third World's First Democracy." Babones exp...
In this episode, British educator Dr Carl Hendrick and Australian policy advisor Dr Simon Breakspear join CIS's Glenn Fahey to unpack the rise of the ‘science of learning’ and its promise to transform Australian education.
Drawing from global research and classroom practice, the panel explores how cognitive science is reshaping how we think about effective teaching—challenging outdated methods and calling for a shift toward explici...
In this episode, nuclear industry leader and Canadian trailblazer Tracy Primeau re-joins the CIS to share a compelling insider’s view of Canada’s nuclear energy success—and what Australia could learn from it.
In conversation with CIS Director of Energy Research Aidan Morrison, Primeau reflects on her 35-year career. As a member of the Nipissing First Nation, she offers a rare dual perspective: a deep technical understanding of nucl...
In this episode, British historian and author Dr Simon Heffer returns to CIS for a provocative deep dive into the cultural and political currents reshaping the Western world.
In conversation with CIS Executive Director Tom Switzer, Heffer offers sharp insights into the global conservative backlash against identity politics, elite overreach, and the hollowing out of free speech across universities and public life.
Together, they tac...
In this episode, Dr Chris Keefer, emergency physician, founder of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, and host of the Decouple podcast, joins the Centre for Independent Studies for an insightful exploration of Canada’s nuclear success story.
In conversation with CIS Director of Energy Research Aidan Morrison, Keefer reflects on Canada’s bold energy choices—from phasing out coal and developing its own reactor design to reviving nuclear in...
In this episode, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins CIS executive director Tom Switzer to confront the most contentious narratives surrounding the Israel-Gaza war and the future of liberal democracy.
Drawing on his experience as a journalist and foreign policy analyst, Stephens reflects on the challenges of achieving lasting peace, the role of outside powers, and the difficult choices facing Israel and its neighbours.
The...
In this episode, historian and Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer joins CIS Executive Director Tom Switzer to discuss the rising conservative momentum across democracies like the US, Italy, Germany, and Australia.
After years of dominance by progressive ideas on identity politics, diversity, and historical revisionism, political winds appear to be shifting. Voters in countries like New Zealand and Australia are rejecting policies roo...
In this episode, CIS executive director Tom Switzer sits down with researchers Simon Cowan and Emilie Dye to explore the rising backlash against corporate social activism in Australia.
Drawing on findings from their new report Business Means Business, Cowan and Dye reveal what Australians really think about ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. Their exclusive polling shows that most consumers, employees, and eve...
As strategic competition intensifies in the Indo-Pacific, Australia is being forced to rethink long-held assumptions about its alliance with the United States.
In this panel hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), three experts—Doug Abdiel, Lt Col in the US Marine Corps; Sam Roggeveen, Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute; and Aidan Morrison, Director of Energy and Defence at CIS—debate w...
In this episode, mining entrepreneur and libertarian thinker Ron Manners AO shares his impatient vision for defending Western civilization and free market principles.
As founder of the Mannkal Foundation and author of "The Impatient Libertarian," Manners reflects on the five influential mentors who shaped his philosophical outlook, including econo...
As the global demand for clean and reliable energy grows, nuclear power is being reconsidered as a crucial part of the solution. What can Australia learn from Canada’s decades-long experience with nuclear energy?
In this discussion hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), Director of Energy Research Aidan Morrison is joined by Tracy Primeau, board member of Ontario Power Generation and former nuclear operator, to explore...
In this conversation, former Miss World Canada and human rights advocate Anastasia Lin delivers a stark warning about China's strategic ambitions and what they mean for Australia's future. Drawing from her thirteen years of experience growing up in communist China, where she was once tasked with indoctrinating fellow students, Lin offers an insider's perspective on the Chinese Communist Pa...
In this address, human rights activist and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali confronts the most pressing dilemmas facing liberal societies today. Drawing from her unique personal journey and deep understanding of Islamic ideology, Hirsi Ali offers a framework for distinguishing between what she terms "Medina Muslims" dedicated to establishing a caliphate, the majority of Muslims simply living their l...
In this episode, former Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock discusses the state of Australian politics from his perspective as the nation's second-longest serving parliamentarian.
After 43 years in federal politics, Ruddock examines the Liberal Party's decline in membership and growing factional divisions. He analyses the teal independent phenomenon, current immigration challenges, and Australia's energy future. Identifying as "a ...
In this conversation, CIS education program Director Glenn Fahey speaks with Russian-born British satirist and podcaster Konstantin Kisin about the cultural challenges facing Western democracies today.
The discussion explores challenging topics including the fracturing trust in democratic institutions, the sustainability of multiculturalism, the r...
In this episode, Russian-born British satirist and author Konstantin Kisin delivers a defence of Western civilisation and the cultural values that have made it uniquely successful. Drawing from his personal experience growing up in the Soviet Union, Kisin articulates why millions risk their lives to immigrate to Western nations like Australia, Britain and America.
In our 2025 Acton Lecture, Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Elton analyses antisemitism's persistence from medieval times to the present day. Drawing on his expertise as both rabbi and historian, Rabbi Elton explores the double standards applied to Jews throughout history and contemporary discourse.
He begins with a personal anecdote about the Tower of London, ...
In this episode, renowned educator and "Britain's strictest headmistress", Katharine Birbalsingh shares her philosophy on education that has propelled her school to the top performance rating in the country. She challenges the progressive teaching methods that dominate Western education and explains why true compassion means holding students accountable regardless of background.
In this discussion hosted by @CISAus & @Quillette , British author Louise Perry (of @maidenmothermatriarch) joins Quillette founder Claire Lehmann to challenge contemporary feminist orthodoxy and make a compelling case for conservative feminism.
Perry, author of "The Case Against the Sexual Revolution," argues that progressivism's fundamental flaw is its attempt to deny biological reality – particularly evident in transge...
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