Join Stan Grant and Jack Jacobs as they explore the Wiradjuri philosophy of Yindyamarra and how it might guide us through the challenges facing nation-building ...
#17 Among the Ruins: On Writing a Novel in England
Join Stan and Jack as they speak (this time, in person!) about Stan’s journey to Oxford to write a new novel. They discuss their plans for Stan's stay, his initial thoughts on creative writing, what makes England a beautiful place to live and think, but also some of the challenges posed to England's identity by globalisation, insecurity, and a crumbling global order.
(Please excuse the sound quality and background sounds—we excitedly decided to record this outside on a sunny day at Jack’s home in Oxford, oblivious to the busy street outside).
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#16 In Search of Decency with Scott Stephens
Join Stan and Jack as they speak with Scott Stephens about decency, beauty, and what it means to encounter the other through experiment and the search for self-knowledge in the modern age.
Scott will be the speaker for the 2026 Yindyamarra Oration, “On the Beauty of Decency.”
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#15 If there is Hope, it must lie in Local Democracy with Prof. Mark Evans
Join Stan and Jack as they speak with Prof. Mark Evans about his work on the recent Democratic Audit of Australia. The importance of localised democracy stretches across their discussions of: nation-building in Afghanistan in the wake of American withdrawal; the joint crises of democracy in Europe and in America; the health, and political challenges of Australian democracy; the future and prospects for a solidarity-focused Left in building new democratic futures; and why the hope for democracy must ultimately lie in energising communities to undertake localised solutions.
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#14 Is Simplicity, Wisdom?
Join Jack and Stan as they discuss the ramifications of the Sam Kerr trial, William Faulkner and his book Requiem for a Nun, narratives of victimhood and power, and what it might take to search for a common language capable of speaking to each other in our complexities
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#13 Australia's Evolving Democracy with Prof. Patrick Dunleavy
Join Stan and Jack as they speak with Patrick Dunleavy, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at LSE, about his work, alongside Prof. Mark Evans, on their recent democratic audit of Australia. How do Australia's democratic safeguards compare with those of the United Kingdom and United States? What are we to make of the rise of populism, in the midst of the cultural wars? What do the new threats to democracy look like from the view of 1989? We explore all these questions and more.
Australia's democratic audit can be accessed here: https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/books/e/10.31389/lsepress.ada/
Join Stan Grant and Jack Jacobs as they explore the Wiradjuri philosophy of Yindyamarra and how it might guide us through the challenges facing nation-building and democracy in Australia and around the world.
Australia