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 this all means for America’s allies, including Australia.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 22 January 2026.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press. Usually available for $34.95, use the code ‘POD5’ to get $5 off – offer available for a limited time only.

After America: Australia and the new world order is available from Australia Institute Press for just $19.95.

Guest: Allan Behm, Advisor, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Special Address by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, World Economic Forum on YouTube (January 2026)

Trump sows ‘chaotic cruelty’ while Canadian PM Carney reminds the world it doesn’t have to play along by Emma Shortis, The Conversation (January 2026)

Shorter America this week: Trust is rust; It’s the white supremacy, stupid; Five Eyes goes cross-eyed by Emma Shortis, The Point (January 2026)

Scrambled Europe: insecurity and sentimentality are no basis for strategy by Allan Behm, The Point (January 2026)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 available now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘POD5’ to get $5 off – offer available for a limited time only.

Guest: Matt Duss, Executive Vice President, Center for International Policy // @mattduss

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

‘Shorter America this week: everything is gender’ by Emma Shortis, The Point (January 2026)

‘How Marco Rubio Went from “Little Marco” to Trump’s Foreign-Policy Enabler’ by Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker (January 2026)

‘Marco Rubio is Trump’s reported secretary of state. How did we get here?’ by Kirby Wilson, Tampa Bay Times (November 2024)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 (AEDT) 2026.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘POD5’ to get $5 off.

Guest: Elizabeth N Sauders, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University // @profsaunders

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

‘What happens now in Venezuela – and the world?’ by Elizabeth N Saunders, Good Authority (January 2026)

‘Imperial President at Home, Emperor Abroad’ by Elizabeth Saunders, Foreign Affairs (June 2025)

‘Reluctance to look at US with "clear eyes" becoming increasingly untenable: US expert’ by Tegan George, The Point (January 2026)

After America: Australia and the new world order by Emma Shortis, Australia Institute Press (May 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 recorded on Friday 9 January 2026.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘POD5’ to get $5 off.

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Host: Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes:

‘What you need to know about Trump administration's abduction of Nicolás Maduro’ by Emma Shortis, The Point (January 2026)

‘Trump is destroying the rules of international behaviour. Australia can – and must – act now’ by Allan Behm, Guardian Australia (January 2026)

Polling – Australia-US Security, the Australia Institute (November 2025)

‘Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break’ by Natasha Betrand, CNN (November 2025)

‘‘The whole thing disgusts me’: Australians ditch US travel as new rules require social media to be declared’ by Daisy Dumas and Ben Doherty, Guardian Australia (December 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via their website, www.lifeline.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Friday 5 December 2025.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘POD5’ to get $5 off.

Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future by Professor George Williams is also available now.

Guest: Allan Behm, Advisor, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute

Host: Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes:

War Crimes: Where do Responsibility and Accountability Start and End? By Allan Behm, the Australia Institute (May 2025)

What legal experts say about second US strike on Venezuela boat by Lucy Gelder, BBC (December 2025)

Pentagon Report: Hegseth Risked Endangering Troops With Signal Messages, The Atlantic (December 2025)

Trump’s night of 160 posts on Truth Social fuels debate about US president’s stamina by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian (December 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 leadership, and the misogyny at the heart of key US institutions.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 19 November 2025.

1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. Call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, chat online or video call via their website.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available for pre-order now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘SAVE5’ to get $5 off.

Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future by Professor George Williams is also available now.

Guest: Ruth Mitchell, Chair, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War // @drruthmitchell

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Medicine price comparison between Australia and the United States by Matt Grudnoff, the Australia Institute (April 2025)

While the rest of the world rushes to hire US scientists that Trump has cut, Australia follows in his footsteps by Tegan George, The Point (November 2025)

Man collapses behind Donald Trump during White House announcement by Richard Wood, 9 News (November 2025)

As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ by Dhuruv T Patel and Cam N Srivastava, The Harvard Crimson (November 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Minister Whitlam, who recalls handing over a mystery letter to an American official just before the Dismissal.

The interview with Liz Cham was recorded on Thursday 30 October.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available for pre-order now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘SAVE5’ to get $5 off.

Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future by Professor George Williams is also available now.

Guest: Elizabeth Cham, fellow at the University of Technology Sydney and former executive assistant in the office of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Scripting and production support: Stephen Long

Sound design and mixing: Simon Branthwaite

Show notes:

Did the CIA overthrow the Whitlam government? by Charlie Lewis, Crikey (November 2025)

What Washington really thought of Whitlam before the dismissal by James Curran, Australia Financial Review (November 2025)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.