Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

It’s a truism of peace talks that we’re not negotiating with our friends but rather with our enemies. And when our enemies have been designated as terrorists and murderers, it’s not an easy task. How have violent conflicts ended in the past and are there lessons we can learn from previous peace negotiations? Guests Youssef Mahmoud, Senior Advisor at the International Peace Institute. Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and head of peace operations in Burundi, the Central African Republic and Chad. Randall Lesaffer, Professor of Legal History at KU University in Leuven, Belgium and author of Peace Treaties and International Law in European History: From the Late Middle Ages to World War One. Philipp Kastner, Senior Lecturer in International law at the University of Western Australia and author of Legal Normativity in the Resolution of Internal Armed Conflict. Luxshi Vimalarajah, senior mediator advisor at the Berghof Foundation. Previously involved in peace negotiations in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Turkey, Yemen, North Macedonia and Colombia.

The conflict in the Middle East has led to a sharp rise in energy prices – and highlighted the issue of Australia’s energy security. If you happen to be one of the lucky people - with solar panels on your roof, battery storage, and an electric car in your garage, you’re OK. But for the rest of us – petrol is going up and we may be facing a fuel shortage. So why haven’t we all transitioned too renewable? The story of Australia’s energy transition and why it’s had so many false starts and missteps.

Wrapping yourself in the national flag has become a common practice for far-right activists right across the Western world, particularly anti-immigration demonstrators. In the UK the co-opting of the Union Jack and the flag of St George has become so common it’s now described in derogatory terms as “flag-shagging”. In this episode, we explore the historic power of national flags as symbols of division, not just national unity. Guests: Dr Anne Platoff – Flag expert and former librarian, University of California, Santa Barbara Laura Scofield – Design Director, The Atlantic Dr Dominic Bryan – Professor of social anthropology, Queens’s University Belfast

Pete Hegseth U.S. Secretary for War (previously Defense) is one of the most powerful people on the planet. He says that two things have defined his life – his military service and his religious faith.

Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are due to meet in Beijing in just a few days, with China’s wish to subsume democratic Taiwan certain to be one of the topics on the summit agenda. President Xi has reportedly instructed his military to be at capacity for an invasion by 2027, so 2026 could be Taiwan’s last year of freedom. Some analysts fear US military action in Iran and Venezuela may embolden Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party justifies its claim to Taiwan based on what it calls its “One China Principle”. But what exactly does “One China” mean? Guests: Jessica Drun – Washington-based China and Taiwan analyst Dr Andrew Phillips – Professor of International Relations, University of Queensland Dr Mei-fen Kuo – lecturer in Contemporary Chinese Culture and History, Macquarie University Dr Sow Keat Tok – Asia Institute, University of Melbourne Dr Mark Harrison – Senior Lecturer, Chinese Studies, University of Tasmania

A wide-angle lens on the history of Innovation. An unprecedented surge in human ingenuity has created six great waves of innovation. What drove these breakthroughs? And where are we headed?

The government of Singapore this year sacked the leader of the Opposition — that's the way things happen in Singaporean politics. Though it looks like a model Westminster democracy, critics say it's actually a one-party state, dominated for more than 60 years by the People's Action Party. So, how is it that such a prosperous and modern nation has never managed to free itself from the long shadow of its authoritarian founder, Lee Kuan Yew. Guests: Dr Stephan Ortmann — Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Administration, Hong Kong Metropolitan University Dr Michael Barr — Associate Professor of International relations, Flinders University Dr Gillian Koh — Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore Joshua Kurlantzick — Senior Fellow for SE Asia and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

China is now the number one trading partner of South America. How realistic are U.S. plans to dominate the Western hemisphere?

High speed rail spread around the globe from the 1960s when the first bullet trains took off in Japan. Rear Vision looks at why previous attempts to introduce high speed rail in Australia have failed. Japan opened the world's first high-speed rail line - between Tokyo and Osaka - in time for the 1964 Olympics. Japan’s ‘Bullet Train’ was the first to run on a dedicated line – a high speed service for passengers only. Over the last 30 years, millions of dollars have been spent in Australia on studies and proposals but is a fast train service on the east coast any closer?

Since the 1970s central banks around the world have increasingly become “independent” of government. They’ve developed that way over time to ensure that monetary policy isn’t impacted by partisan political motives. But there are those who now seek to turn the clock back and to rein in that independence. The current US president is at the front of the pack. Guests: Cristina Bodea – Professor of political science, Michigan State University John Hawkins – Head of the Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra https://Dr Isaac Gross Isaac Gross - Senior lecturer in Economics, Monash University Links: David Marr's Late Night Live interview with biographer RICHARD VAGUE about the US banker Thomas Willing

Bangladesh is having its first free and fair election in over 18 years. Rear Vision looks back at the tumultuous history of this young nation.

Only a few decades ago China was known as the land of the bicycle – today it’s an automotive goliath. The PRC is now the world’s biggest car manufacturer and exporter. It also has the largest domestic car market. We explore how it achieved such a dramatic turnaround in only a few short decades. And what role European and American car makers inadvertently played in creating a super rival. Guests: Ilaria Mazzocco – Chinese business and economic expert, Center for Strategic and International Studies Dr Tessa Thorniley – freelance business journalist Zeyi Yang – technology journalist and senior writer, WIRED Mike Colias – Us Autos Editor, Reuters

Since the start of the 20th century, oil has been the lifeblood of global development. Today, the story behind oil — and the politics of supplying oil and denying oil.

From sanctions to tariffs to seizing oil fields — it feels like we've entered a new age of economic warfare. But experts say we're really just returning to the past. To the time before the rules-based international order was established at the end of the Second World War. Gunboat diplomacy it seems is once again de rigueur. Guests William Alan Reinsch — Senior advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies Saadia Zahidid — Economist and Managing Director of the World Economic Forum Markus Jaeger — Adjunct professor, International and Public Affairs, Columbia SIPA Abraham Newman — Professor of Government, Georgetown University. Author of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy (Holt/Penguin 2023) Hugo Slim — Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, University of Oxford

For just over three weeks huge street protests have swept across Iran and threatened to topple The Islamic Republic regime of Iran. The regime has responded with a brutal crackdown on dissent and imposing a total internet blackout. President Donald Trump has urges Iranians to keep protesting and has promised that 'help is on its way'. So how should we understand what’s happening in Iran and why does President Trump care so much. In this podcast extra we trace the story of Iran from the 1953 CIA coup that overthrow the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh and ushered in the rule of the Shah through to the events that lead to the 1979 Iranian Revolution that ousted the Shah and the return of the Ayatollah, and finally, Iran post 1979 and the role that Iranian women have played in resisting the rule of the Ayatollahs.

Is the liberal international rules-based order – that has underpinned international relations for the past 80 years - about to collapse. The United States once its greatest champion is withdrawing funding from hundreds of international organisations, and at the same time unending the global economy by imposing of tariffs across the board. What might this mean for global security, and the global economy and can we blame Donald Trump and his wrecking ball or are there deeper forces at play?

President Trump not only want to make America great, he also wants to make it bigger and incorporating Canada as the 51st state would certainly do that – except for the fact that Canada is a sovereign nation. The story of Canada and the United States and why President Trump wants to turn Canada into the 51st States of the Union.

President Trump wants to buy or take control of Greenland from Denmark. But Denmark has made very clear, they don’t have the right to sell Greenland because Greenland is owned by the people of Greenland. Donald Trump is not the first US president to try and buy Greenland. The story of Greenland and America’s many attempts to gain control of the largest island on the planet.

As the world becomes an increasingly dangerous and uncertain place – how prepared are we in Australia to face these new challenges? This week on Rear Vision the story of one nation that take security and preparedness very seriously – Finland

Australia's superannuation balance is the envy of the world. This year, the Albanese Labor government changed the superannuation rules — and reduced the 15% tax concession on balances over 3 million dollars Is this enough? And is our retirement system serving its purpose?