John Anderson: Conversations

Dr. Andrew Stone speaks with John about the concerning economic trends following government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. He and John discuss the rise of Modern Monetary Theory, The Great Reset, climate politics, and Australia’s trade war with China. They explore the relationship between rising interest and inflation rates, house prices, and the large-scale consequences for our economic future.

John talks with Steve E. Koonin, a theoretical physicist and policymaker, about the future of energy and the politics of climate change. Steve reflects on how the politicisation of climate science has led to a lack of transparency regarding climate statistics.

John reads his op-ed published in The Australian, on soil carbon sequestration as a productive means to create a net-zero emissions agricultural sector.

John talks to world-renowned Stanford University Historian Niall Ferguson about global security, the perception of the West, the strength of alliances in the face of communist threats, and what China's rising power means for the geopolitical environment.

John talks to Erica Komisar, a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, parent coach and author, about the phenomenons plaguing parents and children in today's environments. Erica highlights the crucial periods for children's growth and the importance of intentional and nurturing motherhood from the moment a child enters the world.

In this Direct interview, John is joined by Victor Davis Hanson, Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Dr. Hanson addresses Biden’s role in the Afghanistan crisis, increased tensions between China and the US, and the future of the US-Australia relationship. They also unpack the authoritarianism of woke politics, the mounting resistance against critical race theory in the West, and discuss Victor’s upcoming book, The Dying Citizen (October 2021).

In this Direct interview, John is joined by Senator Jim Molan, AO, DSC, a former Major-General in the Australian Army and current Senator for New South Wales in the Australian Senate. They re-examine Australia's defence and national security threats in the wake of the United States' disastrous exit from Afghanistan, and consider the potential for war with China in the coming years; how it could come about, how it might be waged, Australia's defence preparedness and the readiness with which we can rely on the United States for support.

In this Direct interview, John is joined by Greg Sheridan, widely-respected foreign editor for The Australian and author of Christians: The urgent case for Jesus in our world. They discuss the Christian foundations of Western civilisation and the importance of religion to society, communities and individuals. They delve into the deep rationality that undergirds the Christian faith and question the capacity for atheist philosophies to truly nourish the human soul.

In this Direct interview, John is joined by Professor Carl Trueman, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. They discuss the modern self in an age of culture wars, including the societal shift of the perception of happiness and gratification, the technological revolution, and the sexual revolution and its ties to authoritarianism.

In this Direct interview, John is joined by American demographer, academic and author Joel Kotkin. John and Joel discuss some of the key theses of Joel’s widely-praised recent book, 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism'. Joel shines the spotlight on the Western progressive elite or, as he terms them, the 'new clerisy', who sideline and silence anyone who speak or, increasingly, think against the orthodoxy. He paints a worrying comparison between this status quo, the Chinese experience of authoritarianism and the medieval feudalism known to Europe for hundreds of years.

Human rights activist and author Yeonmi Park grew up in North Korea, a brutal, communist society devoted to the worship of Kim Jong-Il. At the age of 13, she and her family made a daring escape to China in search of a life free of tyranny. In her viral talks, viewed online nearly 350 million times, Park urges audiences to recognise—and resist—the oppression that exists in North Korea, and around the world. In this interview she recounts her story of escape from North Korea, only to be sold into slavery in China, before eventually finding freedom in South Korea and the US. Her personal story is a cautionary one for us in the West as she articulates her concern that there is a creeping authoritarianism spreading through our society and its institutions. She warns us that our freedoms are precious and precarious and that we need to fight to keep hold of them. Her powerful memoir is called, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom.

In this direct interview, John is joined by American actor and philanthropist Matthew McConaughey. They discuss Matthew’s new memoir, Greenlights, and delve into his storied life so far – his acting career, upbringing, and the profound lessons he has learnt first-hand about victimhood, courage and self-responsibility. They investigate broader topics; the importance of learning from, rather than erasing history, how to heal a divided America, civility and freedoms, and Matthew’s (potential) political future.

John talks to distinguished American journalist and author Matt Taibbi about the current, perilous state of the media. Taibbi details the politicisation and polarisation of mainstream news media over the past 20 years. He unpacks what he believes to be the contributing factors to this descent, yet shines hope on the future of journalism, arguing that trust can and must be restored between the media and the public. Only after this will journalism be able to recover its important role as a pillar of healthy democracies.