Afternoon Light

David Day on Foundational Labor PM Andrew Fisher: "To the last man and the last shilling"

Why did a critic of the Boer War double down on Australia's commitment to its bloody successor?
On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with David Day to discuss one of our most important but forgotten nation builders, Andrew Fisher. Who rose from the coal mines of Scotland to become Australia's fifth prime minister. But whose legacy is inextricably linked to the Australian lives lost during World War I.
David Day is an Australian historian and author. Day has written widely on Australian history and the history of the Second World War. Among his many books are Menzies and Churchill at War and a two volume study of Anglo-Australian relations during the Second World War. His prize-winning history of Australia, Claiming a Continent, won the prestigious non-fiction prize in the 1998 South Australian Festival Awards for Literature. An earlier book, Smugglers and Sailors, was shortlisted by the Fellowship of Australian Writers for its Book of the Year Award. John Curtin: A Life was shortlisted for the 2000 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction. He is the author of Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia.
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John Roskam & Zachary Gorman on the 2025 election & where to now for Australian liberalism: "Ideological Incoherence"

How did Menzies's Liberal Party end up with the lowest primary vote in its 80-year history?
On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with John Roskam and Zachary Gorman to dissect the recent election, apply some historical context to the results, and ask 'where to now?' for Australian liberalism.
John Roskam is a columnist for The Australian Financial Review and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. Zachary Gorman is the Historian and Research Manager of the Robert Menzies Institute.
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Bob Crawshaw on the communications revolution that defeated Bank Nationalisation & won the 49 election: "Highly Orchestrated"

How did Robert Menzies sell his message as Opposition Leader?
On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Bob Crawshaw about how Chifley and Menzies's epic clash over bank nationalisation reshaped Australia's political communications landscape. As innovative marketing techniques first defeated the policy then helped to sweep the Liberals into power in 1949.
Bob Crawshaw began his career during the Vietnam era, serving in the Australian Army for over 30 years as a commander, trainer, long-range planner and diplomat. As the first Director of Army Public Affairs, he gained unique insights into how governments try to shape public opinion and how communities push back to influence those in power. After leaving the Army, Bob established a public relations agency, using his experience to help governments and community organisations effectively promote their ideas. His work received Australian and international recognition. In recent times, Bob has focused on uncovering the stories behind the advertising and public relations campaigns that shaped Australia. Inspired by the passion and larger-than-life personalities involved in the bank nationalisation episode, he authored Battle of the Banks, a compelling exploration of how bold communications can either defeat big plans or make them a reality.
 
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Mark Johnston on the story of Don Company: "Astonished by how brave a group of people could be"

How did one group of soldiers manage to endure practically the full breadth of Australia's experience in World War Two?
On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Mark Johnston to tell the story of Don Company. An Australian 'band of brothers' who fought with distinction in Tobruk, El Alamein and New Guinea.
Dr Mark Johnston has established himself as one of the foremost authorities on the Australian Army in World War II. He was described in the Australian War Memorial’s Wartime magazine as ‘the leading historian on the experience of Australian soldiers during the war’. He is Head of History at Scotch College, Melbourne, a former Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, and the author of twelve books, including An Australian Band of Brothers (NewSouth, 2018).

Paul Strangio on the Great Labor Split: "There you are Judas"

What are the long-term consequences when political parties become wracked by division?
On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Paul Strangio about the Great Labor Split, which just passed its 70th anniversary. A combustible mix of sectarian prejudice and ideological division lit into an inferno by an unstable leader, it prompted the rise of Australia's first significant minor party and left the ALP in Opposition for over two decades.
Paul Strangio is an Emeritus Professor of Politics at Monash University. Paul specialises in Australian political history, with a particular focus on political leadership and political parties. He’s an author and editor of 11 books. He’s been a frequent commentator on Australian politics in the print and election media, including contributing many op-ed pieces to The Age, and for a number of years has had a regular segment on ABC Radio Melbourne.
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Andrew Levidis on Kishi Nobusuke & the Australia-Japan Reconciliation: "Historians should never say miracle"

How did Japan evolve from Australia's wartime enemy into a friendly trading partner in a little over a decade?
On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Andrew Levidis about Kishi Nabusuke. A controversial & complex figure, who was imprisoned as a war criminal for his role in the Imperial Japanese Government, only to rebound and become the architect of its post-war political settlement.
Andrew Levidis is a Lecturer in Modern Japanese History at the Australian National University. He completed his doctorate in History at the Faculty of Law of Kyoto University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University at the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RIJS) and Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He is co-editor of In the Ruins of the Japanese Empire: Imperial Violence, State Destruction, and the Reordering of Modern East Asia (Hong Kong University Press 2020) and editor of the DFAT Documents volume on Australia-Japan relations 1957-1975. His monograph A Memory of Empire: Kishi Nobusuke and the Transwar Japanese Right explores the international history of Japanese right-wing and the historical rise of conservatism from empire to Cold War.

Judith Brett on Alfred Deakin: "Organic Australian Policy"

How did Alfred Deakin shape so much of the 'Australian Settlement' without ever securing a clear election victory?
On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Judith Brett to explore one of Australia's most important but enigmatic figures. Who has always featured centrally in the story of federation, in part because he insisted on writing it himself.
Judith Brett is a political historian and biographer and emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University. Among her books are Robert Menzies’ Forgotten People, Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, which won the 2018 National Biography Award, and From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

Greg de Moore on John Cade & the Miracle of Lithium: "The first effective medication ever discovered for any mental illness in the world"

Did you know that the most important discovery in the history of treating mental illness was made by an Australian?
On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Greg de Moore to tell the world-changing story of John Cade. A survivor of Changi, who risked experiments on himself to establish that lithium could treat bipolar disorder. A breakthrough that has been compared in significance to the discovery of penicillin.
Greg de Moore is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry based at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. Born in Melbourne of parents who migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, Greg has lived in Sydney for more than 30 years. He has written or co-written a biography Tom Wills (Allen & Unwin, 2008 & 2011), A National Game: The History of Australian Rules Football (Viking/Penguin, 2008) and Finding Sanity: John Cade, Lithium and the Taming of Bipolar Disorder (Allen & Unwin, 2016).

Grantlee Kieza on Matthew Flinders & the Naming of Australia: "The vast majority of Australians wouldn't know that"

Do you ever stop to think why there are so many things named Flinders in Australia?
On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Grantlee Kieza to tell the remarkable story of Matthew Flinders. The mariner responsible for proving that Australia was an island continent and the adoption of its name, who lived a life of adventure, discovery, and scientific endeavour with his iconic cat Trim.
Award-winning journalist Grantlee Kieza OAM held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Courier-Mail for many years and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. He has since become the author of bestselling and critically acclaimed books like Flinders, The Remarkable Mrs Reibey, Banks, Hudson Fysh, and Sister Viv.

Chris Berg on the History of Banking Regulation: "At the centre of almost every major political movement that defined Australian history"

Why have banks been central to Australian political history?
On Afternoon Light #192 Georgina Downer speaks with Chris Berg on the history of banking regulation. A topic that is far-more engaging than it sounds, as it helped to shape the emergence and attitudes of both of our major political parties. As banks have been the central issue around which the clash over government involvement in the economy has been fought.
Chris Berg is a Professor of Economics at RMIT University. He is Co-Founder of the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, the world’s first dedicated social science research centre studying blockchain technology. The author of eleven books, he holds a PhD in economics from RMIT, for which his thesis explored the history of banking regulation in Australia.