Crawford School of Public Policy

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, historian and pod regular Frank Bongiorno joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to talk about Australia’s political history and his new book, Dreamers and Schemers.

How do colonial attitudes towards resource extraction impact Australia’s political culture today? How did events in other parts of the British Empire shape debates in Australia prior to federation? And what role has religious sectarianism played throughout Australia’s political history? The Australian National University’s Professor Frank Bongiorno joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss political actors and movements in Australia, from prior to European contact through to the pandemic, and his new book, Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia. Listen here.

Frank Bongiorno AM is an Australian labour, political, and cultural historian and Professor of History at The Australian National University (ANU).

Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.