John Anderson: Conversations

Join John in conversation with David Harris as they explore the roots and modern resurgence of antisemitism. They discuss the defining characteristics of antisemitism, its historical evolution, and how contemporary political dynamics shape global attitudes toward the Jewish community and Israel.The conversation examines the blurring lines between antizionism and antisemitism, alongside the changing social climate in Western democracies following the December 2025 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. Harris calls for principled, bipartisan leadership and a unified societal stance that rejects prejudice and protects fellow citizens.David Harris is an international Jewish advocate and the current Executive Vice Chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). He served as CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1990 to 2022. He is the author of Anti-Semitism: What Everyone Needs To Know.

John sits down with sociologist and author Frank Furedi to discuss why millions of people across the West are turning against the political establishment, the rise of populism, the collapse of trust in traditional institutions, and the growing divide between ordinary citizens and the elites who govern them.

From immigration and multiculturalism to education, free speech, national identity and the future of democracy, Furedi argues that populism is not simply a threat to the political order — it is a response to people feeling ignored by it. The conversation explores what has been lost, why citizenship matters, and whether Western democracies can rebuild a shared culture strong enough to survive.

Frank Furedi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent and the author of 26 books, including most recently In Defence of Populism. His work has focused on cultural developments in Western societies, including the culture of fear, education, identity, national sovereignty and the changing relationship between citizens and political institutions. He is a regular commentator on radio and television and has contributed extensively to media outlets across the UK and internationally.

A long-time friend of the program, Frank was one of John’s earliest Conversations guests, first appearing on the show in April 2018.

In this interview, sitting Danish politician Alex Vanopslagh explains how Denmark became a great and prosperous nation. Contrary to the platitudes from members of the left like Bernie Sanders, who have argued that Denmark is a socialist success story, Alex argues that liberty and individual responsibility have made it great.He also explains how Denmark's Protestant emphasis on individual conscience and responsibility, combined with its high social trust, has put the country in a unique position to deal with issues like mass migration and the rise of political Islam. This has helped Denmark to avoid the pattern seen across much of the West, where right-wing populist parties have surged.Already leader of his party, the Liberal Alliance, at 34-years-old, Alex encourages young people everywhere to take ownership of their own lives and to be contributors to their community and country.

Alex’s new book Den usynlige ånd (The Invisible Spirit) comes out on the 28th of August.Alex Vanopslagh is a Danish politician and leader of the Liberal Alliance, a classical liberal, free-market party in the Folketing. He has served as party leader since 2019, taking the role at just 27, and has become one of the most prominent voices on the Danish right — making the case that Denmark's prosperity rests on economic freedom and civic responsibility, not socialism. Born in France and raised in Denmark, he studied political science at the University of Southern Denmark before rising through Liberal Alliance's youth wing to lead the party itself.

Robert P. George joins John Anderson at the ARC conference in London for a conversation that traces natural law back through Cicero and Aristotle to Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail. He also discusses his friendship with utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer on the personhood of the unborn as evidence that serious disagreement and real friendship aren't incompatible.

The conversation turns to what happens when that capacity disappears: the tribalism of social media and siloed media ecosystems, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which George calls a tragedy not just for Kirk's family but for civic life in the West. He warns that the U.S. may be "one more assassination away from a civil war," and argues that the way back runs through intellectual humility — a willingness to recognise one's own fallibility and to see one's opponent as a fellow citizen rather than an enemy to be destroyed.

Robert P. George is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual. He serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.

Konstantin Kisin argues that Britain is poor and getting poorer, and that almost nobody knows it. He points to polling showing most Britons believe they are as rich as Switzerland, Singapore or Australia, when on a per capita basis Britain sits far down the table and is close to being overtaken by Poland.

 Konstantin also examines the grooming gangs scandal, which he describes as organised crime run through kinship networks, and rejects outright the idea that Britain can accommodate two legal systems.

 Konstantin Kisin is a writer, social commentator, comedian, and co-host of the free speech podcast Triggernometry. He is a regular on British and American TV and radio shows including Question Time, Good Morning Britain, BBC Breakfast, Daily Politics, LBC Cross Question, The Joe Rogan Experience, and many others. He is also the author of An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West.

John Anderson sits down with social researcher Mark McCrindle and measurement researcher Dorian von Freyhold to examine whether Australia’s Census is giving an accurate picture of the country’s religious identity. They explore how changes to the wording and structure of the religion question may influence responses, why “no religion” does not necessarily mean atheism, and what their research suggests about the true scale of secularisation in Australia.The conversation also looks beyond the Census to the broader cultural picture: the changing relationship younger Australians have with Christianity, the difference between religious affiliation and active belief, the enduring influence of Christian institutions and values, and the growing search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented society.Mark McCrindle is an Australian social researcher, demographer, author and founder of McCrindle, a research and communications agency specialising in social trends, generational change and demographic analysis. He has spent two decades researching how Australian society is changing and is the author of five books. McCrindle is also widely known for coining the term “Generation Alpha” and regularly contributes to public debate on demographic, cultural and generational trends.Dr Dorian von Freyhold is a researcher and strategist specialising in consumer psychology, data science, survey design and business analytics. He holds a PhD from the University of Queensland, where he also lectured in business analytics, consumer psychology and marketing research. Von Freyhold has applied experimental and behavioural research methods across consulting, polling and commercial analytics, and is Managing Partner at Compass Polling. His recent research includes a 5,000-person experiment examining how the wording and structure of the Australian Census religion question can influence responses.

Dr. David Starkey sits down with John Anderson to discuss the breakdown of Britain, arguing the crisis is not merely a run of bad prime ministers but a system deliberately broken. He contends that from 1997 the Blair government reinvented British governance on a continental model, displacing the supremacy of Parliament with human rights law, supreme courts and an alien legal architecture.Starkey warns that the sovereignty of the British people has been quietly inverted, and that the country is only now waking up to the consequences. He points to the 440 quangos accounting for roughly a third of state expenditure, a £100 million bat tunnel, and judges who now determine wage rates and fuel policy. Yet for all Starkey's pessimism, he implores Britons to recall their duty and find the courage to fight for a civilisation that is worth preserving.Dr. David Starkey CBE is a British historian, broadcaster and commentator, best known for his work on the English monarchy. Starkey was presented with the Norton Medlicott Medal for Services to History by Britain's Historical Association. He is Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and the author of historical non-fiction including Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne and Monarchy: The History of England and Her Rulers from the Tudors to the Windsors.

Geopolitical expert Michael Doran argues that Middle East stability depends on the U.S. winning its long war with Iran. He warns the “rabid dog” regime remains a paused but persistent danger.Doran also unpacks how China is using the Middle East as a laboratory to test how America defends against missiles and drones before any move on Taiwan. He warns that anti-ship ballistic missiles supplied to Iran and the Houthis exist for one purpose: sinking American aircraft carriers.Michael Doran is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of its Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. A former George W. Bush administration National Security Council director, he is the author of Ike's Gamble and a leading voice on Iran, Israel and U.S. strategy.

Former senior Treasury official David Pearl argues that Australia's decline is not fate but the product of bad choices made by the people running our institutions.He contends that Treasury, once feared for its razor-sharp scrutiny of policy, has been captured from above by secretaries who treat emissions reduction as a moral imperative rather than a trade-off, and who withhold the true cost of the energy transition — a figure he puts as high as $1 trillion.David Pearl is a former assistant secretary of the Australian Treasury and now a full-time writer and commentator on economic and cultural policy. He spent some three decades in the federal bureaucracy, with postings to the OECD in the late 1990s and a period as the Treasurer's representative in the United States, working across taxation, fiscal management and energy policy. He writes regularly for The Australian and The Spectator Australia and appears frequently on Sky News, where he has been among the most persistent critics of Treasury's modelling of the renewable energy transition.

In this conversation, Melanie Phillips joins John Anderson to discuss the crisis of Western resolve and moral decline. Drawing on her decades as a commentator, Phillips argues that Iran's perceived strength reflects Western weakness and hesitation. She also explores how anti-Zionism and elite failure have hollowed out Western valuesA pre-eminent voice in British public discourse, Melanie Phillips possesses a storied journalistic pedigree. Having established her reputation at The Guardian and the New Statesman, she now provides sharp political and social analysis for The Times, The Jerusalem Post, and The Jewish Chronicle. A familiar and formidable presence on the airwaves, she has long served as a regular panellist for BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze and BBC One’s Question Time. Phillips was honoured with the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 1996 during her tenure at The Observer, and her extensive bibliography includes her candid memoir, Guardian Angel: My Story, My Britain.

Steven Koonin joins John Anderson for an in-depth conversation exploring the science, engineering and economics behind today's climate debate. Drawing on decades of experience in physics, energy research and public policy, Koonin argues that while climate change is real, many public discussions fail to capture the uncertainty, nuance and trade-offs contained within the scientific evidence. Together they examine what climate models can reliably predict and why careful analysis matters when shaping long-term policy.The conversation also explores Australia's energy future, the challenges of maintaining reliable electricity grids, the potential role of nuclear power, and the balance between affordability, energy security and environmental responsibility. Koonin reflects on scientific integrity, technological innovation and why societies benefit when evidence, rather than politics, remains at the centre of public debate.Steven E. Koonin is the Edward Teller Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He served as the undersecretary for science in the US Department of Energy under President Obama from 2009 to 2011, and was the lead author of the US Department of Energy’s Strategic Plan (2011) and the inaugural Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review (2011). His recent book is called Unsettled (Updated and Expanded Edition): What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters.Sign up to John's substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/

In this conversation, John Anderson sits down with Prof. Simon Haines and Dr. Fiona Mueller to examine how Australia's schools and universities stopped teaching children how to think, and what a genuine restoration of education would look like. The results are measurable in falling literacy, rising school refusal, and a curriculum that has prioritised ideological formation at the expense of knowledge.From the classical roots of Western education and the Trivium to the ideological capture of teacher training and university management, Haines and Mueller expose the ideas driving the decline and the institutions already proving a better model is possible. What is at stake is not just educational outcomes, but the capacity of the next generation to reason clearly, to govern themselves wisely, and to pass on what they have inherited.Prof. Simon Haines is the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts at Campion College Australia, Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University, and a founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities. He previously served as the inaugural CEO of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and is a Director of Humanities for Life.Dr. Fiona Mueller served as Head of ANU College at the Australian National University and as Director of Curriculum at the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), and was named among the five most influential people in Australian education by the Australian Financial Review in 2019. She is an Adjunct Fellow with the Centre for Independent Studies, a Senior Fellow with Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy), and currently serves as Director of Research at the Page Research Centre.

John Anderson joins energy analyst Aidan Morrison and journalist Chris Uhlmann for a forensic examination of Australia's energy crisis. Together, they expose the broken promises behind the renewable transition, the CSIRO modelling built on figures no operating wind farm has achieved, and the legislative blunder that turned the New England Renewable Energy Zone into a multi-billion dollar infrastructure disaster. Drawing on international comparisons, primary documents, and on-the-ground testimony, the panel reveals how Australians were sold a false economic promise — and what the true cost to the nation's bills, industry, and security will be.Aidan Morrison is a leading researcher into Energy Systems and currently the Director of Energy Research at the Centre for Independent Studies. In 2023 he exposed how the famous CSIRO report “GenCost” excluded vast costs required to integrate and firm renewables by treating them as “sunk” costs. In 2024 he was amongst the strongest voices calling for nuclear energy in Australia and was a leading critic of the ‘Integrated System Plan’ (or ISP): Australia’s blue-print for a transition to an energy system dominated by wind and solar. Chris Uhlmann is a Walkley Award winning Australian journalist and news commentator. His career in the media spans over 35 years in radio, print and television. His latest documentary is The Real Cost of Net Zero: The shocking truth of the renewable energy push.

In this interview, podcaster and political commentator Carl Benjamin joins John to explore the accelerating collapse of English identity and the political crisis that has followed.Carl argues that Britain has sleepwalked into a civilisational emergency: mass immigration without a vote, a bureaucratic state that has outgrown democratic accountability, and a native population that has been deliberately disconnected from the culture and heritage it was supposed to carry forward. Carl Benjamin is one of Britain's most followed independent commentators. Widely known online as Sargon of Akkad, Benjamin is the director of the conservative political podcast, Lotus Eaters. He is known for his outspoken criticism of modern feminism, identity politics, Islam, and political correctness.

Psychotherapist and author Erica Komisar joins John to make the case that what happens in a child's first 3 years shapes their emotional security for life, and that current childcare policy is built on a dangerous ignorance of child development.They also discuss why ADHD is better understood as a stress response than a disorder, what the evidence tells us about cortisol levels in babies separated from their primary caregivers, why Australia's social media ban is a step in the right direction but far from a complete solution, and what governments could do differently if they genuinely wanted to support families rather than promote institutional childcare.Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author. With over thirty years of experience in private practice, she works to alleviate pain in individuals who suffer from depression, anxiety, eating, and other compulsive disorders. She is the author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters.Visit John's new substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0:00 Trailer

0:58 Intro

1:10 Why the formative years are critical

6:11 The damage of screens and social media

13:06 The case for "dumb phones" for kids

16:18 Why universal childcare is a bad policy

36:58 How short sighted politics is harming children

42:33 Is ADHD actually a disorder?

50:10 How neglect is impacting low birth rates

57:00 Solving the "depopulation bomb" crisis

1:01:46 A warning from Romania...

Professor Gad Saad argues that empathy directed at the wrong targets becomes a tool of civilisational self-destruction, and that every idea enabling this collapse was spawned on a university campus. Drawing on his own experience fleeing Lebanon as a Jewish child, Saad examines Britain's grooming gang scandal, the pathologisation of masculinity, and the incoherence of Queers for Palestine, noting Gaza practises what he calls a gravity-based conversion therapy. He closes with a sobering prognosis: the auto-corrections exist, but the West currently lacks the fortitude to implement any of them.

Gad Saad is a Lebanese-Canadian evolutionary behavioural scientist and professor of marketing at Concordia University in Montreal. Born in 1964 in Lebanon, he emigrated to Canada as a child. His academic work applies evolutionary psychology and Darwinian principles to consumer behaviour — he's a legitimate researcher with a substantial peer-reviewed publication record, not purely a public intellectual who drifted into academia. His public profile expanded dramatically through his podcast The Saad Truth, launched around 2014, and accelerated through his 2020 book The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense, which became a bestseller and cemented his position as a prominent voice in the anti-"woke" intellectual space.

In this interview, author, political commentator and Reform UK candidate, Matt Goodwin joins John to unpack the impending collapse of the United Kingdom.Matt explains how a managerial class of politicians have embraced a worldview of 'suicidal empathy' resulting in mass migration.This unelected decision has increasingly come at the cost of English culture, economic security and ultimately the native population's very existence.Matt Goodwin is an academic, bestseller writer and speaker known for his work on political volatility, risk, populism, British politics, Europe, elections and Brexit. He recently contended in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election for Reform UK. He runs one of UK's biggest Substacks at: https://www.mattgoodwin.org/.Visit John's new substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Matt's widely acclaimed new book, Suicide of a Nation, is available here:https://www.amazon.com.au/Suicide-Nation-Immigration-Islam-Identity/dp/1919401407Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/

What makes Australia’s Constitution so effective, and why do so few people understand it? In this interview, Ian Callinan and Mark Fowler unpack the origins of our legal system, the role of philosophy in shaping law, and the importance of keeping power accountable.

They also tackle modern challenges: the push for a Human Rights Act, the rise of postmodern thinking, and the growing tension between individual “truths” and objective justice. The result is a powerful discussion on the future of law, freedom, and society.

Mark Fowler is an Adjunct Associate Professor at his alma mater, the University of New England School of Law, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Law, Sydney. He is an Appeals Panel member for the Australian Council for International Development, the peak body for Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian action. He is the author of Beauty and The Law.
The Honourable Ian Callinan was appointed as a Justice of the High Court in February 1998. He remained a Justice of the High Court until 1 September 2007. He has mediated and arbitrated in an extensive range of commercial, energy, revenue, mining, construction, regulatory, IT and other disputes throughout Australia and overseas.

Aidan Morrison and Derek Bush join John for a frank conversation about Australia's cumbersome renewable energy transition, and the real costs being borne by the communities expected to host it. They make the case that rural Australians are being overrun by a policy conceived in cities and imposed on regional areas, exposing the considerable gap between the government's 2030 targets and what the national grid can realistically deliver.
This is a timely warning that Australia's energy policy is being driven by political ambition rather than engineering reality, and that the consequences will be felt by every Australian as power bills continue to rise.
Aidan Morrison is a leading researcher into Energy Systems and currently the Director of Energy Research at the Centre for Independent Studies. In 2023 he exposed how the famous CSIRO report “GenCost” excluded vast costs required to integrate and firm renewables by treating them as “sunk” costs. In 2024 he was amongst the strongest voices calling for nuclear energy in Australia and was a leading critic of the ‘Integrated System Plan’ (or ISP): Australia’s blue-print for a transition to an energy system dominated by wind and solar.
Derek Bush is a farmer from Bookham in southwest New South Wales, where his family has worked the land for many years, growing flowers and other produce. He has become an outspoken advocate for rural communities navigating the impacts of wind farm development and Australia's energy transition.

Former Japanese Ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami joins John for a frank conversation about the bilateral relationship between Japan and Australia. Yamagami makes the case that this relationship is essential to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, especially in light of an assertive and expansionist China.

The discussion calls for a refusal to cower beneath China’s authoritarian demands, while warning that Australia may not be adequately prepared for a potential conflict over Taiwan. Yamagami argues that internal political and economic pressures within China could create a dangerous window for them to take more aggressive action in the Indo-Pacific. This is a sobering reminder that Australia must renew its commitment to its allies and remain vigilant in protecting its sovereign capabilities.

Shingo Yamagami is a Japanese diplomat who served as the Ambassador to Australia from December 2020 to April 2023. Yamagami worked in Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for four decades, also serving in Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Geneva and London. He is now the special advisor to the Japanese corporate law firm TMI Associates, and is the Senior Fellow of Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

In this special episode for Easter, John is joined by Dr. Michael Youssef to explore the complexities of political Islam and its impact on the West, challenging viewers to move beyond superficial secular answers and confront the deep-seated belief systems that continue to shape the contemporary political landscape. Youssef critiques the 'unholy alliance' between Islamism and progressivism, suggesting that this is a relationship of convenience that will end in betrayal and threatens to destroy the West.The discussion examines the concept of 'third jihad', where democratic processes are being used to implement non-democratic legal codes such as Sharia law. It calls out the stark contrast between Islam and Christianity by examining their divergent views on power, the nature of God, and the foundation of human worth. Ultimately, this conversation is a call to rediscover our conviction in the Christian faith that originally gave birth to individual dignity and freedom.Dr. Michael Youssef is a pastor, bestselling author, and internationally respected Bible teacher of 50 years, whose Middle Eastern heritage and background as a cultural anthropologist have equipped him to serve Christ through the international ministry organisation, Leading The Way. Dr. Youssef is the author of a number of books, including An Unholy Alliance: How Progressivism Brought about an Islamist Invasion and Never Give Up: Holding Fast to Biblical Truth in Times of Danger and Despair.

Dr. John Coyne joins John Anderson to provide a sobering assessment of why Australia has fallen behind its international peers in maintaining essential fuel reserves. They trace the history of global energy shocks to explain how current complacency regarding diesel and urea threatens the heartbeat of the Australian agricultural sector.The conversation considers the 'cascading risks' of the modern strategic environment and the limitations of current solutions like electrification for heavy farming machinery. This is a call for leaders to prioritise sovereign security and frank policy advice over populist convenience.Dr. John Coyne is the inaugural Director of ASPI’s National Security Program, overseeing ASPI’s Counter-Terrorism Policy Centre; Statecraft and Intelligence Policy Centre; Climate and Security Policy Centre, and Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Policy Centre. He is the author of The Role of Strategic Intelligence in Law Enforcement and has published widely on policing, national security, northern Australia and organised crime.

In this conversation, Brendan O’Neill joins John to discuss the global reaction to October 7 and what it reveals about the state of Western culture. They examine why protests and activism erupted across university campuses, how narratives about Israel spread rapidly through Western institutions, and why many of these institutions appeared to respond with hostility rather than solidarity.
The discussion also explores the role of identity politics, social media, and shifting cultural attitudes in shaping Western democracies. O’Neill suggests that these reactions reflect a deeper loss of confidence within Western institutions in their own values and historical foundations. This is a thoughtful conversation that sheds light on the prevalence of anti-Semitism in the West.
Brendan O’Neill is chief political writer and former editor of Spiked. He also a writes for The
Australian and numerous other newspapers and magazines. His most recent book is After the
Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation. He hosts The Brendan O’Neill Show.

Rodger Shanahan joins John Anderson to examine the true objectives behind U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. Is this about preventing a nuclear capability, dismantling Iran’s proxy network, or ultimately forcing regime change? Shanahan argues that while public messaging has been inconsistent, the rhetoric and targeting patterns increasingly point toward regime change — a strategic ambition with a poor historical record when pursued through air power alone.
The discussion unpacks Iran’s ideological foundations, its history of foreign intervention, the erosion of its “forward defence” strategy, and the real limits of military precision in shaping political outcomes. From contested nuclear claims to the future of the rules-based order, this is a sober, strategic assessment of whether the world will emerge safer — or more unstable.
Rodger Shanahan is a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute specialising in Middle East security and strategic affairs. He holds a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney and is a former Australian Army officer with operational deployments to Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan and East Timor, as well as diplomatic postings to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He has also served as an expert witness in more than 30 Australian terrorism cases.

John Anderson sits down with former NSW Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Mike Newman to examine the culture, size and direction of Australia’s modern public service. While both men acknowledge the vital role of capable public servants, they question whether the system has become bloated, inward-looking and detached from the realities faced by households and businesses. At a time of falling productivity and rising cost-of-living pressures, they ask whether the balance between administration and wealth creation has drifted out of alignment.The discussion moves beyond numbers to deeper questions of accountability, incentives and institutional culture. From regulatory overreach to major project failures, Newman argues that expansion has too often come without corresponding responsibility. Yet, he also highlights examples where strong leadership and a service-first mindset have delivered genuine reform. It is a serious, practical examination of how Australia governs itself, and what must change to restore discipline, effectiveness and public trust.Mike Newman has four decades of business experience in North Asia and served as NSW’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to the region. He has written insightfully on many topics, and most recently on the problem of government bureaucracies.