Advertise on podcast: Time for Trust

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Governments, the economy and civil society depend on the public’s trust to work effectively – but this trust is declining in an age of polarisation and misinformation. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that this “malady of mistrust” is as damaging as COVID or climate change. We don’t talk much about trust – but we certainly notice when it breaks down, in corporate scandals or political coups. But in a time when many are losing faith in our most vital institutions, how can the bonds of trust be rebuilt? In Time for Trust, Terry Flew will explore these themes with leading experts on trust, from academics and journalists to community leaders, both from Australia and around the world. Professor Flew holds a prestigious Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. He’s particularly interested in “mediated trust” – that is, forms of trust and mistrust as they are expressed in and through the digital media technologies we use to make sense of the world. From trust in news to trust in digital platforms, from trust in corporations and governments to trust in AI, “Time for Trust” will ask – who, and what, do we trust, have we lost that trust, and can we get it back? And are technologies bringing us together or driving us apart? Join us for a fascinating journey through one of the most important issues facing people and societies everywhere. Because Billy Joel was right – it is a matter of trust. Time for Trust is brought to you by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, and the Australian Research Council. It's produced by Dominic Knight, and recorded on unceded Gadigal Land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Check latest episodes from Time for Trust podcast

Cringe posts and vanity metrics – Are corporate leaders losing our trust?

2026/10/12

The 24-hour news cycle and the endless scroll of social media means a single controversial headline can shatter your organisation’s credibility in seconds. And yet leaders can’t avoid the need for communication either, especially if they’re trying to build brand credibility and consumer trust. Roger Christie says “online silence is a risk, you’re letting others fill the feed.” He’s the founder of digital reputation advisory firm Propel, and has worked with giants like CommBank, Coles, and Westpac. So where is the sweet spot between risky silence and performative noise? And how do you build a genuine reputation that lasts? Roger Christie breaks down why legacy public communication models are failing modern organisations, and gives practical strategies to align your online voice with your offline reality. +++ Roger Chrisie is the founder of Propel. You can listen to his podcast here. To hear more on building public trust and reputation, listen to our episode with Jim McNamara. Jim’s the Distinguished Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thrive or expire - Martin Betts on why AI will make or break universities

2026/09/07

AI is unavoidable in 2026, but higher education is caught between plummeting public trust and fear of disruption. In institutions where original thought is rewarded, how do you embrace an AI driven world? Martin Betts is the co-founder of HEDx, and has worked in the higher education sector for most of his life. He's not panicking. In fact, the opposite. Betts is a "techno-optimist". Universities have changed, and he believes they need a fundamentally updated model in order to transform our way of learning. Instead of handing educational AI structures to big tech giants, Betts breaks down how universities can collaborate to lead the change from within. +++ Martin Betts is the co-founder of HEDx. You can listen to his podcast here. If trust in universities is on your radar, listen to our episode with higher education journalist Julie Hare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Degrees or dysfunction? Julie Hare on the multiple crises facing Australian universities

2026/08/10

How well do you remember your uni days? Chances are, whatever picture that came to mind - the lecture theatres, campus life, the idea of a place built to protect independent thought - is a few steps removed from the more complicated reality. These days, that picture competes with leadership scandals, ballooning student debt, a model that relies on international students and a casualised workforce running on fumes. Somewhere along the way, the sector started looking less like an institution and more like an industry. Julie Hare has spent her career watching that transformation up close. Formerly the higher education editor at The Australian and the Australian Financial Review, she now writes The Hare Report, where she's turned her attention to governance failures at the top. With AI now rewriting the rules of teaching and assessment, Julie's asking the uncomfortable question - can this system reform itself, or has it too far gone? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Offline until 16? Julian Sefton-Green on UK and Australian social media age restrictions

2026/07/13

The UK has followed Australia’s lead by banning social media for under-16s. In a parting move made by the Starmer government, it’s left public opinion divided. We all want children to be safe online. But is this global movement a necessary stand against Big Tech, or does it ignore how the modern world works? Julian Sefton-Green is a Professor of New Media and Education at Deakin University. He argues the ban is contradictory because we forbid a 15-year-old from using these apps, but expect them to log on the day they turn 16. As he puts it, "you can't attend a university without some form of social media relationship - you can't be in employment, you can't be on LinkedIn, every role that you occupy as a citizen is to some degree some kind of social media." Professor Sefton-Green explains both sides of the debate. He unpacks what you need to understand, and why this legislation could open the door to more regulations around algorithms and addictive app design. +++ Interested in hearing more about age restrictions on social media? Listen to our episode with Professor Sonia Livingstone, one of the global leading voices in this debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Communication 2.0: Jim Macnamara on the untapped power of organisational listening

2026/06/08

Communication is a two-way street. Or at least, it’s meant to be. So why don’t organisations ever seem to really listen to us? Jim Macnamara, the Distinguished Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, is a pioneer in the field of organisation listening, and he argues it’s the critical missing piece for nearly every institution trying to build and maintain trust. He explains why it’s so beneficial, and why so many organisations don’t do it even if it’s so effective. He also outlines how two-way communication has and will continue to change as digital technologies transform the way we talk to each other. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Institutions, innovations and ideas: Sir Geoff Mulgan on trusting government after AI

2026/05/11

Why are companies racing to build dancing robots when human dancers are fighting harder than ever to earn a living? Why does it feel like technology is becoming rapidly more powerful, but so few people seem to actually gain anything from it? Institutions large and small are central to all democracies, and they’re anything but simple. A great institution can protect and increase knowledge across generations, but the very thing that keeps them alive can also make them stagnant. Sir Geoff Mulgan knows institutions better than almost anyone. He’s Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London, and from 2011 to 2019 he was Chief Executive at the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. He explains why our biggest and most important institutions so often seem averse to innovation, and outlines how groups of people can be more (and sometimes less) than the sum of their parts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rethinking the risks, rights, and regulation of young people on social media

2026/04/13

As governments around the world move to restrict young people’s access to social media, a fundamental question emerges: do bans actually protect children or create new risks? Growing concern about youth mental health and the power of tech companies has driven policies such as Australia’s under-16 ban, which is now being closely watched around the world. But the evidence remains contested. Sonia Livingstone, Director of Digital Futures for Children, argues there are limits to the ban approach. She suggests we rethink how digital environments are designed and governed so they are safer for young people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The parasocial power of podcasting – How podcasters are gaining trust

2026/03/09

“Podcasting is the medium of the moment.” But should we trust the creators and their content? With more than 600 million global listeners, podcasting is now central to journalism, commentary, and public debate. Many audiences see podcasts as more authentic and more intimate than radio, television, or social media — but why? When anyone can publish an episode, who deserves our trust? And how do we know when that trust is misplaced? Broadcaster and academic Dominic Knight – co-founder of The Chaser – shares his thoughts on trust, credibility, and misinformation in the podcast era. Hear more from Dominic Knight on his podcast The Chaser Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Hollywood packages the truth – Is film undermining trust?

2026/02/09

Is cinema a vehicle of truth or does it promote false beliefs? Associate Professor of Film Studies Bruce Isaacs doesn’t believe in historical truth in the film image. “I don't think cinema looks for that. What it seeks to show is a kind of aesthetic truth. Films straddle this very interesting tension between being truthful to history and yet in some way intensifying that experience.” Hollywood has a long and complicated relationship with trust, ideology, and reality. A relationship that has only intensified as the Trump administration polarises America and the world. Professor Isaacs explores whether film is corrosive of trust, why movies are such fertile ground for conspiracies, and the political anxieties driving recent Hollywood films like Civil War, Eddington, and One Battle After Another. Hear more from Professor Isaacs on his podcast Film Versus Film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr TJ Thomson on how AI is making it harder to trust visual journalism

2026/01/12

Dr T.J. Thomson is an associate professor and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow at RMIT, where he co-leads The News, Technology, and Society Network. His research is united by its focus on visual communication. He’s the author of a number of books and edited colllections, including Everyday Visual News: Audience Expectations, Engagements, and Meanings (Routledge, 2026), The Routledge Companion to Visual Journalism (2025), and To See and Be Seen: The Environments, Interactions, and Identities Behind News Images (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). He joins Terry to explore the evolution of visual journalism—from the days of specialist photojournalists to today’s multi-skilled reporters—and the growing role of generative AI in shaping news imagery, along with its impacts on trust, authenticity, and ethics in journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof Karin Wahl-Jorgensen on how boutique media are leveraging audience trust

2025/12/01

Karin Wahl-Jorgenson is Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University where she has also been University Dean of Research Environment and Culture. She is the incoming President-Elect of the International Communication Association. Her research has been focused on the relationship between citizenship, media and emotion - and how it is affected by rapid technological change and innovation. She has recently been working on the experiences of local news entrepreneurs, and is currently developing a new research project on “boutique media”, including the appeal of news influencers, podcasters and Substack newsletters. She has written five books; Emotions, Media and Politics (Polity Press, 2019), Digital Citizenship in a Datafied Society (Polity Press, 2019, co-authored with Arne Hintz and Lina Dencik), Disasters and the Media (Peter Lang, 2012; co-authored with Mervi Pantti and Simon Cottle), Journalists and the Public (Hampton Press, 2007) and Citizens or Consumers? (Open University Press, 2005; co-authored with Justin Lewis and Sanna Inthorn). She joined Terry on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia where she was the keynote speaker at the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Communications Association conference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof Andrea Carson on fake news, fact-checking and front pages

2025/11/18

Professor Andrea Carson joins Terry for a wide-ranging discussion about trust in politics and the media which reports on it, from mis- and dis-information to the fate of fact-checking units and how our front pages impact Australian elections, along with the impact of AI and social media on our rapidly changing mediascape. She is Associate Dean, Research, Industry and Engagement with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and a Professor of Political Communication at La Trobe University, specializing in the news media’s role in politics and quality of information in the public sphere. In 2024, she was a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, where she studied public trust in electoral bodies during elections, especially in the context of disinformation. More broadly, her research examines media trust, political communication, gender politics, and regulating digital platforms. She has worked on comparing different regulatory approaches to handling misinformation and disinformation. She has authored and co-edited several important books, including Investigative Journalism, Democracy and the Digital Age (2020) and Undercover Reporting, Deception, and Betrayal in Journalism (2023). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof David Nieborg on whether we can trust platform companies

2025/10/10

In recent years, an increasing amount of cultural production has transitioned to platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. But can we trust these platforms to do the right thing by their creators and users – and what happens when these companies come into conflict with national governments, as has happened in Australia, Canada and elsewhere? David B. Nieborg is a Professor of Media Studies at the University of Toronto. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College and a Faculty Affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute. He held fellowships with the Jackman Humanities Institute and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His previous affiliations include MIT, the Queensland University of Technology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Utrecht University, and the University of Amsterdam. David published on the game industry, app and platform economics, and game journalism in academic outlets such as New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, Internet Policy Review, and Media, Culture and Society. He is the co-author of Platforms and Cultural Production (Polity, 2021), which is translated in Italian and Chinese, and Mainstreaming and Game Journalism (MIT Press, 2023). His teaching and research interests include social media, platforms, globalization, the media industries, games, cultural production and journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof Terry Flew on how AI is changing communications

2025/09/12

On Wednesday 20 August 2025, Prof Terry Flew delivered a guest lecture in Charles Sturt University's 'Thoughts On The Beyond' series, celebrating 50 years of communications scholarship at the university. Entitled 'AI and Communication: Trust, Ethics, Justice and Policy', the talk outlines some of context for, and themes of, the work Terry is doing as part of his ARC Laureate project researching mediated trust, with a particular focus on the significant impacts of AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof Alexandre Lefebvre on the liberal values that underpin social trust

2025/08/24

Alexandre Lefebvre, Professor of Politics and Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, argues that liberalism isn't just a political ideology having to do with individual rights, parliaments, and courts. He says its core values permeate throughout much of our society, and offer a personal belief system that’s fundamental to many of us, whether religious or otherwise. Yet, at a time of increased populism and authoritarianism, these fundamental values – and the social trust that is built on them – are facing fresh challenges. Alexandre joins Terry to discuss these issues, which feature in his recent book, Liberalism as a Way of Life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.