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The public’s anxiety about artificial intelligence appears to be growing, with high-profile data security breaches and opposition towards data centres attracting negative attention. Yet a more hopeful view is also gaining ground: that the technology could help rebuild struggling democratic institutions. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Lydia Khalil speaks with Beth Noveck, author of Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy, about public AI, digital sovereignty, diplomacy and the role middle powers such as Australia can play in shaping how it is governed. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Official development finance to Southeast Asia has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, just as the region faces a run of overlapping economic shocks. Contrary to some expectations, China isn’t stepping into the gap left by retreating traditional donors, such as Japan and the United States.In this episode of Development Futures, the Lowy Institute's Lead Economist and Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre Roland Rajah speaks with Rahul Nath and Taili Ni, two of the researchers behind the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Aid Map, about what the latest data shows and what developments to watch. You can read the full report or explore the interactive map at https://seamap.lowyinstitute.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite being close neighbours, Australia and Papua New Guinea have only recently become formal allies through the Pukpuk Treaty. But what does this new alliance mean beyond government-to-government ties? In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Dominic De Moura McCarthy, President and Founder of the Pacific-Australia Youth Association, and Sharon Bala Woruba, Environment and Sustainability Manager for PNG at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, join the Institute's Sarah Thompson to discuss the future of the bilateral relationship.They discuss PNG's forthcoming NRL team, the Chiefs; what real economic opportunity for small businesses and grassroots communities looks like; the underused potential of diaspora communities in places like  North Queensland; and why formal exchange and education programs matter at every stage of life.The conversation lands on a bigger question: what would it take for everyday Australians and Papua New Guineans to feel genuine ownership of this relationship, rather than watching it play out at the top? Dominic De Moura McCarthy and Sharon Bala Woruba were participants in the Australia–PNG Network's 2026 Emerging Leaders Dialogue. You can read the recommendations of the emerging leaders in a joint communiqué published by the Lowy Institute. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 2026 Lowy Institute Media Award dinner, former ambassador and intelligence chief Dennis Richardson AC traced five decades at the sharp end of government-media relations, from running the Commonwealth's first media monitoring unit in 1972 to advising ambassadors on when to dodge the cameras. He's blunt on AUKUS and the government's reluctance to sell it, sharper still on what he sees as media silence in the face of rising anti-Semitism after the Bondi attack, and unsparing about a public service he says too often confuses self-censorship for prudence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute was delighted to welcome Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to Bligh Street for a roundtable discussion, chaired by the Institute's Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The Prime Minister delivered a brief speech, discussing the roles of Thailand, Australia, and middle-sized countries in addressing an increasingly uncertain world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two prominent Australian strategists from opposite sides of the defence debate discuss the AUKUS partnership. Jennifer Parker makes the case that AUKUS is vital for Australian security and that the nuclear-powered submarines will be delivered. Sam Roggeveen argues that AUKUS is unachievable and unnecessary. The debate features opening statements from each speaker, followed by a moderated discussion led by Lowy Institute Research Director Mihai Sora, and concludes with an audience Q&A. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting opens in Palau, the region faces a series of major challenges. These include a Chinese missile test that the Forum couldn’t agree to condemn, a contested region-wide security treaty, Taiwan's return to the Forum, an El Niño event, and a global fuel crisis. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Oliver Nobetau is joined by Dr Connor Graham and Sarah Thompson to examine what these developments mean for Pacific security, regional unity, and economic resilience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2026 Allan Gyngell Lecture was delivered by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong. Senator Wong paid tribute to Allan Gyngell’s influence on her thinking, reflected on multiculturalism as a source of national strength, and framed Australia’s strategic choices in an increasingly uncertain world.  Following her address, the Foreign Minister joined the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove AM for a conversation. They discussed  the stabilisation of Australia's relationship with China, AUKUS, Senator Wong’s dealings with the Trump administration and Secretary Rubio, and the declining relevance of the United Nations.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As great powers race for the critical minerals scattered on the ocean floor, the Pacific is splitting into two camps — those betting on deep-sea mining as an economic lifeline, and those warning the environmental risks are too great. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Dr Connor Graham speaks with Dr Philippa Louey, Senior Research Associate at the Lancaster Environment Centre, about what's driving the rush, where Australia fits in, and whether the region can find common ground before mining starts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Southeast Asia has become the connector economy of the global tech race — building the chips, batteries, and clean energy components for which both Washington and Beijing now compete. But as US–China tensions harden into economic security policy, the region’s most valuable supply chains are being squeezed from both sides. In this episode of Development Futures, Research Fellow Robert Walker joins Roland Rajah to discuss which strategic industries are worth backing, which aren’t, and why decarbonisation might be the region’s smartest long-term play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australia–India relationship has taken on growing significance in recent years, a point echoed by policy leaders as they welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent visit. Hear from leading experts as they analyse the recent visit by PM Modi and explore how the two countries can deepen their collaboration and work together in a range of strategic areas. The panellists discuss the opportunities and challenges across defence, trade, investment and energy. The conversation will be led by Shruti Pandalai, the inaugural Lowy Institute India Chair, and feature Dhruva Jaishankar, the inaugural Dr Ram Sethi Fellow at the Lowy Institute and Executive Director of Observer Research Foundation America. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China blocked trade, froze out ministers, and left lobsters rotting on the tarmac, and still couldn't force Australia to budge. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, former Australian ambassador to Beijing Graham Fletcher joins Research Director Mihai Sora to discuss what "stabilisation" really means for the Australia–China relationship — from rare earths and the Port of Darwin to Taiwan and the ever-present shadow cast from Washington. Fletcher argues the current "sweet spot" is harder won — and more fragile — than it looks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The way authoritarian and illiberal states interact has changed. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have gone from defending themselves against perceived liberal pressure to actively building the institutions of an alternative order. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Nick Bisley, the author of a new Lowy Institute paper analysing this cooperation, speaks with the Institute's Sam Roggeveen about the boot camps teaching authoritarian states how to control information, the improbable rise of BRICS, and why this messy, opportunistic coalition might be harder to counter than a formal alliance ever was. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India matters to Australia more than ever — as a strategic partner, a major trading economy, and a fellow member of the Quad — at a moment when Indo-Pacific security is deeply contested. Hear from leading experts as they examine the India–Australia relationship and how the two countries can deepen their collaboration to help shape a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Building on the momentum of Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to Australia, the panel explores the evolving architecture of defence cooperation between the two nations, and whether this partnership is consolidating into a strategic entente capable of meeting the demands of an increasingly contested region. The conversation was moderated by Sam Roggeveen, Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program, and featured Dhruva Jaishankar, the inaugural Dr Ram Sethi Fellow at the Lowy Institute and Executive Director of Observer Research Foundation America, as well as Shruti Pandalai, the inaugural Lowy Institute India Chair. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia calls itself the Pacific's partner of choice. But is the relationship built on mutual understanding, or is it driven by Canberra’s anxiety about China?  Professor Joanne Wallis, the author of a new book with Jack Corbett, Neighbours, joins the Lowy Institute’s Serena Sasingian to discuss Australia's uneasy colonial history in the region, the gap between its "Pacific family" rhetoric and its strategy of denial, and why aid hasn't bought the influence Canberra hoped for.  Wallis makes the case for a different frame altogether: not family, not chessboard, but neighbours. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.