Curtin’s Cast

John Curtin Research Centre
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Curtin’s Cast, the John Curtin Research Centre’s podcast of politics, culture and ideas brought to you by JCRC Executive Director Nick Dyrenfurth and Redbridge Director and former Victorian Labor assistant secretary Kos Samaras. Each fortnight we bring you the freshest and most challenging conversations from the world of Australian and global politics with leaders, activists, and thinkers.

  1. Jun 1

    Curtin's Cast Episode 59 - 3 June 2026 - Prime Minister Pauline Hanson?

    One Nation is now Australia's most popular political party. Pauline Hanson is Australia's most popular political leader. And new RedBridge–Accent MRP modelling suggests the Australian political system may be fragmenting faster than either major party understands. This week on Curtin's Cast, Nick Dyrenfurth and Kos Samaras unpack the extraordinary polling behind One Nation's rise, the collapse of traditional party loyalties, and what it means for Labor, the Coalition and Australia's political future. Is this simply another protest vote, or are we witnessing the biggest political realignment in modern Australian history? They explore why millions of Australians feel they're getting poorer in silence, how housing insecurity and falling living standards are reshaping political behaviour, why Labor's budget reforms have produced such a complicated reaction, and why the Coalition is failing to benefit from Labor's losses. Plus: could Pauline Hanson really become prime minister? What would need to happen for One Nation to become a governing force? And is Victoria about to provide a preview of Australia's fragmented political future? A provocative conversation about economic insecurity, political dealignment and realignment, institutional distrust and the forces reshaping Australian democracy. Check out Episode 59 via Apple, Spotify and Youtube

    35 min
  2. Curtin’s Cast Episode 58 - 27 May 2026 - The Alchemy of Leadership with Professor Paul Strangio

    May 26

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 58 - 27 May 2026 - The Alchemy of Leadership with Professor Paul Strangio

    No Kos this week — but Nick Dyrenfurth is joined by one of Australia’s leading public intellectuals and scholars of political leadership, Professor Paul Strangio, to unpack one of the defining political questions of our age: Why has democratic politics become so chaotic — and why has Australia, so far at least, resisted full-scale democratic rupture? Drawing on Paul Strangio’s new book ‘The Alchemy of Leadership: Seven Australian Prime Ministers in a Turbulent Twenty-First Century’ (Melbourne University Publishing), this wide-ranging conversation explores the collapse of old political loyalties, revolving-door prime ministers, media fragmentation, hyper-politics, populism, culture wars and the emotional exhaustion now embedded in modern democratic life. From Howard, Rudd and Gillard to Abbott, Morrison, Albanese and the post-2025 political landscape, Nick and Paul examine how leadership itself has changed in the twenty-first century — and whether traditional democratic authority can still survive in the age of algorithms, permanent campaigning and anti-politics. They discuss: Why Australian politics became permanently unstable after 2007 John Howard’s role in “smuggling” conservative populism into the mainstream Pauline Hanson, Trumpism and why Australia avoided full MAGA-style collapse Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

    53 min

  3. May 19

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 57 – 20 May 2026 - Budget Wars, Chasing Pauline & the End of Howard’s Australia

    Is Australian politics finally exiting the dead zone of managerialism and re-entering an era of genuine ideological conflict? In Episode 57 of Curtin’s Cast, Nick Dyrenfurth and Australia’s "revered pollster” Kos Samaras unpack the political shockwaves from Labor’s 2026 budget — and why much of the legacy media may be completely misunderstanding what is happening. As newspapers scream “political suicide” and compare the budget to the disastrous 2014 Hockey Budget, Nick and Kos explore why this is not 2001 or 2004 politics anymore. Millennials and Gen Z do not expect miracles — they want proof governments are finally willing to “touch the architecture” on housing, tax and intergenerational fairness. Nick and Kos dive deep into: why Labor now openly sees under-45s as its electoral base the collapse of the old Howard-era political settlement how this is the first serious reform battle in decades Angus Taylor’s high-risk budget reply and the risks of chasing Pauline Hanson why the Coalition’s proposal to strip non-citizens of welfare, NDIS and other benefits could detonate support among Chinese-Australian households how “household voting” works politically in migrant communities and why anti-Dan Andrews politics is a dead-end for the Victorian Libs Plus: Kos hints at a bombshell new Redbridge/Australian Financial Review poll, predictions on Andrew Hastie and November's Victorian state election

    38 min

  4. May 12

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 56 - 13 May 2026 - Angry Young Women feat. Emily Lawford (New Statesman)

    For years politics and media have obsessed over angry young men, the manosphere and figures like Andrew Tate. But what if the bigger political story is the radicalisation — and growing pessimism — of ‘Angry Young Women’? This week Nick Dyrenfurth and Kos Samaras are joined by New Statesman staff writer Emily Lawford to discuss her major recent cover story on the rise of the Gen Z “femosphere” and the widening political divide between young men and women. They discuss: ▪️ How young women are becoming more politically engaged, but more anxious and pessimistic ▪️ Why these young women are so down on young men, capitalism and animated by issues like Gaza ▪️ The rise of online feminist identity and activism ▪️ TikTok, social media and radicalisation pathways ▪️ Why young men and women are increasingly diverging politically ▪️ The impact on relationships, trust and social cohesion ▪️ What this means for Labor, the Greens and the future of democratic politics Featuring Australian polling and focus-group insights from Kos Samaras and the team at RedBridge. A serious conversation about one of the biggest — and least understood — political shifts reshaping the Anglosphere. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

    43 min

  5. May 5

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 55 - 6 May 2026 - Has One Nation Hit Its Ceiling?

    One year on from the 2025 federal election, the political landscape is shifting again — and not in ways either major legacy party can fully control. In this episode, Kos Samaras and Nick Dyrenfurth unpack the latest RedBridge/Accent/AFR  polling and the fallout from the Nepean by-election. Has One Nation’s surge peaked? And is there a “Trump dump” effect — where getting too close to Trump and MAGA begins to turn voters off? Nick and Kos also explore Pauline Hanson’s emerging dilemma: a choice between battlers and billionaires, as her party draws support from working Australians while benefiting from the backing of right-wing figures like Gina Rinehart. We also preview the looming Farrer by-election and examine what Nepean signals for both Labor and the Liberals — and the Victorian election ahead.

    38 min
  6. Curtin’s Cast Episode 54 - 29 April 2026 - AI, Jobs & the Coming Political Reckoning

    Apr 28

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 54 - 29 April 2026 - AI, Jobs & the Coming Political Reckoning

    In this episode, Nick Dyrenfurth and Kos Samaras break down why AI anxiety is already political — not hypothetical — and why governments are at risk of repeating the biggest mistake of the last economic transition. We’ve seen this movie before. It didn’t end well. Over 70% of Australians think AI will cost jobs — and this time, the fear hits before the impact. Based off new Redbridge polling and the John Curtin Research Centre's new policy report, 'For All of Us: Making Artificial Intelligence Work for Working People', the argument is simple: if workers don’t share in the gains, they won’t accept the change. And if they don’t accept it, they’ll vote against it.

    34 min
  7. Curtin's Cast Episode 53 - 22 April 2026 - Europe’s Political Upheaval

    Apr 21

    Curtin's Cast Episode 53 - 22 April 2026 - Europe’s Political Upheaval

    On this episode, Nick Dyrenfurth and Kos Samaras are joined by leading scholars of nationalism and European politics expert Associate Professor Ben Wellings (Monash University) to unpack the forces reshaping the UK and Europe. From the collapse of the political centre to the rise of populists and Greens alike, this is a continent in flux. We cover: ▪️ The UK’s shift to five-party fragmentation with Greens and Reform surging ▪️ Trump Bump 2.0 reshaping European politics in real time ▪️ Hungary after Orbán — liberal reset or just a populist pause? ▪️ Scottish and Welsh elections and Keir Starmer’s future Essential listening for anyone trying to understand where Western politics is heading — and why the old rules no longer apply.

    49 min
  8. Curtin’s Cast Episode 52 – 15 April 2026 – How Left and Right Populism Are Reshaping Australia

    Apr 14

    Curtin’s Cast Episode 52 – 15 April 2026 – How Left and Right Populism Are Reshaping Australia

    Australia isn’t experiencing one populist surge, but two. In this episode of Curtin’s Cast, Nick Dyrenfurth and Kos Samaras unpack new RedBridge and Accent Research polling revealing a striking political reality: under the same economic pressures, different generations are breaking in completely different directions. Among financially stressed Gen X voters, One Nation is surging. Among Gen Z voters under that same pressure, the Greens are rising just as sharply. Same system. Same frustration. Completely different political outcomes. This isn’t just volatility — it’s something deeper. The unravelling of the class-based political system that has defined Australia for more than a century. But here’s the paradox: as the system fragments, Labor remains dominant. Why? Drawing on Nick’s ‘Trump Bump 2.0’ thesis, the episode explores how voters are shifting from blaming governments to asking a different question — who looks like the “adult in the room” in an age of global instability. Nick and Kos break down: Why Australia now has two competing populisms The generational divide reshaping politics Why One Nation is insurgent but not a governing force The Coalition’s accelerating collapse How Labor is holding on amid fragmentation Is class politics is being replaced by generation and education This is a conversation about a political system coming apart — and what might replace it.

    39 min
See All (59)

About

Welcome to Curtin’s Cast, the John Curtin Research Centre’s podcast of politics, culture and ideas brought to you by JCRC Executive Director Nick Dyrenfurth and Redbridge Director and former Victorian Labor assistant secretary Kos Samaras. Each fortnight we bring you the freshest and most challenging conversations from the world of Australian and global politics with leaders, activists, and thinkers.

Information

  • Creator
    John Curtin Research Centre
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Curtin’s Cast

You Might Also Like