America: at war with itself
Can Biden recover from a disastrous debate performance?
What does the release of Julian Assange reveal about the Australia-US relationship? And is Trump’s authoritarian behaviour really an outlier in American political history?
On the first episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis reflects on the first presidential debate performance and the release of Julian Assange, before former BBC United States correspondent Nick Bryant joins the show to discuss the country’s long history of authoritarianism.
This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 25 June and Monday 1 July 2024 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest: Nick Bryant, former BBC correspondent and author of The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself // @NickBryantNY
Host: Emma Shortis, Senior Research for International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis
Show notes:
The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself by Nick Bryant (June 2024)
‘American authoritarianism has a long history. What can it tell us about Trump and the battle for America’s soul?’ by Dr Emma Shortis, The Conversation (July 2024)
Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
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History shows American political violence is nothing new: Thomas Jefferson said ‘the blood of patriots’ is liberty’s ‘natural manure’
If you select “virtually any date in US history, it would be possible to find the same poisonous ingredients [… that] percolated violently to the surface on January 6th, 2021,” writes journalist and historian Nick Bryant in his new book, The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself. Over two centuries ago, in 1787, Thomas Jefferson,