Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

The state of Victoria will soon go to the polls with all eyes on how the anti-establishment/nativist party One Nation will perform. If it does well, as many predict, there are some who believe the party could emerge as a significant political force not just in Victoria, but at a federal level. So, what does history tell us about the rise of insurgent parties? And why have we seen a decades long voter-drift away from the two major parties?Guests:Sam Roggeveen - Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security ProgramDr Clement Macintyre – Professor Emeritus of Politics, Adelaide UniversityDr William Partlett - Associate Professor of Public Law, University of Melbourne Bill Browne – Director of The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program

The crisis in the Middle East has once again thrown a spotlight on the Houthis, a militia group from Yemen who, in conjunction with Iran, have been disrupting international shipping and global supply chains. The Houthis have long been derided as an Iranian "proxy", but their recent attacks against Saudi Arabia and capture of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb show they are a formidable force in their own right. In this episode we examine the Houthis origins and rising influence.Jane Kinninmont - Middle East specialist, United Nations Association, UK Baraa Shaban - Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services InstituteMartin Smith - Producer and correspondent for PBSIsel van Zyl – Coordinator of the AVERT Research Network, Deakin University

More than 30 years after apartheid ended in South Africa, why is it still the most unequal country in the world?Guests:Bulelwa Mabasa - Director and Head of Land Reform, Werksmans AttorneysProfessor Ruth Hall  - Director, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at University of the Western CapeWandile Sihlobo - Chief Economist, Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa and South Africa’s Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land

The English language is dotted with expressions that betray a distrust of time – we talk of “racing against time” or we express a frustration that “time is not on our side”. In this episode of Rear Vision, we look at the history of time as a concept. Why time from the Industrial Revolution onwards became wedded to ideas of progress and productivity. And how at both a personal and societal level time became a means of constraint as much as organisation.Guests:Dr Adrian Bardon – Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University Dr Emily Thomas – Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, Durham UniversityDr Iwan Rhys Morus – Professor of History and Welsh History, Aberystwyth UniversityJudith Shulevitz – American journalist, editor and culture criticDr David Henkin – Professor of History, University of California, BerkeleyTom Greene – Atlanta-based syndicated columnist and podcaster

Depending on who you talk to the American Israel Lobby is either one of the most powerful forces in US politics or an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.In this Rear Vision we explore the history and ask if the Israel Lobby exist? And if it does what impact it may have had on US politics and US foreign policy in the Middle East.