Lowy Institute Conversations

As advanced militaries converge on similar hardware, the decisive edge in future conflict may come from how quickly commanders can sense, decide and act. Christopher Kirchhoff, who founded the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley office and authored Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Future of War, joins Sam Roggeveen to discuss agentic AI, nuclear stability, lessons from Ukraine and sovereignty for middle powers like Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia’s economic future will be shaped less by domestic policy debates than by forces beyond its borders: the US–China relationship, artificial intelligence, and the health of the global economic order. In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Sam Roggeveen speaks with economist and historian John Edwards, author of the latest Lowy Institute Paper, Overhaul: How Australia Can Adapt to a Changing World Economy, about why he is cautiously optimistic about the next 25 years — and why Canberra should be more sanguine about US–China rivalry. 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.

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.

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.

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.