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PODCAST

Afternoon Light

Robert Menzies Institute

Welcome to the Afternoon Light Podcast, a captivating journey into the heart of Australia’s political history and enduring values. Presented by the Robert Menzies Institute, a prime ministerial library and museum, this podcast illuminates the remarkable legacy of Sir Robert Menzies, Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. Dive into the rich tapestry of Menzies’s contemporary impact as we explore his profound contributions on the Afternoon Light Podcast. Join us as we delve into his unyielding

history politics

All Episodes

40:25

Re-Release: Jane Connors, ‘Because She Was Here’ The...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/09/16

As a tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Robert Menzies Institute is re-releasing this episode of Afternoon Light discussing the 1954 Royal Tour, originally published in February: In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. The Royal Tour was a fascinating cultural phenomenon, mesmerising the entire nation for over a month. It is estimated that three-quarters of Australia’s population came out to see their new Queen, escorted by her husband Prince Phillip. In

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48:34

Zachary Gorman, ‘A story of mythology coming true’...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/09/14

Seventy years ago the Menzies Government made the unlikely purchase of an original 1297 copy of Magna Carta. Transported to Australia with the greatest degree of care and attention, it has (barring the occasional restoration) sat in pride of place in Parliament House ever since. The question this podcast seeks to unpack is why? - what does a 13th century document principally designed to meet the interests of self-interested aristocrats have to do with a modern democracy based on universal suffrage

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57:27

Paul Williams, ‘Australian to the Bootheels’...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/09/07

John Gorton attained the Prime Ministership in the unlikeliest of ways. Propelled into the media spotlight for lancing the boil of the VIP Aircraft Affair, he was able to use television and personal popularity to leap-frog many senior colleagues into the leadership after Harold Holt’s disappearance. Once he had attained the reins of office, Gorton was determined to do things ‘his way’, centralising power in the hands of the Commonwealth and riding roughshod over a string of conservative orthodoxies

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43:48

Jeff Wilson, ‘A period of radical change and bravery...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/08/31

It is no secret that Australia currently faces a troubled geopolitical environment, indeed one of the most difficult that we have faced in recent memory. In these novel circumstances it is worthwhile looking back on past periods of disturbance to draw lessons for the present. While people tend to be quick to jump to comparisons to the 1930s and its catastrophic descent towards global conflict, there are significant and perhaps more profitable parallels to be drawn between the 1950s and now,

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43:44

Andrew Carr, ‘A certain amount of public work’...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/08/24

In the ‘Forgotten People’ broadcast Menzies presaged JFK by suggesting that ‘The great question is, "How can I qualify my son to help society?" Not, as we have so frequently thought, "How can I qualify society to help my son?"’. Following this, a close examination of Menzies’s political speeches demonstrates that he talked about the individual’s duties and obligations almost as much as he talked about their freedom and their liberty. In this vein, Menzies fitted into a long tradition of civic

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48:42

Greg Melleuish & Zachary Gorman, ‘A big step in...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/08/17

The issue of State Aid for independent schools was once one of the most divisive in Australian politics. When the advent of ‘free, compulsory, and secular’ education in the 19th century spelled the end of government support for denominational schools, Australia’s Catholic community resolved to maintain their own schools as a matter of identity, culture, and pride. Meanwhile, informed in part by sectarianism and prejudice, the Protestant majority became equally determined that no government money

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51:37

Nick Dyrenfurth, ‘This amorphous concept’ An...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/08/10

The idea of an ‘Australian citizen’ is a concept that is in a perpetual state of development. At the time of federation, Australians considered themselves to be British subjects and the only time ‘citizenship’ is mentioned in our Constitution is to bar citizens of a foreign power from siting in Parliament. Without a clear definition, the concept has gradually evolved through discourse and through practice, and a central figure in that evolution was Robert Menzies. For Menzies, citizenship was an

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51:01

Wayne Reynolds, ‘We have this deterrent’ Australia’s...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/08/03

While Australia’s hosting of British nuclear tests in the 1950s is a well-known and controversial policy of the Menzies Government, the fact that Australia sought its own ‘bomb’ remains relatively obscure. That our nation’s leaders, on both sides of politics, desired nuclear weapons should not surprise us. Australia had stared down the existential threat of invasion during World War Two, and on the same premise that informed ‘populate or perish’ and our push for an ongoing alliance with the United

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49:51

Patrick Mullins, ‘A question that had to be asked and...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/07/27

Often described as one of Australia’s weakest Prime Ministers, Billy McMahon nevertheless makes for a fascinating biographical subject. A notorious leaker who made far more enemies than friends, McMahon’s climb to the top position of Australian political leadership is one of the most surprising and remarkable achievements in Australian politics. For all of his flaws, McMahon was a man of great perseverance, work-ethic, and drive, and on a number of policy positions, particularly that of free trade,

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35:32

Heather Henderson, ‘He took a great interest in a lot...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/07/20

At the heart of Robert Menzies’s appeal to the ‘Forgotten People’ was the family, the essential basis of a healthy society. Menzies described the instinct to be with one’s family as ‘the great instinct of civilised man’. This was no mere rhetoric, Menzies was at heart a family man and cherished every moment that he got to spend with his close relatives. They in turn remember him fondly, and can provide insights into the real man that would otherwise remain forever hidden.

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54:56

Tom Frame, ‘An Orderly and Seamless Transition of...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/07/13

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Tom Frame about Menzies’s Liberal deputy and immediate successor Harold Holt.

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41:04

Bridget Brooklyn, ‘A Tendency to See This As...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/06/29

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Western Sydney University Lecturer Dr Bridget Brooklyn about the intricacies of the pivotal 1954 election.

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47:20

Peter Drysdale: ‘A Radical Idea’ Personal Reflections...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/06/22

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Peter Drysdale AO, architect of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, about his personal reflections on how the Australia-Japan relationship has developed over the years.

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54:10

Gray Connolly: ‘A Very Strong Communitarian Element’...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/06/15

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to barrister and public commentator Gray Connolly about the history of Australian conservatism.

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48:24

Alexander Downer: ‘A Sense of History’ Political...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/06/08

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer about his personal recollections of Robert Menzies and his views on contemporary politics, with a particular emphasis on the troubled geopolitical landscape.

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47:53

Troy Bramston: ‘That Sense of Stature About Them’...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/06/01

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to best-selling biographer Troy Bramston about the comparisons to be made between Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke, the longest serving prime ministers for each side of Australian politics. When it comes to political longevity, Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke are record-breakers who are frequently held up as leadership models for successors to emulate. But despite their competing political

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52:28

William Stoltz: ‘Its work was so sensitive that...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/05/25

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to our Visiting Fellow Dr William Stoltz about the history of the Australia Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), which recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of its foundation under the Menzies Government. You can read Dr Stoltz’s opinion piece on the creation of ASIS here.

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45:02

Darius von Güttner: ‘Reaching Out to the Past and...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/05/18

In this week's episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Dr Darius von Güttner, a historian of Eastern Central Europe from the University of Melbourne, about the ‘deep history’ that underpins the current conflict in the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s flagrant invasion of the Ukraine has famously been justified on the pretext of NATO expansionism, but it is also based on a historical fiction which seeks to undermine the legitimacy of the sovereign nation

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41:02

James Paterson: ‘A Dramatic Wake Up Call’ Navigating...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/05/11

In this week’s episode of Afternoon Light, , Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer discusses the dangers posed by an increasingly assertive China and the outbreak of conflict in Eastern Europe with Australian Senator James Paterson. Australia’s degenerating relationship with China has dominated headlines for several years. As Australia seeks to uphold sovereignty and a rules based international order, we are increasingly exposed to economic coercion, cyber-attacks, and even acts of espionage

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49:09

Peter Edwards: ‘One of the Greatest Examples of...

Afternoon Light ·

2022/05/04

The Robert Menzies Institute recently hosted renowned military and diplomatic historian Peter Edwards for a talk entitled ‘From Korea to Vietnam: Menzies’s Cold War military commitments’. Prior to the event, Peter sat down with the Institute’s CEO Georgina Downer to talk through the complex issues involved in the defence of Australia during the Menzies era. It is natural and just that Australians should be drawn towards remembering and commemorating the Vietnam War, in which 521 Australian combat

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238 results

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