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December 4, 2025 56 mins

Sean Kelly started with a basic question: What does Labor believe?

Drawing on his experience as a former press secretary for both Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, and over a decade covering politics, he pursues the question through the lens of our not so-distant-past - from the Cold War to Whitlam, from Hawke and Keating to Rudd and Gillard.

The result is a brilliant essay which reflects on the struggles, feats and failures of the current Albanese government - placing it within the broader struggle of all centre-left parties: between belief and action, idealism and pragmatism, the 'right' thing and the achievable thing.

Sean comes on the show to discuss it with Stephen.

A must-listen and a must-read to all who are interested in fighting the good fight.

✍️ Mentioned in the episode:

Quarterly Essay 100: 'The Good Fight: What Does Labor Stand For?' by Sean Kelly
https://bit.ly/4rzVkC3


The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison by Sean Kelly
https://bit.ly/48gYbYW



#podcast #quarterlyessay #thegoodfight #seankelly #ALP #Labor #Albanese #Gillard #Rudd #Hawke #Keating #socialism #idealism #pragmatism #politics

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