Afternoon Light

Why don't the British figure in narratives of post-war migration, when for decades they were still the largest migrant group?

On Afternoon Light #189 Georgina Downer speaks with Alistair Thomson about the 10 Pound Poms. Whose complex migrant stories provided us with plenty of Aussie rock icons, but also gradually revealed that Australia was not quite as British as either they or we assumed.

Alistair Thomson is Professor of History ...

Who was Australia's unluckiest Prime Minister?

On Afternoon Light #188 Georgina Downer speaks with Michael Easson about James Scullin, the PM sworn in the week of the Wall Street Crash. His 1931 electoral defeat was the last time an Australian federal government failed to win a second term; a record Anthony Albanese is desperate to avoid.

Michael Easson AM is a businessman, company director, former union leader and Labor historian....

How did Australia develop its reputation as an exporter of higher education?

On Afternoon Light #187 Georgina Downer speaks with David Lowe to mark 75 years since the meeting that spawned the Colombo Plan. An innovative and enduring foreign aid program that helped our 'near north' neighbours to economically develop, winning 'hearts and minds' during the Cold War and inadvertently shifting Australian hearts and minds against the Whi...

The son of a greengrocer who was an Italian immigrant, Santamaria became an incredibly influential figure in Australian politics. Yet for someone who had did not hold a formal position, was his influence overstated? And how did Santamaria color Menzies' own worldviews when the latter was in office? 

Samuel Chamberlain talks to Ge...

Can you imagine Australia without government bureaucrats?

On Afternoon Light #186 Georgina Downer speaks with Colin Milner to tell the remarkable story of the Commonwealth's first public servant Sir Robert Garran. A father of federation and authority on the constitution, whose long career exerted more power and influence than some prime ministers.

Colin Milner, BA Hons, LLB (Sydney University), is a former official of the Australia...

How did inflation targeting and child endowment change Australia’s trajectory? And specifically, how did this create the middle-class economy we are familiar with today? 

Abby Smith talks to Georgina Downer about their chapter in the upcoming book Finding Menzies, how Menzies went about spearheading the Australian middle-class e...

Priscilla Spalding talks to Georgina Downer about their fascinating chapter in the book Finding Menzies: on how Menzies's political philosophy lifted a country after dark times, and let us all understand more about hi...

What does it take to win a federal election from Opposition?

On Afternoon Light #185 Georgina Downer speaks with Andrew Kemp and Zachary Gorman to discuss Robert Menzies’s watershed 1949 election victory. Drawing out its enduring impact on modern Australia, as well as the lessons it offers political campaigners in 2025.

Andrew Kemp is a Melbourne-based writer and a former economist at the Commonwealth Treasury and the Department of...

Where did our allegiances really lie between 1959-1964? 

Jesse Seeberg-Gordon talks to Georgina Downer about his chapter in the upcoming book Finding Menzies, on how fissures in international relations brought catalyzed debates on what friendly relations with surrounding countries could also entail. 

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert M...

Where was Menzies's limit when it came to free speech? 

Patrick Irwin talks to Georgina Downer about his chapter in the upcoming book Finding Menzies, on how Menzies’s struggle with the limits of free speech came to a fore that shone him in a new light in the public consciousness. 

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: h...

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2024 conference entitled ‘The Final Chapter: Purpose, Endurance and Legacy 1961-66 and Beyond’. This final episode features Charles Richardson on 'Menzies’s Philosophical Legacy to his party', Stephen Loosley's paper 'A Horse With No Name: Federal Labor, 1954-1966' (begins at 19:50), and Frank Bongiorno's paper ‘"o...

What did Menzies have to do with the idea of Liberal Education?

Jacob Carson discusses with Georgina Downer how Menzies was at the centre of the push and pull between vocational and commercial understandings toward higher education, and how this debate still goes on today.

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series. ➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: https://g...

What does the 'ordinary Australian' actually mean? 

Josh Woodward talks to Georgina Downer about how the idea of the 'Ordinary Australian' confronts notions of Empire, as well as the concept of individual freedoms.

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: https://give-aus.keela.co/christmas-m... 📱 Follow the Menzies Insti...

What was the public willing to support in wartime during Menzies's era? 

Aaron Marston-Pattison speaks to Georgina Downer about which aspects of Menzies's war aims the public was willing to support.

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: https://give-aus.keela.co/christmas-m... 📱 Follow the Menzies Institute on Social M...

How do we look back on the Anglo-Australian relationship when we look at the history of Australia? 

Scarlett Wakelin speaks with Georgina Downer on the nature of the Anglo-Australian relationship that persisted through the 20th century.

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: https://give-aus.keela.co/christmas-m... 📱 Fo...

How did Menzies' undergraduate career become reflected in the trials and accomplishments of his life as a statesman?

Nick Warren talks to Georgina Downer in this episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast, recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series.

➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute: https://give-aus.keela.co/christmas-m... 📱 Follow the Menzies Institute on Social Media:

X: https://x.com/rmenziesinst / Facebo...

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2024 conference entitled ‘The Final Chapter: Purpose, Endurance and Legacy 1961-66 and Beyond’. This sixth episode features Will Stoltz on 'Managed Decolonisation', Sean Jacob's paper 'Relaxed and Comfortable: Menzies and the fall of Empire (1961-66)' (begins at 19:15), David Furse-Robert's paper 'Homes Material, H...

Was Menzies for class segregation, or was he a vehement opponent of the entire system? 

Maya Khurana talks to Georgina Downer about the Australian middle-class, and how Menzies drove significant change whilst challenging the notion of class at the same time.

This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network Series. ➡️ Support the Robert Menzies Institute by visiting our website.

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How did Australia's relationship with New Zealand come to define both countries histories, both between each other as well as their relations with neighboring Asia-Pacific countries? 

Orlando Throsby talks to Georgina Downer about the history of Australia and New Zealand's relationship with each other - as well as their neighbors. This episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast was recorded as part of our Menzies Early Career Network S...