Lowy Institute

The US midterm elections on 3 November 2026 delivered an important signal of Washington’s trajectory for the second half of President Trump’s term and beyond. How Americans voted will shape the room the administration has to pursue its agenda, with far-reaching consequences for the Australian government and Australian businesses, from trade and investment settings to the US–Australia alliance. It will also influence the shape of post-Trump America. In this special event, Richard Fontaine, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), joined online from Washington, DC to analyse the results. The conversation was hosted by Dr Michael Fullilove AM, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, before an in-person audience at 31 Bligh Street, and was followed by an audience Q&A.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Official development finance to Southeast Asia has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, just as the region faces a run of overlapping economic shocks. Contrary to some expectations, China isn’t stepping into the gap left by retreating traditional donors, such as Japan and the United States.In this episode of Development Futures, the Lowy Institute's Lead Economist and Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre Roland Rajah speaks with Rahul Nath and Taili Ni, two of the researchers behind the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Aid Map, about what the latest data shows and what developments to watch. You can read the full report or explore the interactive map at https://seamap.lowyinstitute.org/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.

At the 2026 Lowy Institute Media Award dinner, former ambassador and intelligence chief Dennis Richardson AC traced five decades at the sharp end of government-media relations, from running the Commonwealth's first media monitoring unit in 1972 to advising ambassadors on when to dodge the cameras. He's blunt on AUKUS and the government's reluctance to sell it, sharper still on what he sees as media silence in the face of rising anti-Semitism after the Bondi attack, and unsparing about a public service he says too often confuses self-censorship for prudence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute was delighted to welcome Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to Bligh Street for a roundtable discussion, chaired by the Institute's Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The Prime Minister delivered a brief speech, discussing the roles of Thailand, Australia, and middle-sized countries in addressing an increasingly uncertain world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two prominent Australian strategists from opposite sides of the defence debate discuss the AUKUS partnership. Jennifer Parker makes the case that AUKUS is vital for Australian security and that the nuclear-powered submarines will be delivered. Sam Roggeveen argues that AUKUS is unachievable and unnecessary. The debate features opening statements from each speaker, followed by a moderated discussion led by Lowy Institute Research Director Mihai Sora, and concludes with an audience Q&A.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.