Ground Truth

What does it take to report on war? Why did the Taliban win back Afghanistan, and what did their misinformation strategies play? What did the world miss in the lead-up to the fall of Kabul? And five years on, does the truth from the ground still matter?In this episode, Jasmine speaks with Lynne O’Donnell, a veteran foreign correspondent who ran the Kabul bureaus of AFP and the Associated Press, and has spent decades reporting from Afghanistan, China, Iraq and beyond. Lynne takes us inside the Taliban’s return to power: the 2020 Doha Agreement, a Taliban media operation that was seizing the narrative long before “fake news” entered our vocabulary, and the young Afghan soldiers left to hold the line with almost no support. She reflects on life under the Taliban today, why she sees the international response as a failure, and why, as she puts it, “nobody can say that they weren’t told.”Along the way, she talks about what it's like to be a foreign correspondent, how journalists earn the trust of sources under repressive regimes, Skyping with the Taliban's spokesman, why being right matters more than being first in the media cycle, and whether the truth still matters in war reporting.Guest: Lynne O’Donnell, foreign correspondent and former Kabul bureau chief for AFP and the Associated PressHost: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducers: Nora Davies (Colby College) and Miette Rolfe (University of Melbourne)Recorded: 7 September 2026Ground Truth is a podcast from the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne

What is a ceasefire, really? When the bombs stop, what else changes, and who pays the price? How does everyday life go on - in an administrative and legal sense - for people living in warzones, or under rebel governance? In this episode, Jasmine and Miette speak with Dr Marika Sosnowski about why ceasefires do far more than pause the fighting. Drawing on years of research on Syria’s civil war, Marika explains how ceasefires reshape local governance, economic networks, citizenship and property rights. In some cases they ended the killing but forced whole communities from rebel-held towns onto the green buses to move further into rebel-held areas, with laws then making that displacement permanent. She traces similar patterns in Gaza today, and asks what negotiators and mediators miss when “stopping violence” becomes the only measure of success.They also discuss everyday life under rebel governance (have you ever wondered who issues identity douments?), how Syrians are experiencing the transition nearly two years after the fall of Assad, and Marika's Stella Prize-shortlisted book 58 Facets, which connects her family’s history of war and displacement to the stories of the people she works with.Guest: Dr Marika Sosnowski, Senior Lecturer in Law, La Trobe UniversityHost: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Miette Rolfe, University of Melbourne and Initiative for Peacebuilding InternRecorded 8 September 2026Ground Truth is a podcast from the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne

How do authoritarian regimes use technology to monitor, control and govern populations? What happens when tools designed for humanitarian aid are repurposed for surveillance and repression? Is today's digital authoritarianism really any different from older authoritarian practices? And what responsibilities do tech companies have when their products enable it?Jasmine and Nora sit down with Dara Conduit, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Melbourne, and Niamatullah Ibrahimi, Senior Research Fellow at the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne, to examine the phenomenon of digital authoritarianism. Drawing on examples from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and beyond, they explore how regimes use new technologies to consolidate their political control. They discuss how digital systems developed for aid delivery and public services have been repurposed and how regimes are increasingly using digital spaces to target and influence diaspora communities beyond their borders. They ask what responsibility tech companies bear when their products become tools of coercion, and what all of this means for the future of freedoms in our increasingly digital world.Guests: Dr Niamatullah Ibrahimi (University of Melbourne) and Dr Dara Conduit (University of Melbourne)Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 27 July 2026

Why is violence rising again in Colombia, ten years after the government signed a landmark peace deal with FARC? What does the election of a new right-wing president mean for the country's ongoing peace process? And how are militarisation, Trump-style politics, conservative backlash and conflict economies reshaping Colombian politics? Jasmine and Nora sit down to unpack the rapidly changing political landscape in Colombia with Maria Paula Hernandez Ruiz, a Colombian PhD candidate at La Trobe University who has conducted oral histories of conflict in northern Colombia, and Dr Connor Clery, who teaches across several Victorian universities and did his PhD research with demobilising FARC units. Recorded shortly before the August earthquake, they explore the historical roots of Colombia's armed conflicts, the promises and challenges of the country's peace process, and the resurgence (or persistence) of violence in recent years. They discuss the implications of Colombia's recent election, growing militarisation, and a broader conservative backlash against many of the social and political reforms championed by the previous administration. As old conflicts take new forms, they ask what these developments mean for Colombia's future and whether peace can withstand the pressures of an increasingly polarised political environment.Guests: Maria Paula Hernandez Ruiz (La Trobe University) and Dr Connor Clery (University of Melbourne)Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 30 July 2026

Why are some young people embracing more traditional viewsabout gender? How are online influencers and digital spaces shaping the way young people think about their identities, grievances and politics? What does misogyny have to do with violent extremism and anti-liberal political movementsglobally? And what is the techno-patriarchy?Jasmine and Nora sit down with Dr Sara Meger from theUniversity of Melbourne to discuss her new research on misogyny, online radicalisation and youth extremism in Australia, and how this connects to her longer-term work on backlash movements, foreign fighters in Ukraine, and theglorified, gamified visions of "the warrior" that motivate some men. Drawing on one of the largest studies of its kind, they explore why growing numbers of young Australians are expressing support for traditional gender roles and anti-feminist ideas, how these attitudes are linked to extremistbeliefs across the ideological spectrum, and the role that online spaces, from social media and gaming platforms to pornography and "manfluencer" content, play in shaping them. Together, they trace the historical patterns that draw men to extremist causes – from the KKK to Al Qaeda – and ask whyunderstanding misogyny is critical to understanding not just contemporary political extremism, but the state of the world today.Guest: Dr Sara Meger, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Melbourne Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 20 July 2026

What's driving the overlapping conflicts in Myanmar? What's daily life like for people living in areas affected by war? How does Myanmar's military regime constrain humanitarian aid and access? And how are criminal enterprises, like trafficking people for forced labour in scam centres, fuelling violence and instability?Jasmine and Nora sit down with Sophia Htwe, a Myanmar-born PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, and Dr TamasWells, who leads the Myanmar Research Network at the University of Melbourne, to unpack the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar. Together, they explore the roots and complexities of the country's multiple armed conflicts, the everyday experiences of communities living through them, and the challenges of delivering much-needed humanitarian aid to the estimated 16 million people who need it to survive. They examine the role of Myanmar's military regime in restricting humanitarian access, the links between conflict and criminal economies, and why the idea of "peace" has become so contested in Myanmar today.Guests: Sophia Htwe (University of Melbourne) and Dr Tamas Wells (University of Melbourne)Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 28 July 2026

 Who gets to decide the terms of peace after war? Is peace a business opportunity? And what happens when the people most affected by conflict are excluded from the negotiating table?Jasmine and Nora sit down with Dr Teresa Almeida Cravo, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Coimbra, to unpack President Trump's controversial "Board of Peace" and what it tells us about the changing nature of global peacemaking. From Gaza to Ukraine and beyond, they explore who gets a seat at the table, who is left out and why the Board for Peace may be reshaping how peace is made around the world. Is this a radical break from the past, or the logical endpoint of a much longer trend?Guest: Associate Professor Teresa Almeida Cravo, University of Coimbra Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 24 July 2026

Is the world getting more dangerous? Is the UN fit for purpose? Does diplomacy still work in an era of rising tensions, shifting alliances, great power competition — and WhatsApp messages between world leaders?Jasmine and Nora sit down with Amanda Gorely — former Australian Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, the Philippines, and for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation — to explore over three decades on the front lines of global diplomacy. From negotiating arms control to navigating the corridors of the United Nations, Amanda offers a rare insider's perspective on how diplomacy has evolved, what's at stake in today's volatile global landscape, and whether diplomacy can still make a difference to global peace and security.Guest: Amanda Gorely, former Australian diplomat. Host: Associate Professor Jasmine Westendorf, Co-director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneProducer: Nora Davies, Colby College and Initiative for Peacebuilding Intern Recorded: 22 July 2026Ground Truth is a podcast from the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne