The Focus

By: Auscast Network
  • Summary

  • The news today is often biased at the personal, organisational and structural levels, polarising our societies. The Focus is a program designed to cut through this bias to get at the heart of a topic. Join Host Dr. John Bruni and Producers Malcolm Hughes and Neil Smart as they examine the pressing issues of our time whether in Australia or overseas. In an interdependent, troubled and fast-moving world, knowing what questions to ask can lead us to understand and adapt to new and disruptive circumstances.
    2024 Auscast Network
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Episodes
  • Election 2024 | Democracy on the Edge?
    Nov 1 2024

    In our latest episode of The Focus, we sit down with Dr. Roy Casagranda to delve into the high-stakes landscape of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. With democracy, alliances, and the global order on the line, Dr. Casagranda unpacks the complexities surrounding Trump AND Harris as presidential candidates, exploring how their policies and political manoeuvres could reshape America and its role on the world stage. Join us for this in-depth analysis of an election that could redefine the future.

    Show Notes:

    Roy Casagranda Links

    X: @RoyCasagranda

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.roy.casagranda?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

    Website: https://gov.casagranda.com/index.html

    Books by Roy:

    The Blood Throne of Caria (Empire of the Nightingale Book 3), Sekhmet Liminal Press, LLC, 2018.

    Articles by Roy:

    Nationalism and the Left: Liberation not Supremacy, IAI News, March 3, 2023, https://iai.tv/articles/nationalism-and-the-left-roy-casagranda-auid-2408.

    Glossary of Terms:

    NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), 1 July 2020.

    FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), 32nd President of the United States.

    Jill Stein from Pennsylvania is an American physician, activist & politician associated with the Green Party. Her political campaigns primary revolve around the Green New Deal.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Middle East at War | Israel vs. Iran
    Oct 26 2024

    🔥 Iran's Largest Missile Barrage Yet! 🔥 In this explosive episode of The Focus, we dive into the unprecedented Iranian missile strikes on Israel in 2024, the largest of its kind since the conflict began. With 200 ballistic missiles fired, retaliation for the assassinations of key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, and Israel's air defenses pushed to the limit, we sit down with Professor Scott Lucas, an expert in international relations, to break down what this all means for the future of the Middle East. Could this be the flashpoint for a larger conflict? 🚨 Don't miss this must-listen episode!

    SHOW NOTES:

    X: @ScottLucas_EA

    Website: eaworldview.com

    Books:

    (Eds. Bevan Sewell & Scott Lucas ) Challenging US Foreign Policy: America and the World in the Long Twentieth Century, 2011.

    (Eds. Scott Lucas & Ali Fisher) The Trials of Public Diplomacy, 2010.

    Scholarly Articles:

    Lucas, Scott & Paraszczuk, Joanna. (2014). The Middle East: Between Geography and Power. Bustan: The Middle East Book Review. 5. 17-23. 10.1163/18785328-00501002.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • A Harris Doctrine? Kamala Harris' Foreign Policy
    Oct 15 2024

    Is there a new 'Harris Doctrine' on the horizon? Join Yale historian Dr. Michael Brenes as we unpack Kamala Harris's foreign policy vision in our latest podcast!

    Show Notes:

    You can contact Michael here:

    X: @mbrenes1

    Substack: michaelbrenes.substack.com

    Books published by Michael –

    • And, as mentioned in the podcast - The Rivalry Peril: How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy, and TO BE published by Yale University Press in January 2025.
    • Rethinking U.S. Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2024.
    • For Might and Right: Cold War Defense Spending and the Remaking of American Democracy, published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2020.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 27 mins

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.