Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Why are Australia's publicly funded universities some of the least accountable institutions in the country? What went wrong at the University of Wollongong, and what does it reveal about who really runs our universities? Has rudeness in public life been mistaken for authenticity?On this episode of Democracy Sausage, NSW Labor MLC Dr Sarah Kaine joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss her parliamentary inquiry into university governance, the loss of universities' public mission and social licence, and the growing abuse directed at politicians in the wake of the attack on Dr Helen Haines.

How has the attack on Helen Haines changed the conversation about political violence in Australia? Are the US midterms about to become a referendum on an unpopular president? Could Democrats take the Senate, with Texas, Michigan and Kansas suddenly in play?In this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga are joined by the United States Studies Centre's Bruce Wolpe. They begin by reflecting on the attack on the Member for Indi, and on what politicians, parties and the media owe to a healthier political culture. The conversation then turns to the US midterms, now less than a fortnight away. They cover Trump's sinking approval ratings, affordability and the war in Iran as drivers of the vote, and the key Senate races to watch. They finish with what a Democratic Congress could mean for the rest of Trump's term and the road to 2028.

Why are Australia's least resilient communities turning to One Nation? What happens when the major parties take their heartland seats for granted? Can Labor's "shallow" 2025 win hold together in 2028?Redbridge Group director Kos Samaras joins Mark and Marija to unpack the new Australian Resilience Index. It maps the financial, health and social resilience of communities across all 150 federal electorates. They look at why seats with low health resilience line up so closely with One Nation's projected gains, and at how decades of pork-barrelling in marginal seats have left regional Australia and the outer suburbs behind. Kos also talks about Meadow Heights, the Melbourne suburb where he grew up, which went from a Labor stronghold to one of the least resilient communities in the country.

Is Labor's managerial, middle-of-the-road style a sensible way to steer through rough seas, or does it leave room on the left for someone selling a bigger vision? If Pauline Hanson can do it to the Coalition, can Shoebridge do it to Labor? Or is Australia simply heading for a multi-party era where every seat is marginal? On this episode, Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga look at what was behind the Greens' first truly competitive leadership contest. They discuss why personal relationships carry so much weight in a party room that could fit in a minivan, and whether the Greens are really just a privatised left faction of the ALP.

What did John Howard understand about survival and self-correction that his six successors never quite grasped? Why do so many of our prime ministers trace their drive back to fiercely ambitious mothers — and what does that pattern tell us about who gets to lead? Is the Liberal Party's current unravelling the price of clinging to the "Howard settlement" long after the country moved on? Historian and biographer Paul Strangio joins Mark to dissect what makes — and breaks — an Australian prime minister, drawing on his newly shortlisted book The Alchemy of Leadership: Seven Australian Prime Ministers in a Turbulent Twenty-First Century. 

What are the five forces reshaping Australia's economy and society over the next four decades? What it will take to keep Australians' faith in government alive while managing them? What can younger Australians expect from future governments?Treasurer of Australia and ANU Alum the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP joins Mark Kenny and Liz Allen on Democracy Sausage to unpack the 2025 Intergenerational Report.