Barbara Walter has been part of a CIA task force looking at predictive models for where civil wars might break out around the world. As the task force looked closely at the data, they discovered that the two most predictive factors were well-established in America.   
 
Barbara says the 2024 U.S. Presidential election is a genuine trigger for violence, and if the U.S. does not change its course, it could end up in a second civil war.  
 
Malcolm talks to Barbara about what leads modern democracies toward violence and what can be done to avert a second civil war in the United States.  

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What do you do when a country suddenly falls into darkness?   

Afghan Australian businessman Saad Mohseni is Chairman, Chief Executive, and CEO of Moby Group, which runs Afghanistan's 24/7 Tolo News channel. 

Saad is widely applauded for advancing press freedom and defending women's rights; Time Magazine recognized him in 2011 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.    

In this episode, Saad relives the chaotic 48 hours inside his Tolo news network when the Taliban took over as U.S. forces pulled out.  

Malcolm and Saad alsodiscuss how the Australian war crimes investigation and the Ben Roberts Smith defamation case were reported inside Afghanistan. And how the remaining Tolo news journalists continue to report on women's rights.   

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Climate change and the decline of democracy are two global crises that have come to a head in recent years. Transitioning to green energy is key to tackling both.  
 
Can we make enough progress fast enough to save the planet and democracy?  
 
Energy security expert Anna Mikulska discusses how Vladimir Putin weaponised gas for decades before the ground invasion of Ukraine and warns that Europe is not yet clear from danger.  
 
Malcolm and Anna discuss if the transition to clean energy could save European democracies from Russian aggression as well as save the planet.  

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Who are the new autocrats and what’s their playbook?  

We are now living in the era of the strongman - and every dictator has built on the accomplishments of his predecessors.

Hitler watched Mussolini, and Gaddafi learned from Lt Col Gamal Abdul Nasser.

So why, despite the evidence of history, do strongmen still hold such appeal for us? What does the playbook reveal about  Donald Trump’s run for the 2024 Presidency? 

Malcolm talks with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Author of Author, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present about how the new high-tech autocrats are gaining popularity.  

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Congressman Adam Kinzinger reflects on the toxicity that has overtaken the United States and why it’s almost certain Donald Trump will be the Republican Presidential nominee.

What would a Trump 2.0 Presidency look like and what does this mean for the allies and democracy around the world?

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How is artificial intelligence reshaping the battlefield?

As a teenager, Palmer Luckey designed the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset he then founded Oculus VR and sold it to Facebook for $2.3b.

Now he is bringing the ingenuity of Silicon Valley to defence technology. Founder of Anduril Industries Palmer is on a mission to reshape our defence forces. Find out how his technologies are helping Ukrainians fight against Vladimir Putin.

In this episode, Malcolm and Palmer discuss if killer robots will save or destroy us.

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Even the founders of generative AI ChatGPT say they are “super nervous” about how autocrats will use the platform.  This new release of artificial intelligence has the potential to unleash disinformation at a pace and scale that is unprecedented.  We won’t be able to fact-check ourselves of this problem.

Malcolm Turnbull talks to one of the world's leading voices on AI Toby Walsh, Author of Machines Behaving Badly.

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Should Tik Tok be banned for Australian users? Is our social media data safe? How much power do foreign-owned apps have in a free and open society?

Last year the Australian government banned TikTok from staff devices over security concerns, while many experts say it should be banned full-stop. Still, over seven million Australians log on each month.  

Justin Bassi is the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He was also Malcolm Turnbull's national security advisor when he was prime minister. In this episode, he explains why Tik Tok poses such a great threat.

Available now on Listnr.

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