America: at war with itself

Can Biden recover from a disastrous debate performance?


What does the release of Julian Assange reveal about the Australia-US relationship? And is Trump’s authoritarian behaviour really an outlier in American political history?


On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis reflects on the first presidential debate performance and the release of Julian Assange, before former BBC United States correspondent Nick Bryant joins the show to discuss the country’s long history of authoritarianism.


This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 25 June and Monday 1 July 2024 and things may have changed since recording.


australiainstitute.org.au (https://australiainstitute.org.au/)  // @theausinstitute (  / theausinstitute  )


Guest: Nick Bryant, former BBC correspondent and author of The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself // @NickBryantNY (https://x.com/NickBryantNY)


Host: Emma Shortis, Senior Research for International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis (https://x.com/EmmaShortis)


Show notes:


The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-...) by Nick Bryant (June 2024)


‘American authoritarianism has a long history. What can it tell us about Trump and the battle for America’s soul?’ (https://theconversation.com/american-...) by Dr Emma Shortis, The Conversation (July 2024)


Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions


We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .


Support After America: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/...


See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.