Afternoon Light

• Paul Strangio on the Great Labor Split: "There you are Judas"

  What are the long-term consequences when political parties become wracked by division? On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Paul Strangio about the Great Labor Split, which just passed its 70th anniversary. A combustible mix of sectarian prejudice and ideological division lit into an inferno by an unstable leader, it prompted the rise of Australia's first significant minor party and left the ALP in Opposition for over two decades. Paul Strangio is an Emeritus Professor of Politics at Monash University. Paul specialises in Australian political history, with a particular focus on political leadership and political parties. He’s an author and editor of 11 books. He’s been a frequent commentator on Australian politics in the print and election media, including contributing many op-ed pieces to The Age, and for a number of years has had a regular segment on ABC Radio Melbourne. JTX3QTHXWMH6LLXC

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• Andrew Levidis on Kishi Nobusuke & the Australia-Japan Reconciliation: "Historians should never say miracle"

  How did Japan evolve from Australia's wartime enemy into a friendly trading partner in a little over a decade? On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Andrew Levidis about Kishi Nabusuke. A controversial & complex figure, who was imprisoned as a war criminal for his role in the Imperial Japanese Government, only to rebound and become the architect of its post-war political settlement. Andrew Levidis is a Lecturer in Modern Japanese History at the Australian National University. He completed his doctorate in History at the Faculty of Law of Kyoto University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University at the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RIJS) and Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He is co-editor of In the Ruins of the Japanese Empire: Imperial Violence, State Destruction, and the Reordering of Modern East Asia (Hong Kong University Press 2020) and editor of the DFAT Documents volume on Australia-Japan relations 1957-1975. His monograph A Memory of Empire: Kishi Nobusuke and the Transwar Japanese Right explores the international history of Japanese right-wing and the historical rise of conservatism from empire to Cold War.

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• Judith Brett on Alfred Deakin: "Organic Australian Policy"

  How did Alfred Deakin shape so much of the 'Australian Settlement' without ever securing a clear election victory? On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Judith Brett to explore one of Australia's most important but enigmatic figures. Who has always featured centrally in the story of federation, in part because he insisted on writing it himself. Judith Brett is a political historian and biographer and emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University. Among her books are Robert Menzies’ Forgotten People, Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, which won the 2018 National Biography Award, and From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

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  48:11
• Greg de Moore on John Cade & the Miracle of Lithium: "The first effective medication ever discovered for any mental illness in the world"

  Did you know that the most important discovery in the history of treating mental illness was made by an Australian? On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Greg de Moore to tell the world-changing story of John Cade. A survivor of Changi, who risked experiments on himself to establish that lithium could treat bipolar disorder. A breakthrough that has been compared in significance to the discovery of penicillin. Greg de Moore is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry based at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. Born in Melbourne of parents who migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, Greg has lived in Sydney for more than 30 years. He has written or co-written a biography Tom Wills (Allen & Unwin, 2008 & 2011), A National Game: The History of Australian Rules Football (Viking/Penguin, 2008) and Finding Sanity: John Cade, Lithium and the Taming of Bipolar Disorder (Allen & Unwin, 2016).

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  47:11
• Grantlee Kieza on Matthew Flinders & the Naming of Australia: "The vast majority of Australians wouldn't know that"

  Do you ever stop to think why there are so many things named Flinders in Australia? On Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Grantlee Kieza to tell the remarkable story of Matthew Flinders. The mariner responsible for proving that Australia was an island continent and the adoption of its name, who lived a life of adventure, discovery, and scientific endeavour with his iconic cat Trim. Award-winning journalist Grantlee Kieza OAM held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Courier-Mail for many years and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. He has since become the author of bestselling and critically acclaimed books like Flinders, The Remarkable Mrs Reibey, Banks, Hudson Fysh, and Sister Viv.

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