Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

The podcast discusses the rising rents in Australia and the debate surrounding rent controls. It provides a historical overview of rent controls, explores their impact on the private rental market in European countries, and examines the differing opinions on rent control between mainstream economists and housing economists.

China's property market boom has come to an end, causing a crisis in the Chinese economy and a decline in consumer confidence. The podcast explores the rapid growth of China's real estate industry, the challenges faced by developers, and the impact of the global financial crisis. It also discusses Xi's opposition to welfareism, the consequences of China's economic downturn, and the lack of transparency in economic data.

For over a decade Niger in West Africa was seen as the beacon of democracy. That all changed in July 2023 when the elected President was ousted in a military coup. It was the fifth military coup in the region in the past 2 years. A region that was once a French colony and is today the epicentre of Islamic extremism. What happening in West Africa and why should we care.

Amazon, Apple, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft are some of the most impactful corporations to ever come out of the United States.And their innovation has transformed our lives.But after decades of unchecked growth are these companies now too powerful for regulators to ignore?The United States has had antitrust laws for over a century so why has enforcement been dormant for so long?

Israel has two institutions underpinning its political system - its parliament, the Knesset, and its judiciary - but it doesn’t have a written constitutions setting out the powers of these two institutions. Now the right-wing coalition led by Benjaman Netanyahu is determined to assert the power of the Knesset over the courts and its leading to a constitutional crisis.

Hollywood has come to a standstill with actors and writers on strike, from the most famous to the bit player. It's a dispute not just about money but the use of artificial intelligence and the way TV and movies are made.   But it's not the first-time workers in Hollywood have had to face down bosses. The story of Hollywood and its current existential crisis. 

Through most of the 20th centuries mercenaries didn’t exist but that was an anomaly - historically mercenaries have always played a major role in conflicts as they are increasing doing in the 21st century. So, who are the mercenaries, who employees them and what impact have they had on warfare.GuestsDr Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC think tank, and a professor of strategy at the National Defence University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He is former private military contractor, US Army paratrooper, and has written extensively on the world of mercenaries. Author of Mercenaries and War: Understanding Private Armies Today.Sarah Percy is an Associate Professor of International relations at the University of Queensland and the author of Mercenaries: The History of a Norm in International Relations. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.Catrina Doxsee, Associate Director and Associate Fellow with the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from consumer goods, electric vehicles, large storage batteries and everything else we need to achieve net zero.While China currently dominates the global supply chain for lithium batteries, it relies on Australia for the raw material.But there are other players in the lithium market especially from South America, in a region known as the Lithium Triangle, which has one of the largest reserves on the planet.

Australia is facing a housing crisis - there is a shortage of affordable housing, essential workers can no longer live in the areas they work, and families are finding themselves homeless. While our politicians are struggling to come up with ideas to solve this crisis, one city that has managed to develop a housing strategy that works for most of its citizens - Vienna.GuestsJulia Anna Schranz is a historian at the University of Vienna and is also a guide at the Red Vienna Exhibition at the Museum at Karl Marx Hoff.Dr. Justin Kadi Assistant Professor in Planning and Housing, at the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge.Kurt Hofstetter is an Urban development Planner in the city of Vienna and is currently working for a department that is dealing with the funding for subsidised housing.

Following controversies involving films like 'Top Gun', 'Mulan' and now 'Barbie', there's been growing pushback against China's perceived influence over Hollywood. But are these calls too little, too late?