Episodes

  • 40. An election result for the ages

    40. An election result for the ages
    May 12 2025
    Well… no one was expecting that result, not even the Labor Party. Join Elana, Steve and a rehabilitated former Liberal as they consider the immediate aftermath of the election, while they wait for the very complicated count to be completed and the results finalised. Show Notes That final YouGov MRP that every sensible election watcher guffawed at and immediately dismissed as wildly overstated, but ultimately proved to be slightly understated for Labor, but overstated for the Greens, Coalition and Independents… The two party preferred poll trend that Elana referred to as the reason why every sensible election watcher guffawed at ...
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    1 hr and 59 mins
  • 39. The education election

    39. The education election
    Apr 30 2025

    Education is possibly the third pillar of the cost of living crisis, in that it impacts young people and their families at almost every stage of life before the age of 30. Elana going to take you through the suite of policies we’ve developed for each stage of education, and then, because she's nothing if not a completionist, she's going to add art, science, and civics to the curriculum.

    Show notes

    Our early childhood education and care platform

    Our schooling platform

    Our higher education platform

    Our arts platform

    Our science platform

    Our platform on reforming the constitution

    Article on the S44 problems a Greens candidate ran into in Tasmania

    Our platform on lowering the voting age to 16

    6 News Australia WA Senate Debate
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    56 mins
  • 38. The health election

    38. The health election
    Apr 29 2025

    Picking up from our last episode, Elana will take you through what is essentially the other half of the cost of living crisis - health, and access to healthcare. The growing inequality in Australia is exacerbated by the increasingly difficult access to quality healthcare that the electorate is experiencing. Poor physical, mental and dental health has profound impacts on people’s economic security and ability to live productive and fulfilling lives. So let’s explore the suite of policies that the Australian Democrats have developed to address these increasingly urgent issues facing Australia.

    Content warning: several of the policies in this episode reference suicide, anxiety, depression, and violence. Listener discretion advised. You can contact LIfeline on 13 11 14.

    Show Notes

    Our good health policy platform

    Our youth mental health platform

    Our platform to reduce gambling harm

    Our platform to address family violence.
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    29 mins
  • 37. The cost of living election

    37. The cost of living election
    Apr 25 2025

    The first in a series of episodes where Elana takes listeners through the logical groupings of 30+ Australian Democrats policy platforms. This episode covers the cost of living crisis – cost of living and a fair economy, income support, and housing security.

    Credit to the redoubtable @gomichild on X for the episode quote.

    Show notes

    Our policy platforms on the cost of living and a fair economy

    Income support

    Housing security

    Subscribe to our substack, Radically Sensible.

    See how to vote for us in this election
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    32 mins
  • 36. The election budget we had to have

    36. The election budget we had to have
    Apr 3 2025

    Elana is back, and is joined by co-host Steve Baty and Victorian Senate candidate Heath McKenzie to review the 2025 budget, in the wake of the 2025 federal election finally being called. Thanks to the election rendering the budget yesterday's news, there's a fair bit of reviewing the budget through an election lens, which is unavoidable with one previous and two current candidates having the discussion.

    Show Notes

    "A deficit is just money the government has invested in the economy that they haven't taxed back yet." The TikTok on the US economy that Elana referred to.

    Our policy platforms on income support and housing security, in the wake of Elana's rants on both issues.

    Greg Jericho’s excellent Dollars and Sense episode on Australia’s sick housing joke.

    The Democracy Sausage podcast episode with Marija Taflaga’s housing renovation analogy.
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    1 hr and 32 mins
  • 35. The state of... everything

    35. The state of... everything
    Mar 23 2025
    After an accidental hiatus, Elana is back to discuss her very excellent, totally accurate, very good prediction about the US election. Oh wait, we’re getting an update… Show notes:The very disappointing fact check about the Danish Government’s response to Donald Trump’s offer to buy Greenland Keep the Bastards Honest is one of the top 100 accountability podcasts for 2025, according to Million Podcasts! The Australian Democrats now have a Substack: subscribe to Radically Sensible for free.
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    15 mins
  • Seasons Greetings 2024

    Seasons Greetings 2024
    Dec 24 2024
    Wishing all of our listeners are safe and happy holiday season, and a merry Christmas for those who celebrate. Show Notes The Australian Democrats’ submission to the Senate inquiry into the Online Safety bill, which was referenced in the inquiry’s final report.
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    6 mins
  • 34. The State of the Union

    34. The State of the Union
    Oct 29 2024
    Elana conducts a wellness check on the United States. At the time of publishing this episode the US election is a week away, and to say that it’s one of the most consequential elections the world has ever seen is something of an understatement. Rather than trying to understand US politics through the lenses of either the US or Australian media, Elana asks an average American voter living in Trump country how it’s going. Show Notes: For context on the 1968 DNC, the ABC’s If You’re Listening podcast does a brilliant deep dive into this event, in podcast and video ...
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    1 hr and 40 mins