We humans live within a triad of physical phenomena: SPACE, MOVEMENT and TIME. The three are intertwined in multiple ways and experiences. But TIME remains the most mysterious.

The revolution of our planet and its journey around the sun, with its seasonal shifts, are large scale indications and experiences of TIME.

From very early in human history, we invented ways of tracking and measuring the passing of TIME. Water clocks and sundials were part of that.

Organising TIME into units and then accurately depicting those units and the “time of day” came with clocks : mechanical tickers of time.

Today, we have achieved truly extravagant ways of measuring time down to the tiniest units.

And our lives are now fully tied to measuring, tracking and “obeying” the disciplines of time around the globe.

But we still have clocks. Vintage clocks and newly created clocks that pay homage to tradition.

In the Melbourne suburb of Warrendyte, artisanal clockmaking virtuoso, Will Matthysen, has his workshop.

Will is South African born. He initially studied architecture and worked in that field.

After migrating to Australia, he also studied watchmaking and returned to a love from his teenage years … making clocks.

And what clocks they are!

Peter Clarke visited Will Matthysen in his workshop.

WILL MATTHYSEN WEBSITE: https://www.willmatthysen.com

REFERENCES:

JOHN HARRISON CHRONOMETER PIONEER https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison

FOILIOT (VERGE) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verge_escapement

REMONTOIRE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remontoire

ELTHAM AND DISTRICT WOODWORKERS https://www.elthamwoodworkers.org.au

Nicholas is CEO of Lateral Economics, a policy economist, and a frequent commentator on mainstream and independent media.

Over the last couple of years, Nicholas has been working on a video series, with the Lincolnian title, AWAKENING OUR BETTER ANGELS. It’s about democracy, which, as we all know, is being stress tested to the max globally right now, especially in the United States.

Peter Clarke visited Nicholas in his Melbourne home to discuss his video series including the potential role of citizens' assemblies (sortition) and the uncertain future of democracy.

THE VIDEOS

https://www.thesharedcentre.com

There are twenty videos in this series plus some companion videos, Talking it Through.

Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th president of the USA on the 20th of January this year, on a freezing Washington DC day. The ceremony was held, because of that forbidding weather, in the Capitol Rotunda, where, on the 6 January, 2021, a riotous crowd of insurrectionists, induced by Trump, had stormed through that building, in a failed attempt to thwart the formal congressional process of certifying the outcome of the 2020 election, that saw Joe Biden become the 46th president.

The period since Trump’s second inauguration has been historically extraordinary. Many have described it as a “shock and awe blitzkrieg”.

He immediately issued a blizzard of executive orders and pardoned essentially all the January 6 insurrectionists. He appointed the billionaire, Elon Musk, to a shadowy office designated DOGE – the Department of Government Efficiency. It is NOT a formal government department nor was Musk subject to any formal congressional confirmation processes. Yet, he has moved rapidly, with a small band of IT technicians and others, into the heart of the USA government bureaucracy, to seize computer systems, fire civil servants and generally exercise sweeping powers.

Arrests and deportations have begun. A detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is growing.

Perhaps, most shockingly, Trump has declared the US will “take” the now ravaged Gaza strip, expel all the Palestinian occupants and convert the territory into a waterfront, real estate opportunity.

In the last few days, Trump announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on all US imports of steel and aluminium. That includes Australian exports of those metals.

The next Australian federal election looms, probably in May.

As we witness the expanding authoritarianism in the USA, what are the implications for our democracy in Australia and our long-term alliance with America?

Melbourne based writer, and political commentator, Tim Dunlop, joins Peter Clarke for a conversation about the first 25 roiling days of Trump 2.0.