John Anderson: Conversations

Steven Koonin joins John Anderson for an in-depth conversation exploring the science, engineering and economics behind today's climate debate. Drawing on decades of experience in physics, energy research and public policy, Koonin argues that while climate change is real, many public discussions fail to capture the uncertainty, nuance and trade-offs contained within the scientific evidence. Together they examine what climate models can reliably predict and why careful analysis matters when shaping long-term policy.The conversation also explores Australia's energy future, the challenges of maintaining reliable electricity grids, the potential role of nuclear power, and the balance between affordability, energy security and environmental responsibility. Koonin reflects on scientific integrity, technological innovation and why societies benefit when evidence, rather than politics, remains at the centre of public debate.Steven E. Koonin is the Edward Teller Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He served as the undersecretary for science in the US Department of Energy under President Obama from 2009 to 2011, and was the lead author of the US Department of Energy’s Strategic Plan (2011) and the inaugural Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review (2011). His recent book is called Unsettled (Updated and Expanded Edition): What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters.Sign up to John's substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/

In this conversation, John Anderson sits down with Prof. Simon Haines and Dr. Fiona Mueller to examine how Australia's schools and universities stopped teaching children how to think, and what a genuine restoration of education would look like. The results are measurable in falling literacy, rising school refusal, and a curriculum that has prioritised ideological formation at the expense of knowledge.From the classical roots of Western education and the Trivium to the ideological capture of teacher training and university management, Haines and Mueller expose the ideas driving the decline and the institutions already proving a better model is possible. What is at stake is not just educational outcomes, but the capacity of the next generation to reason clearly, to govern themselves wisely, and to pass on what they have inherited.Prof. Simon Haines is the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts at Campion College Australia, Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University, and a founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities. He previously served as the inaugural CEO of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and is a Director of Humanities for Life.Dr. Fiona Mueller served as Head of ANU College at the Australian National University and as Director of Curriculum at the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), and was named among the five most influential people in Australian education by the Australian Financial Review in 2019. She is an Adjunct Fellow with the Centre for Independent Studies, a Senior Fellow with Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy), and currently serves as Director of Research at the Page Research Centre.

John Anderson joins energy analyst Aidan Morrison and journalist Chris Uhlmann for a forensic examination of Australia's energy crisis. Together, they expose the broken promises behind the renewable transition, the CSIRO modelling built on figures no operating wind farm has achieved, and the legislative blunder that turned the New England Renewable Energy Zone into a multi-billion dollar infrastructure disaster. Drawing on international comparisons, primary documents, and on-the-ground testimony, the panel reveals how Australians were sold a false economic promise — and what the true cost to the nation's bills, industry, and security will be.Aidan Morrison is a leading researcher into Energy Systems and currently the Director of Energy Research at the Centre for Independent Studies. In 2023 he exposed how the famous CSIRO report “GenCost” excluded vast costs required to integrate and firm renewables by treating them as “sunk” costs. In 2024 he was amongst the strongest voices calling for nuclear energy in Australia and was a leading critic of the ‘Integrated System Plan’ (or ISP): Australia’s blue-print for a transition to an energy system dominated by wind and solar. Chris Uhlmann is a Walkley Award winning Australian journalist and news commentator. His career in the media spans over 35 years in radio, print and television. His latest documentary is The Real Cost of Net Zero: The shocking truth of the renewable energy push.

In this interview, podcaster and political commentator Carl Benjamin joins John to explore the accelerating collapse of English identity and the political crisis that has followed.Carl argues that Britain has sleepwalked into a civilisational emergency: mass immigration without a vote, a bureaucratic state that has outgrown democratic accountability, and a native population that has been deliberately disconnected from the culture and heritage it was supposed to carry forward. Carl Benjamin is one of Britain's most followed independent commentators. Widely known online as Sargon of Akkad, Benjamin is the director of the conservative political podcast, Lotus Eaters. He is known for his outspoken criticism of modern feminism, identity politics, Islam, and political correctness.

Psychotherapist and author Erica Komisar joins John to make the case that what happens in a child's first 3 years shapes their emotional security for life, and that current childcare policy is built on a dangerous ignorance of child development.They also discuss why ADHD is better understood as a stress response than a disorder, what the evidence tells us about cortisol levels in babies separated from their primary caregivers, why Australia's social media ban is a step in the right direction but far from a complete solution, and what governments could do differently if they genuinely wanted to support families rather than promote institutional childcare.Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author. With over thirty years of experience in private practice, she works to alleviate pain in individuals who suffer from depression, anxiety, eating, and other compulsive disorders. She is the author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters.Visit John's new substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0:00 Trailer
0:58 Intro
1:10 Why the formative years are critical
6:11 The damage of screens and social media
13:06 The case for "dumb phones" for kids
16:18 Why universal childcare is a bad policy
36:58 How short sighted politics is harming children
42:33 Is ADHD actually a disorder?
50:10 How neglect is impacting low birth rates
57:00 Solving the "depopulation bomb" crisis
1:01:46 A warning from Romania...