As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

In this episode, Edward Luce, Financial Times columnist and author of Zbig, a new biography of US President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, talks with Sam Roggeveen. They discuss Zbig’s stature as a foreign policy sage, his friendship and rivalry with Henry Kissinger, and what remains of the Washington foreign policy establishment that Zbig symbolised.

This episode was first published on 10 July 2025.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

Last year, reports emerged of Russia seeking to base military aircraft at Indonesia’s Manuhua Airforce Base. While the request was rejected by Indonesia, it raises a broader question: what are Russia’s interests in Southeast Asia and how should Australia respond to its attempts to seek access to military facilities in the region?

In this podcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rahman Yaacob and Ian Storey, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, talk with host Sam Roggeveen about the significance of these events and Russia's ambitions.

This episode was first published on 4 June 2025.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Richard McGregor talks with American sinologist Professor David Shambaugh about his latest book, Breaking the Engagement, which charts the rise and fall of Washington’s engagement strategy with China. They discuss the original aims of the strategy, why it failed, and what lessons Australia can draw.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.