John Anderson: Conversations

In this conversation, John chats with Giggle for Girls founder Sall Grover about her recent high-stakes Federal Court appeal concerning the right to operate a women-only social networking app. Grover warns that without clear sex-based protections, women’s rights to privacy, safety, and dignity in public and private spaces risk being dismantled. The conversation explains why the ruling will not merely have ramifications for women's rights, but the fundamental freedoms of belief, association, and speech — principles essential to a free and democratic society. Grover also highlights the political reluctance to confront the issue, and the double standards of many Australian media outlets that have remained conspicuously silent in coverage of the case. Sall Grover is the founder and CEO of Giggle, a female-only social networking app launched in 2020 to provide a secure platform for women to connect, collaborate, and support one another. Giggle has been at the centre of the recent landmark Federal Court case Tickle v Giggle, which tested the application of Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act to women-only spaces.

John is joined by Dr. Sean Oliver-Dee and David Goodhart to discuss immigration, national identity, and the role of religion in modern Britain. They examine how liberal democracies are struggling to maintain social cohesion amid rapid demographic and cultural change, including the mass importation of Islamic culture. They revisit Britain’s imperial identity, debate the prospects for Muslim integration, and reflect on whether liberalism can offer meaning in a post-Christian age. With insight and historical depth, Sean and David urge a rethinking of national purpose and shared values in an age of cultural fragmentation. David Goodhart is a British journalist, commentator and author, and has written for The Guardian, The Independent and The Times. In 2013, he published The British Dream, a book about post-war multiculturalism, national identity, and immigration, and in 2017 The Road to Somewhere: The new tribes shaping British politics, about the value divides in western societies, which was a Sunday Times best-seller. His latest book is The Care Dilemma. Dr. Sean Oliver-Dee is a tutor in Religions at the University of Oxford, and has written books and articles in the field of religion and public policy, including 2020's Courting Islam: US-British Engagement with Islam since the Colonial Period, which examined how the British and American governments historically engaged with Muslim countries and Muslim minorities in areas of foreign and domestic policy. Sean has co-authored Parliamentary publications concerning religious liberty and co-authored a strategic analysis report on religious futures for the British Ministry of Defence. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Join John for a special episode as he answers 11 of the most frequently asked questions from viewers and supporters. From lessons learned in politics to the values that shape his worldview, John offers candid reflections on leadership, national priorities, and the future of Australia.  If you have a question for John, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below for a chance to have it featured in a future Q&A episode.

Victor Davis Hanson examines the Jeffrey Epstein saga’s divisive impact on American politics and the MAGA movement, while commending the Trump administration’s military, technological, and immigration policy successes. He urges Australia to strengthen its defence, fortifying the ANZUS alliance against autocratic threats like China. Critiquing distorted historical narratives that skew policy, Hanson advocates for a cohesive Western response to address authoritarian challenges, trade imbalances, and demographic declines.  Victor Davis Hanson is an American classicist, military historian, columnist, and farmer. He has been a commentator on contemporary politics for the National Review and The Washington Times and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.  In addition to writing hundreds of articles, book reviews and newspaper editorials, Hanson is also the author of twenty-four books and hosts a regular podcast series, 'The Victor Davis Hanson Show'. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush, and was a presidential appointee in 2007-08 on the American Battle Monuments Commission. His latest book, The Dying Citizen, was published in October 2021. And his next book, soon to be released on May the 7th this year, The End of Everything, How Wars Descend Into Annihilation.

Robert L. Suettinger examines China’s political evolution, from Mao’s devastating Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution to Xi Jinping’s reversal of market reforms. He underscores the Chinese people’s persistent desire for freedom, countered by the regime’s repressive surveillance and control. Exploring Hu Yaobang’s legacy and the Tiananmen Square protests, Suettinger critiques Beijing’s economic policies and surveillance tactics. He questions the sustainability of China’s trajectory, weighing its demographic crisis and military ambitions in the Western Pacific, offering insights into its precarious path.  Robert Lee Suettinger is a historian of contemporary politics in the People’s Republic of China. He spent nearly 24 years in the intelligence and foreign policy bureaucracies of the US federal government. As well as writing a book on the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Suettinger’s most recent one is entitled The Conscience Of The Party: Hu Yaobang, China’ Communist Reformer.