Stop the World

Darwin Dialogue Special: Resources Minister Madeleine King on Australia's critical minerals strategy

Critical minerals and rare earths are atomic marvels — and geopolitical nightmares. They’re vital in high-end technologies including defence equipment but are traded in markets that are all but broken, with China dominating overwhelming shares of production. This week, Madeleine King, Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, joins Stop the World to talk about the challenges Australia and its international friends face in building some kind of functioning market to ensure we don’t face supply crises that could threaten our economies or security. Speaking from the sidelines of ASPI’s third annual Darwin Dialogue on critical minerals, Madeleine talks about the failure of the market, the need for intervention, what connected supply chains will look like in the future, the kinds of cooperation Australia is pursuing with Japan, the United States, Korea, Canada and Europe, and the vital importance of trust. She discusses China’s own highly interventionist approach that enabled it to dominate the market, Australia’s own strengths, global trends towards resource and economic nationalism, and the wake up call last year when China forced a partial tariffs backdown from the US by threatening to cut off vital critical minerals supplies.

Self-reliant but not alone: ASPI unpacks the 2026 National Defence Strategy

ASPI’s head and deputy head of defence strategy, Mike Hughes and Courtney Stewart, join us to dissect Australia’s new National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Plan. It’s the right strategy, but is there enough money, even with the welcome boost? And how does Australia become operationally self-reliant without chasing the fool’s dream of self-sufficiency? Mike and Courtney share their views on the changing strategic environment, the US alliance, the state of the region, and new capability priorities such as drones and integrated air and missile defence. We also discuss the lessons from Ukraine and Iran, the importance of defending our interests well beyond our shores, and the all-important question of AUKUS. These are among the biggest questions facing Australia, and Mike and Courtney are among the best brains around to help you digest this busy week. Read more analysis on the NDS by ASPI staff: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/2026-national-defence-strategy-views-from-aspi-analysts/ [https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/2026-national-defence-strategy-views-from-aspi-analysts/] Read a new report 'Light speed weapons? Directed energy and the future of the ADF': https://www.aspi.org.au/report/light-speed-weapons-directed-energy-and-the-future-of-the-adf/ [https://www.aspi.org.au/report/light-speed-weapons-directed-energy-and-the-future-of-the-adf/] For regular updates on defence and security across the Indo-Pacific, subscribe to ASPI's Fault Lines digest on Substack: https://aspidefence.substack.com/ [https://aspidefence.substack.com/]

“The party’s AI”: China’s use of artificial intelligence to protect the state

Want 20 episodes of Black Mirror in a one hour podcast? You’ve come to the right place. After a big week in artificial intelligence—including news of Anthropic’s secret supercyberweapon—we’re joined by ASPI’s Fergus Ryan and Bethany Allen to talk about AI in China. Fergus and Bethany explain the findings of their recent report, The party’s AI: How China’s new AI systems are reshaping human rights. For the Chinese government, AI governance is regime governance. The team explain automation of the Chinese justice system and the implications for the rights of defendants; predictive law enforcement; “ambient censorship” which creates an immersive information environment tailored to party ideology; and surveillance using AI that enables authorities to track people’s momentary emotional reactions. They discuss embedding authoritarian values into the technology; the implications for countries importing those AI models—which are attractive because they are open source and therefore cheaper—and China’s determination to shape global AI standards in line with its non-democratic interests. Read the report 'The party's AI': https://www.aspi.org.au/report/the-partys-ai-how-chinas-new-ai-systems-are-reshaping-human-rights/ To stay across developments in AI, technology and security, subscribe to ASPI's Cyber & Tech Digest: https://aspicts.substack.com/

Ripple effects and bottlenecks, with NATO futurist Florence Gaub

Back by popular demand, Florence Gaub joins David Wroe to dissect the latest global developments. Florence is Director of Research at the NATO Defense College and an expert in strategic foresight. She shares her key takeaways on Iran and views on the state of NATO, and offers frank criticism of Europe’s underspending on defence and infrastructure. She discusses how the Iran conflict, following Ukraine and Covid, has underscored the interconnectedness of security, economics, geography, energy and politics. And she talks about interpreting weak signals, the idea of polycrisis, and the impact of fragile dependencies and choke points. Florence and Dave discuss Donald Trump and the challenges of forecasting when individuals as opposed to systems are the prevailing influence over policy. And they also have fun discussing the speculative newspaper ‘North Star’ that Florence and her colleagues released earlier this year for the Munich Security Conference - listen out for the elephants! You can find that newspaper here [https://www.ndc.nato.int/the-north-star/]

‘The Iranian people do need help from the outside’: pro-freedom activist Nos Hosseini

The Iran war is shaping as an historic geopolitical moment. Regime change looks increasingly unlikely, with the United States—and possibly Israel—preparing to settle for grinding down Iran’s ability to pose an external threat. The majority of Iranian people who loathe the regime and advocates around the world pushing for freedom are preparing for disappointment. To talk through these perspectives, STW is joined today by Nos Hosseini, spokeswoman for the Iranian Women’s Association in Australia. Nos’s parents fled Iran when she was a small child. She now advocates for the rights of the Iranian people from Australia. Nos explains how she and most of the Iranian community see external pressure including military action as the most realistic way to bring down the regime, given the brutal crackdowns we’ve seen in the past against any uprising. She describes the horrors inflicted upon Iranians who stand up to the theocracy, the current political dynamics, and the options for countries like Australia to expand pressure through measures such as Magnitsky sanctions against human rights abusers. Nos also speaks frankly about her own family’s journey, the threats and intimidation they’ve endured, and the particular dehumanisation that is felt by Iranian women.