The Making of One Nation

One Nation didn't emerge in a vacuum, then or now. The global surge in right-wing populism has propelled the party and thirty years on, it’s arguably stronger than ever. But is its popularity a protest or a fundamental realignment of Australian politics? And what happens to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, post Pauline?In the sixth and final episode of The Making of One Nation, we speak to Jill Sheppard, a political scientist and senior lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University. This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

It’s never held government, or even opposition, yet One Nation’s managed to exert an outsized influence on the public policy agenda.From borders to migration, multiculturalism to Indigenous affairs, the far-right party has mastered mainstreaming and captured the masses fleeing the Coalition.In the fourth instalment of The Making of One Nation, we speak to Josh Sunman, Associate Lecturer in Public Policy at Flinders University and Tim Bale, a Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.Or, you can subscribe to one of our free newsletters.

You might remember this line in Pauline Hanson's maiden speech: "I'm afraid we're in danger of being swamped by Asians."It wasn't the first racist comment she'd made in public and it certainly wasn't the last.Over the years, her enemies have changed and she now targets Muslims and elites, but it's the same tactic and it's infiltrated Australian politics.---Subscribe to The Conversation's free newsletters.

From a fish and chip shop in regional Queensland to the heart of Australian politics: this is the unlikely story of the country’s most controversial minor party.For thirty years, One Nation and Pauline Hanson have been ridiculed, dismissed and shut out. Now, no one is laughing. This is the story of how a party built on fear and grievance thrived, died and rose again to upend Australian politics.We go beyond the headlines and stunts to document how One Nation works and what it means for our future.

The list of people Donald Trump has punished or threatened to punish since returning to office is long. It includes the likes of James Comey, Letitia James, John Bolton, as well as members of the opposition, such as Adam Schiff, Mark Kelly and Kamala Harris.In fact, he has gone so far as to call Democrats "the enemy from within", saying they are more dangerous than US adversaries like Russia and China.According to Lucan Way, a professor of democracy at the University of Toronto, when a leader attacks the opposition like this, it's a clear sign a country is slipping into authoritarianism.

Donald Trump has sounded the alarm, over and over again, that the United States is facing an “invasion” by dangerous gang members. He blames immigrants for the country's economic problems and claims protesters are destroying US cities.Trump is not the first would-be autocrat to manufacture a crisis to seize extraordinary powers.So, is the United States really facing a national emergency? Or is this just a tactic on Trump’s part to amass more power?

We used to have a pretty clear idea of what an autocrat was. History is full of examples: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, along with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping today. The list goes on.So, where does Donald Trump fit in?In this six-part podcast series, The Making of an Autocrat, we are asking six experts on authoritarianism and US politics to explain how exactly an autocrat is made – and whether Trump is on his way to becoming one.