Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

A wide-angle lens on the history of Innovation.
An unprecedented surge in human ingenuity has created six great waves of innovation.
What drove these breakthroughs? And where are we headed?

The government of Singapore has just sacked the leader of the Opposition — that's the way things happen in Singaporean politics. Though it looks like a model Westminster democracy, critics say it's actually a one-party state, dominated for more than 60 years by the People's Action Party. So, how is it that such a prosperous and modern nation has never managed to free itself from the long shadow of its authoritarian founder, Lee Kuan Yew.
Guests:
Dr Stephan Ortmann — Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Administration, Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Dr Michael Barr — Associate Professor of International relations, Flinders University
Dr Gillian Koh — Senior Research Fellow, Governance and Economy, National University of Singapore
Joshua Kurlantzick — Senior Fellow for SE Asia and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

China is now the number one trading partner of South America.
How realistic are U.S. plans to dominate the Western hemisphere?

High speed rail spread around the globe from the 1960s when the first bullet trains took off in Japan. Rear Vision looks at why previous attempts to introduce high speed rail in Australia have failed.
Japan opened the world's first high-speed rail line - between Tokyo and Osaka - in time for the 1964 Olympics. Japan’s ‘Bullet Train’ was the first to run on a dedicated line – a high speed service for passengers only. Over the last 30 years, millions of dollars have been spent in Australia on studies and proposals but is a fast train service on the east coast any closer?

Since the 1970s central banks around the world have increasingly become “independent” of government. They’ve developed that way over time to ensure that monetary policy isn’t impacted by partisan political motives. But there are those who now seek to turn the clock back and to rein in that independence. The current US president is at the front of the pack.
Guests:
Cristina Bodea – Professor of political science, Michigan State University
John Hawkins – Head of the Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra https://Dr Isaac Gross
Isaac Gross - Senior lecturer in Economics, Monash University
Links:
David Marr's Late Night Live interview with biographer RICHARD VAGUE about the US banker Thomas Willing