It’s time for another tariff episode, and Darren is joined by returning guest Corbin Duncan, a journalist with The Economist (and valued Australia in the world team member) to talk through an avalanche of tariff news.

Apologies for the poor quality of audio from Darren’s end.

Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research, co-hosting and editing this episode by Corbin Duncan and theme music composed by Rory Stenning.

Relevant links

Security Economics (podcast), “Trump's new global tariff regime is here!”, 7 August 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-St1M0DRcU

Darren Lim and John Ikenberry, “China and the logic of illiberal hegemony”, Security Studies: (ungated) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4244377 || (gated) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09636412.2023.2178963

Triple J, Hottest 100 of Australian Songs: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/countdown/hottest100/1-100

Sam Tanenhaus, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/176399/buckley-by-sam-tanenhaus/

Jospeh Torigian, The Party's Interests Come First:The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, Standford University Press, https://www.sup.org/books/history/partys-interests-come-first

The PM made a big trip to China, and the ABC’s Stephen Dziedzic accompanied him as part of the press contingent. Darren and Stephen discuss both Beijing’s and Canberra’s interests in the visit, the careful diplomacy of the week, an apparent effort from the Trump administration to use the Taiwan issue to derail the visit, and whether Australia really is in a “post stabilisation” phase in its bilateral relationship with China.

Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning.

Relevant links

Stephen Dziedzic, “Albanese bats away questions about Taiwan and US defence demands on first day of China visit”, ABC News, 13 July 2025: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-13/albanese-taiwan-us-defence-demands-china-visit/105526626

Stephen Dziedzic, “China's Premier Li Qiang calls for more economic ties with Australia in meeting with Anthony Albanese”, ABC News, 16 July 2025: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-16/anthony-albanese-meets-li-qiang-business-leaders-in-china/105536072

“What does the PM's trip to China mean for Taiwan? | Insiders On Background” ABC News, 19 July 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP5Y0nKmxt0

PM Albanese, John Curtin Oration, 5 July 2025: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/john-curtin-oration

Dwarkesh Patel, “China’s Manufacturing Dominance: State Directives & Ruthless Competition — Arthur Kroeber’ (podcast), 20 June 2025: https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/arthur-kroeber

The rest is history (podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/7Cvsbcjhtur7nplC148TWy (Spotify) | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786 (Apple)

Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s attack on Iran that began over the weekend, could be the beginning of something very big, and very bad. Or it could lead to the downfall of a regime who few would mourn, not to mention a reduced risk of nuclear proliferation. It’s too early to say, but in the spirit of exploring the dynamics of the issue Darren is joined again by Stephen Dziedzic of the ABC to talk through the last few days and what they might mean. Along the way, Stephen explains the possible implications of President Trump cancelling his meeting with PM Albanese at the G7 to return to Washington.

Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Walter Colnaghi and theme music composed by Rory Stenning.

Relevant links

“Wong outlines 'very perilous situation' in Middle East | Insiders | ABC News” (video), 15 June 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vumMIJO7LQ