• A Nation of Strangers: How a civic vacuum enabled antisemitism | Alex McDermott
    Jun 25 2026

    👉 Key points: 🔹Civic decline and identity-based education have fuelled the rise of antisemitism in Australia. 🔹Antisemitism grows when Australians stop seeing each other first as equal citizens with shared civic obligations. 🔹Rebuilding civic knowledge and a common national identity strengthens resistance to antisemitism and social division.

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

    👉 Further reading: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/a-nation-of-strangers-how-a-civic-vacuum-enabled-antisemitism/

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    41 mins
  • Is Islam Compatible with Classical Liberalism? Part 2 with Dr. Mark Durie
    Jun 3 2026

    👉 Watch Part 1: https://youtu.be/zhxJXyavYzI

    Is Islam compatible with liberalism? In this episode of Liberalism in Question, Dr Mark Durie joins the Centre for Independent Studies to examine the fundamental tensions between Islamic theology, sharia, and core liberal principles such as individual freedom, equality, and freedom of religion.

    Mark Durie is a pastor and academic. He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics which include the connection between faith and culture, freedom of religion, the persecution of religious minorities, particularly non-Muslims living under the Islamic sharia, the origin and history of Islam, and discipling new Christians.

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

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    40 mins
  • Is Islam Compatible with Classical Liberalism? Part 1 with Dr. Samir Mahmoud
    Jun 2 2026

    Is Islam Compatible with Classical Liberalism? | Dr. Samir Mahmoud

    What is the relationship between Islam and Classical Liberalism? Is there an incompatibility, or just a misunderstanding between manifestations of Islam on the margins?

    Dr. Samir Mahmoud is the Education Advisor to the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. He has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology & Politics with a focus on multicultural theory and comparative religion, and an MA in Architectural History, Theory & Urban Design with a focus on the traditional townscape from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. He also holds an MPhil in Theology & Religious Studies with a focus on comparative philosophy and aesthetics. He completed a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad).

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

    Watch here: https://youtu.be/zhxJXyavYzI

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    32 mins
  • The Temptations of Unfreedom Revisited | Dr Oliver Hartwich
    May 26 2026

    Watch here: https://youtu.be/pfX-nzrgFPM

    "[Dahrendorf] had protected an idea: that intellectual work and practical engagement could combine without abandoning intellectual standards, that boundaries could be crossed with integrity intact."

    Join Dr Oliver Hartwich for a conversation about Dahrendorf, Trump and the multitudes of intellectuals who have abandoned their principles. .

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

    👉 Further reading: https://oliverhartwich.com/2026/02/27/the-temptations-of-unfreedom-revisited/

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    44 mins
  • What classical liberals get wrong about the rest of the World | Alexandre Lefebvre
    May 19 2026

    What classical liberals get wrong about the rest of the World | Alexandre Lefebvre Professor of Politics and Philosophy at the University of Sydney and author of Liberalism as a Way of Life, Alexandre Lefebvre explores how classical liberalism shapes not just politics, but our everyday values, ethics, and way of life.

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

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    34 mins
  • Is Australia Doomed? | Marian L. Tupy
    May 4 2026

    People have a lot of opinions and a lot of anecdotes that may not necessarily be true. Politicians deal with feelings. Economists and analysts should deal with facts. We have looked at the data and things are becoming cheaper, more affordable, more abundant in Australia...

    👉 Read more: 🔹 Humankind and the infinite resource base: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/humankind-and-the-infinite-resource-base/ 🔹 Hours, Not Dollars: Rethinking the cost-of-living debate: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/hours-not-dollars-rethinking-the-cost-of-living-debate/ 🔹 Growth that Builds: Beyond the immigration blame game: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/growth-that-builds-beyond-the-immigration-blame-game/ 🔹 In Conversation with Marian L. Tupy: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/in-conversation-with-marian-l-tupy/

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

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    42 mins
  • The Australian Dream is Dead | Parnell Palme McGuinness
    Apr 14 2026

    Over the past several decades, Australian society has undergone profound economic, social, and cultural change. Education pathways have lengthened, housing costs have far outpaced wages, family formation has been delayed or disrupted, and government intervention has expanded across nearly every stage of life. Public policy has attempted to keep pace with these changes. But there is a growing mismatch between the aspirations young Australians hold and the reality they experience.

    This CIS research (https://www.cis.org.au/publication/generation-trapped-housing-handouts-and-the-collapse-of-young-australians-life-satisfaction/) examines the lives, aspirations, values, and perceived barriers of Australians aged 18–34. Drawing on original qualitative interviews using conversational AI and quantitative research conducted by Spectre Strategy on behalf of the Centre for Independent Studies, it finds young Australians do not aspire to radically different lives than previous generations. Financial security, home ownership, meaningful work, family, and children remain core goals. What has changed is the degree to which these goals feel attainable.

    👉 Read the research: https://www.cis.org.au/tribes

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

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    33 mins
  • Education Reform in Australia | Jennifer Buckingham
    Feb 16 2026

    Join us on Liberalism in Question for an enlightening discussion with Dr. Jennifer Buckingham, former Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies and a leading voice in Australian education policy. From critiquing barriers in public schooling to advocating for phonics-based reading instruction and greater parental choice, this episode examines the role of liberalism in fostering equitable opportunities and innovation in Australian education.

    👉 Support CIS Research: 🔹 Become a member: https://www.cis.org.au/membership-2-step-1/ 🔹 Make a donation: https://www.cis.org.au/support/donate/today/ 🔹 Learn more: https://www.cis.org.au/

    👉 Further reading:

    Why Jaydon Can’t Read: A Forum on Fixing Literacy: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/why-jaydon-cant-read-a-forum-on-fixing-literacy/

    Knowledge is power: What do teachers believe about learning?: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/knowledge-is-power-what-do-teachers-believe-about-learning/

    Childcare in Australia: A new approach: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/childcare-in-australia-a-new-approach/

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    40 mins