Research Fellow, RMIT University
I’m a historian and writer focused on the history and politics of the United States. I use my expertise in history to interpret and explain what is happening in America today, and what it means for Australia, in a compassionate and accessible way. In a conversation dominated by the same voices, I offer a fresh perspective on the United States grounded in moral questions about how we might imagine a post-American future.
My first book, Our Exceptional Friend: Australia’s Fatal Alliance with the United States, was published by Hardie Grant in August 2021. I also co-host RMIT’s popular history podcast, Barely Gettin’ By, with my friend Dr Chloe Ward.
I’m a regular guest on ABC radio and television and programs like Triple RRR’s Uncommon Sense. I’ve appeared on ABC’s The Drum, Channel 9’s Today Show, and ABC podcasts like Russia, If You’re Listening and The Signal. I write regularly for popular outlets including ABC News Online and the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2020, I was named RMIT’s Media Commentator of the year.
I’m currently a Research Fellow at RMIT. Before that, I spent a year in the United States as the Fox-Zucker International Fellow at Yale University, where I finished writing my PhD in History. My academic research focuses on the history of global climate policy and global environmental governance, and the role of the United States in the world.
In a largely uneventful and inconsequential US vice presidential debate, no one can claim victory
Oct 03, 2024 00:04 am UTC| Politics
Just like vice presidents themselves, in US politics, debates dont really matter until they do. The most recent debate (and likely the last of the 2024 election cycle) between aspiring vice presidents Senator JD Vance and...
Are you ready for it? What a Taylor Swift endorsement means for Kamala Harris
Sep 16, 2024 06:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment
As the US Presidential debate wrapped up on Wednesday, commentators and journalists regrouped and drew breath. But then, enter Taylor Swift. The pop superstar posted her endorsement of the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz...
Is America ready to elect a Black woman president?
Sep 09, 2024 08:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Its the big question that has loomed over Kamala Harris presidential campaign from the start: is the United States ready for a Black woman president? I get asked this almost every time I speak about American politics....
How will US foreign policy affect Joe Biden’s chances of re-election in November?
Apr 22, 2024 03:28 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
When big questions about American foreign policy collide with an election, its rarely good news for a sitting president. Like many leaders before him, US President Joe Biden has had some of these questions thrust on...
Who will Trump pick as his running mate?
Apr 01, 2024 03:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Being second in line for leadership of the most powerful country in the world is not an easy job. But for Mike Pence, vice president under Donald Trump, things were even harder than usual. As insurrectionists descended...
Some truths are self-evident: Joe Biden is too old. But who could possibly replace him?
Feb 21, 2024 10:57 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
It is possible, in politics as in life, for several things to be true at once. It is true that Donald Trump and his plans for a second presidential administration represent an existential threat to American...
Feb 20, 2024 11:13 am UTC| Politics
The verdicts keep coming. On Friday US time, the three-month hearing focused on Donald Trumps business dealings in New York came to an end. Trump was ordered to pay back more than $US350 million (A$537 million), plus...