Strategic and Defence Studies Centre

Starting his career as an intelligence analyst, he was a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald, was international relations advisor to Bob Hawke during his prime ministership and served as a senior official in the Department of Defence.

He was the founding director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, served as the head of the Australian National University Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, has authored nine major publications as an author and co-hosts the Foreign Exchange podcast, and his writing features regularly in publications like the Saturday Paper, Australian Financial Review, and the Lowy Institute.

That's an abridged bio, but what it points to is if there is anyone in this country more credentialed and capable of eloquently and comprehensively sharing about the state of global affairs and Australia's place in the world, Hugh is it.

We cover so much ground in this chat, from Australia's required identity shift to move with the changing world, the narrative required to do that, and the political consequences of dealing with the geographical realities.