Democracy Sausage: Media reform and hate speech on campus with Brian Schmidt

How can Australia have a functioning democracy when public trust in media — an institution that exists to keep governments accountable — is lower than trust in government itself? 

Why did three American university leaders get tied up in knots answering a question on hate speech? 

And what has been the most difficult part of running a major university during a period that saw a pandemic and catastrophic bushfires, among other serious challenges? 

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, outgoing Vice-Chancellor of The Australian National University (ANU) Professor Brian Schmidt AC joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss the state of Australia’s media, hate speech on campus and returning to life as a full-time astronomer.

Brian Schmidt AC is the Vice-Chancellor of ANU and a Nobel Prize-winning astronomer. 

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times. 
 
Send your nominations for our annual Democracy Sausage Awards to democracysausage@anu.edu.au. 
 
Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.