The Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen spoke with Sweden’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, during his recent visit to Australia. Prior to his ministerial career, Jonson worked in Sweden’s Defence Research Agency, and his depth of knowledge about not just European security but also Asia comes through in this interview. Roggeveen asks Jonson why Swedes should care about Asia, whether Europe is doing enough to help Ukraine, and why Sweden chose to join NATO now.

The Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen spoke with Sweden’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, during his recent visit to Australia. Prior to his ministerial career, Jonson worked in Sweden’s Defence Research Agency, and his depth of knowledge about not just European security but also Asia comes through in this interview. Roggeveen asks Jonson why Swedes should care about Asia, whether Europe is doing enough to help Ukraine, and why Sweden chose to join NATO now.

Welcome to Lowy Institute Conversations – a podcast in which Lowy Institute researchers and some of the world’s leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.  

Welcome to Lowy Institute Conversations – a podcast in which Lowy Institute researchers and some of the world’s leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.

Lowy Institute Conversations

The Lowy Institute is a leading international think tank that looks at the world from Australia’s perspective.

This channel aggregates audio from across all of our event and podcast channels.

The Lowy Institute is a leading international think tank that looks at the world from Australia’s perspective.
This channel aggregates audio from across all of our event and podcast channels.

Lowy Institute

Welcome to Lowy Institute Conversations — a podcast in which Lowy Institute researchers and some of the world’s leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.

Welcome to Lowy Institute Conversations &mdash; a podcast in which Lowy Institute researchers and some of the world&rsquo;s leading experts delve into the big issues in international affairs.

Conversations: Sweden’s Defence Minister, Pål Jonson

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

Understanding Xi Jinping and what drives him has become a global cottage industry. According to US China scholar Joseph Torigian, one of the keys to understanding Xi Jinping is his father, Xi Zhongxun. How did Xi Senior influence Xi Junior? And what lessons can be drawn from the father for today’s policymaking? Torigian speaks with the Lowy Institute’s Richard McGregor about his new biography, The Party’s Interests Come First.

This episode was first published on 24 October 2025.

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.
Understanding Xi Jinping and what drives him has become a global cottage industry. According to US China scholar Joseph Torigian, one of the keys to understanding Xi Jinping is his father, Xi Zhongxun. How did Xi Senior influence Xi Junior? And what lessons can be drawn from the father for today&rsquo;s policymaking? Torigian speaks with the Lowy Institute&rsquo;s Richard McGregor about his new biography,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sup.org/books/history/partys-interests-come-firsthttps://www.sup.org/books/history/partys-interests-come-first">The Party&rsquo;s Interests Come First</a>.
This episode was first published on 24 October 2025.

Recast: His Father’s Son — The Xi family and the Future of China

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

In this episode, Edward Luce, Financial Times columnist and author of Zbig, a new biography of US President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, talks with Sam Roggeveen. They discuss Zbig’s stature as a foreign policy sage, his friendship and rivalry with Henry Kissinger, and what remains of the Washington foreign policy establishment that Zbig symbolised.

This episode was first published on 10 July 2025.

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.
In this episode, Edward Luce,&nbsp;Financial Times&nbsp;columnist and author of Zbig, a new biography of US President Jimmy Carter&rsquo;s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, talks with Sam Roggeveen. They discuss Zbig&rsquo;s stature as a foreign policy sage, his friendship and rivalry with Henry Kissinger, and what remains of the Washington foreign policy establishment that Zbig symbolised.
This episode was first published on 10 July 2025.

Recast: Cold War prophet

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.

Last year, reports emerged of Russia seeking to base military aircraft at Indonesia’s Manuhua Airforce Base. While the request was rejected by Indonesia, it raises a broader question: what are Russia’s interests in Southeast Asia and how should Australia respond to its attempts to seek access to military facilities in the region?

In this podcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rahman Yaacob and Ian Storey, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, talk with host Sam Roggeveen about the significance of these events and Russia's ambitions.

This episode was first published on 4 June 2025.

As part of the Lowy Institute Recast series, we are republishing the best podcasts of 2025. In case you missed them the first time around or if you want revisit these engaging conversations, the Recast series has you covered.
Last year, reports emerged of Russia seeking to base military aircraft at Indonesia&rsquo;s Manuhua Airforce Base. While the request was rejected by Indonesia, it raises a broader question: what are Russia&rsquo;s interests in Southeast Asia and how should Australia respond to its attempts to seek access to military facilities in the region?
In this podcast,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/people/experts/bio/rahman-yaacob">Lowy Institute</a> Research Fellow <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/people/experts/bio/rahman-yaacob">Rahman Yaacob</a> and <a href="https://www.iseas.edu.sg/about-us/researchers/ian-storey/">Ian Storey</a>, Senior Fellow at the <a href="https://www.iseas.edu.sg/">ISEAS &ndash; Yusof Ishak Institute</a>, talk with host <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/people/experts/bio/sam-roggeveen">Sam Roggeveen</a> about the significance of these events and Russia's ambitions.
This episode was first published on 4 June 2025.

Conversations: Sweden’s Defence Minister, Pål Jonson

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