AI Factories in the Outback — Tim Nelson [Compute Series]

This episode is best watched on video, as we often refer to some calculations I wrote on a whiteboard.  [Recorded 30 September 2026.] Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to work out what it would take, on the energy side, for Australia to build 10 to 15 gigawatts of AI compute by 2030. So …

The Geostrategic Case for Compute in Australia — Janet Egan [Compute Series]

This is the second episode in a multi-part series called 'Compute in Australia'. Series announcement here. More episodes to follow over the coming month. [Recorded 24 August 2026.] Janet Egan is Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a …

Australia's Plan to Turn Compute Into Sovereign AI — Dr Andrew Charlton MP [Compute Series]

This is the first episode in a multi-part series called 'Compute in Australia'. Series announcement here. More episodes to follow over the coming month. [Recorded 7 August 2026.] Dr Andrew Charlton MP is an Australian economist, entrepreneur and politician. As Cabinet Secretary and Australia's As…

Compute in Australia: Announcing my new podcast series

https://josephnoelwalker.com/

"Just because I consulted doesn't mean I didn't dominate": How prime ministers really govern — Patrick Weller

Patrick Weller is emeritus professor of politics and public policy at Griffith University and the author or editor of some forty books. Pat wrote what was the first (and may still be the only) Westminster-system equivalent to Robert Caro's epic meditation on Lyndon Johnson: a detailed study of how…

How Can Australia Get a Piece of the AI Action? — Danielle Wood

Danielle Wood is an Australian economist and the current chair of the Australian Productivity Commission. Had a lot of fun chatting with Dani about how she's making sense of AI and its implications for policy. We discuss: whether AI will be more like the internet or the Industrial Revolution, wher…

How Australia Actually Selects and Integrates Migrants — Mike Pezzullo [Immigration Series]

Part 3 of a three-part immigration series this week. Martin Parkinson (economics) available here; Mark Cully (history) available here. Mike Pezzullo ran the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (2013-2014), then the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (2014-2017), then the …

"Bigger and Different": The Six Decades That Remade Australia — Mark Cully [Immigration Series]

Part 2 of a three-part immigration series this week. Martin Parkinson (economics) available here; Mike Pezzullo (acculturation, social cohesion, security) drops Friday. Mark Cully was the inaugural chief economist at the Australian Department of Immigration (2009-2012). His forthcoming book, Waves…

"We've built an economy that requires 2 million temporary migrants" — Martin Parkinson [Immigration Series]

Part 1 of a three-part immigration series this week. Mark Cully (history) drops Thursday; Mike Pezzullo (acculturation, social cohesion, security) drops Friday.  Martin Parkinson ran the Australian Treasury (2011-2014), then the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet (2015-2019). He's also though…

2025 Retrospective — A Listener (Zac Gross) Interviews Me

In this special end-of-year episode, the tables are turned: I’m the guest, and I’m interviewed by Zac Gross — an Australian macroeconomist and long-time listener of the show. We reflect on what I learned on the podcast in 2025 and what I changed my mind about. We also discuss the behind-the-scenes…