The Future of Democracy series, hosted by Nick Bryant and Rosalind Dixon, is a collaboration between Sydney Writers’ Festival and the Resilient Democracy Lab at UNSW Sydney.
We used to take honourable institutions, humans rights protections and freedom of speech for granted. With autocratic regimes on the rise around the world, these things are no longer guaranteed, even as the the value and importance of democracy becomes stark.
In this discussion, journalist and writer Jon Sopel (UnPresidented: Politics, Pandemics and the Race that Trumped All Others) joins co-hosts Nick Bryant (The Forever War) and Rosalind Dixon (The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution) to consider the impact of President Donald Trump on democracy and how to withstand the forces eroding democracies worldwide, from the rule of tech broligarchs to the autocratic superpowers.
Join Jon in conversation with Nick and Rosalind.
From Jon Sopel, bestselling author and presenter of The News Agents podcast, comes his most ambitious book to date: an incisive examination of Britain's New Normal, and what it means for our future.
21 May
2026
Eveleigh, NSW
Sydney Writers' Festival: Holding Up the Mirror
Bookings Essential
23 May
2026
Sydney, NSW
Sydney Writers' Festival:The World According to Trump
Bookings Essential