Why Can't They Just...

Ranking history

About the show

Latest episodes

• Why does Australia spend so much on the Pacific?

  October 7, 2026 · 42 min

  Janaline, Luke and Glenn ask why Australian Prime Ministers spend so much time with very tiny island countries, and why Australian governments spend so much development aid in the region. Short answer - geography matters. We make the case…

• Why can’t the UN fix climate change? Or can it?

  September 30, 2026 · 41 min

  Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the history of international climate negotiations and ask why has it all been so hard? Maybe we are asking for the wrong thing - instead of asking countries to give something up (fossil fuel use), what if…

• Can the government really fix industrial emissions?

  September 21, 2026 · 41 min

  Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the Safeguard Mechanism - the government's main policy to manage down industrial emissions - and how it can be made more effective. How can it make miners and fossil fuel companies do more of the heavy…

• What is AI doing to society (and how do we make it good)?

  September 16, 2026 · 41 min

  Janaline, Luke and Yassine consider the impact of AI on society, how we relate to each other as humans, how it is affecting education and learning, and what it means for our humanity. And because we care about policy, we consider what…

• What is AI doing to the economy and how do we ensure it isn't bad?

  September 9, 2026 · 40 min

  Janaline and Glenn look at the different ways in which AI is likely to affect the Australian economy and ask what, if anything, the government can do to ensure it delivers benefit to the people. Spoiler alert: we see a big role for…

• What is like in public schools and what policies could make it better?

  September 2, 2026 · 41 min

  Janaline, Luke and Yassine discuss what it's actually like in Australian public schools, what are the challenges for teachers and students and what policies might make things better. Philosophy for children might be an answer. Good news…

• Why can't they just fund public schools? (and why fund private schools?)

  August 26, 2026 · 41 min

  Welcome to Season 3, and welcome to our new co-host Yassine. Janaline, Luke, Yassine and Glenn talk about school funding: why does the government give so much to private schools when public schools are under-funded, and what can be done to…

• Why can't they just make social media safe for young people?

  August 19, 2026 · 42 min

  Janaline and Luke are joined by special guest Yassine to talk about social media and its impact on Generation Z - the first generation to grow up entirely on line and the last generation not to be protected. They talk about what the…