The Future of Democracy: Trump’s America with Jon Sopel

When

Duration

Location

Ross Family Studio

Glasshouse Port Macquarie and Mid North Coast Co-operative Library Service present:

The Future of Democracy: Trump’s America with Jon Sopel

How democracies can bounce back

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 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 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. Presented in collaboration with the UNSW Resilient Democracy Lab.

Relax, Refuel, Connect

Relax in our SWF Lounge between sessions and take the opportunity to chat and meet like-mined people. Tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages and light refreshments will be available for purchase.

Exclusive Offer

Present your Sydney Writers’ Festival ticket or VIP Festival Pass at Book Face in Port Central or Collins Booksellers Port Macquarie to receive a 10% discount* on books by featured authors in the Live & Local Program. This exclusive offer is valid from 10am Thursday 21 May to 4pm Sunday 24 May, 2026.

*Final discount and qualifying books at the discretion of Book Face and Collins Booksellers management.

Full Program Here(PDF, 3MB)  Book Day & Festival Passes Here

Part of Glasshouse SELECT 2026 Theatre Program

Part of Education @ Glasshouse 2026 Theatre Program   

Jon Sopel

Jon Sopel was the BBC’s North America Editor for 8 years, before launching The News Agents podcast with Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall in August 2022. During his time at the BBC, he covered the 2016 and 2020 elections and Trump’s White House first hand, reporting for the BBC across TV, radio and online, as well as presenting the highly successful Americast podcast with Emily Maitlis and Anthony Zurcher. He is the author of If Only They Didn’t Speak English: Notes from Trump’s America, A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump’s White House and UnPresidented: Politics, Pandemics and the Race that Trumped All Others.

Nick Bryant

During a career spanning almost 30 years, Nick Bryant came to be regarded as one of the BBC’s finest foreign correspondents. His writing has appeared in The Economist, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Monthly and The New Statesman. He broadcasts regularly on the BBC and ABC. Nick studied history at Cambridge and has a doctorate in American politics from Oxford. He now lives in Sydney with his wife and children. His book, When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present, resided on Joe Biden’s bookshelf in the Oval Office.

Rosalind Dixon

Rosalind Dixon is Anthony Mason Professor and Scientia Professor of Law at UNSW Sydney. She is Co-Director of the UNSW Gender Equality Hub, UNSW Resilient Democracy Lab and Pathways to Politics Program for Women NSW and a globally renowned expert on constitutional law and democracy.

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