The Malachite Dialogues
The Malachite Dialogues is a podcast that explores the complex intersections of climate change, conflict, security, and diplomacy, guided by the transformative spirit of Malachite — a stone symbolising positive change, balance, and renewal.
Each episode invites futurists, artists, scientists, military strategists, activists, and innovators to the table — not just to diagnose the world’s challenges, but to imagine a more resilient, joyful, and secure future. Through calm, curious, and occasionally confrontational conversations, this podcast gives listeners a lens of realistic optimism in an era marked by uncertainty.
It’s not about quick fixes. It’s about courageous dialogue and the green spark of transformation.
Podcast # 2: Dr. Albert Palazzo – Climate Change, Security and Conflict
In this episode, Dr. Albert Palazzo — Adjunct Professor at UNSW Canberra and former Director of War Studies for the Australian Army — challenges Australia’s deepest assumptions about security.
Drawing on his new book The Big Fix: Rebuilding Australia’s National Security, Palazzo argues that our leaders have chosen to see China as the primary threat, while ignoring the far greater danger posed by climate change. We unpack what happens when climate is omitted from defence policy: a military unprepared for natural disasters and the paradoxes and consequences it poses, a society strained by repeated crises, and a nation locked into fragile energy and supply chains.
Palazzo explains why AUKUS narrows our imagination, how the Overton Window of Australian security has been shifted away from reality, and what a climate-centred ‘Strategic Defensive’ posture could look like. This is a fearless conversation about courage, consequences, and the urgent need to redefine national security in a warming world.