This year the ANU Australian Studies Institute (AuSI) was proud to partner with the ABC, WildBear Entertainment, Screen Canberra, the National Museum of Australia and the National Archives of Australia, to bring together six new TV series that delve into fascinating parts of Australian history, culture, icons and politics.

Each thought-provoking series contains four episodes each, several of which feature commentary from a number of experts from AuSI and The Australian National University. Experts include Dr David Headon (Historical Consultant), Dr Jilda Andrews (Cultural Practitioner & Researcher), Professor Frank Bongiorno AM (Historian), Professor Mark Kenny (Political Analyst), Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont (Strategic & Defence Analyst), Emeritus Professor Hugh White (Historian), and Hon Professor Margo Ngawa Neale (Head of the National Museum of Australia's Indigenous Knowledges Curatorial Centre).

All episodes are outlined below and are available to watch on ABC iView.

“Great Australian Stuff”
Premiered on the ABC: April 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

Hosted by Tony Armstrong, this four-part series uncovers the surprising stories behind some of our most loved - and loathed - iconic Australian 'stuff'.

• Episode 1: Food
  Host Tony Armstrong unpacks great Aussie classic foods like the meat pie, the Macadamia nut, and how marketing played its part in promoting the Granny Smith apple, the Chiko Roll, and the one and only: Vegemite.
• Episode 2: The Land
  Tony Armstrong explores all the stuff from the land that's become iconic and recognisable as Great Australian Stuff - including the boomerang, the Akubra and the Permanent Pleat.
• Episode 3: Home
  It's 'sweet'! It's where the heart is! Yes, it's the Home. Tony Armstrong opens the front door onto some of our best-known, strangest, and daggiest icons inspired by all things domestic.
• Episode 4: Play
  We're a nation that loves to play, which is why it has given us memorable icons like Speedos, the Sherrin football, a dress made from polystyrene balls and our most popular museum attraction: a horse's heart.
   

“The Homes That Built Australia”
Premiered on the ABC: May 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

This four-part history series looks at how Australia has been shaped by its many definitions of home.

• Episode 1: The Birth of the 'Burbs' (1945 -1960)
  The end of WW2 marks the beginning of radical transformations to Australia's housing landscape - social, cultural and architectural history is about to unfold in ways never before seen on this vast continent.
• Episode 2: It's Time! (1960 - 1975)
  The Australian Dream continues to evolve, as underrepresented Australians work to secure a sense of home and belonging for themselves and their families - whether it's equality or immigration reform, the fight has just begun.
• Episode 3: Hard Country (1975 - 1990)
  Cyclones, floods, droughts; the all-mighty forces of nature devastate our homes and lives, showing how we must design and work with the land - or ignore it at our own peril.
• Episode 4: Boom or Bust? (1990 - Today)
  Our resilience as a society continues to be tested - from the recession of the early '90s right through to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the need for a stable and secure sense of home becomes impossible to deny.
   

"Makers of Modern Australia"
Premiered on the ABC: September 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

Narrated by Shaun Micallef, this four-part history is told through the stories of some of the country's most intriguing and influential figures: the leaders, rebels, artists and innovators who made modern Australia.

• Episode 1: Leaders
  From the turmoil of the 1930s and '40s, to the turn of the 21st century, our nation's modern history has been shaped by countless Australians, from all walks of life, who have risen to the challenges of their times.
• Episode 2: Innovators
  Australia's scientific innovators have helped us overcome countless problems we faced as a nation, and have strived to meet some of the gravest challenges facing all humanity.
• Episode 3: Rebels
  Social change doesn't happen automatically or by accident - it's our rebels who push against the limits of the acceptable to fight for a more diverse and equal society.
• Episode 4: Artists
  Our painters, performers, thinkers and creators are our national storytellers, helping us understand who we are as a nation, and who we may yet become.
   

“Australia After War”
Premiered on the ABC: October 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

Narrated by Lisa McCune, this four-part series combines the stories of veterans and their families from the Great War onwards, with commentary from leading academics and experts. A thought-provoking exploration of one of the most important icons in Australian life.

• Episode 1: Exit Wounds
  Australia has a long history of sending men and women to war, but what is it like to come home after serving in Australia's wars? And what are the factors that determine the success or failure of that return?
• Episode 2: Homefront
  When we think of return from war, we automatically think of how this event affects the men and women who have served our country; but return is felt as well by those closest to them in the home and in the community.
• Episode 3: Fit For Heroes
  Since word of Australian valour at Gallipoli, a powerful cohort emerged in society - the Returned soldier. Through protest, policy, and advocacy, their impact on Australia's political and cultural landscape has been immense.
• Episode 4: Lest We Forget
  How do we best commemorate the returned? For many the answer is ANZAC Day; but Australia's national day of remembrance is complicated and problematic for many including the returned themselves.
   

"Yakka: Australia at Work"
Premiered on the ABC: November 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

From working the land, to digging up minerals, from manufacturing to the services industry, 'Yakka: Australia At Work' explores how work has shaped Australia from the Second World War to the present.

• Episode 1: Soil and Toil
  Explore how since the Second World War, Australian agriculture has had to adapt to survive in changing global and domestic economies, a volatile political landscape, and face the challenges of an unpredictable climate.
• Episode 2: Making a Nation
  How Australia was transformed from an agricultural economy into a manufacturing one and how this workplace revolution ended 40 years later amidst public acrimony, inflation, an oil crisis and the rise of the Free Market.
• Episode 3: Groundbreakers
  Post-war Australia: the miner. From the 1949 coal miners' strike to the 'Axe the Tax' demonstrations in 2010, the Aussie miner has exerted huge political influence on the workplace and the country.
• Episode 4: At Your Service
  The final episode is about the services industry and the workers who have created it, sustained it and now dominate it: Australian women.
   

"Believing In Australia”
Premiered on the ABC: November 2023
Available to watch on ABC iview

This four-part series explores how the great shifts in Australians' faiths, ethics and beliefs have transformed a continent and its people.

• Episode 1: Losing Our Religion
  This episode looks at what drove Christians from the pews from the 1950s onwards, charting the social changes that saw a boom in non-belief.
• Episode 2: Catholics vs Protestants
  The sharpest dividing line in Australian society was once a religious one: the often bitter division between Catholics and Protestants marked the postwar era and left its legacy in our education system.
• Episode 3: Faith at the Fringes
  Religious cults are an endless source of fascination to those looking on, and pain to many who are caught up in them, while other forms of religious extremism drive Australians to fight far-off wars and wreak terror at home.
• Episode 4: Many Faiths
  Postwar migration saw Australia transformed from a broadly Christian monoculture to a successful multi-faith society.