In a media environment crowded with polemicists and opinionators, George Megalogenis is something of an outlier. His commentary is relentlessly, rigorously – and somehow compellingly – even-handed.

An award-winning, veteran journalist who served for many years as a senior feature writer at News Ltd, his analysis of Australian political, economic and demographic history is indispensable. Megalogenis has been described by Annabel Crabb as ‘Australia’s best explainer’ and in recent years he’s applied that gift to the medium of documentary, writing and presenting two acclaimed ABC productions: Making Australia Great and Life Wasn’t Meant to Be Easy. Megalogenis is still writing books, too. For his most recent, Australia’s Second Chance, he looked back to 1788, tracing our political and economic history and crunching the numbers to present a narrative of resilience, missed opportunity and latent potential.

Megalogenis joins Sally Warhaft to discuss his latest book, his body of work and the challenges and freedoms of working across television and print media.

Books and Ideas at Montalto series sound design and music: Jon Tjhia.