Curtin's Cast Episode 21 - 16 July 2025 - Liam Byrne (Author of No Power Greater: A History of Union Action in Australia)

History nerds and labour movement aficionados we have a cracker of a Curtin's Cast for you this week! Nick Dyrenfurth was joined by Redbridge's Simon Welsh to yarn with historian and author Dr Liam Byrne, discussing his new book, No Power Greater: A History of Union Action in Australia. Liam is a distinguished biographer of the great John Curtin and another Labor prime minister Jim Scullin - his first book was Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin: the Making of the Modern Labor Party (Melbourne University Press, 2020) so we naturally traversed his earlier studies of these Labor icons, Liam's own Irish-Scottish family background and attraction to labour history and union activism, why people came together to form unions and purpose of unionism itself, the progression of unionism in Australia over nearly two centuries, the big and lesser known heroes of his story, and just how crucial unions have been in shaping modern Australian society - especially the struggles of women workers, culturally and linguistically diverse and First Nations' workers, and more recently LGBTIQA+ toilers, as well as how unions are enjoying something of a resurgence especially amongst younger people. No Power Greater is fascinating and compelling history - enjoy the pod and make sure to buy Liam's book. Read an extract and secure a copy here:

https://byrnel.substack.com/p/no-power-greater?