Phil is joined by Tom McIlroy, Canberra bureau chief for the Australian Financial Review, to delve into his compelling new book, Blue Poles: The Painter, the Politics & the Scandal That Followed.

At the heart of this story is Blue Poles—Jackson Pollock’s iconic abstract masterpiece that ignited one of Australia’s greatest cultural controversies.

McIlroy unpacks the bold acquisition that rocked a nation, the political firestorm it sparked, and the legacy it left behind.  Blending art, modernism, and myth-making with the high-stakes world of politics, this is a tale of vision, outrage, and a painting that changed the national conversation.

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