Pauline Hanson’s podcast with Tommy Robinson was dispiriting in unexpected ways. Racism was a given: more deflating was the recognition of its entertainment value. Enough attention has been directed towards Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He is a thug, a fraudster, a bully and a bigot.

Despite, or because of this, there are those who rush to swing hands with him.

Like Senator Hanson, he has a gift for embodying and amplifying grievance. He is a good podcaster; with Hanson, he listened. He directed the conversation in intriguing ways; his interruptions accelerated rather than halted the flow. His empathy when Hanson described being rocked, devastated, on the day she was sentenced to jail, when she saw her then 19-year-old daughter being interviewed on television, looked convincing enough.

At one point, Hanson and Robinson simply stared at each other, laughing. For six whole seconds. It was open-throated delight. Two people intoxicated by their moment.

Moments pass, of course. Barely days ago, Karl Stefanovic was telling Robinson “I love you”. With Hanson in the chair, Robinson struggled to remember him.

“I just sat down with a gentleman last week – what........

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