Latest Story
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PM for Plutarch
Matthew Sharpe | July 11, 2026The writings of Plutarch of Chaeronia were an important part of humanistic education in the West for many centuries, influencing everyone from Michel de Montaigne and Francis Bacon to William Shakespeare, and the practical nature of his essays keep them timely in our social media age
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The end of romance
Joanne Anderton | July 11, 2026Set on an inhospitable future earth, Maria Takolander’s The End of Romance is a violent dystopia and, given the current state of the world, is all the more relatable for that.
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Snowcrash
Andrew B. Watkins | July 11, 2026Another poor start to Australia’s shrinking snow season underlines how rapidly climate change is altering our weather.
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Risks and opportunities
Michelle Grattan | July 10, 2026If you’re pessimistic about the country’s economic outlook and are feeling the financial pinch yourself, then new figures released this week won’t cheer your mood but there is hope on the horizon.
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A red card for Infantino?
Keith Rathbone | July 10, 2026The World Cup is in full swing but FIFA’s controversial decision to bow to President Trump and overturn a red card awarded to an American player has left FIFA’s chief in a precarious position.
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More doesn’t mean better
Lauren Ball | July 10, 2026Australia’s long-term life expectancy growth is one of the great successes of modern medicine, public health and improved living conditions but living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living well.
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Greening heavy industry
Rahman Daiyan | July 9, 2026Mining and heavy industries create jobs and wealth but their emissions have been some of the hardest to cut. Fortunately this is changing as steel and hydrogen can now be made with renewable power rather than coal or gas.
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Who feels it knows it
Hazel Godfrey | July 9, 2026Lived experience is not merely a personal story but offers knowledge developed from engagement with systems, institutions and the realities of everyday life.
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The fight for the Pacific seabed
Raelene Lockhorst | July 9, 2026The Pacific seabed is no longer an empty space between nations, indeed it is becoming one of the most strategically crowded environments in the region.
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Working memory
Henry Taylor | July 8, 2026Just as computers have RAM and long term storage, so the human mind can be understood in terms of working and long-term memory, while consciousness is the “broadcast” of information in the “global workspace” of the brain.
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Not with a bang, but with a whimper
Steve Georgakis | July 8, 2026Australia’s limp performance at the 2026 World Cup came to a disappointing end with defeat against lowly Egypt in the round of 32, so what can be learned from the tournament and what effect will it have on the struggling domestic competitions?
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The five follies of fitness tracking
Sahar Bakr | July 8, 2026Fitness trackers promise to help users become fitter, happier and healthier versions of themselves but turning every human experience into data for tech companies to mine isn’t always a good idea for the user.
