Face to face

New research looks at how the human face is represented in writing from the medieval to contemporary eras, revealing how we have interpreted human emotion over the centuries.

The horror, the horror

Halloween is over for another year, but adult horror fiction can be enjoyed at any time of year, and three new Australian novels – Bunny, Bitters and Blackwater – rank with some of the classics of the genre.

Losing a friend

It’s as fashionable to denigrate Friends these days as it was to love the show in its heyday, but the death of Matthew Perry has hit many people hard, a reminder that the happier, more carefree times of our youth are over.

The other side of George Johnston

Though little read these days, George Johnston was once one of Australia’s best known writers, and a new book explores his life and writing career, including a series of crime novels penned under the pen name of Shane Martin.

Echoes of Louise

Literary critics who can only view art through a political lens disdained the late Louise Glück for writing intensely personal poetry, but because of this, rather than despite it, her luminous and fiercely intelligent writing will long outlive her.

Do look now

Adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s supernatural short story and directed by Nicolas Roeg, Don’t Look Now is a moving and tender portrait of marriage and parental grief, as well as a haunting – and occasionally terrifying – horror film.

The rise of the ‘virtual influencer’

Just when you thought the world couldn’t possibly get any stupider, AI generated ‘influencers’ are now being used to peddle products to unsuspecting or uncaring social media fans.

Chariots of the Gods

People have been describing unexplainable gleaming objects in the sky for thousands of years, although a recent NASA report concluded there is no evidence suggesting they are of extraterrestrial origin.

The X Files turns 30

The first episode of The X-Files aired 30 years ago and quickly became part of the cultural lexicon, due to the chemistry between David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and its mix of monster of the week and alien conspiracy episodes.

A haunting in Venice

A new cinematic adaption of Agatha Christie’s late novel “A Hallowe’en Party” leans heavily into the gothic with a hint of supernatural terror amping up the murder mystery.

Doppelganger

In her latest book, “Doppelganger,” Naomi Klein investigates an online underworld of conspiracies and misinformation, showing how the rise of right wing paranoia has been fed by progressive disdain.

Sport: Socially divided, spuriously unified?

Sport can still unite rather than divide us but must reinvent its structures and practices, rediscover its ethical mission, and reimagine who are ‘us’ to remain a positive and progressive force for social good.