Latest Story
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Bringing it all back home
Jon Richardson | May 9, 2026Ukraine’s success in holding off the Russian invasion and launching daring attacks deep into Russia itself has forced Putin to radically scale back his May 9 propaganda parade amid signs that domestic opposition to the war is growing.
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Mushroom clouds
Jane Rawson | May 9, 2026Romy Ash’s new novel Mantle explores the idea that a pathogen might make us wake up to ourselves and change course to save both the environment we depend on and ourselves.
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“Just looping you in” may leave you out
Daniel Angus | May 9, 2026If you can’t be bothered doing the job you get paid for, or don’t like interacting with your friends, then using AI to communicate for you seems an easy time saving, but letting AI write our emails might create more work and erode the human relationships we ultimately depend on.
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How to enter the art world
Benedict Carpenter van Barthold | May 9, 2026How to Enter the Art World by Hettie Judah offers a smørgasbord of sage advice for budding artists of all ages looking to navigate their way in a world where the human creation of art is threatened as never before.
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Mind wars
Lorraine Finlay | May 8, 2026China’s newly released 15th five‑year plan offers a revealing insight into how Beijing understands the future of military power as a combination of brute force and advanced technology, including brain‑computer interfaces.
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The stars look up
Graeme Austin | May 8, 2026You and I can’t do much to stop the AI companies from stealing everything we do and using it against us, but Taylor Swift and Bollywood stars are turning to the civil courts to fight deepfakes and protect their own identities.
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Growing pains
Carla Liuzzo | May 8, 2026Economic growth, particularly in energy-intensive nations, is slowing as the Middle East war continues to throttle exports of oil, plastics and fertiliser but is it time to rethink the concept of economic growth from its core?
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‘Fed up, fired up, and finally heard’
Open Forum | May 8, 2026One Nation seems poised to win the regional seat of Farrer in the by-election caused by the resignation of deposed leader Sussan Ley to deliver another shocking blow to the Liberals.
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How computers decide who gets care
Laura Davy | May 7, 2026The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is moving towards computer-guided planning tools to generate budgets after participants’ support needs are assessed but many worry this amounts to a form of “robo-planning”.
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How music dumbed down
Open Forum | May 7, 2026Do you feel like they don’t make music like they used to? You might be right! International researchers have found that classical and jazz music have become simpler and more uniform since the mid-20th century and are now closer in complexity to genres such as pop and rock.
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Kids are still on the socials
Lisa Given | May 7, 2026The new report on social media restrictions shows there is a long road ahead for compliance and if we want to fully address the harms posed by these platforms, new legislation that actually targets the root problems is required.
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Whatever happened to Parliament?
Gabrielle Appleby | May 6, 2026There is growing concern across the world about democratic backsliding – the erosion of democratic institutions and civil liberties – so is Australia a surviving beacon of hope, or are we also part of the problem as governments of all parties continue to undermine the constitutional role of Parliament as a legislative and oversight body.
