The history of the Hawkesbury

UNSW Sydney’s Grace Karskens reveals the complex and controversial history of the Hawkesbury River in her latest book People of the River.

Louise Glück wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

The wonderful American poet Louise Glück has won this years Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel committee heralded her work ‘for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal’. 

Arnhem Land Maliwawa rock art opens window to past

Stunning Arnhem Land rock art images including three rare depictions of bilbies and a dugong have been described by researchers in a new paper in Australian Archaeology.

Music and silence

Mark Nicol explores the rich history, unrivaled creativity and uncertain future of western music.

Something or nothing

People have been suspicious of ‘nothing’ going back all the way to the mathematical idea of “zero.” Yet there is real value in “nothing” and we need to appreciate it more.

Who said God is dead?

Mark Nicol calls for a new religious vision of ‘native divinity’ to help reconcile humanity’s egoistic, humanist, environmentalist, and aspirational ambitions.

Are arts schools an endangered species?

Decades of under-funding have left many Australian art schools in a perilous state. And the present political and intellectual hostility to the creative arts is threatening their very existence.

Incels, trolls and attack helicopters

While ‘trolls’ have been around almost as long as the Internet, researchers say ‘Incels’ are a more recent and distinctly different cyber sub-culture which warrants more study.

Why everyone should learn a musical instrument

Learning and playing music has many benefits for people of every age, but not in the ways you might think.

Fighting the good fight

Giving the Devil His Due – Reflections of a Scientific Humanist, the latest book by American rationalist Michael Shermer, should be required reading for those who seek hope in reason in these troubled times.

A room made of leaves

The newest novel from the author of The Secret River is an imagined diary, detailing the ‘true’ story of Elizabeth Macarthur.

Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods”

Spike Lee’s new film film tells a vivid tale of African American life from the battlefields of Vietnam to a return to a civilian world ungrateful for their wartime service.