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Solving the world’s problems requires collective courage
William Cox | January 20, 2021A new year usually begins fresh with optimism and the idea that we can begin anew. Choosing a courageous mindset is an important part of maintaining the stamina to face the challenges ahead.
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Remembering Indigenous figures in Australian history
Open Forum | January 6, 2021The role played by an aboriginal woman called Turandurey and her daughter Ballandella in an early colonial expedition are among 25 new biographies published by the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
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Stop press! The fourth estate – service or farce?
Mark Nicol | January 4, 2021The invention of the printing press heralded a revolution in human communications, but the nation’s newspapers are being left behind in the age of the Internet, and Open Forum columnist Mark Nicol is less than impressed with their current standard of ownership and content.
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10 podcasts for summer
Siobhan McHugh | January 1, 2021Podcasts have continued to proliferate this year, and offer an astonishing variety of content for every taste and interest. Here are 10 shows to sample or binge on the beach, at home – or in lockdown.
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Hit the road, Jack
Jessica Gildersleeve | December 31, 2020American beat novelist Jack Kerouac typed out his seminal work ‘On The Road’ in just 10 days on a single roll of paper, but after a year of travel bans and lockdowns, there are plenty of other epic road trips we can take with our fingertips this year.
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Music for the festive season
Mark Nicol | December 22, 2020Open Forum regular Mark Nicol offers a selection of music “to soothe the savage soul” over the festive season.
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The idea of democracy
Mark Nicol | December 10, 2020Western liberal democracy has its deep but tangled roots in a host of religious as well as secular traditions, and its apparent decline can only be arrested by a reappreciation of rationality and individual merit.
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Voyeurism and media sport violence
David Rowe | December 4, 2020The fiery crash suffered and survived by French Formula 1 driver Roman Grosjean has reignited the debate about the immediate and more insidious long-term dangers sports stars face for our entertainment.
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Rescuing Australia’s lost literary treasures
Rebecca Giblin | November 30, 2020A new project is digitising some of Australia’s most culturally-important lost books, getting them into libraries and answering some important questions.
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A vision of hope: The church of native divinity
Mark Nicol | November 5, 2020The disciplined practise of rational science has given modern man technological domination of the planet, but it may take a new reverence for life itself for our species to ensure a sustainable future.
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The history of the Hawkesbury
Rachel Gray | October 11, 2020UNSW Sydney’s Grace Karskens reveals the complex and controversial history of the Hawkesbury River in her latest book People of the River.