The holy creed of Carbonus Rex

65 million years ago, a natural act wiped out the dinosaurs, but today it’s the dinosaurs of the fossil fuel industry who imperil life on Earth.

A nation of apologies

A lyrical perspective on the fraught political and constitutional issue of Aboriginal rights in this country.

Digital serfs

We spend more time interacting with our screens than we do each other. What space does tik-tok and instragram leave for poetry?

The war against the past

In his new book, The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History, Frank Furedi defends the rich history of western liberal democracies against the social justice warriors determined to destroy it.

Back on the streets

“Homicide – Life on the Streets” offered a gritty, realistic take on police work in the 1990s and was the spiritual predecessor to prestige TV shows such as “The Sopranos,” “The Shield”, “The Wire” and “Breaking Bad” and has now returned to streaming services.

Grow up?

What is behind the spiraling rates of ‘mental illness’ among the young? Several recent books take very different views on the issue.

The optimism principle

Optimism motivates individuals and organisations to envision and create a brighter future, and by integrating this principle into the core practices of business and governance, leaders can inspire confidence, drive innovation, and manage change more effectively.

The pleasures of paradox

Paradoxes are not just an interesting exercise in speculative philosophy, but can also make us realise that good questions can have more than one answer – or perhaps none.

Fire, flints and fiction

Fiction remains one of humanities greatest inventions and we seem to need stories in our lives not only to explain the mysteries of existence but to enhance the fact of existence.

Remembering Ray Lawler

Ray Lawler, who died this week at 103, was one of the key figures in the Melbourne Theatre Company and wrote its best-known play – Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.

In praise of Shirley Jackson

Three quarters of a century on, The Lottery and Other Stories remains the perfect showcase for one of the 20th century’s most original, and now, most justly celebrated, authors.

The Siren’s Call

These are difficult times but assuming things will go from bad to worse is a surefire way to make that happen. The future is ours to shape, and envisioning a brighter future is the first and most important step towards achieving it.