The snag

In her memoir The Snag, Tessa McWatt takes on themes of personal and collective grief in the near-future context of the climate crisis and the solace and inspiration we can find in connecting with nature and each other.

The hollow men

T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” disregarded many of the liberal shibboleths of its time to explore a new wave of populist, religio-nationalist thinking which seems all too relevant today.

The twin film phenomenon

A new book explores the curious case of twin films, where Hollywood’s uncanny doubles reveal the secrets behind cinema’s most intriguing coincidences and rivalries.

The aliens within

Although it deals with the consequence of alien infection, Vince Gilligan’s hit sci-fi series Plur1bus taps into our greatest fears about AI.

One story

In Pip Finkemeyer’s new novel a tech company’s meteoric rise leads to the devastating fall of its creator, Dot Van Jensen, but though the media paints her as a puppet-master who fractured democracy and paved the way for a darker future, is the truth as cut and dried as the headlines imply?

Art deco at 100

A century after its Parisian debut, the art deco movement continues to inspire with its modernity, elegance and freedom of form, creating a sense of nostalgia through juxtaposing perspectives from the past and present.

The art of engagement

Arts organisations can create shared value by collaborating with employees, communities and other stakeholders to ensure their long term survival.

The sky that remembers the dead

Another lyrical poem on contemporary issues from Open Forum’s poet laureate Roger Chao.

Static and silence

The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt turned 90 this month, but remains one of the most frequently performed contemporary classical composers in the world, so how does his music evoke such profound emotions and transcendent spirituality?

Woke will eat itself

“Safe speech” rules require a form of censorship that not only involves choosing political sides, but inevitably making fine-grained judgements between which opposing minority deserves protection at the expense of the other.

The ferryman

A new book explores the life of Ephraim Finch, the son of a Melbourne butcher who converted to Judaism and became the director of Melbourne’s Chevra Kadisha – the city’s Jewish Burial Society.

Fire mountain

A mechanical artwork designed in 1775 to depict the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius has been brought to life for the first time – 250 years after it was conceived – thanks to modern technology and the ingenuity of two Australian engineering students.