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A prisoner voting ban shows again how few checks there are on parliamentary power

By ignoring a Supreme Court ruling on prisoner voting rights, the NZ government is undermining one of the few constitutional protections against...

latest 10

The Conversation

Stephen Winter

What makes a cult leader tick? The Bearcat digs into the origins of the Family, Australia’s ‘cult of cults’

When Georgia Rose Phillips’ inner poet takes centre stage, The Bearcat rises to great heights. But the novel contains some anachronisms.

latest 8

The Conversation

Donna Mazza

Meteorites and marsquakes hint at an underground ocean of liquid water on the Red Planet

What happened to all the water on Mars? The answer may lie underground.

latest 10

The Conversation

Hrvoje Tkalčić

As Donald Trump cuts funding to Antarctica, will the US be forced off the icy continent?

Since 1958, the US has led on Antarctic diplomacy and science. Trump’s funding cuts will diminish US capacity in Antarctica as China expands its...

latest 10

The Conversation

Lynda Goldsworthy

Comet, rocket, space junk or meteor? Here’s how to tell your fireballs apart

There are telltale clues to help you work out what just blazed overhead.

latest 10

The Conversation

Michael J. I. Brown

Victoria’s planning reforms could help solve the housing crisis. But they are under threat

Councils have made it hard to build more townhouses and apartments in the suburbs. That’s why these planning reforms are needed.

latest 10

The Conversation

Brendan Coates

Why doesn’t Australia make more medicines? Wouldn’t that fix drug shortages?

Boosting Australia’s ability to make pharmaceuticals sounds like a great way to ease medicine shortages. But there are simpler, cheaper options we...

latest 20

The Conversation

Peter Coomber

Footy’s ‘code wars’ are back, but which is actually the No. 1 Australian sport: the NRL or AFL?

The AFL and NRL constantly claim to be the country’s premier sport – so what do the figures say in terms of profit, participation, attendance and...

latest 10

The Conversation

Tim Harcourt

Pamela Rabe shines in this hypnotic revival of Samuel Beckett’s classic play Happy Days

This fresh take by the Sydney Theatre Company combines existential dread with dark humour – and resonates for the current age.

latest 10

The Conversation

Alexander Howard

Farmers fear dingoes are eating their livestock – but predator poo tells an unexpected story

Despite public perceptions, sheep and cattle are not a favoured prey for some dingoes or foxes. So is culling them to protect livestock justified?

latest 60

The Conversation

Rachel Mason

View from The Hill: Albanese shifts Tanya Plibersek from environment, in favour of ‘can-do ’ Murray Watt

The prime minister’s new cabinet dumps a couple, promotes others and leaves some holding political short straws.

latest 2

The Conversation

Michelle Grattan

Antarctica has a huge, completely hidden mountain range. New data reveals its birth over 500 million years ago

The mysterious ‘ghost mountains’ – buried beneath kilometres of Antarctic ice – have puzzled scientists for decades.

latest 2

The Conversation

Jacqueline Halpin

S. Shakthidharan’s ambitious play The Wrong Gods is a profound critique of progress and modernity

New Australian play The Wrong Gods traces the triumphs and tribulations of a single mother fighting to protect her valley from the ‘new’ word.

latest 1

The Conversation

Niro Kandasamy

Liberal Party reclaims Goldstein – how Tim Wilson turned back the Teal tidal wave

The Liberal Party has reclaimed a seat lost to the Teals in 2022. Tim Wilson did it by adapting some of the campaign strategies used by the...

latest 1

The Conversation

Phoebe Hayman

Genes, environment or a special bond? Why some twins talk and think in unison

Twins Bridgette and Paula Powers have gone viral for the way they speak in unison, using the same gestures and words.

latest 8

The Conversation

Jeffrey Craig

Grief, strength and resistance: The Black Woman of Gippsland is a powerful reckoning with colonial myths

From playwright and director Andrea James, this is theatre that breathes beyond the stage, reconnecting culture and story across generations.

latest 1

The Conversation

Bianca Williams

Bindi Irwin was rushed to hospital for appendix surgery. But what is appendicitis?

Appendicitis is more common in children and young people. Here are the symptoms to look out for.

latest 7

The Conversation

Warwick Teague

Dumped minister Ed Husic labels Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles ‘factional assassin’

Industry Minister Ed Husic, dumped from the frontbench ahead of Anthony Albanese’s announcement of his new ministry, has made an excoriating attack...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Michelle Grattan

View from The Hill: if Jacinta Nampijinpa Price became Liberal deputy it would be a wild ride

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s confirmation she will run for Liberal deputy has put the members of an already shell-shocked party into a new spin....

yesterday 20

The Conversation

Michelle Grattan

To split Moscow from Beijing, Trump is reviving Nixon’s ‘madman diplomacy’. It could backfire badly

When United States President William McKinley advocated high‑tariff protectionism in 1896, he argued squeezing foreign competitors behind a 50%...

friday 2

The Conversation

Ian Langford

Glyn Davis to quit as the prime minister’s top public servant

Glyn Davis, Anthony Albanese’s hand-picked Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, will leave the post on June 16. Albanese...

friday 5

The Conversation

Michelle Grattan

View from The Hill: two ministers and the Nationals discover the limits of loyalty in politics

Labor’s extraordinary election result has triggered a power play that has exposed the uglier entrails of Labor factionalism. Even before the new...

friday 5

The Conversation

Michelle Grattan

How the word ‘incel’ got away from us

Imagine a young man whose voice has been worn down by years of feeling invisible. Plain, numb and bitter, the “incel” tries to explain the kind of...

friday 10

The Conversation

Farid Zaid

Some Reddit users just love to disagree, new AI-powered troll-spotting algorithm finds

In today’s fractured online landscape, it is harder than ever to identify harmful actors such as trolls and misinformation spreaders. Often,...

friday 2

The Conversation

Marian-Andrei Rizoiu

It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot?

This year, for many Australians, it feels like summer never left. The sunny days and warm nights have continued well into autumn. Even now, in May,...

friday 30

The Conversation

Andrew King

A community-led health program in remote Arnhem land is showing promising results for First Nations locals

Indigenous Australians are more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to suffer from disease, particularly chronic diseases such as...

friday 3

The Conversation

Hasthi Dissanayake

As Filipinos prepare to vote, ex-strongman Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest is dividing families – all the way to the president

It’s been two months since former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to...

friday 4

The Conversation

Noel Morada

What’s the difference between probiotics and prebiotics? A dietitian explains

If you walk through your local pharmacy or supermarket you’re bound to come across probiotics and prebiotics. They’re added to certain foods. They...

friday 10

The Conversation

Evangeline Mantzioris

‘Peace be with all of you’: how Pope Leo XIV embodies a living dialogue between tradition and modernity

When Robert Francis Prevost appeared on the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, he set three precedents. He is the first pope from North...

friday 2

The Conversation

Darius Von Guttner Sporzynski

Feminist reformer Beatrice Faust was a sexual libertarian who did her homework, kept her cool and criticised ‘wimp feminism’

Beatrice Faust was an iconoclastic public intellectual. I first encountered her through her columns in the Weekend Australian in the 1990s. She was...

friday 2

The Conversation

Michelle Arrow

What will the Antichrist look like? According to Western thought, an authoritarian king – or the pope

The US presidency and the papacy came together on May 3 when Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photograph of himself dressed as the pope to Truth...

friday 3

The Conversation

Philip C. Almond

Hidden connections of more than 100 migratory marine species revealed in interactive map

From the enormous blue whale to the delicate monarch butterfly, animals of all shapes and sizes migrate across the globe. These migrations connect...

friday 10

The Conversation

Lily Bentley

The artist as creator of all things: Julie Fragar wins the Archibald for a portrait among the stars

Beatrice Gralton, who curated this year’s Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes, has hung the exhibition well. Julie Fragar’s Archibald-winning...

friday 5

The Conversation

Joanna Mendelssohn

Google is rolling out its Gemini AI chatbot to kids under 13. It’s a risky move

Google has announced it will roll out its Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to children under the age of 13. While the launch starts...

friday 5

The Conversation

Lisa M. Given

What is grounding and could it improve my sleep? Here’s the science behind this TikTok trend

Have you ever felt an unexpected sense of calm while walking barefoot on grass? Or noticed your stress begin to fade as you stood ankle deep in the...

friday 10

The Conversation

Dean J. Miller

Labor has promised to tackle homelessness. Here’s what homeless people say they need

The 2025 election is over and now it’s time for Labor to deliver on campaign promises to address homelessness. Action on homelessness is long...

friday 1

The Conversation

Robyn Martin

Labor likely to gain 5 senators, cementing the left’s Senate dominance

I previously wrote about the Senate the morning after the election. About half the Senate is elected at each House of Representatives election....

friday 2

The Conversation

Adrian Beaumont

Old drains and railways are full of life. Here’s how to make the most of these overlooked green spaces

Across Australian cities, leftover and overlooked green spaces are everywhere. Just think of all the land along stormwater drains, railway lines...

friday 4

The Conversation

Hugh Stanford

Ever wanted to ditch the 9-to -5 and teach snowsports? We followed people who did it for 10 years

Workplace burnout – a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion – and the COVID pandemic have sparked a rethink of the traditional 9-to-5...

friday 3

The Conversation

Marian Makkar

Stepmums, alien mums, robot mums, vengeful mums: 7 films to watch this Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day around the corner, you may be wondering what gift you’ll give mum – or any of the mums in your life. This year, why not skip the...

friday 2

The Conversation

Jessica Gildersleeve

Kiwi kids once led the world in reading – this 1950s primary school syllabus still has lessons for today

There is a well-known whakatauki (Māori proverb) that goes: “Ka mua, ka muri” – “walking backwards into the future”. It applies to many...

friday 3

The Conversation

Ruth Boyask

Friday essay: I work as a sensitivity reader – and racism is harder to spot than you’d think

If I asked you to picture a racist, I know exactly what you’d envision. A white hood, or someone screaming slurs, or a person praising slavery. The...

friday 10

The Conversation

Allanah Hunt

Why it’s important to read aloud to your kids – even after they can read themselves

Is reading to your kids a bedtime ritual in your home? For many of us, it will be a visceral memory of our own childhoods. Or of the time raising...

friday 20

The Conversation

Robyn Cox

‘These violations should never have occurred’: the troubled history of intercountry adoption

Korean adoptees worldwide are grappling with a devastating possibility: they were not truly orphans, but may have been made into orphans. For...

08.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Samara Kim

Europe’s worst mass murder since World War II happened at Srebrenica. Gretchen Shirm’s novel witnesses the war crimes trial

Gretchen Shirm was a legal intern in the Hague, the UN’s International Court of Justice, which is the setting for her new novel, Out of The Woods....

08.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Jane Turner Goldsmith

Explore the new House of Representatives

Are you keen to know how many women there are in the new House of Representatives? And how the parties fare on gender balance? What about how many...

08.05.2025 30

The Conversation

Digital Storytelling Team

‘Utu’ as foreign policy: how a Māori worldview can make sense of a shifting world order

There is a growing feeling in New Zealand that the regional geopolitical situation is becoming less stable and more conflicted. China has ramped up...

08.05.2025 5

The Conversation

Nicholas Ross Smith

New taxes on super didn’t get much attention in the election campaign. But they could be tricky to implement

The re-election of the Albanese government has led to renewed concern about planned changes to the taxation of investment returns in superannuation...

08.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Mark Melatos

Women’s sports are fighting an uphill battle against our social media algorithms

Women’s sport is more and more getting the attention it deserves. Stadiums are filling, television ratings for many sports are climbing and...

08.05.2025 2

The Conversation

Hans Westerbeek

Vietnam is poised to become a top 20 economy, so why is Australia taking so long to make trade and investment links?

At a time of widespread global trade instability, Australia should be expanding and diversifying its economic partnerships. Supply chains remain...

08.05.2025 4

The Conversation

Anne Vo