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The Conversation |
Rip currents are powerful, fast-moving currents that flow away from the shore, often occupying deep channels, and pose a significant hazard to...
US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s...
Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we tend to focus on avoiding UV...
There is no denying times have been tough for small and medium-sized businesses, and 2025 is not looking that much better. Gross domestic product...
Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is...
I’m a computer scientist and a bad Christmas shopper. Over the weekend, I wondered whether AI systems might be able to help me out. Could I just...
This week, the value of the Australian dollar fell to 62 US cents, its lowest level since October 2022. The acute cause? A revelation by the United...
One in two people in the Pacific Islands is classified as overweight (with a body mass index of 25–29) or obese (a BMI 30 or above). This is a...
Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the...
Many Australians know December 21 as “Gravy Day”. This is a reference to Paul Kelly’s song and new film How to Make Gravy, where a prisoner...
Strong emotional responses to environmental problems are remarkably common. We know people are angry about climate change – but how many? Our new...
The Australian summer has started to unleash its power. On Monday, the Victorian town of Walpeup reached 47.1°C, and towns in Queensland, western...
New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week shows one in 20 (4.5%) Australians over 16 are LGBTQIA . For perspective:...
I was aware of David Lean’s cinematic adaptation of A Passage to India (1984) before I encountered E.M. Forster’s original novel, which celebrated...
Those beautiful white and gold angels you see on Christmas trees were originally monsters. At least, that is the claim made by scholar Esther...
Christmas films appear in many guises. There is the witty (Christmas in Connecticut, Scrooged). The comedic (It Happened on 5th Avenue, National...
You might think spending $5,000 on a handbag or wallet would be prestigious and exclusive enough. What about taking things one step further – and...
Around the world, people are being encouraged to travel by foot, bike or public transport rather than by car. The reasons are many and varied: to...
Around one third of Australian households live with at least one cat, yet surveys tell us the cats’ needs are not being met. Cats may rule the...
On the face of it, New Zealand’s new high-performance sport funding model announced yesterday is an increase on the previous round. But it is...
The Victorian Supreme Court recently dismissed a class action on behalf of more than 1,400 women who received Bayer’s Essure contraceptive device....
New Zealand’s dairy sector faces an uncertain future due to several challenges, including water pollution, high emissions, animal welfare concerns...
Herbs and spices have been used in cooking for centuries. They add flavour, aroma and colour to foods and have long been used for health and to...
Appropriately, we finish our podcast for 2024 talking to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his shadow, Angus Taylor because, as the saying goes, “it’s...
The federal government has found a new way to manage the number of international students in Australia. It has instructed immigration officials to...
While the holiday season is supposed to be a happy time, evidence suggests it’s one of the worst times of year for domestic and family violence....
Many young women and other people who menstruate are turning to menstrual cups to manage their periods. In 2021, my colleagues and I surveyed 15-...
It’s the time of year when many of us return to our favourite Christmas fables to get into the festive spirit. While film often relies on the...
In the space of three weeks, South Korea has seen a brief declaration of martial law, its sudden repeal and the impeachment of its president, Yoon...
Celebrated author and educator John Marsden, best known for his dystopian young adult Tomorrow series, has died aged 74. The bestselling author of...
It is hard to comprehend the force with which Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin early on Christmas Day, 1974. It was so ferocious that it killed 66...
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Muslims undertake the Hajj –the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. In 2024, the pilgrimage took place in mid-June,...
As students and teachers prepare to go on holidays, there’s a disagreement raging over a new school funding deal for 2025. Queensland, New South...
Australia is critically short of GPs – and the shortfall is growing, predicted to be 8,600 GPs by 2048. So why can’t we just train more? Despite...
Sending a letter to Santa can be difficult as no one can agree on where exactly Santa lives. Several countries are competing to claim Santa as one...
Summer reads are often advertised as fat paperback page-turners: romance, adventure or crime fiction. But everyone has their own definition of the...
In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) continued taking large and surprising steps forward. People started conversing with AI “resurrections” of...
As many Wellingtonians will know, kākā can be trouble. New Zealand’s pesky forest parrots have expanded throughout New Zealand’s capital city...
The federal budget is headed for a deficit of $26.9 billion this financial year – $1.3 billion better than the estimate in May – but in the...
A national Essential poll , conducted December 11–15 from a sample of 1,151, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead including undecided, unchanged from...
After two successive surpluses, the federal budget will be back in deficit in 2024–25, according to the much-anticipated budget update released...
The holidays are coming, airports are packed and emotions are running high. You’ve probably seen it or even been part of it: that tense moment when...
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has opened a new front for geopolitical competition in the Middle East. Now, however, instead of...
Conspiracy theories have always been a part of society, offering explanations – sometimes simple, often elaborate – for complex events. Some...
The death toll from Vanuatu’s earthquake disaster continues to rise, with international search and rescue operations underway to help people hit...
Australia is a nation of boaters, with one of the world’s highest rates of boat ownership. There are about one million registered vessels in...
For many people, Christmas can be the most social time of the year. The holiday period is often filled with parties, lunches, dinners and...
Much has been written about the longstanding failings of the Australian media in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. The most recent example is...
More and more countries are legalising voluntary assisted dying. This lets a doctor, or sometimes a nurse practitioner, give life-ending medication...
Picture this: you’re working from home and it’s sweltering outside. You venture out for a coffee and move between patches of shade as you go....
This article is part of The Conversation’s “Retirement” series where experts examine issues including how much money we need to retire, retiring...
At the centre of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. It is roughly 27,000 light years from Earth and 23.5 million...
David Graeber, who died in 2020 at the age of 59, was an anthropologist and a political activist. The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World is a...
As we prepare our Christmas fare – a hot roast with all the trimmings, a seafood smorgasbord or a beach-side barbecue – it is timely to think...
Are you hanging up your stocking on your wall? It’s the time that every Santa has a ball! You’ve probably just heard the 1973 Slade classic at...
“Cyber security” may sound like a far-off worry for big corporations or telcos, but that’s far from the case. Cyber security simply means the...
Within five years, transport is expected to be Australia’s top source of greenhouse gas emissions. While renewables and storage are bringing down...
After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the world was moved by emotional scenes of liberation — families reuniting after years...
You’re an independent, capable adult all year round. But when you gather with family for a holiday such as Christmas, suddenly the child in you...
After a slow economic year, many New Zealanders are eyeing 2025 with uncertainty but also a degree cautious optimism. Interest rates are dropping...
The study of leadership in high-performance coaching aims to deepen the understanding of how and why coaches lead the way they do, rather than just...
The Australian Information Commissioner today announced a settlement with tech giant Meta over its involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal....
Aspects of Hugh Marks’s record as chief executive of the Nine Entertainment Company raise questions about his suitability for the position of...
The Australian government has launched its News Media Assistance Program, throwing a lifeline to public interest journalism and local news. The...
As a dome of heat developed over north and central Australia last weekend, parts of the country braced themselves for their first taste of summer...
In this gripping new memoir by New South Wales journalist and author Sonya Voumard, a rare neurological condition becomes a way to examine the...
At some point, Australians stopped grieving Harold Holt’s death and many started to laugh about it instead. The sudden disappearance of a prime...
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are again in the spotlight – mostly because of how they can affect the way companies deal with sexual harassment...
The shape of Australia’s school system is undergoing a significant change. Enrolments in independent schools are growing, while fewer students...
Australia’s biggest radiology provider, I-MED, has provided de-identified patient data to an artificial intelligence company without explicit...
After reversing the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration permits, New Zealand’s coalition government is now considering whether to share...
In 1971, an extraordinary book appeared. Published by an “anonymous” author, Go Ask Alice documented the story of an ordinary American girl and...
Imagine attending a concert including excerpts from Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, George Gershwin’s...
When you wish upon a star, Jiminy Cricket told us, your dreams come true. But according to an idea doing the rounds on social media, that may not...
Around this time of year, pet owners across the country are scrambling to finalise holiday care arrangements. Some lucky animals go to the home of...
A person with long experience in the financial services sector, Marnie Baker, and a distinguished academic economist, Renée Fry-McKibbin, have...
In 2017, NASA discovered and later confirmed the first interstellar object to enter our Solar System. It wasn’t aliens. But artist impressions of...
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s plan for nuclear power in Australia has provoked a great deal of discussion and analysis – most of it...
Last week, FIFA officially awarded Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup. The Gulf Kingdom was the sole bidder after the Asian Football Confederation...
Opioids are some of the most widely used and misused drugs in the world. Opioids are central nervous system depressants, meaning they slow down...
The A$140 million aid agreement between Australia and Nauru signed last week is a prime example of the geopolitical tightrope vulnerable Pacific...
Following weeks of intrigue about a possible deal, the remaining members of the Bali Nine have been released from prison in Indonesia and returned...
Vale Brenda Walker, 1957–2024 I first met Brenda Walker in 1995 at Varuna Writers’ House in Katoomba, where she was working on her third novel and...
Now aged 95, Yayoi Kusama for many decades has been considered one of the most influential contemporary artists. She works across a wide range of...