Latest commentary
Bradman of soccer blazed the trail for Australians
6:00 PM When soccer player Joe Marston left in 1950 to become only the second Australian after World War II to play professional soccer in England, he started an odyssey unmatched in the history of Australian or English soccer.
Strength from stress: Turnbull’s defining belief
Peter Hartcher 4:59 PM The Prime Minister’s embrace of risk is more than rhetoric – it has roots in deeply personal experience.
The political glory years are fresh as ever
Alan Ramsey 6:00 PM Paul Keating could well have woken with a smile today and Bob Hawke with a snarl.
Now the hard work begins for the HSC girls
Judith Ireland 10:17 AM They may outperform their male counterparts in the exams, but jump forward a decade or three and the situation is nowhere near as peachy for the ladies.
Challenge male stereotypes to stop violent attitudes
Marcus Bontempelli 9:17 AM To change the horrifying statistics on violence against women in this country, we must change our culture.
Economist
Scroogenomics: Why Christmas presents are inefficient
Jessica Irvine 8:26 AM Economists have a warning for those planning to exchange gifts this festive season.
Why are so many Americans in the thrall of conspiracy theorists?
Ben Judah 8:08 AM Paranoia continues to power the rise of Donald Trump.
The end of an era for young performers
Erin James 9:18 PM It will be a sad day when the Sydney Entertainment Centre closes its doors for the last time after Sir Elton John's concert this weekend.
Turnbull will resist poll temptation
Mark Kenny An early election would carry the risk of being perceived by voters as opportunistic and a breach of faith.
In the Herald: December 18, 1923
Ellen Fitzgerald 9:00 PM Shipping influx record; Return of the lash; Vice-Regal car theft - on this day in 1923.
League tables don't mean anything
Jenny Allum I am the head of a school which the Herald claims has done very well in our HSC results. According to its coverage, we climbed "dramatically" from 20th to 13th spot. SCEGGS is a great school but its excellence is not verified by these dubious calculations
Professor helped shake cobwebs off ‘hidebound Victorian ALP’
Nathan Hollier 'As I get older, my body seems to deteriorate, which is the opposite of what I'd hoped would happen.' John McLaren
Science deniers reject authority and facts
Patrick Stokes 9:00 PM Many people who choose to ignore accepted scientific conclusions are making emotional rather than rational decisions.
Malcolm Turnbull, and Thucydides, and all that
Christopher Mackie 8:45 PM One has to read Athenian historian Thucydides and think about what he has to say. Not many do, which is a great pity.
Always the TV housewife, actress pleaded for 'good part as prostitute'
Daniel Slotnick To her dismay, Marjorie Lord found herself typecast as a TV housewife for years.
The new Islamic anti-terrorism alliance: will it work?
Amin Saikal Saudi Arabia's announcement of a new military alliance of 34 Muslim countries to fight terrorism is unprecedented.
View from the Street: Which of the government favourites pay no tax?
Andrew P Street Because when you're paying a company billions to look after all those human rights abuses, expecting tax from them would appear rude! Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
James Nesbitt faces toughest role
James Corrigan FIFA should have nothing to do with Ballon D'Or awards until its corruption crisis is over.
Storm clouds ahead for Mike Baird after sunny 2015
Anne Davies 5:00 PM The Baird government ends 2015 on a high note. But 2016 has some clouds on the horizon that could become much more threatening.
Paris climate agreement could herald a new era for diplomacy
Phil Ireland This time six years ago I found myself in the company of other campaigners and politicians (including Kevin Rudd) from around the world in the depths of despair after the calamitous Copenhagen climate negotiations.
Ray's Rant: Learning to live with risk while being stifled by health and safety
Ray Sparvell The other evening, I had to wrangle three dogs and myself off a suburban backstreet and onto a verge to avoid being wiped out by a speeding driver.
Web encounters reveal kindness of strangers
Julia Baird 6:00 PM Online relationships are not only about abuse, trolls and dickheads; they can put you in touch with the nicest of people.
Is it any wonder?
Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens is both a triumph and a tragedy
Karl Quinn JJ Abrams has made a fine film of a certain sort. But there is one thing missing.
What would you do to improve Melbourne?
Michael Short What would you like to see change in Melbourne? What would you do if you magically had the power? What ideas, small or even radical, might you have to improve our metropolis for everyone as a place to live, to work, to create and, for some, to raise a family?
Lying to kids about Santa: a psychiatrist's view
Neil Jeyasingam 6:00 PM The story of the serial judgmental housebreaker is one children can easily relate to.
Is social media sounding the death knell for actually being social?
Nic Hayes How many couples now sit in their lounge room once the kids have gone to bed in front of the TV with a second screen on their lap taking up all of their attention?
Latest Star Wars lacks novelty
Karl Quinn 9:00 PM Taking ideas from earlier films and reworking them with better technology is neither shameful nor glorious.
The young white male has lost his advantage
Paul Sheehan Their once dominant position is being eroded incrementally, in measurable ways, with each passing year.
All I want for Christmas can't be found in aisle three
Madonna King There's a kind of magic we can see each day, in our own city, if we look hard enough, but it's certainly not played out in our shopping centres come Christmas.
