Hell Rider

Tim-Elliott 10:22 AM   Cody Heffernan has been stomped on, headbutted and thrown like a rag doll by one-tonne bulls. Yet, Heffernan insists, he finds serious beauty in riding these beasts.

Features

Beyond the Hedge

Xu Xiang became the unofficial captain of a group of traders known as the Ningbo Death Squad. Despite his preference for ...

Alex W. Palmer 12:00 AM   Xu Xiang’s secretive trading style helped him achieve staggering returns on the Chinese sharemarket, even as the country’s boom turned to bust. Then his extraordinary luck ran out.

Under Pressure

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Lucy Clark 12:00 AM   An international ranking puts Australia's schools in the middle of the pack, way behind many Asian regions – and Finland. But could striving to reach the top signal "the end of joy" for our kids?

Apology to Tim Ellis, SC

Apology

12:00 AM   Parts of the story "Waters of Doubt" (Good Weekend, May 7) incorrectly described the conduct of the trial and the role played by the prosecutor Tim Ellis, SC, the former Director of Public Prosecutions.

Happy pampers

Friends celebrate Jarrah O'Connor's eighth birthday party: the "crazy-popular" trend for pampering at girls' parties ...

Jacqueline Maley   Pedicures have replaced pass-the-parcel, high teas trump hide-and-seek: these days, children's birthday parties pump to a very different beat.

The safe room

Dr Alex Wodak, right, and Matt Noffs, pictured here with The Schielestrasse centre's Gabi Becker, have embarked on a ...

Eamonn-Duff   In some European cities, drug dealers and addicts are watched over by the police at legal consumption rooms. Could Australia's ice epidemic be contained if we did the same?

Woman on Top

"There is good and bad in ageing. Each age you become reveals a new person you've become."

Louise Gannon   A trailblazer for feminist heroines on TV and film, Helen Mirren loves shameless women - and Kim Kardashian's butt.

The Undoing of Slater and Gordon

Under Andrew Grech's leadership, Slater & Gordon went from taking on the big end of town to being the big end of town. ...

Melissa-Fyfe   Too big to fail? Andrew Grech transformed an Australian law firm into a sharemarket-listed behemoth - only to see it crash and burn.

Baby, please don't go

An exceptionally clingy partner or loved one may be suffering from adult separation anxiety disorder.

Edward Vaise*   By constantly hounding a loved one, tracking their every move, sufferers of adult separation anxiety disorder push away the very person they so desperately need.

Secrets of the Brethren

Brethren

Michael-Bachelard   Known for its obsession with privacy and its silencing tactics, the Exclusive Brethren has managed to avoid any scrutiny over alleged child sex abuse. Until now.

Milk money

One of the last of Australia’s Greek-Australian-run milk bars; the Olympia’s dilapidated shopfront speaks of a bygone era.

Stephanie-Wood-   A dusty and decrepit cafe serves as a bizarre living museum that tells the story of Australia’s decades-long love affair with the milk bar.

Just one of the boys

Paul Buhre, now 17, in his bedroom in his Berlin home. “Never enter the room of a teenage boy,” he says. “Even after ...

Stefanie Marsh   German teenager Paul Bühre has written a bestseller about the secret life of adolescent boys. According to him, the worst thing on the net is not what you might think it is.

Natural selection

Robinson's <I>Self-portrait with Stunned Mullet</i>, which won the artist his second Archibald Prize in 1995.

Candida Baker   Initially, many in the art world didn't quite get the wit and wonder of Queenslander William Robinson's work. Today, the 80-year-old's paintings routinely fetch six-figure sums.

Farewell, Julian

<I>llustration: Bren Luke the illustrationroom.com.au</i>

Lucy Palmer   A bone marrow transplant fails and Lucy Palmer, an Australian journalist, finds herself having to juggle the demands of her young family, the new farm and an adored husband, who is terminally ill.

Recovery effort

Chef Matt Golinski at his Noosa Hinterland home with his dog Duke.

Fiona Harari   A quiet determination to give back to those who showered him with love helped chef Matt Colinski emerge from the dark shadow of tragedy.

'Good night, husband'

Jim Obergefell in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell   Two young men meet and fall in love. Twenty years later - in tragic circumstances, they marry. It is the start of a battle that will change the face of human rights across the world.

Metal petals

The iron maidens of Babymetal (left to right)  Yuimetal, Su-metal and Moametal.

Rob Nash   Move over Metallica ... some youthful Japanese iron maidens are giving the rockin' world of heavy metal a J-pop shake-up.

'I think I'm going to die'

The painful truth behind the rise of prescription opioids

Stephanie-Wood-   What happens when the cure becomes the cause of almost unbearable suffering?

Mr nice guy? Don't count on it

Eddie Jones.

Peter Wilson   One country was always going to be upset with Eddie Jones after the Australia-England rugby series. No big deal: the former Wallaby mentor turned enemy coach has spent much of his life as an outsider.

In the pressure cooker with our top chefs

Martin Benn, head chef and co-owner of at Sepia Restaurant.

Jane Cadzow   Chefs once plied their trade in sweat-stained obscurity. Now they have agents and book deals.

Grande Designs

More than a big voice: Ariana Grande.

By Giles Hattersley   Ariana Grande's new album is set to cement her status as pretender to pop queen Britney's throne. First, though, there are some truly weird rumours to quash.

Cross country: The rise of Barnaby Joyce

"I don't get angry, I get sullen."

Frank Robson   Barnaby Joyce’s rise from awkward, lonely farm boy to deputy prime minister surprised even himself. But what’s behind his bumbling exterior?

Two Of Us

Two of Us

Hans Post, 90, is a former SS soldier and his wife, Gina Behrens, 82, is a Jew who escaped Germany during World War II. Both have been peace activists.

Modern Guru

Wash and where

While I was washing my hands in a cafe's small unisex bathroom, something odd happened.

Amanda Hooton

Morning is broken

Some days are sent to try us. In my life, such days often begin in the middle of the night.

Benjamin Law

Adult education:
We do democracy

My dirty secret: I've got a massive crush on Australian democracy.

MULTIMEDIA

EAT: reviews

Good Weekend heads to Freddie Wimpoles, St Kilda and Bar Brosé, Darlinghurst.

Neil Perry's beef daube and chocolate fondant cake

Set your cooking dial to deep indulgence as the nights grow cold, with a rich French braise and a gooey dessert.

Food tour of Canada: poutine, bannock and all forms of fish

City slickers can still tap into the very essence of Canada and Alaska.

Terry Durack: Devastation dining

I'm seven courses down on the tasting menu, with at least five to go, and I'm getting twitchy ...