Australian politics, society & culture

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Society

Mice alert. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed

Mice alert

Farmers on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula are preparing for a plague
Michael Dulaney
A cleansing fire. Image of Jessa Crispin
Arts & Letters / Books

A cleansing fire

Jessa Crispin’s ‘Why I Am Not a Feminist’ demands a dismantling of mainstream feminism … and the system itself
Stephanie Bishop
Arts & Letters / Music

Crossing over

On George Michael, race and pop
Anwen Crawford
The Medicine

Working regional

A stint in a remote Western Australian hospital brings its own challenges
Karen Hitchcock
Vox

An Aboriginal place

A farming family and Indigenous elders join forces to recognise a special site on private land
Sam Vincent
Vox

The stopover

The prospect of 12 hours in Singapore airport gives rise to an existential crisis
Robert Skinner

Most Popular

  1. The Nation Reviewed
    AFL 2017 in names only
    The only player analysis you’ll need this footy season
    Hugh Robertson
    AFL 2017 in names only. Illustration
  2. The Monthly Essays
    Network error
    What will be the cost of a patchwork NBN?
    Paddy Manning
    Network error. Image of a loading icon
  3. The Nation Reviewed
    Fish have feelings too
    Under-the-sea society is much more complex than we imagine
    James Bradley
    Fish have feelings too. Illustration
  4. Comment
    Our ethnic face
    The Australia of Pauline Hanson’s second parliamentary term looks very different to the Australia of her first
    George Megalogenis
    Our ethnic face. Illustration
  5. The Monthly Essays
    Suffer the children
    Trouble in the Family Court
    Jess Hill
    Suffer the children. © Angela Wylie / Fairfax

Environment

The Perth Freight Link: Stranger than fiction. © Renee Schipp
The Monthly Essays
The Perth Freight Link: Stranger than fiction
The WA state election could end one of the country’s most controversial infrastructure projects
David Whish-Wilson
Holy shark. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Holy shark
Leonie the leopard shark’s switch to asexual reproduction is a world first
Ashley Hay
The Totten hots up. Image of Aurora Australis alongside Totten glacier
The Monthly Essays
The Totten hots up
A major Antarctic glacier is becoming dangerously unstable
Jo Chandler
Back from the dead. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Back from the dead
One dedicated bird watcher devoted years to the elusive night parrot
Anthony Ham


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Media

Is Michelle Guthrie tuned in to the ABC?. Image of Michelle Guthrie
The Monthly Essays
Is Michelle Guthrie tuned in to the ABC?
The new managing director’s vision isn’t clear
Margaret Simons
Get your Wiki on. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Get your Wiki on
Wikiclub NT is raising the Northern Territory’s profile on Wikipedia
Oscar Schwartz
The Nation Reviewed
Lee Lin’s double life
Lee Lin Chin’s rise from SBS newsreader to queen of satire
Benjamin Law
Why Google is a political matter. Julian Assange
The Monthly Essays
Why Google is a political matter
A conversation with Julian Assange
John Keane


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Health

The Medicine
The war on food
Our minds and bodies have a complicated relationship with what we eat
Karen Hitchcock
Sex and pharmaceuticals. Illustration
The Medicine
Sex and pharmaceuticals
It was championed by women’s groups, but Addyi is not the “female Viagra”
Karen Hitchcock
The new opium wars. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
The new opium wars
The links between Australia’s poppy industry and opioid addiction crisis
Hamish McDonald
The Medicine
Performance check-up
How should doctors be assessed? And how should they assess themselves?
Karen Hitchcock


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Economics

The shorter working week can work
It’s time to take the four-day work week seriously
Emma Dawson
The new black. Image of a restaurant
The Monthly Essays
The new black
The overworked, underpaid, cash-in-hand worker is becoming increasingly common
Ann Arnold
Arrested development. Image of James Packer
The Monthly Essays
Arrested development
James Packer has been down, but he’s not out
Richard Cooke
A game theory. James Lovatt
The Monthly Essays
A game theory
Lovatts Crosswords gave its profits to employees. What went wrong?
Richard Cooke


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History

Tasmania got gamed. Image of Wrest Point casino, Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Arts & Letters / Books
Tasmania got gamed
James Boyce’s ‘Losing Streak’ investigates how one family came to rule the state’s poker-machine industry
Amanda Lohrey
The unedited life. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
The unedited life
The State Library of Victoria has acquired one of Australia’s finest collections of literary papers
Thornton McCamish
This storied land. Image of the Pilbara, Western Australia
Arts & Letters / Books
This storied land
Mark McKenna’s ‘From the Edge’ tells four fascinating stories of Aboriginal and settler interaction through the history of place
Frank Bongiorno
The art of biography. Image of Patrick White
The Monthly Essays
The art of biography
The author stays out of the picture, and other personal rules of writing
David Marr


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Science & Technology

Vox
The science question and feminism
STEM is the future, and women need to be part of it
Margaret Wertheim
The eureka factory. Image of Xiaojing Hao
The Monthly Essays
The eureka factory
Australia’s solar champions face an uncertain future
Ceridwen Dovey
Dinosaur digger. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Dinosaur digger
Melbourne Museum’s Thomas Rich has devoted more than 30 years to Australia’s polar dinosaurs
Chloe Hooper
The start-up whisperer. Illustration
Comment
The start-up whisperer
Just how innovative is the Turnbull government’s innovation package?
Nick Feik


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Education

Child’s play. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Child’s play
The Melbourne Museum’s new gallery takes small children seriously
Zoë Morrison
Rhodes dollars. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Rhodes dollars
The Rhodes Scholarship is slowly embracing diversity
Zoë Morrison
New students. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
New students
Welcome to the Collingwood English Language School
Ingrid Laguna
Thinking caps on. Image of Sydney University graduate
The Monthly Essays
Thinking caps on
Where has demand driven our universities?
Thornton McCamish


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World

Fallen angels. © Dave Tacon
The Monthly Essays
Fallen angels
The children left behind by Australian sex tourists in the Philippines
Margaret Simons
The Insult. Statue of a kouros in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
The Monthly Essays
The Insult
An incurious encounter takes flight
Peter Robb
Spirit of independence. A TPN rebel at base camp in the jungle of West Papua
The Monthly Essays
Spirit of independence
A journey through West Papua
William Lloyd-George
The foundering miracle. Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan addresses the nation about the worsening situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, 25 March 2011
The Monthly Essays
The foundering miracle
Reflections on Japan
Hugh White


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Food

Masaaki’s sushi. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Masaaki’s sushi
Join the queue for Tasmania’s most sought-after Japanese
Josephine Rowe
The dining boom. Wine distributors from China visit the Barossa Valley
The Monthly Essays
The dining boom
Australia’s food and wine industry is the next big thing in China
Hamish McDonald
The Nation Reviewed
Degustation Laconic
The language of menus
Aaron Timms
The Nation Reviewed
Gone Walkabout
The last Aussie-themed pub in London
Celina Ribeiro


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Travel

The perfect cup of coffee
On an island in Nicaragua, a rocky incline stands between Steve Hely and the Holy Grail of caffeine
Steve Hely
‘White Sands’ by Geoff Dyer. Cover of White Sands
Noted
‘White Sands’ by Geoff Dyer
Text Publishing; $32.99
Stephanie Bishop
Too upsetting. Illustration
Vox
Too upsetting
The boat cruise commentary had everything – except indigenous Tasmania
Bruce Pascoe
Vox
Magic and a one-woman show
Taking ‘Stories I Want to Tell You in Person’ to India
Lally Katz


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Family & Relationships

Not-church on time. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Not-church on time
The Weekly Service offers a different kind of communion
Sylvia Rowley
The hand of faith. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
The hand of faith
In 1980 a giant gold nugget changed the Hillier family’s fortunes
Lisa Clausen
Rough times. © Andrew Quilty / Fairfax Images
The Monthly Essays
Rough times
Homelessness has reached crisis levels in Melbourne and Sydney
Paul Connolly
Geert by sea. Source
Vox
Geert by sea
It took two weeks and endless bureaucracy to honour a dying wish
Claire Konkes


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Law & Order

Call for backup. Image of Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre
The Monthly Essays
Call for backup
How authorities lost control of juvenile detention
Russell Marks
Duterte’s dirty war. Prisoners in the holding cells at Tondo police station, Manila
The Monthly Essays
Duterte’s dirty war
A trip to the Philippines reveals the human cost of the war on drugs
Margaret Simons
The secrets of others. Cover of East West Street
Arts & Letters / Books
The secrets of others
Philippe Sands’ ‘East West Street’ mixes memoir, biography and thriller to explain the origins of ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’
Martin Krygier
Two victims, no justice. Lynette Daley
The Monthly Essays
Two victims, no justice
Ms Dhu, Lynette Daley and the alarming rates of violence against indigenous women
Marcia Langton


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Indigenous Australia

Seeing visions. Still from Collisions
Arts & Letters / Film
Seeing visions
Lynette Wallworth’s ‘Collisions’ brings virtual reality to the Western Desert
Quentin Sprague
Bust  in  the  Pilbara. Image of mining workers flying from Perth
The Monthly Essays
Bust  in  the  Pilbara
A region returns to earth
Hamish McDonald
Seeking a settlement. Illustration
Comment
Seeking a settlement
How does the reinvigorated treaty movement fit with recognition?
Megan Davis
Mirrors to the landscape. Image of Aaron Pedersen and Alex Russell in Goldstone
Arts & Letters / Film / Television
Mirrors to the landscape
Cultural conflicts in Ivan Sen’s ‘Goldstone’ and the ABC’s ‘Cleverman’
Luke Davies


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National Security

Looking for moles. Image of surveillance of David Combe
Arts & Letters / Books
Looking for moles
The third volume in ASIO’s official history confirms infiltration by Soviet intelligence
David McKnight
China flexes. Illustration
Comment
China flexes
The dispute over the South China Sea will come to affect more than just China’s near neighbours
Michael Wesley
Spies like Oz. ASIO surveillance photograph of the 1968 May Day March in Wollongong
Arts & Letters / Books
Spies like Oz
John Blaxland’s ‘The Protest Years: The Official History of ASIO 1963–1975’
David McKnight
Oil and water. Robert Domm interviews Xanana Gusmão, October 1990
The Monthly Essays
Oil and water
Australia blurs the lines with Timor-Leste
Mark Aarons


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Gender

Business as usual?. Image of men at board meeting
The Monthly Essays
Business as usual?
The confused case for corporate gender equality
Cordelia Fine
Climax isn’t the point. Image of Helen Tufts and Helena Born
Arts & Letters / Books
Climax isn’t the point
Emily Witt’s ‘Future Sex’ and Sheila Rowbotham’s ‘Rebel Crossings’ approach the concept of free love from different perspectives
Anwen Crawford
The gentlemen’s club. Illustration
The Medicine
The gentlemen’s club
Having a baby and having a medical career
Karen Hitchcock
Trans teens. Georgie Stone
The Monthly Essays
Trans teens
When human nature and the law intersect
Jenan Taylor


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Sport

The Nation Reviewed
Desirable elements
Simon Oxenham has designed some of the world’s greatest skateparks
Jenan Taylor
8972 fans. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
8972 fans
The Newtown Jets rugby league team has a loyal – and increasingly urbane – suburban following
Alex McKinnon
Foot soldiers. Illustration
The Nation Reviewed
Foot soldiers
Trackside at a 24-hour ultramarathon
Paul Connolly
The West Coast boys done bad. West Coast Eagles 2006 premiership team
The Monthly Essays
The West Coast boys done bad
Ten years after the Eagles’ 2006 premiership, a culture is laid bare
Martin McKenzie-Murray


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