July 2021
Magazine
The Monthly Essays
The Booker Prize–winning author on the need to write against the dogmas of conformity
A Victorian abattoir dispute shone a light on a system designed to exploit migrant workers’ hopes and ambitions
An African Australian’s DNA nightmare as faulty science keeps his family separated
The Nation Reviewed
The disordered national vaccine rollout reveals systemic flaws in our politics
A court ruling that the environment minister owes children a duty of care to prevent climate harm has far-reaching implications
The young captain of HMAS Supply is transforming navy culture
A wildlife sanctuary in the Great Sandy Desert is studying how Indigenous fire management can protect biodiversity
Vox
Arts & Letters
Transforming the national imagination: The ‘Dark Emu’ debate
Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe’s ‘Farmers or Hunter-gatherers?’ challenges ideas of progress championed by Bruce Pascoe
Life in isolation: ‘Nine Days’ and ‘Bo Burnham: Inside’
A comedian’s isolated self-examination is more profound than Edson Oda’s confused film about what makes a good life
Noted
‘The Five Wounds’ by Kirstin Valdez Quade A young down-and-out man in a New Mexico village seeks transcendence in a ceremonial role as Jesus, in this debut novel
‘Richard Bell: You Can Go Now’ The MCA’s retrospective of the influential activist-artist provides a fluent deconstruction of white supremacy
