Spectrum
Opinion
Diet
Betting on Ozempic? I’ve heard this one before
The stock market is salivating over the money-making potential in the weight-loss wonder drug. Are we back in the ’70s?
- by Richard Glover
Latest
Opinion
Review
Do we care about the Archibald Prize too much?
The best interpretation one may put upon this phenomenon is that it’s a bit of fun, but it is a worrisome trend because the prize becomes the public standard by which art is judged.
- by John McDonald
The gold rush is over. Now podcasters are picking up the pieces
Doom and gloom have been hanging over the podcast world for the last 18 months. Is it the end, or a new beginning?
- by Barry Divola
Bestselling author’s sweet novel explores the human need for love
A safe escape from the world, Alexander McCall Smith’s new novel, like all his works, is grounded in an optimistic world view.
- by Kerryn Goldsworthy
An Australian mystery – the pie with no source
A pastry named after Ned Kelly is just one of the local linguistic enigmas investigated this week.
- by David Astle
Editing secrets of literature’s greatest authors
From Jane Austen’s abandoned novel to the first line of John le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, manuscripts give us fascinating insight into the creative process.
- by Simon Caterson
This novel is a fable of language, silence and connection to the land
Lia Hills’ moody new novel is an intricate tale of the land and the people in it.
- by Helen Elliott
Tale of a difficult childhood is part memoir, part redemption story
Poet Kevin Hart’s memoir traces his childhood as a “backward boy” in a poor part of London to his life in Australia.
- by Geoff Page
The birthday cakes of your childhood will feature in a Rare Book Week display
This year’s Melbourne Rare Book Week features everything from vintage Women’s Weekly cookbooks to Virginia Woolf first editions.
- by Jane Sullivan
Long before streaming, video stores offered happiness for hire
Youth groups were too holy, malls too expensive and skate parks too unpredictable when I was growing up. Thank goodness I had somewhere else to get my dopamine hit.
- by Simmone Howell
The Bear is back on TV and it’s hectic, melancholy and incredible
The much anticipated third season of the award-winning series is another wild ride.
- by Kylie Northover