• Economy

    ASIC under the microscope


    Jason Harris |  July 5, 2024


    A new Senate report calls for Australia’s corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), to be replaced by 2 more responsive regulatory agencies.


  • Politics and Policy

    Early warning alert


    Chris Taylor |  July 5, 2024


    Dictators and hostile states from Hitler’s Germany to Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China tend to flag their actions long before the shooting starts, and a new national Centre to issue strategic warnings of all types could help Australia prepare.


  • Transport

    Four wheels bad, two wheels good


    Dorina Pojani |  July 5, 2024


    Encouraging more people to cycle rather than drive could involve ditching mandatory helmet laws.


Latest Story

  • A healthy Australia

    Open Forum     |      July 4, 2024

    Australians’ overall health continues to fare well when compared with similar countries despite significant impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing burden of chronic conditions.

  • NATO at 75

    Robert Wihtol     |      July 4, 2024

    NATO’s visibility has waxed and waned, but Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has put the alliance firmly in the spotlight and may be its greatest challenge to date.

  • It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it

    Sherry Landow     |      July 4, 2024

    It’s not every day that you find out you’ve been sharing your desk with an ancient life form which may be half as old as Earth itself.

  • America v America

    Emma Shortis     |      July 3, 2024

    A new book, The Forever War, argues that America’s extreme polarisation has been 250 years in the making as the roots of its modern-day malaise can be found in its troubled and unresolved past.

  • Farewell transmission

    Mark Taylor     |      July 3, 2024

    He performed in bars and small town halls and drank himself to death in relative obscurity, but Jason Molina may just be the best American songwriter of his generation.

  • Send lawyers, guns and money

    Potter Wellett     |      July 3, 2024

    Record labels are suing tech companies for training their models on classic songs and the results could shape the legal future of generative AI.

  • Free trade or bust

    ANU Editorial Board     |      July 2, 2024

    Despite calls for inward economic strategies due to the perceived vulnerability of integrated supply chains, access to international markets has proven to be a form of insurance in times of crisis, responding quickly and efficiently to COVID-19 and energy trade disruptions.

  • The silicon Prometheus

    Mark Taylor     |      July 2, 2024

    The development of AI may be the ultimate test of our species, forcing us to confront our own limitations, grapple with questions of consciousness and free will, and redefine our place in a world where we are no longer the sole possessors of reason.

  • Playing for life

    Open Forum     |      July 2, 2024

    Physical recreation and group activities can boost mental health and sports clubs can help by adopting more evidence-based techniques to understand their members.

  • Seven steps to success in scaling social programmes

    Breanna Wright     |      July 1, 2024

    A new online resource outlines a seven-step process to help program managers and social innovators expand a program and deliver it at scale.

  • Women in diplomacy

    Elise Stephenson     |      July 1, 2024

    Australia has made remarkable strides in gender equality in diplomacy, achieving near parity in its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, globally, women remain underrepresented in diplomacy, highlighting the need for continued efforts to address gender disparities and ensure equal representation worldwide.

  • The dire debate

    Adam Bartley     |      July 1, 2024

    Joe Biden looked old against an unrepentant Donald Trump in the first presidential debate of the 2024 US Presidential election. What can be gleaned from perhaps the worst Presidential debate in history?