Every year, Jackie Huggins returns to Carnarvorn Gorge – her mother’s Country, and one of six sites selected for the deep history digital project, Marking Country.
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Survivor testimonies hope for understanding, empathy – and change. From the Yoorrook Commission to Gaza and Israel, they build a case for justice in a shared future.
In Alice Pung’s family, love was imbued with anxiety and fear. But in books, adults had reasoned discussions and talked to children as if their thoughts mattered.
Victoria Amelina’s unfinished notebook was salvaged after she was killed by a missile. From a bunker, meanwhile, John Lyons reports on the war.
Hessom Razavi’s family fled to Australia from Iran in the 1980s to escape persecution. As he watches events unfold, he speaks to relatives still there and reflects on Iran’s fate.
Jane Austen paid attention to the women novels had been invented to ignore, allowing readers to see their thoughts far more clearly.
We do not have to weather whatever Trump’s America throws at us, hoping in vain for rare scraps of benevolence. There is another way, writes Emma Shortis.
Gender subversion, radical journalism and Black activism all feel startlingly modern – but Lucy Sussex profiles three pioneering Melburnian rebels.
The Washington Post called Curtis Yarvin’s blog ‘required reading for the extremely online right’. He advocates for the end of democracy – and a governing monarch.
Heather Taylor Johnson’s mother had a difficult, lonely childhood. How would it have been different if her half-sister had grown up with her?
From the first world war to the invasion of Iraq, left-wing soldiers have questioned our involvement in wars. Yet we rarely hear these dissenting veteran’s voices.
As cost-of-living soars, wars rage and stock markets fluctuate, we could all use a respite. The natural world has been proven to have a healing effect.
As global inequality soars, President Donald Trump has recruited a bloat of fellow billionaires to help run his administration, including the world’s richest man.
In 1976, America’s white evangelical Christians were shocked a candidate had lust in his heart. In 2024, around 80% of them voted for a serial sexual predator.
Donald Trump has cited the Gilded Age era as an inspiration – but experts say it was rife with government and business corruption, social turmoil and inequality.
In 1903, Miles Franklin went undercover to investigate the ‘servant question’. The exploitation she saw continues today.
It wasn’t until she’d been in the medical system for around 17 years, being treated for anorexia, that Fiona Wright was diagnosed as autistic.
On its 100th anniversary, Matthew Ricketson considers The New Yorker’s remarkable journalism and vital role in our chaotic, algorithm-driven world.
How might a super-intelligent machine take control? And what can be done to stop it happening?
Reading, writes Edwina Preston, is a way of journeying on the wings of others without moving from the armchair (or bed). Here are some books to transport us.
Top contributors
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Professor in Politics and Journalism, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Associate Professor in Literary Studies, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Griffith University
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Visiting Research Fellow, Department of English and Creative Writing, Adelaide University
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Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland
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Honorary Professor of Classics and Ancient History, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland
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Joanna Mendelssohn is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney
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PhD Candidate, Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor (adjunct) in Creative Writing, Flinders University
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Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer, Deakin University
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Professor Emeritus of Media and Culture, Griffith University, Griffith University
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Professor of English, Flinders University
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Research Fellow, Digital Cultures & Societies, The University of Queensland