By Pandanus Petter, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University
Daniel Casey, Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, Australian Catholic University
Thiago N. Silva, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Australian National University
New research shows Question Time has increasingly focused on the prime minister, raising questions about the ‘presidentialisation’ of Australian politics.
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By Karley Beckman, Senior Lecturer in Digital Technologies for Learning, University of Wollongong
Tiffani Apps, Associate Professor Digital Technologies for Learning | ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Wollongong
Some Australian parents are pushing for a return to “pen-and-paper learning” amid concerns about children’s attention spans and academic achievement. An online petition calling for primary schools to be “device free” has collected more than 24,000 signatures.
Political leaders are also…
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By Devon Stoliker, Turner Impact Fellow, Monash University
Adeel Razi, Professor of Computational Neuroscience, Monash University
One participant described “melding with the MRI machine, floor, walls and air”. Another described “losing all sense of self”, becoming at one with their surroundings. Half the participants in our study reported having one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.
What were they talking about? Taking psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms.
Participants reported feeling less separation between themselves and world. We scanned their brains during the experience, and found surprising patterns of organisation – while the brain networks that process our…
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By Katharina Belt, Postdoctoral Researcher, Agricultural Science, The University of Western Australia
When was the last time you bought a loaf of bread?
Chances are you read the ingredients list and saw flour, yeast and salt. But behind every slice is a surprisingly fragile global supply chain that starts with another often overlooked ingredient: nitrogen fertiliser.
Without nitrogen fertiliser, the world’s farmers would struggle to produce enough food for our ever-growing population. It helps grow the wheat used…
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By Edith Jennifer Hill, Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University
Hannah’s cousin died and she didn’t have to. Wormhole investigates the dark world of alternative wellness online – and the comforts and dangers of such communities.
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By Cathrine Dyer, Lecturer in Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Only 3% of spending on natural hazards focuses on reducing risk, allowing governments to shift liability but leaving communities unprepared.
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By Human Rights Watch
(Beirut) – The Israeli government on August 18, 2026, opened a new tender for the construction of 1,234 housing units in the illegal E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank, about a third of the 3,401 housing units approved for construction, Human Rights Watch said today. The government set a deadline for bids just days before Israel’s October 27 elections. The E1 settlement would deliberately fragment the occupied West Bank by severing its northern part from its southern part, forcibly displace over 18 Bedouin communities, and further entrench apartheid. Businesses submitting a bid…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Lev Shlosberg, deputy leader of the Yabloko party, stands in the defendant's box prior to the delivery of the verdict in the case against him, in a court in Pskov, Russia, August 17, 2026. © 2026 AP Photo A court in northwestern Russia, on August 17, sentenced opposition politician Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in prison for repeatedly “discrediting” and spreading false information about the Russian army.Shlosberg is the deputy leader of the opposition party “Yabloko,” which has openly called for a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine.The same day Shlosberg…
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By Fernanda Canofre
Growing cases of violence against Indigenous people are linked to an impasse on the framework of rights and pressure against land demarcation, says the organization that advocates for Indigenous rights
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By Piotr Cieplak, Professor of Creative Practice and Visual Cultures (Media, Arts and Humanities), University of Sussex
Stop! That! Train! is a very silly film – in the best possible way. It’s a disaster-action movie parody in the vein of The Naked Gun (1988), Hot Shots! (1991) and Airplane! (1980). In fact, Stop! That! Train!’s relationship to the latter is a little bit like a drag queen lip synching to their favourite diva’s famous belter: there’s space for interpretation, but the lyrics and the voice are pretty much set in stone.
Consequently, quite a few gags, not to mention the main narrative thrust of the plucky underdogs saving the day, are virtually lifted (with updates and variations) from…
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