By Kate Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University
Uncle Vanya is Anton Chekhov’s classic tale of the flawed lives of educated, wealthy Russian elites.
First performed in 1899 and set in the time of slow decline of the old rural estate class, the play revolves around the characters of a loosely related family. Now, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith has produced a sterling adaptation, stripping back the historical language to contemporise and bring it into the 21st century.
Under director Anne-Louise Sarks, this new production is a sumptuous piece characterised by expert direction and a distinctly modern feel, while retaining…
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By Cliff Mallett, Professor of Sport Psychology and Coaching, The University of Queensland
Australia hasn’t produced as many world-class track and field athletes compared with our swimmers and those in team sports. That may be changing.
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By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania
Calum Cunningham, Research Fellow in Pyrogeography, University of Tasmania
Grant Williamson, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, University of Tasmania
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in southwestern France and Spain as extreme wildfires intensify. At least three people have died, including two firefighters. Many houses have been lost.
While this region is no stranger to fire, our analysis shows these wildfires are off the charts. A very hot summer primed many areas for fire. When they ignited, they spread ferociously. The area of land burned in France is already
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By Louise Starkey, Professor of Education, University of Tasmania
David Moltow, Lecturer in Education Philosophy and Ethics, University of Tasmania
A rural district in New York state has made global headlines for plans to introduce a humanoid robot into high school classrooms as a teaching assistant.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The ex-champion cyclist turned commentator explains why heat is a growing risk to the annual summer event, and points to some Australian women to watch this weekend.
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By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
As Ben Carroll replaced Jacinta Allan as Victorian premier four months before the state election, a Newspoll had Allan at -46 net approval, but Labor only trailed the Coalition by 52–48.
Legislation that reforms the Victorian upper house by scrapping group voting tickets is set to pass parliament this week.
There have also been four federal polls released since Monday. The combined vote for One Nation and the Coalition is 47% in YouGov and Essential, 47.5% in Morgan and 49% in Spectre.
Victoria’s new premier and Newspoll
Jacinta Allan resigned as premier…
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By Tina Soliman-Hunter, Professor of Energy and Natural Resources Law, Macquarie University
The Australian government this week announced plans to construct a new large-scale oil refinery in Western Australia. If approved, it would be the first refinery to be built since the 1960s.
The federal government initially touted the idea of a government-backed oil refinery in April. In the months since, Australians have…
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By James Graham, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney
55% of Australian home loans have an offset account. But they can be difficult to navigate, set up and monitor – and they’re not a good deal for everyone.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Makeshift shelters for communities displaced from Nagero County to Bazia, Wau County, South Sudan, November 18, 2025. © 2025 Joe Falzetta South Sudan’s army, opposition forces, and their respective allied militias abused residents and caused much of the population to flee during fighting in 2025 in Nagero County, Western Equatoria.Civilians have returned to Nagero town and environs, but continue to live in fear, and the government has continued to limit aid access into Nagero County as in other conflict-affected areas in the country. The government should suspend…
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By Remy Veness, Lecturer in Glaciology, Sheffield Hallam University
Built from stones weighing between 2 and 25 tonnes, the structure of Stonehenge demonstrates a scale of construction hard to imagine before the invention of the wheel. The mystery deepens when you consider that the stones are not from the local bedrock. So why these stones, and how did they get there?
Recent work I carried out with geochemist Anthony Clarke from the University of Curtin, Australia, might have an answer to these two questions for the most far travelled stone of Stonehenge – the Altar Stone.
The…
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