By Jo Case, Senior Deputy Books + Ideas Editor, The Conversation
What were you like in the 90s? This question is a social media trend right now, with achingly nostalgic slideshows of old photos, set to music.
When bookish types think about what we were like, we also remember the books that helped make us who we are. So the Books & Ideas team asked five literary experts for their picks.
Because we never just engage with the new, their answers range from stone-cold classics (one from the late…
(Full Story)
|
By Christopher Niezrecki, Director of the Center for Energy Innovation, UMass Lowell
Suspending the Jones Act will increase the supply of fuel by allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil between US ports, which should eventually educe gas prices.
(Full Story)
|
By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The federal government has appointed Anthea Harris, former chief executive of the Australian Energy Regulator and of the Energy Security Board, as Coordinator of a new Fuel Supply Taskforce.
The new taskforce will be established in Anthony Albanese’s own Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Harris will be responsible for:
driving coordination between the Commonwealth and the states and territories on fuel security and supply chain resilience
providing consistent, coordinated updates to the Commonwealth and states and territories on…
(Full Story)
|
By Jennifer Stokes, Associate Professor, Teaching and Learning Innovation, Adelaide University
KPop Demon Hunters’ critical and commercial success was driven by its viral appeal – but that’s not the only reason it’s so powerful.
(Full Story)
|
By Natalie Klein, Professor, Faculty of Law, UNSW Sydney
In the law of naval warfare, the line between belligerents and neutrals is not always an easy one to draw.
(Full Story)
|
By Justine Poplin, Teaching Associate, Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University
From state-backed mega museums to privately-funded contemporary art spaces, the expansion of China’s galleries, libraries, archives and museums – or “GLAM” – sector is reshaping how the nation narrates its past and imagines its future.
China’s museum sector has expanded at an unmatched pace this century. From 2010 to 2024, a new museum has opened, on average, every 1.5 days. There…
(Full Story)
|
By Peter Edwell, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Macquarie University
Is it any wonder ancient people thought lightning came from the gods? Even today a close lightning strike feels like a terrifying brush with the supernatural.
Some ancient thinkers, however, suspected the gods had nothing to do with it.
They wondered, centuries ahead of their time, if lightning was related somehow to the movement of air and clouds.
A reminder of power and wrath
In the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome, thunder and lightning strikes were the prime weapon of Zeus (the king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter). Reminders of…
(Full Story)
|
By Benjamin D Tombs, Pūkenga-Lecturer in Property Law, University of Otago
Judy Lawrence, Senior Research Fellow, New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Rob Bell, Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning Programme, University of Waikato
In the aftermath of another summer of weather disasters, there were headlines about a “growing gap” between recovery efforts and preparation for climate change impacts.
There were calls for a rethink of how New Zealand approaches natural hazards and for decision-makers
(Full Story)
|
By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image South Koreans in Seoul watch a news broadcast showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter visiting the undisclosed manufacturing site for a nuclear-powered submarine, December 24, 2025. © 2025 Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images via AP Photo While breaking news stories capture our attention—North Korea’s recent launching of 10 ballistic missiles grabbed headlines—there’s a tendency to ignore long running but dire issues such as North Korea’s ongoing human rights crisis. On March 13, the United Nations special rapporteur on North Korea, Elizabeth Salmón, reminded…
(Full Story)
|
By Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon, Assistant Professor in Health Ethics, Simon Fraser University
What Canada’s response to AI protocols in the wake of the Tumbler Ridge tragedy gets wrong, and what durable governance actually requires.
(Full Story)
|