By Noel Castree, Professor of Society & Environment, University of Technology Sydney
Humans are inescapably moral animals. Yet it is rare for most of us to reflect on how well our moral compasses are working.
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By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato
Fake news is also old news – 350 years ago, it brought down the Dutch Republic in a frenzy of political violence distinctly similar to more contemporary events.
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By Stephen Poropat, Research Associate, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University
Sauropods were the largest land-living animals of all time. Finding the traces of a sauropod’s last meal is nothing short of extraordinary.
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By Niall Johnston, Conjoint Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney
Helen Quinn, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance & Senior Lecturer, Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney
Phoebe Williams, Paediatrician & Infectious Diseases Physician; Senior Lecturer & NHMRC Fellow, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney
Whooping cough (pertussis) is always circulating in Australia, and epidemics are expected every three to four years. However, the numbers we’re seeing with the current surge – which started in 2024 – are higher than usual epidemics.
Vaccines for this highly infectious respiratory infection have been available in Australia for many decades. Yet it remains a challenging infection to control because immunity (due to prior infection, or vaccination) wanes…
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By Clive Phillips, Adjunct Professor in Animal Welfare, Curtin University
As our domesticated herds grow, wildlife is becoming rarer and rarer. Rethinking our responsibilities to animals will be hard – but essential.
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By Azadeh Dastyari, Director, Research and Policy, Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University
The bill was in the works for years and only passed on its fourth attempt. The debate about it is reminiscent of ongoing discussions about race and migration.
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By Venkat Narayanan, Senior Lecturer - Accounting and Tax, RMIT University
A wealth tax on billionaires would require global cooperation and get us into the tricky territory of taxing unrealised gains. But we already do that in some circumstances.
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By Bhavini Gohel, Clinical Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Muskaan Muse Laroyia, MSc Candidate & Graduate Researcher, Neuroscience, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary
Wildfires are already burning in parts of Canada, and as they do, many communities are already facing the familiar thick haze as smoke drifts in.
Smoke from wildfires has already led Environment Canada to issue…
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By Anna Jon-And, Director of Centre for Cultural Evolution, Senior Lecturer in Portuguese, Stockholm University
Johan Lind, Senior Associate Professor in Ethology, Linköping University
Why do humans have language and other animals apparently don’t? It’s one of the most enduring questions in the study of mind and communication. Across all cultures, humans use richly expressive languages built on complex structures, which let us talk about the past, the future, imaginary worlds, moral dilemmas and mathematical truths. No other species does this.
Yet we are fascinated by the idea that animals might be more similar to us than it seems. We delight in the possibility that dolphins tell stories or that apes can ponder the future. We are social and thinking creatures, and…
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By Nicholas Burton, Professor, Department of Leadership and Human Resource Management, Northumbria University, Newcastle
For many, the Clarks brand is a byword for sturdy school shoes and functional footwear for those of more mature years. The manufacturing and retailing company was set up two centuries ago in Somerset, England, in the shadows of Glastonbury Tor, by brothers Cyrus and James Clark. In 2025, it is celebrating its 200th anniversary and remains a formidable force both on the high street and online.
Less well known is that the Clark brothers, like chocolatier families Cadbury and Rowntree, were Quakers. This small religious community has produced a remarkable…
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