Influential insights

Suffering, Mother Teresa said, brought the poor closer to Christ. Easy words from someone who sought medical care at the best hospitals when she fell ill. The poor were left to rot. Their agony spiritualised for Western donors who lapped it up.

In the layered theater of corporate life, personality assessments often play the role of both script and spotlight. Companies lean on tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DISC Assessment, Birkman Method, Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), an...

Anthony Albanese’s government is a weak, rudderless administration that has squandered the opportunity for real leadership. It has failed on principle, failed on courage, and failed on reform.

Elon should go. For sure. But for anyone else, going to Mars is a terrible, terrible idea. A billionaire's fever dream hides a nightmare: irreversible health damage, isolation madness, and technological fragility

Peter Dutton lies. He lies the way a butcher swings a cleaver: forcefully, deliberately, and without much concern for what’s left on the cutting room floor. His words are not crafted to persuade but to bludgeon, his claims not designed to illuminate but t...

Generative AI has entered the newsroom: dazzling in its capabilities, intriguing in its potential, and trailing an unmistakable air of unease: dazzling in its capabilities, intriguing in its potential, and trailing an unmistakable air of unease.

There are few sounds on God’s cracked asphalt more American than a Harley-Davidson at full snarl. It’s not just a motorcycle—it’s a middle finger wrapped in chrome. And that noise? Pure rebellion in audible form

There is a certain kind of reckless, coked-up nihilism that creeps in when you hand the keys of government to a billionaire with a God complex and a Ketamine addiction.

It's not just a concert—it’s a whole vibe, a place where we don’t just exist, we belong. Festivals aren’t just about the music; they’re where we find our people, our style, our best (and messiest) memories. For one perfect weekend, the world is ours. ...

Turns out, the digital pipelines aren’t just carrying data; they’re sluicing money straight from the darkest alleys of the web. Advertising is the grease keeping the internet humming, quietly slipping in next to content that'd make your skin crawl.

America’s greatest asset has never been its wealth—it’s been its curiosity. NIH cuts don’t just slash budgets; they strangle the future.

Imagine, if you will, a billionaire armed with a Twitter account, thumbs poised with the delicate precision of a toddler near a chandelier. His tweets are the chandelier. Everyone else’s financial well-being? That’s the floor.

Skynet was that charming little algorithm with big ambitions—designed to protect humanity, but with the sort of overachieving enthusiasm that ends in, well, no humanity to protect. But James Cameron was wrong. It's not terminators, it's the ennui...

There is a particular kind of lie that America tells itself, a lie dressed in fine garments, made to seem new when, in fact, it is older than the republic itself. It is the lie of blame, the lie that says our suffering is not of our own making but the fau...

There are times in life when one wonders: Have we, as a species, taken the wrong exit on the highway to progress? And if you, too, have pondered this as you scrolled past an eerily perfect face endorsing vitamin water, let me assure you—you are correct. ...

George Pell was a rapist and a paedophile. That's the story, the whole rotten truth, and no amount of incense or Latin hymns can scrub it clean. The National Redress Scheme delivered a measure of justice to his victims the High Court couldn't.Wan...

Australians are, by necessity, a nation of elite long-haul travelers. While Europeans can pop across borders for a weekend in another country, we consider a seven-hour flight ‘short-haul.’ It’s no surprise, then, that when Aussies travel, we go big.

Conspiratorial rabbit holes may indeed have an exit according to newly published research. Scientists are exploring whether artificial intelligence might provide a way to counteract these deeply held beliefs and loosen their psychological grip.

On the eve of ITB Esports collapse, its CEO, known publicly as SlayThe Minotaur, released a deeply confessional statement. "I was acting as two people—one trying to match their efforts and another a destructive, alcoholic narcissist hellbent on self-i...

DeepSeek’s real magic trick lies in its Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA). If attention is the currency of AI, MLA is the black card that clears all the velvet ropes. It ensures that inference happens with dazzling efficiency—fast, cost-effective, and rema...

Gen Z doesn’t just consume culture—we remix, reimagine, and breathe life into it. For us, culture isn’t something you watch from the sidelines; it’s a constant state of creation and curation. We don’t just follow the narrative—we are the narrative.

You do want to go out — like, deep in your soul, you crave that human connection, that spark of being seen and understood IRL. But also, the cocoon of your blanket and the TikTok algorithm that knows you better than some of your friends?

Move over, Jane Austen. Long before multiple film and television adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park, three overlooked English literary classics have shaped Hollywood, inspiring iconic masterpieces that we love. ...

Deepseek doesn’t just locate information buried in forgotten digital corners. It understands, distils, and reframes it, translating chaos into clarity.

The first thing that hits you about Elon Musk is the smirk—a crooked little banner of defiance that says, “Yeah, I did it, and I’ll do it again.” It's not the grin of a man dreaming of Martian utopias; It's a man who figured out the cheat codes ...

People who lean heavily on AI tools find themselves faltering in the realm of critical thought. Their problem-solving weakens, their decision-making dulls. The young, those born into a world of ceaseless connectivity, are most vulnerable.

With Uncle Sam threatening to unplug TikTok due to national security concerns, millions of young people are rethinking where they post their thirst traps and hot takes. Enter RedNote, aka TikTok’s spicier (and lowkey sketchier) cousin.

Oh, Mark. It’s one thing to float in virtual reality with all the grace of a glitchy balloon, but quite another to suggest your multibillion-dollar company is short on "masculine energy." Yet here we are.

Days before retaking the White House, Donald Trump dropped $TRUMP—a shiny new cryptocurrency that glittered with promises of fortune but stank of the same old grift.

Workplace safety leadership loves to talk about “winning hearts and minds. Bu this language focuses on the behavior of workers while ignoring the real problem: systemic failures, dangerous shortcuts, and deliberate cost-cutting by those in power.

While the world recognises the gravitas of Confucianism and Taoism, the intellectual vibrancy of ancient China extends far beyond these renowned philosophies of the ancient world.

Australia's belated ban on engineered stone is a stark reminder of the cost of regulatory failure. It’s a story of greed, neglect, and an inexplicable willingness to sacrifice workers' lives for the sake of polished benchtops and cheap home reno...

Jack Smith’s report reads like a crime novelist’s fever dream, with Donald J. Trump playing every role: schemer, victim, and self-appointed hero. The evidence stacks up like chips at a rigged poker game

Australia's most spectacular swimming holes remain blissfully under the radar. Here are a few aquatic treasures to add to your bucket list when you’re ready to trade the tourist-packed shores for something unique.

Industrial manslaughter laws in Australia were supposed to be a turning point. Enacted first in Queensland in 2017, they promised to hold employers accountable when their gross negligence led to the death of a worker. But it's a story of missed marks ...

In the delicate dance of international diplomacy, a shift has occurred that may send ripples far beyond its origins. Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation has formally joined the BRICS bloc. What does it mean for Australia?

Since October 7, 2023, Israel's invasion of Gaza and Hamas's earlier attacks on Israeli civilians have left wounds far deeper than statistics alone can convey. Yet, as we delve into the data, we must ask ourselves: do these numbers tell the whole...

Beyond lower costs, the tiny house movement promotes a lifestyle of reduced consumerism and closer connections to nature. Yet, the idyllic vision of tiny house living comes crashing into the realities of zoning laws, land access, and public perception.

The sprawling, ever-expanding universe of YouTube is a land where the mundane and magnificent coexist. Fame, fortune, and folly are but a click away. For successful creators it's a river of gold, wide and winding, but fraught with peril and promise.

In the steady gaze of Branislav Đorđević, a 22-year-old student of cultural science, there is a defiance that does not shout but stands resolute, a quiet yet unyielding force driving the heartbeat of the student protests in Serbia that refuses to yield. ...

Australia’s workplace laws draw a line in the sand, demanding action on psychosocial risks. It’s a mandate, not a suggestion. Yet psychological safety—the trust to speak up, to take risks without fearing the hammer—lives outside the law.

We’ve seen this movie before, haven’t we? A century ago, Germany’s industrial barons patted Hitler on the back, figuring they could leash the mad dog for their own purposes. How’d that work out?

Look at the image for this story. A large language (LLM) model drew it and made a mistake. Actually, it made a few. Have you ever wondered how AI chatbots seem to understand and respond in human-like ways? And why sometimes they get it wrong?

Imagine yourself aboard The Ghan, Australia's legendary transcontinental train, as it slices through the ochre expanse of the Red Centre. The rhythmic clatter of the tracks becomes a meditative soundtrack, lulling you into a state of reflection.

US-based right-wing groups, seasoned in the art of misinformation, have extended their influence to Australian shores. These organisations provide local opposition groups with strategies, funding, and propaganda to undermine wind energy.

Okay, stop everything. Zendaya and Tom Holland are reportedly engaged, and Gen Z is having a collective freak-out. Not a panic attack, just pure serotonin overload. This isn’t just about two ridiculously good-looking people tying the knot—it’s a moment. ...

Pulitzer Prize-winning Cartoonist Ann Telnaes walking out of The Washington Post isn’t just a resignation—it’s a goddamn funeral dirge for American journalism, a last wail before the whole rotten enterprise gets buried alive.

Australia's giant business duopolies and oligopolies are adept at privating profits and socialising losses. It's the only kind of socialism they can stomach.

Buckle up, buttercup. The Great Ocean Road isn’t just a scenic cruise—it’s a rollercoaster carved out of Australia’s southeastern cliffs, where every turn dares you to flirt with disaster and every mile serves up enough ocean views to make Instagram crash ...

From its absolutely savage plot twists to the petty backstabbing and weird-but-iconic vibes of contestants, this show is binge-worthy AF. But who did it better: the Brits or the Yanks? And what happens if Australia gets in on the action?

As the tide of AI rises, threatening the livelihoods of millions and the fragile threads that bind society close, the disciplines that dare to question our meaning, trace the arc of our history, and wrestle with the weight of our ethics are left to wither...

Charlie Javice wasn’t spinning gold; she was weaving a web, and by the time JPMorgan Chase realised they were caught, the ink was dry on a $175 million mistake.

This beautiful beast doesn’t accelerate; it explodes forward, hurling you into a blur of speed so intense it feels like you’ve been shot out of a railgun.

It started on a clear September night—ordinary in every way except for what people claimed they saw. Over New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, witnesses reported luminous, pulsating lights zigzagging across the sky.

With the passing of the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, the state has served notice to social media platforms: the age of the algorithmic free-for-all is over.

James Earl (Jimmy) Carter Jr walked out of the shadow of failure and into the bright, unadorned light of service, reclaiming his place not as a politician, but as a man of simple decency.

They may be as dumb as a sack of wet rocks and twice as useless in a flood, but there's joy to be had watching a pack of ignorant crazy crackers discovering the billionaire oligarchs they put their faith in wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire. ...

Avian influenza, particularly the H5N1 strain, is no longer content with its natural hosts. It mutates, adapts, and begins to see humanity as its new home. While our world still reels from COVID-19, another shadow rises. How ready are we to meet it?

There is a cruelty in watching a storm unfold, knowing that it will arrive not as a visitor but as a conqueror. In 2024, the world bore witness to the devastating power of nature unleashed, a series of extreme weather events that were less aberrations and...

Let me just say this upfront: Nosferatu 2024 is so hot right now. If you took a brooding vampire from the 1920s, dipped him in a vat of high-concept art school, and whispered “fierce” into his ear, you’d end up with this movie.

There is a sound the ice makes when it moves. Those who have listened closely will tell you it is not merely cracking, not merely groaning. It is the earth speaking, breathing, remembering. In the high mountains of northwest North America, this voice has ...

"Keeping the Country Running" promises progress, sustainability, and a future powered by natural gas. It feels polished, reassuring—until you peel back the layers. Beneath the glossy facade lies a narrative constructed to preserve the power of an...

Cocaine-fuelled trysts, payments for sex, and a teenage "companion"—it was all there in a sordid dossier dripping with the kind of lurid details that turn Capitol Hill into a B-grade soap opera.

The Australian Museum's exhibition, "Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru," immerses visitors in the rich tapestry of Andean civilisations

It began, as most calamities do, with a quiet, almost imperceptible shift. On a blistering February afternoon in 2009, the residents of Kinglake, a small Australian town nestled in the heart of Victoria, noticed the sun vanish behind a curtain of smoke. ...

Each time you visit a website or open an app, fragments of your life—your location, your browsing history, even the device you hold—are cast into an invisible auction. Some of those buyers consider you the enemy and behave accordingly.

Mars is empty, and all the devils are here. Elon Musk's bold, let's call it insane, bid for control of ChatGPT developer Open AI was all about finding $80bn to fund his Martian ambitions. Cool Aid, anyone?

In our public spaces—be it the shopping mall, the morning bus, or the glowing screen glued to our palms—we live in a world bedecked with cameras, and researchers have now confirmed what we’ve all suspected: being watched changes us.

Alright, let’s talk algorithms—the invisible puppet masters of your social media experience. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, these platforms are powered by recommendation systems that decide what you see next.

The famous Don Tallon Bar at the Gabba may have closed its doors in 2021, but its spirit echoed around the ground yesterday, as Steven Smith and Travis Head batted with the kind of defiance that once fueled animated debates over pots v schooners and sunlit...

The Tech Bros say all they need is a few hundred billion of your dollars and your complete indifference to environmental ruin to create artificial general intelligence. Yet, much like their other proclamations, this one too deserves a raised eyebrow and a ...

Here we are, six weeks out from the unexpected renewal of the second season of Götterdämmerung. America, you big, dumb, beautiful bastard, why can’t you just be fucking normal?

The heat and dryness of our warming world weigh heavy on the fragile beginnings of life. Fragile creatures, once vibrant symbols of life along the riverbanks, now live on the edge of existence.

Ok besties, so this Sparktoro study? It’s giving big “I know everything about you” energy. Over 21 months, researchers combed through 332 MILLION Google searches to figure out how we’re using the search giant, and spoiler alert: the results are kind of un...

Agent K’s cynical words from Men in Black land with the weight of truth, not because they are absolute, but because history makes them seem so. “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.” Turns out, he's wrong....

There are fires that scorch the earth, and there are fires that burn the soul of a people. The fire that consumed a school bus belonging to IQRA College, an Islamic school in Adelaide, was no ordinary blaze.

In the early hours of December 8, 2024, the ancient city of Damascus awoke to the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Rebel forces, after years of relentless conflict, entered the Syrian capital with minimal resistance.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s intervention raises uncomfortable questions about the juxtaposition of his concern for Jewish safety abroad and the actions of his own government, which have unleashed devastating violence on civilian populations in Gaza.

Wicked is basically a Pinterest board of jaw-dropping visuals: think Emerald City vibes that would make the Met Gala jealous, and a flying broom scene so stunning it’ll make your jaw hit the popcorn bucket. Aesthetics, sure — but it’s also about the FEELS....

We are expected to pin our hopes on these guardians of our safety—institutions with a track record that could generously be called patchy, and a culture so reliably flawed it could be mistaken for tradition.

At 6:45 that morning, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, walked out of the Hilton Midtown on West 54th Street, his breath steaming in the air. By 7:12, he was dead.

TikTok slid its top Australian trends into my DMs ealrier today. Turns out the year didn’t just pass us by—it made us stop, scroll, laugh, cry, and scream “SLAY” at the top of our lungs

Is art diminished when unmoored from the lived experience of the artist? Or is it a testament to the universality of artistic principles that even an intelligence born in ignorance of art can find its way to expression?

Under the guise of protecting innocence, the voices most often silenced by book bans are not those of chaos or corruption but of courage and truth. Books that dare to explore the lives of marginalised communities are targeted with precision and zeal.

Thanks Daddy. Pardons—absurd relics of royal prerogative, as grotesque and medieval as a leper’s bell—shouldn’t even exist

One might assume that the guardians of social media would have the good sense to protect their youngest and most vulnerable users. Unfortunately, Instagram failed spectacularly at this task.

It’s been fifty years since Lucy emerged from the parched Afar sands, her skeleton a ghostly echo of life from a time when Earth hummed with organic connections. Lucy was a reminder then of our origins. Now, she’s a warning.

The vibe was immaculate: share houses with fairy lights and Spotify playlists, weekend brunches worthy of a million Instagram stories, and savings accounts that at least had potential. But 2024 hit harder than the latest plot twist in The White Lotus.

René Magritte self-identified as the “painter of ideas,” but this exhibition, a sumptuous feast for the eyes and mind at the Art Gallery of NSW, reveals him to be something even greater: a conjurer of the uncanny.

Why let a little thing like human dignity stand in the way of political expediency? After all, nothing says "compassionate governance" like deporting individuals to countries, that we advise our own citizens not to risk visiting.

Today, a single, relatively obscure company in the Netherlands is not just keeping Moore's Law alive—it’s redefining the physical limits of engineering to power the future of artificial intelligence.

Jobs once held by people with degrees in the arcane arts of human knowledge are now being infiltrated by algorithms. The very same tools that can churn out poetry and paint pictures want a seat at the table. Your seat.

In the twisted theater of Trump-world, the attempt to build a cabinet is a dark farce—a crime family style lineup so inept it makes the Three Stooges look like the Corleones.

In the murky waters of doli incapax, we find a presumption that children lack the capacity for criminal responsibility—a notion that is applied inconsistently, often leaving the most vulnerable to navigate a labyrinthine justice system.

My sons, 20 and 22, avatars of this TikTok-crippled era, will join me at the altar of absurdity this afternoon for the Tyson/Paul showdown—a collision of decades that have no business sharing a ring.

The game of cricket, at its finest, is not merely a sport; it is a symphony—a medley of grace, power, and unyielding determination.

It was an August kind of story, cold and heavy, with a weight that settled in your chest like an overdue debt. But it was actually late November and the sun was out early. It's been that kind of decade.

Justice is a fragile thing. It doesn’t march triumphantly; it limps through alleys of compromise, dodging the brickbats of ambition and the shadows of self-interest. And in Australia, a nation historically suspicious about the integrity of its institutions...

Let’s just start here: Taylor Swift isn’t just a pop star; she’s a cultural phenomenon, a human Easter egg, and—dare I say—our generation’s Shakespeare if Shakespeare wore glittery bodysuits and wrote breakup songs that slap.

The first thing you notice is the noise—a guttural, all-consuming roar that shakes your bones and makes you question if you’ve accidentally walked into a riot instead of an esports championship. The crowd is alive, screaming, chanting, howling like a pack...

When we speak of children, we often forget to ask which children we mean. Whose children will find the doors to social engagement shuttered after the newly legislated social media ban, not out of prudence but due to poverty, indifference, or neglect?

Kendrick Lamar just dropped a surprise album, GNX, and let me tell you, it’s like a runway show for your ears!