February
Good news! An asteroid doomsday is getting less likely
Don’t blame astronomers for the odds that an asteroid will strike Earth in 2032. The likelihood has gone from 3.1 per cent to less than 1 per cent.
Was this the day the UN died?
When the US backed Russia’s and China’s take on the Ukraine war this week, it could have been a tactical move. Or the start of America’s break with the UN.
Is protest dead? The Left has discovered sound and fury can go nowhere
Protest movements can shake things up, but unless they are well-structured and pursue long-term strategies for change, the vacuum they create will be filled by the better organised.
Being George Clooney is harder than it looks
A big Democrat donor, Clooney said he sees “a lot of cowardice” as the tech moguls bow to Trump.
Blue Poles: how Australia came to own the Jackson Pollock masterpiece
This edited extract reveals how Australia acquired one of the 20th century’s most prized paintings – and why then PM Gough Whitlam was so invested in the purchase.
As Silicon Valley embraces Trump, Hollywood edges leftward
The new media moguls and the legacy studios are reading from very different scripts. Next week’s Oscars will feature the most gloriously woke line-up in years.
The catastrophic war no one is talking about
Sudan’s vicious civil war is nearly two years old. Over 150,000 people are dead, and 12 million displaced, in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.
Will it be Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow?
The countries most likely to be at the receiving end of China’s military bullying have the greatest reason to fear it will be emboldened by a Russian victory.
American politics has a possibly lethal problem
Donald Trump and his team have identified a weak point in America’s system of government, and they are driving a flaming Cybertruck through it.
This film has 13 Oscar nominations. Why does everyone hate it?
Since Emilia Perez debuted on Netflix last year, there has been plenty of backlash on multiple fronts that has marred its pathway to Oscar glory.
Diamonds are not forever (as lab-grown rocks tank prices)
The price of a ring-size single-carat stone has fallen by 37 per cent. To survive, luxury jewellers will have to persuade their clientele that a natural diamond is still worth the outlay.
What Trump has in common with the Caesars
Roman emperor Augustus understood, just as Donald Trump does, that to stand at the head of a superpower is to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world.
Your attention has been hacked. Here’s how to reclaim your brain
Life in the attention age is more anxious and more depressed, more isolated and less social. It cannot go on like this, right?
Single this Valentine’s Day? You’re not alone
The central demographic story of modern times is rising rates of singledom; the data suggests there’s a global relationship recession among young adults.
‘Culture first’: One theory that explains what Trump is up to
Trumpian policy is about elevating cultural policy above all else. He doesn’t have to win the cultural debates, but he will control the ideological agenda.
Do we really need ‘teenage wellness’?
Is the profusion of adolescent spa packages and mindfulness apps simply contributing to the pressures that young people face?
The lucrative business of airline loyalty schemes
As loyalty businesses become increasingly powerful profit centres for airlines, there are warnings that some have forgotten why they exist in the first place.
Where woke went wrong
If progressive social movements are to rise again after the Trump-led backlash, they need to overcome not just their opponents but also their own limitations.
Why is there no Alzheimer’s cure? Lies, greed says a new book
In ‘Doctored’, Charles Piller, a science journalist, details how groupthink and dishonesty steered Alzheimer’s research off course.
Should you worry about microplastics?
There are some simple ways to reduce your exposure as we wait to see if science can quantify the harm these tiny particles cause to humans.