February
Why we need simple signals of elite status more than ever
The more information there is in the world, the more we need simple signals of elite status to cut through it all.
Sydney Writers’ Festival ex-chair breaks silence on resignation
Kathy Shand says she was not aware of any plot to remove her from the Sydney author talkfest’s board, although sources said her pro-Israel views had left her “isolated”.
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.
Bigger story behind Sanjeev Gupta’s faltering empire
Readers’ letters on the need for a new model of capitalism; improving students’ literacy; culture wars hurting innovation; CBA’s share price; and robot dogs.
America is engaged in a ‘rich white civil war’
I’m not a fan of populism, but real populism would be better than the right-wing elite nihilists who are running the country now.
‘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.
Justified or double standard? Sam Kerr loses the culture war
A jury unanimously decided Kerr was not guilty of a racial offence. But the court of public opinion remains divided: is it racist to use “white” as an insult?
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.
January
‘We did not expect the intensity’: Newington hits back at co-ed row
Coeducation is seen as the future of school. So why is Newington College in Sydney at the centre of a debate so hot that parents are withdrawing boys?
‘We became a pinata’: The culture war tearing a school apart
How its decision to go co-ed made Newington College in Sydney the country’s most talked-about school.
Trump’s ‘unwokening’ is a cautionary tale
The US experience raises questions about how corporate Australia should achieve sensible diversity goals without fuelling a populist backlash.
Zuckerberg says most companies need more ‘masculine energy’
The billionaire, who launched his career by rating the attractiveness of women at Harvard University, lamented the rise of “culturally neutered” companies.
In Ukraine’s Odessa, locals fight orders to erase Russia
A culture war raging within the Black Sea port over statues of hometown heroes Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel will shape what kind of country Ukraine becomes.
December 2024
Trump-loving cable network Newsmax to launch in Australia
ADH TV, launched by former broadcaster Alan Jones, will bring the right-wing news channel by expanding under the Newsmax Australia brand.
Corporate advocacy isn’t passing the pub test
Controversy over business hand-wringing about Australia Day shows why taking public stances is fraught.
November 2024
The meaning of Amsterdam’s ‘Jew Hunt’
Recent street violence in Amsterdam reveals profound changes in how the left and right deal with antisemitism. For European Jews, it’s a strange new world.
World braces for Trump’s ‘clown show’ defence chief
The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and Fox News host gained notoriety by blaming “wokeness” for US military failures. Now he is set to be in charge.
Jamie Oliver’s editors should have seen this scandal coming
British publishers are scratching their heads as to how Penguin Random House UK could have left the celebrity chef’s kids’ book exposed to an A-grade furore.
Democrats learnt the hard way that woke is broke
Democrats don’t understand why they turned off so many working-class voters over the decades, and why they developed such disdain towards their once loyal base.
Britain’s first black party leader is an anti-woke warrior
Kemi Badenoch won the protracted Conservative Party leadership contest, and has until 2029 to craft a pitch to defeat Labour.