My advice for Parky fell on deaf ears
I appeared on Michael Parkinson’s show a couple of times. In a backstage conversation I suggested he make a slight change. It wasn’t well-received.
Columnists
My husband is the glue that holds our family together
The modern father feels like a new and improved version of the father of old. I have great hope for the fathers of the future when I look at the young men of today.
Why I can’t stay at a party for longer than half an hour
You’d never know this from the public persona, but I have a social affliction that has blighted my life. I used to think it was a curse. Now I embrace it.
The 70s were a game-changer for Australia
We threw off the shackles of the Great Depression and WWII. Medibank, fee-free tertiary education, Bankcard and colour TV all surfaced. And we travelled to places we’d never seen before.
The Greens aren’t taking it far enough
We need to plant more trees around Parliament House for all MPs to hug, in the confident belief it would improve the quality of government. Before we’re all rooted.
![SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos. 16th August 2023[L-R] Exited fans at the Vic on the Park HotelÉ.3. Kimberly van der Wulp of Holland and Mina Brandt of GermanyPicture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/307db65f95aa137cff6a6ecb2f1e4028?width=650)
Mate, whatever happened to our lingo?
G’day, mate and mum are on the way out, with Americanisms like bro, guy and mom growing in popularity. Should we be content to go with the change?
What do Keating, Thatcher, Putin and Trump have in common?
Every politician can be categorised into one of three groups, and these four leaders all share a particular trait.
Head in the clouds
What exactly is this 10km-wide meteorological phenomenon in the Kimberley? The International Cloud Atlas has the answer …
Barbie a defining film for our time
What does the success of this blockbuster say about a unique post-pandemic time in history. I see the Hollywood hit as a social marker for the future.
Bovine bromance almost enough to make me a vegetarian
Over our 40 years at the farm we’ve had a plethora of pets but one has loomed largest, and it caused plenty of concern for my safety.
‘It looks like something the dog has chewed’
A Covid-bred obsession with penis size has driven an alarming number of men to butcher themselves. And trust me, it’s all been for nothing.
‘Every single detail on this car is exquisite’
It looks just like a restored classic 1960s Alfa Romeo but astonishingly, this is a totally new car – a must-drive electric car at that – and, it’s been designed from scratch by a 28-year-old Italian.
Liberation from the kitchen: I love the ‘girl dinner’
No partner or family or flatmates about? A slice of toast with Vegemite will do the trick. Thanks to TikTok, girl dinners are officially a thing.
Who knew Japan were working on a bomb too?
A Japanese nuclear project at the very least changes perceptions about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Churches no more: how wealthy’s priorities have changed
In the past, the nation’s rich and recently departed would often bequeath funds for a memorial church. But in 2023, where are they leaving their wealth?
Cancelling Comm Games a masterstroke of modernity
Daniel Andrews’ decision feels like a declaration that will one day be cited by the history books as Australia shifts towards a republic.
How to be heard and win an argument
Getting your point across these days can be difficult. But my career in the media and consulting has taught me how to cut through.
America, depraved: a history of violence in the US
With as many handguns as hands, since its birth the US has had hardly a year – a day – of peace.
Was Covid the pandemic we had to have?
WWII shaped much of the last century. Will Covid have a similar nation-shaping impact on Australian life in the decades ahead?
Wisdom comes with age … but not for me
I have six honorary doctorates and I know next to nothing. Perhaps I could get a chatbot to write a grovelling letter to Eltham High and see if they’d let me sneak back in.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/columnists/page/14