Best of Features 2024
From barrister Sue Chrysanthou to former swimmer Michael Klim and radio star Jackie O; from why everyone seems to have ADHD to our alarming recreational drug usage: 12 feature stories that readers responded to in droves this year.
Avenging angel or lethal opportunist: Celebrity lawyer Sue Chrysanthou
She’s the barrister du jour in the defamation capital of the world. Then came the day she found herself in the witness box ...
- by Jane Cadzow
Why has everyone suddenly got ADHD?
Diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are soaring. Figuring out why is a minefield.
- by Amanda Hooton
How a spicy midlife crisis launched The Unsatisfactory Spouses Club
When marriage trouble hit a group of Melbourne friends, they sought solace in each other.
- by Melissa Fyfe
One man, two ex-wives and the $50m sushi sale that changed everything
The trio helped make sushi an Aussie lunchtime staple – so how did their intertwined personal and business relations end up frayed – and in court?
- by Tom Cowie and Stephen Brook
‘From LA to Byron to Sydney’: The trippy treat popular among Millennial mums
This rising “It” drug looks like designer chocolate, is micro-dosed among the monied set – and is illegal.
- by Jonathan Seidler
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On the run in suburbia for nearly 30 years: Former fugitive ‘Dougie’ finally opens up
From farming pot to breaking out of jail to a life lived incognito for decades: the remarkable tale of an honours graduate turned handyman in hiding, Darko Desic.
- by Tim Elliott
More than 20 craft brewers have fizzed out in the past year. What’s happening?
It’s been described as “far more brutal than anyone imagined”. What’s behind the great boutique brewery bust?
- by Konrad Marshall
From inner-city squalor to ocean views: The Aussies making it big on OnlyFans
A lucky few are amassing considerable wealth selling tailored, adult content on the social media site – but at what cost?
- by Andrew Hornery
Australia’s cocaine use is soaring. Why?
Australia, it seems, is awash with cocaine, despite its high price and record police hauls – not to mention hospitalisations and deaths.
- by Tim Elliott
‘The stigma that will come with sharing this – I don’t care’: Jackie O opens up
She’s the better half of the Kyle and Jackie O radio show. She’s also a recovering addict: a fact she kept close to her chest until this week.
- by Konrad Marshall
Left to rot: The ‘ghost homes’ scourge in our big cities – amid a housing crisis
Tens of thousands of homes sit empty across our major cities, while luxury units replace old apartment blocks - all while debate rages about our home shortage.
- by Greg Callaghan
‘Getting sick made me drop that ego’: The reinvention of Michael Klim
When the former Olympian was diagnosed with a debilitating disease, it rocked him to his core.
- by Luke Benedictus
Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/best-of-features-2024-20241211-p5kxk8.html