Books & arts
Historian of the present
Peter Browne
5 December 2017
Ken Inglis was not only a widely admired historian but also a gifted reporter and a sharp-eyed pioneer of press criticism
Books & arts
A big reality
Jane Goodall
3 December 2017
Television | The second season of Struggle Street points to something much deeper than poverty
Books & arts
A shrewd appraisal of sameness and difference
Frank Bongiorno
25 November 2017
A new book takes a nuanced look at ageing gay men and the world they live in
Books & arts
Making sense of crime
Rick Sarre
16 November 2017
Books | A former adviser to Tony Blair tackles conventional views of crime and its causes
Books & arts
The play’s the thing
Andrew Ford
14 November 2017
Music | The remarkable career of composer Elena Kats-Chernin, who has just turned sixty
Books & arts
Crime waves
Jane Goodall
13 November 2017
Television | SBS has identified a thirst for crime drama, but program-makers aren’t always coming up with the goods
Books & arts
Farewell, Sylvia
Peter Browne
9 November 2017
Over a long career, Sylvia Lawson was a prolific contributor to newspapers and magazines, including the pioneering Nation, and Inside Story
Books & arts
Demanding the impossible
Tom O'Regan
8 November 2017
An appreciation of journalist, critic and film industry activist Sylvia Lawson, who died this week
Books & arts
Who, and what, is a composer?
Andrew Ford
24 October 2017
Music | Do you simply need to say that’s what you do?
Books & arts
A few hours with a great writer
Louise Merrington
17 October 2017
Books | John McPhee’s new guide to the craft of writing is much more than a textbook
Books & arts
A fine balance
Maruta Rodan
15 October 2017
Books | Sheila Fitzpatrick brilliantly illuminates her subject and his tumultuous times
Books & arts
After Lateline, the brave new world of better broadcasting
Jane Goodall
13 October 2017
Television | Michelle Guthrie’s vision for ABC current affairs is a mixed bag, with the history missing
Books & arts
The Dasher
Frank Bongiorno
10 October 2017
What will Sam Dastyari do if he’s given a second chance? His autobiography only hints at an answer
Books & arts
A history of violence
Anne Aly
3 October 2017
Books | Islamic State has become adept at recruiting those who are already attracted to violence
Books & arts
The art of being prime minister
Norman Abjorensen
29 September 2017
Books | How did eleven men and one woman fill the most difficult role in Australia’s postwar political dramas?
Books & arts
Letting go
Andrew Ford
25 September 2017
Music | “Improvise” and “embellish” can be alarming words for a classically trained composer
Books & arts
The long shadow of the Labor split
Paul Rodan
18 September 2017
Brian Burke’s doorstopper of a memoir is a valuable but partial account of a career propelled by an old grievance
Books & arts
A civil debate amid the Trumpian tweetstorm
Sally McCausland
7 September 2017
Podcasts | Writer Sam Harris set out to discover why some voters like Donald Trump
Books & arts
Cinema in a time of war
Brian McFarlane
4 September 2017
How did film-makers resolve the paradox of creating complex feature films during a period of total war?
Books & arts
British India: the case for the prosecution
Robin Jeffrey
1 September 2017
Books | Shashi Tharoor’s vigorous rejoinder to defenders of empire teaches other lessons as well
Books & arts
The program that changed Australia
Jane Goodall
31 August 2017
Television | As Four Corners has shown for decades, ABC investigative reporting will always have its critics
Books & arts
The audacity of authenticity
Andrew Ford
29 August 2017
Music | What makes a composer courageous?
Books & arts
For reasons known only to himself
Norman Abjorensen
24 August 2017
Books | An outstanding new biography traces the life of the man who dominated early federal politics
Books & arts
House bound
Jane Goodall
22 August 2017
Television | Annabel Crabb’s new series raises the question: is parliament living up to its house?
Books & arts
Two for the road — and two on the road
Brian McFarlane
11 August 2017
Cinema | Two undemanding but shrewdly written films have hidden depths
Books & arts
The eyewitness
Richard Johnstone
7 August 2017
Photography | Daniel Berehulak meticulously records individuals caught up in history
Books & arts
When health becomes a risky business
Stephen Duckett
7 August 2017
Books | Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat helps steer us through the claims and counter claims
Books & arts
Knocked sideways by luck
Susan Lever
31 July 2017
Three writers explore the mixed inheritances that helped fuel their work
Books & arts
Man of the moment
James Walter
31 July 2017
Books | Donald Horne is a breezy, argumentative and sometimes wrong-headed guide to postwar Australia
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