National affairs
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: it might be about trade, but it’s far from free
John Quiggin
15 March 2015
This secretive agreement is less about free trade than about protecting American interests, writes John Quiggin. But there’s a glimmer of a chance it won’t proceed
Books & arts
True stories
Sylvia Lawson
27 February 2015
Cinema | Sylvia Lawson reviews the Oscar-winning Citizenfour
Books & arts
A fight or a feed? Making progressive politics in schooling
Dean Ashenden
12 February 2015
Books | An American polemic about Chinese schools and OECD league tables exposes problems closer to home, argues Dean Ashenden
International
Getting a seat at the big table
Kerry Brown
3 February 2015
Although China and the United States can seem absorbed in themselves and one another, countries like Australia can still contribute to the conversation, writes Kerry Brown
Books & arts
Indecent history
Susan Lever
8 January 2015
Television | With a third season of Masters of Sex screening this year, Susan Lever charts the highs and lows of a TV drama inspired by real events
International
Putin’s westpolitik: back to the USSR
John Besemeres
17 December 2014
The Russian president wants to restore the old empire. John Besemeres looks at the former Soviet republics he is pressuring to see the world his way
International
In Washington, a tough two years ahead
Lesley Russell
7 November 2014
Low turnout means that the midterm elections offer no mandate to the Republicans, writes Lesley Russell. But there are clear messages for both parties in the results
The US midterms: a street-level view
Nathaniel Reader
7 November 2014
Nathaniel Reader visited four polling booths in Los Angeles, and found business briskest at a private garage in the city’s northern suburbs
Books & arts
Buying and selling healthcare
Lesley Russell
6 November 2014
Adam Reich vividly describes the way different kinds of hospitals work in the United States, writes Lesley Russell. But what happened to the patients?
Books & arts
Secrets within secrets
Jack Waterford
31 October 2014
David Horner’s history of ASIO is a reminder of how “the Case” influenced ASIO for generations, writes Jack Waterford
International
Mid-term blues
Lesley Russell
7 October 2014
The odds aren’t good for the Democrats in next month’s elections, but this referendum on Barack Obama’s presidency isn’t over yet,…
International
Will today’s allies become, yet again, tomorrow’s enemies?
John Quiggin
6 October 2014
When a militarily powerful country tries to govern the affairs of millions of people on the other side of the planet, we shouldn’t be surprised that chaos results, writes…
Books & arts
What are the sixties trying to tell us?
Jane Goodall
30 September 2014
It’s the decade that doesn’t seem willing to stay in the past
Books & arts
China wakes, Asia quakes, Australia shivers
Graeme Dobell
25 July 2014
A contest is under way, writes Graeme Dobell, but it will be more like a nineteenth-century battle than a twentieth-century clash
International
New York: where political finance never sleeps
Graeme Orr
4 February 2014
The United States isn’t the obvious place to look for ideas about how to clean up political funding. But Graeme Orr found a New York agency that can teach us a lot…
A “true progressive” takes on New York’s inequality problem
Peter Mares
23 December 2013
After serving a maximum three terms as mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg will be replaced by Democrat Bill de Blasio on New Year’s Day. As Peter Mares reports…
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