Counterpoint

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we mark the end of the first World War and remember...what exactly and why? The United States, like Australia, is settled country and a migration nation, but has this meant that there isn't a shared sense of history? One of the biggest issues over the last few years has been identity politics. But not all identity categories are interchangeable, a...

How did individualism create our postmodern culture? What is conservatism and who is a conservative and does that depend on where you are? Why did thousands of people, including around 80 Australians, join the International Brigades and fight in the Spanish Civil War? How did we learn to breathe for each other, the moving history of the ventilator.

How did individualism create our postmodern culture? What is conservatism and who is a conservative and does that depend on where you are? Why did thousands of people, including around 80 Australians, join the International Brigades and fight in the Spanish Civil War? How did we learn to breathe for each other, the moving history of the ventilator.

Is it possible to get back to the prosperity of the postwar years? Right now we're all being told to plant trees but is it really the right thing to do? Should we let mother nature just be? Rules, when should we obey them and when should we break them? Why is the Jet age important and how much did jets themselves define the era?

Is it possible to get back to the prosperity of the postwar years? Right now we're all being told to plant trees but is it really the right thing to do? Should we let mother nature just be? Rules, when should we obey them and when should we break them? Why is the Jet age important and how much did jets themselves define the era?

China is the world's biggest seafood exporter and the population consumes around a third of world's catch. How do they do it and at what consequence? Might facts be overrated and what can we learn about vaccinations from the 1976 swine-flu fiasco. What has 43 quintillion potential variations, has sold more than 350 million, and began as a spatial tool for people with science, math, or engineering...

China is the world's biggest seafood exporter and the population consumes around a third of world's catch. How do they do it and at what consequence? Might facts be overrated and what can we learn about vaccinations from the 1976 swine-flu fiasco. What has 43 quintillion potential variations, has sold more than 350 million, and began as a spatial tool for people with science, math, or engineering...

Imagined in 2001 and meeting since 2009, in 2020 just how successful has the BRICS grouping been and should it continue? Is Asia turning inwards? The Economist Intelligence Unit believes so. Was Milton Freidman right, or maybe half right. Is greed good? We all know that Australian lyrebirds are great mimics and that the male tail, when fanned out, is beautiful but did you also know that they are a...

Imagined in 2001 and meeting since 2009, in 2020 just how successful has the BRICS grouping been and should it continue? Is Asia turning inwards? The Economist Intelligence Unit believes so. Was Milton Freidman right, or maybe half right. Is greed good? We all know that Australian lyrebirds are great mimics and that the male tail, when fanned out, is beautiful but did you also know that they are a...

Belarus is a country in turmoil, two months after the presidential election protests are still going on and the calls for a new election are getting louder. Can we compare what's happening here with the Ukranian protests of 2005 and 2013-2014? Why are conspiracies and conspiracy theorists' like QAnon, so popular in the United States right now? Did you know that there are about 200 contact language...

Belarus is a country in turmoil, two months after the presidential election protests are still going on and the calls for a new election are getting louder. Can we compare what's happening here with the Ukranian protests of 2005 and 2013-2014? Why are conspiracies and conspiracy theorists' like QAnon, so popular in the United States right now? Did you know that there are about 200 contact language...

Is the silver lining of working from home an increase in productivity? How has this happened? The relationship between China and Taiwan is fraught with tension and right now that tension is being played out in a dispute over a bird conservation group. There's new documentary called Juice. It's abut electricity and those who have it and those who don't and an interesting tale about how carbolic aci...

Is the silver lining of working from home an increase in productivity? How has this happened? The relationship between China and Taiwan is fraught with tension and right now that tension is being played out in a dispute over a bird conservation group. There's new documentary called Juice. It's abut electricity and those who have it and those who don't and an interesting tale about how carbolic aci...

Recently there have been calls for Australia to decouple from China but is this really a good idea? Identity politics is all the rage right now and as such we appear to be living in an era in which people are more often rewarded for their identities, especially if it’s a victim identity, rather than for their achievements. Why is that? Why do cities get built where they do, what are they hoping to...

Recently there have been calls for Australia to decouple from China but is this really a good idea? Identity politics is all the rage right now and as such we appear to be living in an era in which people are more often rewarded for their identities, especially if it’s a victim identity, rather than for their achievements. Why is that? Why do cities get built where they do, what are they hoping to...

The ammonium nitrate blast in the Port of Beirut on 4th August was devastating. What effect did it have on internal politics in Lebanon? What does the UAE's agreement with Israel mean for the rest of the Middle East. Does Big tech need to be regulated? Perhaps the comic book industry can show the way to do it effectively and with consumer support. How good are utopian fictions? Not at all. If you...

The ammonium nitrate blast in the Port of Beirut on 4th August was devastating. What effect did it have on internal politics in Lebanon? What does the UAE's agreement with Israel mean for the rest of the Middle East. Does Big tech need to be regulated? Perhaps the comic book industry can show the way to do it effectively and with consumer support. How good are utopian fictions? Not at all. If you...

As his party votes for a new leader how will Shinzo Abe be remembered? What were some of the successes and failures of the longest serving prime Minister in Japanese history? Should some Australian universities consider merging? Consolidation may offer a better long-term path to sustainability. Can we compare this US election campaign, with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with the 1948 campaign of Har...

As his party votes for a new leader how will Shinzo Abe be remembered? What were some of the successes and failures of the longest serving prime Minister in Japanese history? Should some Australian universities consider merging? Consolidation may offer a better long-term path to sustainability. Can we compare this US election campaign, with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with the 1948 campaign of Har...

Around the world countries have 'radical and previously unthinkable policies to counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic'. What does this mean, if anything, for democracy? Have you noticed a change in how some products and companies are advertised? Many have gone from aspirational to woke. Why? Feeling a bit peckish? Need a bit of a pick-me-up? How about some rhubarb sprinkled with some grou...

Around the world countries have 'radical and previously unthinkable policies to counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic'. What does this mean, if anything, for democracy? Have you noticed a change in how some products and companies are advertised? Many have gone from aspirational to woke. Why? Feeling a bit peckish? Need a bit of a pick-me-up? How about some rhubarb sprinkled with some grou...

75 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki what is the nuclear future of the world? Do the woke left and the alt-right have more in common than they might think? Yes they do. Who should you believe? An expert or someone on twitter? The person who says they have all of the answers or the person who doesn't have the answer right now? How can we hear what's happening deep in a forest or in...

75 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki what is the nuclear future of the world? Do the woke left and the alt-right have more in common than they might think? Yes they do. Who should you believe? An expert or someone on twitter? The person who says they have all of the answers or the person who doesn't have the answer right now? How can we hear what's happening deep in a forest or in...

What is American conservatism and is it the same, or similar to, nationalism? What is the history of philanthropy and how has it changed in recent times from small micro loans to million dollar projects that may or may not be completed? Who will run the post-COVID world and how can we make sure it won't be Russia, China or the United States? The internet and social media promised so much. What hap...

What is American conservatism and is it the same, or similar to, nationalism? What is the history of philanthropy and how has it changed in recent times from small micro loans to million dollar projects that may or may not be completed? Who will run the post-COVID world and how can we make sure it won't be Russia, China or the United States? The internet and social media promised so much. What hap...