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Keywords: Science

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Burning truths

    • Julie Perrin
    • 12 July 2024

    In her new Quarterly Essay Highway to Hell, Australian climate scientist Joëlle Gergis pleads in language beyond the careful neutrality of traditional science-speak: ‘We need you to stare into the abyss with us and not turn away.’

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Old men for an old order

    • Ken Haley
    • 11 July 2024

    Whatever the outcome in the United States elections, the most powerful countries are ruled by elderly men. This fundamental and ominous failure of a new generation to supplant its elders bodes ill for the future.

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  • RELIGION

    Is another Catholic school shutdown on the horizon?

    • John Warhurst
    • 03 July 2024

    In 1962, Goulburn was the centre of national attention when Catholic schools closed in protest over a lack of government funding and control. Students overwhelmed public schools. Could this happen again? An Australian archbishop suggests it as an option if religious freedom in Catholic schools is threatened.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Uncle George’s war

    • Juliette Hughes
    • 21 June 2024

    Most soldiers don’t like to talk about what they’ve been through, the things they’ve had to see; the things they’ve had to do. Uncle George was more willing to talk as he got older and more willing to be coaxed by a crowd of adoring nieces. But there were some things he'd never say. And the war never went away from him.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Terry Pratchett and the nuclear energy debate

    • Juliette Hughes
    • 05 June 2024

    Since Peter Dutton has reignited the appetite for the dream of unlimited energy from atom-splitting, we have to think about the risks again. Is it more dangerous to keep burning coal and gas and oil and boil the planet than to have a few Chernobyls or Windscales? How do we balance such risks?

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  • RELIGION

    Painful times for Church reformers

    • John Warhurst
    • 29 May 2024

    We are now witnessing a changed dynamic within the movement for church reform. The balance within its component parts has changed towards a more pessimistic view. A minority is still hopeful; a few even remain optimistic, but most are struggling.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The Easter immortality project

    • Justine Toh
    • 27 March 2024
    2 Comments

     As the world grapples with the promise and perils of technological advancement, billionaire Bryan Johnson's quest for eternal life underscores a broader societal fascination with defying death. Can science truly outpace the inevitability of mortality? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Decades of discovery: Robyn Williams and the evolution The Science Show

    • Michele Gierck
    • 08 March 2024

    If you made a list of top Australian scientists, who would make your top three? Robyn Williams, host of The Science Show since 1975,  discusses the rise of new scientific areas, incredible breakthroughs and thousands of Australian men and women pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    On the anniversary of a poet's birth, a universal message to nations

    • Warwick McFadyen
    • 20 February 2024
    1 Comment

    ‘The loss of memory by a nation is also a loss of its conscience.’ As the loss of conscience grows with each succeeding generation, one day righting the boat on the sea of forgetfulness will become impossible. In the end, what people don’t know, they won’t miss. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Judgment and the burden of ignorance

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 15 June 2023
    2 Comments

    Kathleen Folbigg's release, prompted by the discovery of a genetic mutation that created reasonable doubt in her conviction, marks a significant intersection of science and law. However, the case highlights the need to critically assess the weight and limitations of scientific authority in our justice system, acknowledging the inherent uncertainty embedded within human affairs.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Kathleen Folbigg, monster mythology and science

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 14 June 2023
    3 Comments

    At the intersection of myth, science, and law is the contentious case of Kathleen Folbigg, accused of being a modern-day Medea. Convicted of killing her children and later exonerated, Folbigg’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of science in legal judgments and societal myths of motherhood cloud our interpretation of facts.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The book corner: A history of Australian women in science

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 April 2023

    Taking to the Field highlights overlooked women who made noteworthy contributions to science in Australia, despite gender-based limitations. This thought-provoking book delves into the complexities of gender and science, revealing a more nuanced and diverse history than previously assumed.

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