Often treated as an unquestioned virtue, patriotism can easily slide into nationalism, exclusion and hostility towards others.
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Category: Books and Reviews
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Why patriotism should worry us more than it does
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Jimpa lovingly follows in the tradition of artwork about fathers who came out of the closet
Sophie Hyde’s film Jimpa explores the personal and generational impact of a father coming out, situating one family’s story within the wider history of gay liberation and changing identities.
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Why Albert Camus still matters in an age of authoritarianism
Albert Camus wrote in the shadow of fascism, war and ideological violence. His defence of truth, democratic dialogue and human limits remains strikingly relevant in today’s era of authoritarian politics and “post-truth” public debate. (more…)
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Lord of the Flies in the age of Trump
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies remains a bleak meditation on power, fear and civilisation. In today’s politics, its allegory feels newly unsettling. (more…)
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Who will prosecute Geoffrey Robertson’s peerless plan for peace?
In his new book Geoffrey Robertson argues the UN Security Council can no longer defend democracy and proposes a new alliance of democratic states. The diagnosis is compelling – the path forward far less clear. (more…)
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Saving Meanjin is a victory – sustaining it is the real test
Meanjin’s return to Brisbane under QUT stewardship has been widely welcomed, but it also exposes deeper tensions about arts funding, cultural value and what sustainability really means for literary journals.
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What is the next chapter for Australia’s embattled writers festivals?
The cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week has exposed how culture wars, funding pressures and climate risk are reshaping Australia’s literary festivals – and putting their future in doubt. (more…)
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Mark Carney – Values: an economist’s guide to everything that matters
Mark Carney argues that treating price as a proxy for value has driven crises in finance, health and climate. His book offers a roadmap for rebuilding trust, fairness and resilience.
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Rivers Flow: Reflections on the Songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter curated by Kim Scott
A thoughtful collection of reflections reveals how the songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter continue to carry truth, memory and responsibility across generations.
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Australia, bravery and the case for an Earth System Treaty
Rising inequality, climate instability and ecological collapse are not separate crises but interacting threats that demand coordinated global action.
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Censorship doesn’t silence – it amplifies
Attempts to silence writers rarely erase them. More often, they expose insecurity, deepen division, and turn targets into symbols of resistance.
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I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I resigned as director of Adelaide writers’ week
Cancelling the Australian Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation.
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Best of 2025 – Between two wounds: Gaza confronts Trump’s plan to end the war
On a cold morning in central Gaza City, Nevin Al-Barbari, 35, sat in what remained of her family home, watching her two-year-old daughter, Reem, explore the rooms she had only recently come to know. (more…)
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Best of 2025 – Journos as heroes and villains – ‘The Hack’ reviewed – Part 1
In films and on the small screen, journalists are portrayed as heroes or villains. In The Hack they are both. Does this reflect the diminished, benighted standing journalists hold in society today or is it a step forward in showing the complexities of the work? (more…)
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Niki Savva’s Earthquake is a damning account of the election that shook Australia
In ‘Earthquake: The Election that Shook Australia’, Niki Savva dissects a federal election result that all but erased the Liberal Party from metropolitan Australia and exposed a deep crisis of purpose, leadership and relevance. (more…)
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Book Review: Merlinda Bobis explores four generations of colonialism and violence in the Phillipines
Merlinda Bobis’ In the Name of the Trees weaves four generations of Bikol women into a powerful exploration of colonial violence, language, land and survival.
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Book Review: Selling Israel: propaganda, history and contested narratives
Harriet Malinowitz’s Selling Israel examines how Zionist ideology has been promoted through propaganda, history and selective memory, and why separating Judaism from Zionism matters in confronting antisemitism.
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Book review: Things that concentrate the mind, by Peter Baume
Drawing on a lifetime of public service and reflection, Peter Baume addresses decision-making, medicine, death, liberalism, climate change and social justice with clarity, compassion and intellectual rigour.
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Ita Buttrose reflects on her life in media – well, some of it
Ita Buttrose’s memoir celebrates resilience, leadership and public service, but avoids reckoning with controversies that shaped her later career, writes Denis Muller.
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Massacres, memory and the Memorial: facing our most deadly war
The evidence is overwhelming – Australia’s Frontier Wars were real, deadly, and long, and a landmark new book lays it out in full. So when will the Australian War Memorial fully face the truth?
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Henry Reynolds’ bold, new book takes a top-end view of Australian history
First Nations people please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death of First Nations people. (more…)
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Book review: Turbulence – Australian foreign policy in the Trump era
For anyone concerned about where Australia’s foreign policy including AUKUS, is taking us, Clinton Fernandes’ book is essential reading.
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If we don’t control the AI industry, it could end up controlling us, warn two chilling new books
For 16 hours last July, Elon Musk’s company lost control of its multi-million-dollar chatbot, Grok. “Maximally truth seeking” Grok was praising Hitler, denying the Holocaust and posting sexually explicit content. (more…)
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‘Oh, the fog lying like a blanket over this sad town’: The Mushroom Tapes sees the humanity in an inhumane story
The Mushroom Tapes opens with a blunt refusal to accept a murder trial as spectator sport: (more…)
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It’s hard to be an involved dad
Father’s Day was recently celebrated, bringing families together to thank their male progenitors for the support and (sometimes) caring love they give to their offspring. (more…)
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Daydreaming about a legend: Review of Hawke PM: The making of a legend
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Randa Abdel-Fattah’s latest book outlines the battles others face
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah is an author with great experience having written nearly 20 books over two decades. Most are for young readers, beginning with Does My Head Look Big In This? (more…)
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Living with schizophrenia
The title of this book is emblematic. It gets to the heart of the problem of schizophrenia, indeed within the authors’ preface. (more…)
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Bruce Beresford’s The Travellers blends opera and the outback in a heartfelt story about homecoming
Famed Australian director Bruce Beresford loves opera. If you weren’t aware of this before watching his new film, The Travellers, you most likely will be by the time the credits roll. (more…)
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Journos as heroes and villains – ‘The Hack’ reviewed – Part 2
The Hack is rare among films and television programs for showing journalists doing journalism to other journalists. (more…)