The world has trust issues with its media.Three in five Australians trust TV and radio news, and what's in the newspapers.But in North America it is fewer than three in ten.Are we doing something…
Is intolerance tightening its grip on public life? The twentieth century was among the most intolerant in human history; the Holocaust, Stalinism, empires collapsing in blood. So why, in the…
Rulers throughout history have used tolerance and intolerance in their pursuit of power. In our modern context, tolerance is often lauded as an unqualified good, but are there limitations? Should we…
What is the place of religion in a pluralist society?Australia calls itself a secular country, yet it has never been more religiously diverse.Whether you're religious or secular, whether you support…
Generation Z is the first generation since the war to start out with less claim on the country than their parents.You might believe this story is just all about economics. Negative gearing, property…
Neuroscience is now spectacularly good at explaining how brains work. But there’s one thing it still can’t explain: why having a brain feels like something. Like anything at all! Philosophers call…
The Northern Territory is set to become the final Australian jurisdiction to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD). While thirty years of arguing comes to an end, God Forbid examines the wider…
Mother Earth. Mother Mary. The "good mother." Is there a more impossible standard than motherhood itself?Every culture seems to believe in a mother who is endless. Endlessly patient, endlessly giving,…
Your phone will tell you the time, and that number has an extraordinary history. And hasn't always been there. Time used to be whatever the church bell said it was. Time was rung, sung and prayed. It…
Every civilisation that's ever existed has asked the same question: what's actually real? Plato made the point that it's more than we can see with our own eyes. Then came Newton, and reality became a…
