Lists
Supermoons are boring – here are 5 things in the sky worth your time
What’s so special about a supermoon? Hardly anything. There are better things to observe in the night sky, according to a professional astronomer.
Crashes, blackouts and climate tipping points: how can we tell when a system is close to the edge?
New research predicts when noisy systems are approaching precarious “critical points” – and finds that some parts of the brain prefer to work at the edge of instability
Meta just closed a vital online research tool. It’s bad news for the fight against misinformation
CrowdTangle helped researchers and journalists track viral online falsehoods. Its closure in a key election year is dangerous
Was Ukraine’s incursion of Russia a tactical stroke of genius? It sent a strong message to Putin – and the West
Russia has been characteristically slow to respond – and it’s highly likely its citizens will remain apathetic.
Big alcohol and tobacco are the aces of strategic marketing. The gambling industry has adopted the playbook
Is the current debate around gambling ad bans feeling a bit familiar? It’s reminiscent of previous efforts by the masters of spin themselves.
Satellites are making the night sky brighter – as a launch site, NZ has a duty to combat light pollution
With every satellite placed into orbit, its reflective surface increases the ambient glow of the night sky, which is now 10% brighter than if it were illuminated only by natural sources.
3 years after the Taliban’s return, Afghanistan is a broken country swarming with terrorists again
The Taliban’s 2.0 government has proven to be as dreadfully extremist and discriminatory as its previous reign of terror.
The Altar Stone of Stonehenge came from an unexpectedly distant place, new study reveals
The centre of solstice activities at Stonehenge is the Altar Stone – a large sandstone slab of uncertain origins. Our new work has found a match for it all the way in Scotland.
Politics With Michelle Grattan: Andrew Wilkie says government ‘scared stiff’ of gambling companies
Joining the podcast is Independent member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie has advocated for gambling reform during his entire political career.
Why did Japan’s prime minister decide to step down? And who might replace him?
The scandal-plagued prime minister could not overcome his dire approval ratings.
‘Happened to turn Black’: how Donald Trump evoked a history of white authorities using their power to define race
The power to police racial classifications was foundational to white supremacy. The refusal to acknowledge multiracial identities is a legacy of this history.
A world-first law in Europe is targeting artificial intelligence. Other countries can learn from it
A risk-based approach to regulating AI can help minimise the dangers of the new technology
Less about climate change, more on reducing migration: here’s what matters most to Australian voters
We asked thousands of people what issues are most important to them. While the top priorities are the same as in 2022, if we look a bit deeper, what Australians care about is shifting.
Indigenous science can help solve some of the great problems of our time. Here’s how
Australia has just listed Indigenous knowledge among its science priorities – after First Nations knowledge has long gone uncredited in Western ‘discoveries’, such as life-changing drugs.
The government is developing a new digital ID system. It must first gain the public’s trust
The ghost of the illegal robodebt scheme presents a major challenge.
New evidence from West Papua offers fresh clues about how and when humans first moved into the Pacific
New research provides direct evidence that seafarers travelled along the equator to reach islands off the coast of West Papua more than 50 millennia ago.