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International The ephemeral presidency Bill Scher 22 January 2026 Except for the damage, nothing Trump is doing will last

Books & arts Unpicking the Asian century Graeme Dobell 19 January 2026 Multiple Asias will have growing power but less unity Books & arts Spoiled for choice Dean Ashenden 15 January 2026 How freedom lost its way Books & arts Yes, even his art Andrew Ford 8 January 2026 The Choral sends our reviewer back to Elgar

Books & arts China’s biggest test Frank Yuan 7 January 2026 Does the make-or-break gaokao stand up to close examination? From the archive A rainy day in Hobart Anne-Marie Condé 1 December 2023 Where did all that water go?

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National affairs

National affairs Building, not retreating Ron Finkel and Jamal Rifi 22 December 2025 In the wake of violence Australia must invest in social cohesion and fund interfaith cooperation

National affairs When lowering the temperature isn’t enough Peter Brent 18 December 2025 Amid a welter of criticism, the government must navigate a difficult path following the Bondi shootings National affairs Exit, stage right Peter Brent 11 December 2025 Can One Nation continue to capitalise on the Coalition’s internal divisions? National affairs Too good to be true Stephen Wilks 10 December 2025 A new party for disaffected small-l Liberals? That’s been tried before National affairs Reserve Bank’s balancing act continues Saul Eslake 9 December 2025 The Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate decision suggests it won’t be raising rates next year

Essays & reportage

Essays & reportage “If you have all these powers, why not use them?” Kyle Wilson 5 January 2026 The Kazakh president thought he’d been palmed off with second-rate visitors, but the vice-regal Australians eventually got under his guard

Essays & reportage The Dismissal from below Frank Bongiorno (with James Watson) 28 November 2025 Fifty years later, what impact has the Dismissal had on Australian democracy? Essays & reportage The marvellous world of the marvellous Alison Bechdel Iain Topliss 10 November 2025 The cartoonist’s dazzling artwork and salty wit combine to great effect Essays & reportage A mind quite made up Anne-Marie Condé 4 November 2025 Despite grappling with a double disadvantage, Margaret Walkom resolved to go her own way Essays & reportage Misfit, missionary, mercenary? Gordon Peake 28 October 2025 Old-timers still abound in the Pacific

Books & arts

Books & arts The shamer’s dilemma Melissa Conley Tyler 21 January 2026 When does human rights pressure work?

Books & arts What does the Albanese government believe in? Carol Johnson 18 December 2025 Perhaps a little more than Sean Kelly concedes in his latest Quarterly Essay Books & arts The view from Grassy Hill Glyn Davis 18 December 2025 In his new book, Henry Reynolds turns Australian history on its head Books & arts One more time around Jane Goodall 18 December 2025 Morning Wars, The Diplomat, The White Lotus, Slow Horses and Mystery Road: Origin returned to the small screen in 2025 Books & arts (Not) talking politics Caitlin Mahar 18 December 2025 Social theorist Sarah Stein Lubrano says the “marketplace of ideas” doesn’t work. But is the alternative any more promising?

International

International Where are all the Democrats? Lesley Russell 16 December 2025 And which ones will be standing in 2028?

International Hold on hard; hedge and hide; help! Graeme Dobell 15 December 2025 How to deal with Donald Trump? The region chooses from three ways International Britain versus itself David Hayes 5 December 2025 Change at the top is coming, but a long malaise needs a truer reckoning. International Regime change Michael Jacobs 2 December 2025 COP30’s shortcomings create a vital opportunity to reshape the UN climate talks International Not so good COP Michael Jacobs 23 November 2025 The latest UN climate summit was buffeted by geopolitical headwinds

Other Voices

Other Voices At 25, Wikipedia shows news doesn’t need to look like news Joshua Benton 21 January 2026 Much can be learnt from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world right now

Other Voices Another reckoning (with China) Afra Wang 17 December 2025 A vast country can be seen in different but not necessarily contradictory ways Other Voices MAGA meltdown? Sam Freedman 6 December 2025 Why the Republicans are in serious trouble Other Voices China’s people are stuck on a treadmill Noah Smith 17 November 2025 They’re working hard for someone else’s benefit Other Voices Jeffrey Epstein is a policy issue David Dayen 14 November 2025 It’s about elite impunity, the defining issue in America for more than two decades