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AI models might be drawn to ‘spiritual bliss’. Then again, they might just talk like hippies

AI developers are starting to talk about ‘welfare’ and ‘spirituality’, raising old questions about the inner lives of machines.

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The Conversation

Nuhu Osman Attah

James Bradley’s thrilling, unsettling crime novel is set in a flooded Sydney in 2050

Landfall is a haunting and propulsive crime novel, set in 2050s Sydney, that weighs the value of a human life on an ecologically ravaged planet.

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The Conversation

Catherine Mckinnon

One couple, two apartments, different surnames for the children: how ‘two places to stay’ is shaping families in China

In ‘two places to stay’, a young couple splits their time between appartments gifted by each set of parents.

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The Conversation

Xiaoying Qi

From surprise platypus to wandering cane toads, here’s what we found hiding in NSW estuaries

Researchers worked with Indigenous Rangers to map life in 34 estuaries across NSW using environmental DNA - and made a host of unexpected discoveries.

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The Conversation

Maarten De Brauwer

Girls with painful periods are twice as likely as their peers to have symptoms of anxiety or depression

A new study found adolescents with period pain had higher levels of psychological distress as young adults, even after accounting for earlier...

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The Conversation

Subhadra Evans

‘No support, no housing, no job’ – the vicious cycle pushing more women into prison

Interviews with female prisoners in WA show many struggled with violence, drugs, alcohol, poverty and homelessness from an early age.

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The Conversation

Hilde Tubex

Australia could tax Google, Facebook and other tech giants with a digital services tax – but don’t hold your breath

The digital giants earn billions from Australian consumers. But efforts to tax a fraction of those profits have gone nowhere.

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The Conversation

Fei Gao

Discovering new NZ music in the streaming age is getting harder – what’s the future for local artists?

New Zealand Music Month turned 25 this year, and there’s been plenty to celebrate – whether it be Mokotron’s Taite Prize-winning Waerea, Lorde’s...

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The Conversation

Oli Wilson

Is it OK to leave device chargers plugged in all the time? An expert explains

How many chargers do you own? We’re surrounded by rechargeable electronic devices – mobile phones, laptops, smart watches, headphones, e-bikes and...

yesterday 20

The Conversation

Glen Farivar

From strip searches to sexual harassment, Australian policing has long been plagued by sexism

This month, a woman bravely testified in court she was subjected to a “degrading and humiliating experience akin to sexual assault” at the hands of...

yesterday 8

The Conversation

Michael Cain

How can I improve my running? 5 top tips for every runner, from a biomechanics expert

Humans and our ancestors have been running for millions of years. Back then, it helped us capture – or avoid becoming – prey. Now, we do it to keep...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Anthony Blazevich

Faces you hear? Dolphin ‘signature whistles’ may transmit more than just identity information

Like us humans, many animals rely on social interactions to survive and thrive. As a result, effective communication between individuals is...

yesterday 7

The Conversation

Ekaterina Ovsyanikova

Financial literacy is about more than personal responsibility – wealth and inequality should be part of the new curriculum

Financial literacy will become a core element of the New Zealand social sciences curriculum for Year 1-10 students from 2027. But what is being...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Jennifer Tatebe

Hate over love: conservative influencers have brought angrier anti-abortion politics to Australia

After two decades of abortion decriminalisation across Australian states and territories, there has been a sudden surge of anti-abortion activity...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Prudence Flowers

Earth is heading for 2.7°C warming this century. We may avoid the worst climate scenarios – but the outlook is still dire

Is climate action a lost cause? The United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for the second time, while heat records over land and sea...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Sven Teske

Most car-ramming incidents aren’t terrorism – but they’re becoming more common and crowds need better protection

Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool Football Club fans packed the centre of Liverpool on Monday to celebrate the club’s English Premier League...

yesterday 3

The Conversation

Milad Haghani

Labor gains a Senate seat from the Liberals in South Australia, while Jacqui Lambie is re-elected

Buttons have been pressed to electronically distribute preferences for the Senate in South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Labor...

yesterday 3

The Conversation

Adrian Beaumont

The fast-tracking of Brisbane’s Olympic infrastructure plans could backfire

Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games nearly four years ago under a reformed host selection process. The process aims to...

yesterday 3

The Conversation

Millicent Kennelly

Is the cure to loneliness live music? Here’s what a review of 59 studies tells us

Among the rising tide of loneliness and disconnection, live music is proving to be more than just a good time; it’s a powerful antidote. Whether...

yesterday 3

The Conversation

Nikki Rickard

Korean pear juice, IV drips, vitamin patches: do these trendy hangover cures actually work?

We’ve all been there. The pounding headache, relentless nausea, and the kind of tired no amount of coffee can fix. Hangovers are a reminder that...

yesterday 2

The Conversation

Blair Aitken

6 ways live music could help combat the loneliness epidemic

Among the rising tide of loneliness and disconnection, live music is proving to be more than just a good time; it’s a powerful antidote. Whether...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Nikki Rickard

A 1980s cost-of -living crisis gave Australia a thriving arts program – could we do it again?

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting the arts hard. Artists struggle to survive on poverty wages and audiences are getting priced out. This...

yesterday 9

The Conversation

Izabella Nantsou

Rather than blaming carbon, Paul Hawken argues we should recognise its role in animating life. This way, we can heal the planet

Paul Hawken’s Carbon is about a decade in the making. Perhaps the book’s long gestation is why it feels so familiar, Other recent carbon-centred...

yesterday 8

The Conversation

Ruth Morgan

Providing safe smoking kits could reduce harm from meth use – but NZ law won’t allow it

Methamphetamine was recently ranked New Zealand’s second-most harmful drug behind alcohol, and is the country’s most injected drug. Injecting...

yesterday 6

The Conversation

Jai Whelan

As Australia’s carbon offset industry grapples with integrity concerns, how can companies genuinely tackle climate change?

Australia’s largest carbon market player, GreenCollar, has quit the federal government’s voluntary carbon neutral program, Climate Active. More...

yesterday 9

The Conversation

Andrew Macintosh

Boys are more resilient than girls to school setbacks. Here’s how you can help

As educational psychology researchers, we are very interested in how students deal with setbacks and challenges in their schooling. Research has...

yesterday 9

The Conversation

Andrew J. Martin

What makes somebody a narcissist? Mounting evidence suggests links to insecure attachment styles

Narcissism has become the armchair diagnosis of the decade. Social media is awash with people flinging the label around. Everyone’s ex seems to be...

yesterday 8

The Conversation

Megan Willis

Heart attack or panic attack? Why young men are calling ambulances for unmanaged anxiety

Anxiety affects one in five Australian men at some point in their lives. But the condition remains highly stigmatised, misunderstood and under-...

yesterday 8

The Conversation

Krista Fisher

Actually, Gen Z stand to be the biggest winners from the new $3 million super tax

As debate rages about the federal government’s plan to lift the tax on earnings on superannuation balances over A$3 million, it’s worth revisiting...

previous day 30

The Conversation

Brendan Coates

Fourth time lucky? ACT’s regulatory standards law may finally pass, despite Treaty and legal doubts

With the ACT Party’s Regulatory Standards Bill now before the Finance and Expenditure Committee, having passed its first reading in parliament last...

previous day 20

The Conversation

Carwyn Jones

What if Hitler was assassinated and World War II ended in compromise? Catherine Chidgey imagines a parallel reality

Catherine Chidgey’s ninth novel, The Book of Guilt, has been hotly anticipated. Following the critical and commercial success of her last two...

previous day 10

The Conversation

Julian Novitz

Australia’s first machete ban is coming to Victoria. Will it work, or is it just another political quick fix?

Following a shopping centre brawl in Melbourne at the weekend, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced the state will ban the sale of all...

previous day 9

The Conversation

Samara Mcphedran

Who really benefits from smart tech at home? ‘Optimising’ family life can reinforce gender roles

Have you heard of the “male technologist” mindset? It may sound familiar, and you may even know such people personally. Design researchers Turkka...

previous day 10

The Conversation

Indra Mckie

What’s the difference between abs and core? One term focuses on aesthetics – and the other on function

You’ve probably heard the terms “abs” and “core” used in social media videos, Pilates classes, or even by physiotherapists. Given they seem...

previous day 8

The Conversation

Hunter Bennett

The drought is back – we need a new way to help farmers survive tough times

Australia in 2025 is living up to Dorothy McKellar’s poetic vision of a country stricken by “drought and flooding rains”. The clean up is underway...

previous day 8

The Conversation

Linda Botterill

A not-so -modern epidemic: what 17th-century nuns can teach us about coping with loneliness

Is loneliness a modern epidemic as we are so often told? Did people in the past suffer similar feelings of isolation? The word “loneliness” was not...

previous day 8

The Conversation

Claire Walker

Israel’s new aid delivery system for Gaza is sparking outrage. Why is it so problematic?

Some 2.1 million Gazans are facing critical hunger levels, with many at risk of famine following Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid intended to...

previous day 3

The Conversation

Amra Lee

Images of Gaza’s starving babies have gone round the world. This is what malnutrition does in the first 1,000 days of life

Last week, the United Nations warned more than 14,000 babies would die of malnutrition in 48 hours if Israel continued to block aid from entering...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Nina Sivertsen

Urban rewilding has brought back beavers, hornbills and platypuses to city parks – and that’s just the start

By 2050, almost 70% of the world’s population will live in cities – 20% more than today. As cities expand, the natural world around them contracts....

previous day 7

The Conversation

Patrick Finnerty

Cyclones drive people to buy health insurance, more so than some government campaigns

People who’ve lived through natural disasters, such as floods or cyclones, often re-assess their priorities. But for Australians who’ve lived...

previous day 1

The Conversation

Ha Nguyen

Most of us will leave behind a large ‘digital legacy’ when we die. Here’s how to plan what happens to it

Imagine you are planning the funeral music for a loved one who has died. You can’t remember their favourite song, so you try to login to their...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Bjorn Nansen

Labor women make history by overtaking men in cabinet. So is the job done?

The Albanese government has achieved a striking gender equality milestone following its election for a second term. For the first time in...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Elise Stephenson

Daylight can boost the immune system’s ability to fight infections – new study

Ever found yourself out of sync with normal sleep patterns after late nights or working a night shift? It could be you’re experiencing what...

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The Conversation

Chris Hall