Arts and Society
Influencing the cultural conversation
Arts and Society
Influencing the cultural conversation
Meet Pixie: Macquarie University’s unofficial campus cat
When Robert started bringing his 14-year-old Ragdoll, Pixie, to Macquarie University, he expected a few surprised faces. Instead, she quickly became a much-loved fixture on campus - joining him in classes, meeting students and making friends wherever she goes.
Australia is responding to domestic violence after the event, not preventing it from happening
Four domestic violence-related deaths in one weekend in New South Wales have reignited questions about what more can be done to protect vulnerable people, two years after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled domestic and gender-based violence a “national crisis”.
The Gen Z ‘kissing recession’ is real but not for the reason you think
Forget GDP, the real global recession is in PDA. Historian of emotions Professor Katie Barclay confirms Gen Z are living through a “kissing recession” several centuries in the making.
Make ‘em laugh: How One Nation uses comedy to normalise harmful ideas
The political firestorm ignited by an episode of One Nation’s satirical animated series Please Explain was one of those rare moments in Australian politics that has brought together Labor, the Coalition, Greens and the crossbench. But this episode reveals more than just a political scuffle. It provides a window into the role of humour in contemporary far-right politics.
Australia could switch off social media algorithms under new law. But does Digital Duty of Care go far enough?
Social media platforms could be forced to give Australians the option to turn off algorithms under draft laws unveiled in parliament this week. We asked five experts to weigh in.
The Pacific’s cocaine highway: will Australia’s $600m deal really help?
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $600 million program to strengthen aerial and maritime surveillance across the Pacific, targeting the narco-submarines and small vessels used to move drugs through the region. He made the announcement at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau.
5 programs that show what ABC Indigenous made possible – and what we could lose if it’s axed
The ABC’s Indigenous department has given Australia some of its best television. Not simply its best “Indigenous television”, but some of the sharpest, funniest and most ambitious programs made in this country.
Family law expert: Pauline Hanson's victim‑blaming undermines Australia’s domestic violence reforms
On average, a woman in Australia is killed by an intimate partner or trusted family member every 11 days, prompting nationwide protests and urgent calls for systemic reform. “We see reform after reform, but what we don’t see is improved safety for women and girls in this country,” says Senior Macquarie Law School Lecturer Dr. Amira Aftab.
Logies win marks major milestone for ABC’s neurodivergent journalism series
ABC documentary series The Assembly, whose neurodivergent students are taught journalism at Macquarie University, has won a Logie for Best Factual or Documentary Program.
Why do Australians love losers? Historians chart the life and crimes of Chopper Read, Tilly Devine in The Dead Can't Sue
Macquarie University historian Leigh Boucher gives Lighthouse a sneak peak of what’s to come in the ‘Sydney Confidential’ of ABC history podcasts.
Meta is flooding the market with Kylie Jenner's AI glasses. Australian Cyber Security boss wants them banned
Professor Dali Kaafar, Executive Director of Macquarie University’s Cyber Security Hub: “We’re about to find out whether privacy can survive surveillance becoming fashionable.”
New research outlines a blueprint for NSW’s next phase of gambling reform
Experts say the NSW state government must move beyond piecemeal policies and adopt a more ambitious blueprint for reducing gambling harm.