It’s that time of year when images of happy families eating turkey and unwrapping gifts cram our screens. But many families don’t fit this script – and as Tolstoy famously wrote, “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.
Family estrangement is, in fact, quite common in Australia. And as Marina Deller explains, until recently, there was a great deal of stigma and shame associated with it. This has changed, with podcasts and a new crop of emotionally frank memoirs telling stories of family breakdown, pain and resilience.
From Shannon Burns’ searing memoir of his struggles to “escape” his impoverished childhood in Adelaide’s outer suburbs, to former child star Jennette McCurdy’s tell-all account of her mother’s abusive behaviour, true stories of unhappy families can bring people a sense of solidarity and validation. And that’s especially true at this time of year.
As Deller writes: “True stories, in all their forms – and the inherent complexities they contain – can spark conversations on estrangement’s varied forms and causes. Sharing experiences can help reduce the shame of a taboo topic.”
|
|
Jo Case
Deputy Books + Ideas Editor
|
|
Marina Deller, Flinders University
Family estrangement feels shameful and isolating: but if you’ve experienced it, you’re far from alone. Sharing true stories can help reduce shame and create awareness.
|
David Caldicott, Australian National University
Thornapple or jimsonweed and related plants have an interesting history – from an early asthma treatment to intoxicated British soldiers.
|
Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney; Allen Cheng, Monash University; Christopher Blyth, The University of Western Australia; Julie Leask, University of Sydney
Former MP Dr Kerryn Phelps’ COVID vaccination experience has prompted discussion about severe side effects after COVID vaccines. Here’s how they’re tracked, confirmed and prevented.
|
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Like Labor’s recent post-mortem, the Liberal analysis also points to the key importance of voters’ negative perceptions of Scott Morrison in his government’s election loss.
|
Colin Jacobs, Swinburne University of Technology; Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology
A year on since the historic launch of the most powerful infrared telescope in human history, we admire and explore some of the best images it delivered in 2022.
|
Andrew Lavender, Federation University Australia
While much of the inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in sport will focus on professional players and leagues, local teams and young players should also look out for the findings.
|
Jasmine Lee, Queensland University of Technology; Iadine Chadès, CSIRO; Justine Shaw, The University of Queensland
The species at risk include flowering plants, moss and lichens, tough invertebrates and breeding seabirds.
|
Siobhan McHugh, University of Wollongong
The best podcasts of 2022 handle sensitive content with care and flair.
|
Naomi Zouwer, University of Canberra
You can set up a studio space on the dining table or the floor. One way to encourage your child to begin creating is to place freshly sharpened pencils in a jar.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Clare Farmer, Deakin University; Richard William Evans, Deakin University
Evidence confirms that minimum-force policing is safer and more effective than the style of policing so colourfully depicted in US crime shows and movies like Die Hard.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
George Siemens, University of South Australia
Artificial intelligence has arrived. But what is it, exactly – and what’s behind some of the most splashy AIs we have encountered to date?
-
Rewi Newnham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
An earlier study used only one charcoal record to assess Patagonia’s fire history. But analysis of multiple records changes the picture substantially.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Kat Taylor, Australian National University; Anne Poelina, University of Notre Dame Australia; Quentin Grafton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
In the struggle against aqua nullius, Indigenous people’s right to make decisions about water on Country is a priority.
-
Hadee Thompson-Morrison, University of Canterbury; Brett Robinson, University of Canterbury; Sally Gaw, University of Canterbury
Several batches of palm kernel product imported for dairy farms contained certain chemicals above a safe limit – and there’s an ethical quandary in supporting an industry linked with deforestation.
-
Philip Laird, University of Wollongong
Converting to electric cars is going to take time. With transport being Australia’s fastest-growing source of emissions, action on all fronts – road, rail, sea and aviation – is needed.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Daniela Mueller, The University of Melbourne
Despite her extensive and versatile oeuvre, Blankenhorn has received limited attention from the art world.
|
|
Books + Ideas
|
-
Mark Kenny, Australian National University
A new book examines the systemic, situational and attitudinal factors that led to the dramatic political realignment of the 2022 federal election.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Suzanne Wilkinson, Massey University; Rod Cameron, Massey University
There simply aren’t enough water engineers in New Zealand for the massive Three Waters projects. Matching capacity with forward planning is an urgent issue the government must address.
|
|
|
|
University of Canberra
Canberra ACT, Australia
•
Full Time
|
|
The Conversation AU
Melbourne VIC, Australia
•
Full Time
|
|
The Conversation AU
Melbourne VIC, Australia
•
Full Time
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Featured Events, Courses & Podcasts
|
View all
|
|
7 October 2021 - 7 October 2026
•
|
|
25 November 2021 - 25 November 2024
•
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|