Trump's 'ulterior motive' in talking about 2020 electoral fraud –again

Why, six years on, is Donald Trump peddling the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen? And how many Americans now believe it? Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher discusses what the timing of Trump’s renewed fixation may tells us about his ulterior motives.   Background…

Is Christopher Nolan an 'anti-white racist'? An  interpreter of The Odyssey weighs in

Christopher Nolan’s $250 million film The Odyssey was always going to inspire – and enrage – fans. That’s what you get when you take on one of the oldest surviving stories in history and refashion the hero at its centre. The New York Review of Books editor-at-large Daniel Mendelsohn is today's gue…

The optometrists punished for putting patients before sales

If you’ve ever felt that you are being rushed through a healthcare appointment, you’re not alone. Now a number of optometrists have told our mastheads that they are being pressured to rush appointments, and even skip providing clinical tests, in order to sell, sell, sell. Today, health reporter R…

The laxity of rules governing medical devices in Australia is ‘shocking’

There are nearly one and a half million registered medical devices on the market in Australia. Now, you would think that life-saving treatments such as pacemakers, defibrillators and pain pumps would be subject to the same sorts of clinical trials as prescription drugs. Right? Today, investigati…

White Lotus: The One Nation edition. Plus the PM’s landmark AI speech

We switch to sunnier climes this week, to a posh hotel in Sicily. It’s where the TV series White Lotus was filmed, and it’s also where our colleagues at The Australian Financial Review spotted One Nation leader Pauline Hanson poolside with billionaire Gina Rinehart. So what’s Hanson doing in Europ…

Bravado and the backflip: Peter Hartcher on Trump's 24 hours of 'madness'

The madness of Donald Trump surfaced again in the past day or so, according to many seasoned onlookers. First, the president of the United States announced that he would impose a shipping toll on the Strait of Hormuz, something that would jack up petrol prices and spike inflation. Then he backed d…

The best and worst moments of the World Cup

For nearly a century, the FIFA World Cup has carried fans throughout the world to great heights of unity and joy. This year's tournament, which is coming to a close, revealed some of the best of America. Scottish fans were welcomed by the city of Boston, and supposedly drank the city dry, while Jap…

More Australians, including Boomers, support a drop in house prices

A growing majority of Australians want housing prices to fall, in some cases by more than 20 per cent, according to new polling exclusive to our mastheads. Could it be that our decades-long obsession with growing house prices is finally coming to a halt? Today senior economics correspondent Shane W…

One Nation’s newest donors, and why they want to remain secret

Melbourne property developers, entrepreneurs and small business owners are promising huge sums to Pauline Hanson’s partybefore November's state election. They say it’s in return for advocacy on key policy areas.It is advocacy these donors think will be stronger coming from One Nation, rather than …

Albanese basks in Modi limelight. And, his weird podcast interview

This week, we’re talking about a visit from Narendra Modi to Australia and why Anthony Albanese wants to bask in the Indian prime minister’s limelight, despite questions around Modi’s human rights record. And in an environment where One Nation and the Coalition want to go hard on migration, Albane…