NEW — My first true foray into AI haterdom is about how those of us not convinced by AI’s inevitability are a real constituency worthy of a voice. Give it a read:

exciting news: there’s a profile of me out in The Needle by @marleywrites.bsky.social if you want to find out why I’m like this theneedlenews.com/2026/05/nove...

I love the details in this story: 'These [eucalypt leaves] ended up determining the slope of the gutter, a system built so that, as leaves collected and were washed away in rain, they oriented themselves to form what looked like a birds’ nest at the base of the downpipe when they hit the ground.'

'The danger isn’t that AI will replace writers or render the workshop obsolete. It’s that students are becoming accustomed to bypassing the friction that once revealed their process.' www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Applicants to a $500,000 program offered by Australian petroleum producer Santos to support flood-affected communities across the outback in mid-2025 were told they would only be given financial help if they said good things about the company in the media. New from me in @drilledmedia.bsky.social

Giving this another plug because it seems to be outside the paywall for the moment.

At least we’ll always have this—a perfect summation of right-wing free speech advocacy

Here’s how the AI Boom, such as it is, has impacted my life: it has been used as an excuse to lay off my friends for bot equivalents that never came. It has made mass culture and art immeasurably worse. I have a stalker with AI psychosis. So, no, I don’t more data centers. I want less of all that.

What we accomplished in Santa Marta is, simply put, historic. We are building a coalition of ambitious countries willing to lead and break the consensus deadlock that has paralysed concrete action on fossil fuels in the UN negotiations. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Front page today. The median rent for a room in a Tasmanian sharehouse is now unaffordable for singles earning the full-time minimum wage. Let me repeat that. *A room in a share house* is now unaffordable on a full-time wage. This is storming the barricades time, people. #auspol #politas

I've been pulling at threads on Palantir's push into Australia for ages. Some of what I found is a previously undeclared new contract with Corrections Victoria for $9m and no evidence that Palantir has been assessed against the federal supplier code of conduct. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

One time he won a literary prize and not being in particular need of the money, he found out which was the poorest public school in the state, asked them what they needed, and bought them a school bus. It’s possible to be both a great writer and a good person. Vale.

Might be the greatest opening paragraph of anything ever.

I find myself fascinated by this conflict. This very good summary captures why.

Aunty Rhoda ❤️ Impossible to comprehend this loss www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

and she’s absolutely right

Spoke to the Guardian about the idea of quitting LLMs for climate: -“I see this all as very much part of the tactic of trying to embed these systems into society and instil dependency in a fashion similar to the growth of single-use plastics in the 1970s.” www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

using public office to name and shame evil landlords into submission is so cool. i hope democrats learn from him

Walter Marsh on becoming a scam target after publishing a book on scams www.theguardian.com/books/commen...

Let’s go booksellers! lithub.com/thanks-to-a-...

The WOMADelaide festival has confirmed a program change as four acts cancel due to flight restrictions put in place as the Middle East conflict continues.

in retrospect most of the country is a vampire squid relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money

For those who missed the incredible Constellations event at Adelaide Town Hall last night, some of Louise Adler’s words are published here. Appreciate her patience in putting some facts on the public record. johnmenadue.com/post/2026/03...

No one is doing the work Royce does in this space. We are so lucky to have him.

Byron Writers' Festival headed into town this year! Really looking forward to seeing the program when it comes out www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival

“I think the wider cultural shock is [Melbourne] is going to go from the cultural capital to the least funded city in Australia.”

In 2020, we mapped out the danger zones that will close in on Americans over the next 30 years — combining climate data with wildfire projections by US Forest Service researchers and others. See what changes are in store for your county 👇

As beautiful as they were powerful: Jon Kudelka’s political cartoons were made with true conviction #AusPol theconversation.com/as-beautiful...

The only surprise is they admit it

The coverage and response from the commentariat and our political leadership to the pipe bomb attack at the Invasion Day rally was so muted, that even I didn’t find out about until the next day. But I know about it now and what it says about us a country, so I’ve written about it here for Crikey.

More great coverage for Constellations / Not Writers Week, feat. special guest star Willow (who will not be appearing) www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

“Governments have created a system where landlords can charge record rents for homes that trap heat, leak air and offer no protection from extreme weather.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The heatwave in Australia is beyond belief. And it's caused by people making decisions to burn coal, oil and gas when there's so many other options available.

The Advertiser has the letter Malinauskas wrote to the board of Adelaide Festival. It is very hard to see how this is not a direction to remove Abdel-Fattah, despite a line saying board decisions are independent. drive.google.com/file/d/169Pi...

My grandfather handed this carving through the barbed wire at Beaune La Rolande to my father who was 14 . They would never see each other again . My grandfather was then deported to Birkenau where he died. As a secular Jew he recognised the scourge of antisemitism. That is my inheritance.

From a conversation with the mighty @roycerk2.bsky.social at the most excellent Byron Bay Writers Festival:

"I’ve been on arts organisations’ boards, and one thing I learnt really thoroughly from that experience was if you’re on the board then you back the artistic director in particular 100%" @janecaro.bsky.social www.mediaweek.com.au/the-death-of...

At 25 hours in, the final chapter of the Moby Dick marathon was read by actor Steven Weber (who I used to watch every week in WINGS). Gave me chills. This event drew 3,100 people. Hundreds stayed all 25 hours. And it’s free! Mark your calendar for January 9 & 10, 2027. 🔗 in threads for deets

I read American Canto and I think it’s wonderful. haha jk

Nice tribute to the late Chris Wallace-Crabbe by David McCooey theconversation.com/chris-wallac...

‘The people running the library seem not to see their institution as a library at all, in the sense of furthering the diffusion of knowledge or the nourishment of community.’ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Ryan Lizza installments will continue until morale improves

The abrupt and indefensible closure of Meanjin makes me ask, what can be done to shore up the future of literary journals in this country? How about funding the arts to the OECD average. That would mean an extra $5b per year. With thanks to @jocaseau.bsky.social for her ever-excellent edits on this

New York City helped my mother become the artist she is today. The next generation deserves a City Hall that lifts up tomorrow's artists as well.

And that's a wrap on Australia's COP31 bid.

Curious about what's happening at #COP30? @roycerk2.bsky.social and I recapped the first week for @drilledmedia.bsky.social drilled.media/news/COP30-w...