“The Dismissal will continue to play a role in telling us something about who we are: but as an event capable of shaping everyday action and understanding, as a truly lived history, it is fast fading.”

Best summary of #COP30 issues yet in @insidestory.bsky.social insidestory.org.au/not-so-good-... 'It's not about the science (except in US)'... it is geopolitics esp OPEC+... but don't forget the power of #forests while the vested interests lobby.

The conclusion of COP30 in Brazil has left a bitter taste in the mouth. A new ‘axis of obstruction’ has emerged to block stronger commitments to reduce emissions - Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia - with Donald Trump urging them on. My analysis for inside Story: insidestory.org.au/not-so-good-...

“People who attend UN climate conferences are loathe to describe any of them as a failure.” Michael Jacobs telling it straight here. There is now a powerful and organised global resistance to climate action. What is to be done? insidestory.org.au/not-so-good-...

“The schism in global climate politics revealed at COP30 in Brazil will surely make Australia’s negotiating task even more difficult next year. But that may no longer be the point. If COP31 can prioritise implementation and investment it may make greater progress…”

Lea Ypi's new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined was inspired by her discovery of the photograph below of her grandparents on their honeymoon. I reviewed the book for @insidestory.bsky.social insidestory.org.au/finding-the-...

“Baker was famous during the interwar period for her role in La Revue Nègre and her scandalous ‘banana skirt’ dance at the Folies Bergères… Yet here she was, being honoured in the Panthéon alongside Voltaire and Victor Hugo.”

“Back in December 2009, Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership of his party was disposed of over climate change policy. Or was it? Deep down, his demise was driven by terrible opinion polls that put the federal Coalition way, way behind the Rudd government.“ Peter Brent on the Libs’ net-zero decision

COP30 is up and running. What are the issues on the agenda? This is my first report from Belem, which is not actually ‘the capital of the Amazon’, but is nevertheless an appropriate venue for a conference in search of sustainable and equitable economic development. insidestory.org.au/for-whom-wil...

“When Josephine Baker’s ashes were transferred to the Panthéon in 2021 many French people were surprised. Why would an American-born performer, known mainly for her energetic performances in the music halls of 1920s Paris, take her place among the nation’s ‘great men’?” @yalepress.bsky.social

My new book, The Stained Man, is being published next May by the good folks at Scribe. Here's the cover:

Reviewed Sam Tanenhaus's William F. Buckley bio. insidestory.org.au/the-entertai...

“You might have thought that the emissions gap would be the key item on the COP30 agenda — and most countries in the world would agree with you. But a powerful bloc, including China, India and Saudi Arabia, is insisting otherwise.” Michael Jacobs reports from Belém insidestory.org.au/for-whom-wil...

The Brazilian president’s climate summit failed to defy Donald Trump in the way some had hoped, writes @michaelujacobs.bsky.social, but COP30 has the chance to tackle two key challenges — if they can get on the agenda insidestory.org.au/for-whom-wil...

“The temptation is strong to imagine that today, at the end of the tale, we have arrived at a nirvana of toleration, quietly mocking readers before us who not only had silly values but were also dumb enough to judge the past by them.”

Thanks to Ien Ang and @insidestory.bsky.social for this very thoughtful review of my new book! inside.org.au/screening-mu...

“A marvel of narrative art … it’s the very best book I’ve read in quite a while.” Sara Dowse (@saradowse.bsky.social) reviews 'Marseille 1940' by Uwe Wittstock (@uwewittstock.bsky.social) for @insidestory.bsky.social insidestory.org.au/perilous-ref...

Freue mich sehr: Schriftstellerin Sara Dowse hat eine großartige Rezension geschrieben für "Inside Story" in Australien. "Uwe Wittstocks 'Marseille 1940' ist ein Meisterwerk der Erzählkunst. Glauben Sie mir: Es ist das beste Buch, das ich seit langem gelesen habe." insidestory.org.au/perilous-ref...

Donald Trump’s impact on global climate policy is not as great as feared. In this piece for Inside Story I give both the ‘glass half full’ and ‘glass half empty’ versions: what Trump is doing, and how rapid the clean energy transition has now become, despite him. insidestory.org.au/trump-vs-ear...

“In an economy worried about its capacity to innovate and grow, Joel Mokyr tells the biggest story of all, a story informed by the full sweep of human history. You might think we should have seen his Nobel coming.”

“Journos love a leadership stoush, and quite a few have cited the at-first-glance-impressive statistic that at this year’s election Hastie picked up 5.4% in Canning. But all sitting Libs in WA achieved positive swings, and Hastie’s was the smallest.” insidestory.org.au/less-hastie-...

“Hawke’s over-the-top response to the pilots’ strike in 1989 was surely, as Day indicates, as much about his relationship with Peter Abeles, half-owner of Ansett, as it was about the threat the pilots’ salary claims posed to the Accord arrangements.”

What on earth is happening in British politics? A far right party topping the polls barely a year after Labour won an election landslide, 100,000 white nationalists marching through London… I have written an article for Inside Story trying to explain. insidestory.org.au/disunited-ki...

“Ravel, the younger man, was always happy to admit Satie’s influence — especially harmonic — on his music and Satie was mostly pleased to hear it.” @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social @reaktionbooks.bsky.social

“It’s easy to forget that Australian governments tend to change not because the opposition has set voters’ pulses racing but because the incumbent has worn out its welcome. We’re talking about voters who elected Tony Abbott as PM with a seriously big majority.”

Me on One Nation’s recent poll surge, overseas counterparts, and the big fat potential disinformation weakness in our electoral system. insidestory.org.au/one-nations-...

““The hardest thing to reckon with about this whole rotten business is that it remains unresolved. Leveson left the inquiry with stern recommendations that weren’t acted upon, despite David Cameron’s promise to do so. Phase two of Leveson has never happened.” Jane Goodall reviews The Hack…

Time to clean out the stables. Reopen Leveson. #HackedOff insidestory.org.au/a-rollercoas...

I reviewed a new biography of the historian Asa Briggs, by Adam Sisman, for Inside Story: insidestory.org.au/now-down-to-...

“There’s a let-me-entertain-you spirit running through the movie that is sometimes expressed in dynamic, kinetic fashion, sometimes with cartoonish vigour, and sometimes through Anderson’s trademark needle drops.” Philippa Hawker’s review of ‘One Battle After Another’ and Anne Fontaine’s ‘Bolero.’

“Comparing the number of hours the typical British worker had to toil to buy particular goods and services, Coyle reports that the time required to finance a vacuum cleaner halved from 1990 to 2019, while the time cost of beef doubled.”

“Hunt is long gone, and these days the object of Sheridan’s besottedness seems to be Matt Canavan, the coal-revering Queensland LNP senator” Sez me insidestory.org.au/toxic-emissi...

Wonderful review of Road to October 7 (@versobooks.bsky.social) in Inside Story: insidestory.org.au/how-hamas-ha...

Excellent piece by @peterbrent.bsky.social re Price and "85%" Indian-Australian ALP voting figure nonsense. insidestory.org.au/what-was-tha...

Me on immigration as a political issue and Related Matters. Keywords: White Australia, Ruddock, Megalogenis, Trump, boats … insidestory.org.au/selling-immi...

The closure of Meanjin is real blow to the Australian literary community. We're sad to see the loss of another place where writers, thinkers, and culture-makers have a voice and platform. Our thoughts are with staff and contributors.

“Hal Wootten has often been called ‘brilliant,’ which of course he was, but his brilliance was more than a mental capacity. In the course of his life his intellect fused with boundless energy, growing confidence and broadening sympathies to form a distinctive compound.”

Wow! Inspiring article about an inspiring man. Well worth reading. What a legacy! insidestory.org.au/an-exception...

Traffic pollution in Australia contributes to more than 1,800 premature deaths per year, study estimates www.abc.net.au/news/science... #aushealth paper www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“Centuries of marauding foreign invaders; poor infrastructure; organised crime networks; high unemployment — hasn’t Sicily suffered enough? Then along comes Netflix’s adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s 1958 classic, The Leopard…”

Very good. And even if they scored well, it would still be illegal and should never be countenanced. Acquisition of territory by force has been successfully made inadmissible since WWII. Read David Lewis on the brutal fascist regime in the occupied territories. insidestory.org.au/silent-terror/

Fewer births and a smaller population would be good for families and good for the world: my review of After the Spike insidestory.org.au/i...

Long read on realism, idealism, Russia and Ukraine. Review essay on recent (very good) books by @avindman.bsky.social and @edwardluce.bsky.social . @insidestory.bsky.social insidestory.org.au/a-dose-of-re...

insidestory.org.au/george-johns... In search of Shangri-La

Lovely review from @insidestory.bsky.social

“South Australia has one of the finest governments of the eighteenth century.” So said the satirist Tom Lehrer when the state government banned five songs he planned to sing at the 1960 Adelaide Festival. Ken Inglis reported on the controversy for the fortnightly magazine Nation.

Great piece on the bad things happening at my alma mater. insidestory.org.au/the-jewel-in...

First review essay discussing the book (by Linda Jaivin, also discusses How Tyrants Fall and China book Everyday Democracy): insidestory.org.au/how-to-resis... + 2 earlier reviews in @asiancha.bsky.social bv Sharon Yam‬ chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m... & Nick Zeller chajournal.blog/2025/05/31/a...

Such an odd man. The essay makes clear the difference between being a conservative and a reactionary. #auspol