December 2019 – January 2020
Magazine
The Monthly Essays
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the author of ‘Stasiland’ reveals the ongoing power of the former East German regime, not just in politics and business but also in shaping perceptions of victimhood in unified Germany
On the West’s Trump-led exit from the wreckage of the Middle East
The America’s Cup winged keel and the transformation of a nation
Systemic racism, unconscious bias, and the death in custody of Tanya Day
The Nation Reviewed
Australia’s political leaders have lost their bearings in a changed world
An unprecedented twist in the Walkley Award–winning story of the David Eastman murder case
At the Menergy retreat, men tackle anger, address emotional resilience and dance like wild women
GOMA’s ‘Water’ exhibition brings an Icelandic stream indoors in Brisbane
Crowds cheer on the destructive prowess of Pot Head and Wanda at the Robowars National Championship
Vox
Collected thoughts on writers seeking permission to write, Eurydice Dixon, the Nobel for Murnane and dealing with errant chooks
Arts & Letters
Don’t look back in anger: Liam and Noel Gallagher
As interest in Oasis resurges, talking to the combative brothers recalls their glory years as ‘dirty chancers, stealing riffs instead of Ford Fiestas’
Damascene subversion: Christos Tsiolkas’s ‘Damascus’
The literary storyteller’s latest novel wrestles with the mythology of Christianity’s founder, Paul the Apostle
Agents of chaos: Peter Pomerantsev’s ‘This Is Not Propaganda’
The Russian expat journalist wonders if democracy can survive the internet, as social media is used to promote feelings over facts
Bodak moment: Pop’s decade of superstars
Cardi B delivered the song of the decade as a new league of superstars overcame the significance of bands
Noted
‘Japan supernatural’ The Art Gallery of NSW’s examination of Japan’s centuries-long artistic traditions depicting the spirit world and the macabre
‘The Topeka School’ by Ben Lerner The American author’s latest novel canvasses the seething hate speech of the burgeoning alt-right and white-boy rap battles in the Midwest
In Light of Recent Events
By Oslo Davis
Dot-to-dot puzzle of the challenge beyond our Pentecostal PM’s thoughts and prayers
