May 2017
Magazine
The Monthly Essays
What are the real reasons behind the rise and stall of Malcolm Turnbull?
Tragic evidence of child sexual abuse in the Newcastle Anglican Church
Sally McManus is the new face of Australia’s union movement
The Nation Reviewed
Why do our political parties persist with economic rationalism?
The energy crisis is all about politics rather than supply
Brett Mifsud is saving Australia’s tallest trees
The restoration of Mt Wellington’s Organ Pipes track requires painstaking work
Medicine
Arts & Letters
What does ‘The National’ say about contemporary Australian art?
Detained asylum seekers tell their own stories in ‘They Cannot Take the Sky’
‘Get Out’ is a sharp mix of horror, satire and racial commentary
A new compilation celebrates the devotional music of jazz legend Alice Coltrane
Noted
‘The Idiot’ by Elif Batuman Jonathan Cape; $32.99
‘Exit West’ by Mohsin Hamid Hamish Hamilton; $32.99
In Light of Recent Events
By Oslo Davis
Swimming thoughts
Swimming is the only time, while awake, that I’m not enslaved to the internet. At first the solitary confinement is unnerving, maddening. But after a few laps my mind becomes loose, and I’m able to think in free form. I turn over past conversations with my wife, think up ideas for cartoons and wonder if I should resume illegally downloading music. Recently, I approached some fellow swimmers who’d just pulled themselves out of the pool, and asked them to divulge the deep thoughts that ran through their minds as they swam.