Read our academics’ articles in The Conversation - 2024
The Conversation Australia and New Zealand is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists, and a publisher of research-based news and analysis which you can read for free.
You can access our academics The Conversation articles from throughout 2024 below, with their expertise spanning Humanities, Social Sciences, Music, Business, Law, Economics and Education.
December
How a Cold War satellite and Robert Menzies changed the way Australian schools are funded - Adjunct Professor Jennifer Clark (School of Humanities)
At first glance, Australia’s new treaty with Nauru seems to be a win-win. But questions remain - Professor Joanne Wallis (School of Social Sciences)
‘They’re my babies’: what our attitudes to backyard chickens reveals about Australians - Emily Buddle (School of Humanities)
‘A dose of nature’: each time you visit a national park, you save the health budget almost $100 - Associate Professor Patrick O'Connor and Associate Professor Adam Loch (School of Economics and Public Policy)
November
5 Indian films from the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival that blew me away - Yanyan Hong (School of Humanities)
Refleksi Kurikulum Merdeka: Buku cerita anak perkuat literasi siswa - Nilam Pamularsih (School of Education)
October
Gender is playing a crucial role in this US election - and it’s not just about Kamala Harris - Emerita Professor Carol Johnson (School of Social Sciences)
Huge volumes of whey go to waste. We could do much more with this nutrient-rich liquid - Jack Hetherington and Associate Professor Adam Loch (School of Economics and Public Policy)
A tale of unhappy families summons the fierce politics of Louise Erdrich’s The Mighty Red - Professor Patrick Flanery (School of Humanities)
‘No one’s genius to nurture’: Leila was married to an art monster. Now he’s dead – and it’s her turn - Jane Turner Goldsmith (School of Humanities)
Myriad ecstasies: Gillian Anderson explores women's hidden sexual fantasies - Anna Szorenyi and Lily Atkinson (School of Social Sciences)
Is Australia’s trade war with China now over? The answer might be out of our hands - Professor Peter Draper (School of Economics and Public Policy)
30 years ago, Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction shook Hollywood and redefined ‘cool’ cinema - Associate Professor Ben McCann (School of Humanities)
Still with the Tony Soprano memes? Young audiences are watching the series with fresh eyes - Dr Alexander Beare (School of Humanities)
Flashy Parisian fashion, queer Marvel and the competitive world of K-pop: what we’re watching in October - Dr Jessica Ford (School of Humanities)
Failure to launch: why the Albanese government is in trouble - Emerita Professor Carol Johnson (School of Social Sciences)
September
Fredric Jameson, the world’s greatest Marxist critic, is dead – long live Utopia! - Professor Julian Muprhet
How to get the housing we need: healthy, affordable and resilient to climate change - Professor Emma Baker (School of Social Sciences)
With pope’s visit, Timor-Leste must shine a light on its democratic ideals – not intolerance for dissent - Michael Rose (School of Social Sciences)
August
Happy Father’s Day, Daddy Pig – despite your faults, you’re TV’s greatest dad - Associate Professor Ben McCann, School of Humanities
Nazi history, reality TV deception and the making of Apocalypse Now: what we’re streaming in September - Dr Joy McEntee, School of Humanities
Republicans believe Tim Walz has been ‘groomed’ by China. But how does China view him? - Dr Czeslaw Tubilewicz, School of Social Sciences
Best Australian books of the 21st century: as chosen by 50 experts - Adjunct Professor Brian Castro, Dr Carol Lefevre, Emeritus Professor Nicholas Jose (all from the School of Humanities)
The Alien films have always been contradictory in their feminism – but Alien: Romulus avoids the issue entirely - Dr Joy McEntee, School of Humanities
‘Not my boy.’ When teachers are harassed by students, some schools and parents fail to help - Dr Samantha Schulz, School of Education
Alain Delon was an enigmatic anti-hero, and France’s most beautiful male movie star - Associate Professor Ben McCann, School of Humanities
Farewell Gena Rowlands, the formidable actress whose characters always seemed to be tipping into madness - Associate Professor Ben McCann, School of Humanities
Crypto was once touted as a ‘safe haven’ asset – why did it crash too this week? - Marta Khomyn, Adelaide Business School
July
Friday essay: ‘like being hungry’ – loneliness afflicts nearly 1 in 3 Australians. It can be devastating, but can spark creativity or change - Dr Carol Lefevre, School of Humanities
AIDS, trauma – and joy: how artist Brent Harris captures the intensity of emotion beneath humour - Emerita Professor Catherine Speck, School of Humanities
June
Sue me, if you can. How laws that prevent directors being sued make firms less likely to recall potentially dangerous products - Professor Arvid Hoffman, Associate Professor Chee Cheong, and Professor Ralf Zurbrugg, Adelaide Business School
Trying to save money? Our research suggests paying in cash – while you still can - Lachlan Schomburgk and Professor Arvid Hoffman, Adelaide Business School
‘Only disconnect’ – in Caledonian Road, Andrew O'Hagan depicts Britain’s great unravelling - Professor Andrew van der Vlies, School of Humanities
One issue proved key to the opposition’s stunning success in India’s election: caste politics - Associate Professor Priya Chacko and Anand Sreekumar, School of Social Sciences
Victoria is raising minimum rental standards – it’s good news for tenants and the environment - Professor Emma Baker, School of Social Sciences
It’s now possible to invest in bitcoin on Australia’s largest stock exchange. Is the currency going mainstream? - Marta Khomyn, Adelaide Business School
May
Psychological drama, wilderness reality and everyone’s favourite dog: the best of streaming this May - Dr Joy McEntee, School of Humanities
‘Make me a sandwich’: our survey’s disturbing picture of how some boys treat their teachers - Dr Samantha Schulz, School of Education
Will Solomon Islands’ new leader stay close to China? - Priestly Habru and Claudina Habru, School of Social Sciences
Changing native vegetation laws to allow burning on private land is good fire management - Gabriel Crowley, School of Social Sciences
April
I hope publishers will be brave': older women are often erased in fiction – but in 2 new Australian novels they take centre stage - Dr Carol Lefevre, School of Humanities
Searing glory holes, a shapeshifting cat and outback UFO tours: what we're streaming this April - Dr Jessica Ford, School of Humanities
Myrtle rust is lethal to Australian plants. Could citizen scientists help track its spread? - Rebecca Paxton, School of Humanities
Critics can’t decide if Andrew Scott’s Ripley is mesmerising or charmless – just as Patricia Highsmith wrote him - Dr Joy McEntee, School of Humanities
With democracy under threat in Narendra Modi’s India, how free and fair will this year’s election be? - Associate Professor Priya Chacko, School of Social Sciences
Water theft laws and penalties in the Murray-Darling Basin are a dog’s breakfast. Here’s how we can fix them - Associate Professor Adam Loch (School of Economics and Public Policy), Dr Mark Giancaspro (Adelaide Law School), and Michael Croft (Adelaide Law School)
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility - Dr Bronwyn Law-Viljoen, School of Humanities
March
Art of the moment: experiencing Marina Abramović and Laurie Anderson at the Adelaide Festival - Emerita Professor Catherine Speck, School of Humanities
Vanity, money and ‘angry masculine impastos’: Liam Pieper’s Appreciation is a mordant tale of a tragically flawed artist - Dr Georgia Philipps, School of Humanities
‘I wanted to stop … but I also wanted to pull’. 1 in 50 people have trichotillomania – a new memoir unpacks compulsive hair-pulling - Jane Turner Goldsmith, School of Humanities
Announcing Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis should have been simple. But the palace let it get out of hand - Dr Victoria Fielding and Dr Saira Ali, School of Humanities
February
Black comedy, political drama and a documentary about a cult: what we’re streaming this February - Dr Jessica Ford, School of Humanities
Consulting firms provided low-quality research on crucial water policies. It shows we have a deeper problem - Professor Sarah Wheeler, School of Economics and Public Policy
Sovereignty is sacred: in Timor-Leste’s remote Oecusse Enclave, a border dispute threatens to open old wounds - Dr Michael Rose, School of Social Sciences
‘I was who I wasn’t’: McKenzie Wark’s memoir of late transition envisions a less gender-restrictive world - Dr Anna Szorenyi and Cambrey Payne, School of Social Sciences
Voluntary assisted dying is different to suicide. But federal laws conflate them and restrict access to telehealth - Dr Michaela Okninski, Adelaide Law School
January
Climate change and nature loss are our biggest environmental problems - so why isn’t the market tackling them together? - Associate Professor Patrick O'Connor and Dr Anthelia Bond, School of Economics and Public Policy
Tenderness and technical mastery: Anne Michaels’ poetic novel Held expands the possibilities of historical fiction - Dr Georgia Phillips, School of Humanities
J.M. Coetzee’s provocative first book turns 50 this year – and his most controversial turns 25 - Professor Andrew van der Vlies, School of Humanities
Australia’s ranking in global anti-corruption index remains steady – but shows we cannot be complacent – Emeritus Professor Adam Graycar, School of Social Sciences