Independent Australian news and analysis across politics, business, technology, world affairs and culture
James Mitchell Gardeners who love magnolia flowers but don’t have room for a full-size tree keep landing on the Teddy Bear — a compact evergreen selection of Magnolia grandiflora that, according to the University of Florida IFAS Extension, grows more slowly than the popular Little Gem. This guide weighs the size data, the price premium, and the … Read more
Nadia Bartel’s journey from WAG to business founder has been a masterclass in public reinvention; in 2026, with a confirmed partner in Peter Dugmore, a rapidly expanding Henne athleisure chain, and a real estate listing that signals a fresh start, she is steering a narrative far beyond tabloid headlines. This update cuts through the chatter … Read more
Few Harry Potter characters have generated as much conversation with as little page time as Cho Chang. She is the Ravenclaw Quidditch Seeker who becomes Harry’s first real crush and, for a few strained months in Order of the Phoenix, his girlfriend (Wizarding World (official Harry Potter site)), yet the book facts, film changes, and … Read more
Every now and then a comedian makes you do a double take at the movie poster. Kumail Nanjiani did exactly that when he showed up as Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals — the same guy who spent six seasons turning the anxious coder Dinesh Chugtai into one of the most recognizable characters on HBO’s Silicon Valley, … Read more
Few NBA stories wrap a comeback, a personal split, and a contract saga into one arc — Damian Lillard’s last 18 months have done exactly that. He tore his Achilles in the 2025 playoffs, was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, and then signed a three-year, $42 million deal to return to Portland, per ESPN (NBA … Read more
Few doctors ever confront the disease they’ve spent a career studying. Richard Scolyer faced that twist in June 2023 when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma and tried an experimental combination immunotherapy from his own melanoma research, a journey that shows how much glioblastoma care has changed and how far it still has to go. Age … Read more
When a top melanoma researcher is told he has an aggressive brain tumour, most people would stop and rest. Professor Richard Scolyer instead turned his own diagnosis into a public research project — one that held his cancer back for nearly two years, opened a new line of attack against glioblastoma, and ended only with … Read more
Anyone who has wrestled a stiff split ring on a cold morning knows the small fury it can cause, yet the humble key ring is one of the most quietly engineered objects in daily carry. Most key ring pages are product grids, not answers — even though the global keychain market was estimated at roughly … Read more
Few Australian media careers have moved as fluidly between radio, television, and podcasting as Marc Fennell’s, from his start as a film critic at a Sydney community station to hosting prime-time quiz shows on SBS, building a reputation for curiosity-driven journalism. Here’s a look at the facts behind the presenter — his age, his career … Read more
Few childhoods pack as much tragedy, adventure, and eventual triumph as Roald Dahl’s — by age three he had lost both a sister and his father, yet he grew up to become a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, a spy, and eventually the author of childhood classics like Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. … Read more