Whatever happened to visionary politics, big policy ideas, and governments with bold reform agendas? Australia faces a range of daunting challenges, yet Coalition and Labor governments have been in the grip of policy paralysis. That’s the view of public policy experts, Martin Parkinson and John Daley. Why has policy ambition stalled, and what can be done about to address it?

Australia’s relationship with China is at an all-time low. And you’ll be hearing alot about security and defence in the upcoming federal election. As China’s star continues to rise, politicians warn that China is a threat to Australia’s security.

But is that threat exaggerated? Should we step back and see a more complex picture?

How do you get to the essence of an activity that is part sport, part leisure, and a large part cultural identity?

The world is online and so are the criminals. Police are using artificial intelligence to find the needles in criminal haystacks but should there be limits on what they can do? And how neural implants connect to the brain and the power of the nocebo effect. Nocebo is placebo's evil twin.

Illegal drug taking, alleged bullying and harassment, and deliberately losing matches to gain access to prized young recruits. These are some of the scandals that, over the years, have plagued the biggest sporting competition in the country, the AFL – the Australian Football League.  But despite these, and other, crises, governance of the 700 million dollar a year competition leaves a lot to be desired.  So says investigative journalist, Mick Warner.

After almost 150 years of exploration and research we understand the sea is deep, dark and definitely different - the earth's last great frontier perhaps - but how much do we know of what's beneath the surface?

At the end of the week does your fridge contain lots of uneaten leftovers and fresh food that’s past its use-by date? Food waste is bad for your budget and dire for greenhouse emissions so how do we reduce it? And the history of exercise from the ancient Greeks to the gym bunnies.

Is nature as important to you as the human species? Using legal imagination to create a sustainable economy and being a loud and proud nature freak might just be what's needed now. And how do we revitalize city life after the Covid shutdowns?

Judged by our foreign aid budget, human rights, how we treat refugees, and intransigence on climate change action, Australia’s record as a good international citizen is looking tarnished. So argues former Australian foreign minister, Gareth Evans. He also gives his assessment of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Change is constant in society, even if we can’t see it. So how likely is it we can even begin to predict what the future might look like for productivity and innovation, and do we have the means to do so?