We consciously and unconsciously tell fairy tales today, despite advances in logic and science. It’s as if there is something ingrained in us that compels us to see the world through this lens.

Essays On Air: Why grown-ups still need fairy tales

Join us as we read aloud fascinating, meticulously researched essays penned by academics who are experts in their fields.

Society & Culture

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The stories I share with you today are drawn from consultations and interviews with more than 60 Nimbin residents, Aquarius Festival participants and Indigenous elders.

Nimbin before and after: local voices on how the 1973 Aquarius Festival changed a town forever

Whether being called 'curry munchers' or pigeonholed as authorities on a dish largely invented by the British, diasporic South Asians  are emulsified in a deep pool of curry.

Essays On Air: the politics of curry

For centuries, women with dwarfism were depicted in art as comic or grotesque fairytale beings. But artists are challenging these portrayals and notions of beauty and physical difference.

Essays On Air: The female dwarf, disability, and beauty

Australia's property market is slowing and many are contemplating a possible bust. But today's episode of Essays On Air reminds us that since colonial days, Australia's property market has had its ups and downs.

Essays On Air: Australia’s property boom and bust cycle stretches back to colonial days

The battle to save the Franklin River - an exhilarating story of politics, cultural heritage and passionate environmentalism - captivated the nation in 1983.

Essays On Air: Why grown-ups still need fairy tales

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