For many Australians, as the cost of living continues to bite, it’s easy to feel as though everything is going backwards. But are things really as bad as they seem? On many measures things are actually improving, and the sense that the world is in a time of unprecedented crisis does not always match up with the data. Bridie Jabour speaks to editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and head of news Mike Ticher about the growing gap between our perception of the world and the reality

The Queensland government has been proudly promoting what it says is the success of its tough approach to youth crime. But as the number of arrests rise there are concerns for the welfare of some of the state’s most vulnerable children. Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent Ben Smee discusses his exclusive investigation that reveals how teenagers born with severe intellectual disabilities and branded repeat offenders are being locked up in adult watch houses

Hosting renewable projects, such as wind and solar farms, is an opportunity for many farmers to earn a stable income during the ongoing climate crisis. But in community meetings across regional Australia, there’s a ‘noisy minority’ who are mobilising a growing resistance to the renewables transition. Warwick-based rural and regional reporter Aston Brown speaks to Matilda Boseley about why there is a growing mistrust in some communities over the renewable energy rollout You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport

Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art prides itself on being provocative. Mona has courted controversy on numerous occasions, but critics say its latest stunt has gone a step too far. The privately owned gallery has admitted to creating and displaying fake Picasso paintings for more than three years. Guardian Australia’s arts reporter Kelly Burke tells Nour Haydar why she first suspected the paintings were bogus

As Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, loud noises were heard in the crowd around 6.13pm on Saturday. Video shows Trump quickly clutching his ear and then ducking down to the ground, as security agents and others leap to his aid. A shooter, who killed another person and seriously injured others, was killed by Secret Service agents. As the US comes to grips with what just happened, Jonathan Freedland and Sidney Blumenthal discuss what this tragedy means for the former president’s image with less than five months until the election

As the trial of Robert and Anne Geeves for the murder of Amber Haigh continues, Bridie Jabour speaks to Ben Doherty, who has been watching it unfold. This week he reports on evidence the court heard that Haigh had made a will, events surrounding a late-night visit to a neighbour’s house and further details of what’s been called ‘the tying up evidence’ Listen to all episodes of Who Cared? The disappearance of Amber Haigh here: theguardian.com/amberhaigh

Back in December Donald Trump said the quiet bit out loud when he announced he wanted to be a dictator – if only on day one. Looking around the world in the 21st century, autocracy is getting a new lease of life: authoritarian regimes are working together, and the danger to democracies like the United States is getting closer to home. This week, Jonathan Freedland is joined by political commentator and author Anne Applebaum to look at what the US should be doing to tackle the growing threat of autocracy

For the past two weeks climate protesters in Newcastle have been disrupting the world’s largest coal port. But as activists take to more extreme means in their efforts to highlight ecological collapse, new laws have been introduced around the country to try to stop them. Bridie Jabour speaks to editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and climate and environment editor Adam Morton about why, despite the prospect of arrest and jail time, climate-focused civil disobedience is not going away

With growing concern about the president’s cognitive ability, the Democrats face an excruciatingly difficult dilemma – whether to call for their leader, 81-year-old Joe Biden, to drop out of the race. Guardian US political correspondent Lauren Gambino tells Nour Haydar why the Democrats are torn over who should lead them to the next election and just how critical the coming weeks are for Joe Biden’s campaign You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport

A leftwing coalition snatched victory from the far right in the final round of the French parliamentary elections. But will France now fall into political deadlock? Angelique Chrisafis reports