Blowing the whistle on corruption, wrongdoing and unethical behaviour can come at a huge personal cost to those who choose to speak out. Kieran Pender, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, tells Nour Haydar why more needs to be done to ensure workers who speak up about wrongdoing are protected

As America’s second-largest city reels from massive fires blown in from the bush, Australians are looking for lessons on how to stop it happening to us. David Bowman, a pyrogeography and fire science professor from the University of Tasmania, tells Reged Ahmad why he thinks we need to rethink how we design our cities and our homes to live with fires

The Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year at the end of 2024: ‘brain rot’. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consuming social media content, but it struck a chord more widely with many of us who feel we just don’t have the mental capacity we once did. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has been studying our waning attention spans for 20 years. She tells Madeleine Finlay why she believes our powers of concentration are not beyond rescue, and reveals her top tips for finding focus Please fill out our audience survey here: theguardian.com/fullstorysurvey

It was hard to imagine a more unlikely place for horror to unfold than a community centre holding a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the sleepy seaside town of Southport. So when three little girls were murdered and eight other children and two adults viciously stabbed by a 17-year-old boy, it seemed incomprehensible. But before the shock could wear off, misinformation and lies about who had unleashed this misery began to spread. The result was days of racist riots and violence. Josh Halliday, the Guardian’s North of England editor, covered the attacks, the riots and now the court case of Axel Rudakubana as he was sentenced to 52 years in prison. On Monday, as the jury was expected to be sworn in, the now 18-year-old Rudakubana shocked everyone by pleading guilty to all the charges he was faced with. And this week the judge gave him a life sentence.

As an election year begins, both the prime minister Anthony Albanese and the opposition leader Peter Dutton have started laying out their priorities and setting the tone for the upcoming election. But with Donald Trump returning to the White House, and as horrific antisemitic attacks continue to dominate our politics, both leaders have found themselves battling for headlines. Bridie Jabour talks with editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and head of newsroom Mike Ticher about whose pre-election message is cutting through and connecting with voters Please fill out our audience survey here: theguardian.com/fullstorysurvey

As the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, warms up for the federal election campaign, he’s quick to tell voters he’s a strong man in politics who’s tough on crime – a message he’s kept consistent since his maiden speech. Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent, Ben Smee, and political reporter Sarah Basford Canales tell Nour Haydar the Coalition’s campaign centres on culture wars and crime Please fill out our audience survey here: theguardian.com/fullstorysurvey

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States and has vowed to ‘put America first’ in his inauguration ceremony at the US Capitol rotunda. The chief Washington correspondent, David Smith, tells Reged Ahmad what it was like inside Trump’s inauguration ceremony and what the new president’s executive orders reveal about his populist priorities for his second term Please fill out our audience survey here: theguardian.com/fullstorysurvey

For over a year the flash of bombs and deafening sound of explosions have filled the night sky over Gaza. Now, finally, there is a ceasefire. Nour Haydar speaks to Mostafa Rachwani about how the deal has brought the refugee community in Australia some relief but why, after 15 months of war, many are fearful that the peace won’t last

Multivitamins offer the promise of guiding us to ultimate health. But are all vitamins created equal, and is there proof behind the wellness claims? Reged Ahmad talks with science writer Donna Lu about the multi-promises of multivitamins

The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Bethan McKernan explains the pact reached between Israel and Hamas to halt fighting You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport