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Is graffiti art or crime?

The modern form of graffiti made its way to Australia from the US in the 1980s, and it quickly was characterised as a blight on our urban landscapes. Classified as vandalism, many cities adopted tough legal measures to deter graffiti artists from tagging walls and trains.

Today, the situation largely remains the same. Graffiti is still illegal. The city of Hobart recently “declared a war” on graffiti, as have many other cities and councils. Even US film director David Lynch is reported to have said that graffiti “has pretty much ruined the world” at a recent speech at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art.

But at the same time, cities have also begun to value and promote street art - effectively a legal form of graffiti. Street art is now recognised as having both cultural and economic value, and many graffiti artists have transitioned to take advantage of this legal recognition of their practice.

Dallas Rogers speaks with Cameron McAuliffe about the relationship between graffiti and street art, and the value of these art forms to the urban environment and the economies of our cities.

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Music: Free Music Archive/Shadow Priest: Street Theatre (CC BY-NC-ND)

Dallas Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Is technology bad for kids?

As more devices and software applications are made specifically for an increasingly younger audience, there is concern about the appropriateness of children using technology – and debate over when it should be introduced into their lives.

Yet at the same time, personal devices and touch screens are everywhere. Kids love them for the same reasons we do, and many argue that learning to use them will likely be important to their education and employment prospects later in life.

Tamson Pietsch speaks with Joanne Orlando, an expert on educational technology at the University of Western Sydney, about the increased use of technology by children and the potential impact on child development.

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Music: Free Music Archive/Podington Bear: Yearning

Tamson Pietsch receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was founded with a budget of A$6.5 million in 1975 with the hope of revitalising the Australian film industry to a point where it could sustain itself without government support.

The funding resulted in what is now generally regarded as the “golden age” of Australian cinema in the 1970s and 80s. But even today, most Australian films are still primarily funded through government bodies such as Screen Australia (the successor to the AFC) and through tax offsets.

Despite the release of many critically-acclaimed films in 2014 (The Babadook, Charlie’s Country, and The Infinite Man, among others), ticket sales were relatively low.

Australians don’t watch enough local films to sustain the industry without substantial government support. And yet the success of Australian films can’t be measured on box office numbers alone.

Vincent O’Donnell speaks with David Tiley, editor of the online industry magazine ScreenHub, about financing film production in Australia and measuring success by looking beyond the box office.

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Music: Free Music Archive/ Blue Dot Sessions: Farsical

Recorded in the studios of RMIT University.

Vincent O'Donnell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Immigration is a contentious topic in many parts of the world, and the debate in Australia has been predictably framed around asylum seekers, the burdens on taxpayers and the protection of local jobs. This narrow focus has meant migrants are often divided into categories of “good” and “bad”.

The reality is a lot more complex and nuanced. For much of Australia’s history, most migrants were permanent settlers. Now, increasing numbers of temporary visitors – students, working holiday makers and temporary workers – are arriving. The shift in the nature of migration and the make-up of migrants has had significant flow-on effects on the economy and society which are often forgotten.

Dallas Rogers speaks with Shanthi Robertson about the changing face of migration in Australia and the complex relationships between governments, migrants and commercial industries throughout the migration process.

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Music: Free Music Archive/Blue Dot Sessions: Liquor Files

Dallas Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse reconvened this week. Announced in 2012, the commission was established due to growing concerns over consistently inadequate responses to child abuse cases by institutions.

Although the current Royal Commission is focused on cases within living memory in a wide range of institutions, the hearings reveal that Australian churches have a long and sad history of abuse and cover-up. Religious interpretations, changing legal definitions and evolving societal attitudes have all influenced the way child sexual abuse has been handled within churches and in the wider community.

Tamson Pietsch speaks to Tim Jones about child sexual abuse within Australian religious institutions, and how the current debate has been framed by past events.

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Music: Free Music Archive/Kai Engel.

Tamson Pietsch receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

The emergence of China as a 21st-century superpower has already had profound impacts on Australia. As China reshapes the balance of power, not only in the Asia-Pacific region but globally, its influence on Australia is likely to increase.

China’s economic and military growth will also challenge the world’s other superpower – and Australia’s traditional security ally – the United States. Caught between these two superpowers, Australia’s ability to manage this difficult diplomatic balancing act could well determine its future prosperity and security.

Tamson Pietsch speaks with Kerry Brown, executive director of the China Studies Centre, about Australia’s place in the Chinese Century and the role diplomacy has to play.

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Image: Shutterstock

Music: Free Music Archive/Kindread, Lo Ka Ping and Chan Wai Fat.

Tamson Pietsch receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people have between 40,000 and 60,000 years of pre-colonial history that includes stories of constellations they observed in the night sky and traditions that align with the stars and the moon. But until recently, these stories were largely dismissed by the scientific community.

Researchers are now finding that Indigenous oral traditions contain vast environmental and scientific intelligence. These complex knowledge systems have helped Indigenous people survive Australia for tens of thousands of years.

Tamson Pietsch speaks with cultural astronomer Duane Hamacher about Indigenous astronomy and its complex relationship to history, culture and applied scientific knowledge.

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Image: flickr/Ben Ashmole

Music: Free Music Archive/Chris Zabriskie

Tamson Pietsch receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Australia’s residential house prices rank among the highest in the world, and an increasing number of aspiring home owners are finding themselves locked out of the property market.

While low interest rates and higher wages have somewhat tempered the impact of high house prices, these factors have not helped low-income earners, who continue to struggle to find housing within their budget.

One possible solution is to use urban planning policies, such as inclusionary housing, to boost the number of affordable dwellings. Such policies have been successful in other countries, but are yet to be effectively adopted in Australia.

Dallas Rogers speaks with Nicole Gurran about how other countries are using inclusionary housing policies and the lessons for Australia.

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Music: Free Music Archive/Podington Bear

Dallas Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.