Open Forum

Since 2013, Vladimir Putin has argued that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people”. It’s an attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, part of an assault that has been ongoing for centuries. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has regularly targeted Ukraine’s cultural institutions and publishing ecosystem.

If you want to improve yourself, your health or your lifestyle, you need to do it to the “maxx” – according to social media, at least. If you want to better your appearance, you need to try “looksmaxxing”. If you want to fix your diet and look after your gut, you should be “fibremaxxing”. And if you want to improve your social skills and be more charming, you really ought to be “personality-maxxing”. But all of this maxxing might not actually be a good way to motivate yourself into healthier habits.

Anthropologists tell us that only a handful of human experiences can be found in all human cultures. Among them is the experience of friendship. It might have different expressions in different times and places, but something akin to it seems to appear everywhere. Surely one of the greatest pains a human can endure is to have no friends – to be outside of every circle of trust, every exchange of confidence, every bond of love. Maybe this explains the prevalence of the idea of the mechanical friend.

Could another country replace China as the world’s economic growth leader, or could China reset for a new phase of economic leadership? This is the key question Joe Ngai and Nick Leung address in their new book, The Next China is Still China. The pattern of economic development in East Asia is often likened to a group of flying geese, where leaders progressively cede their place to others.

A new snapshot of the nation’s health by the Australian Institute Health and Welfare, shows Australians are living longer than in previous decades. Australia’s long-term life expectancy growth is one of the great successes of modern medicine, public health and improved living conditions. But living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living well. The report shows the average time spent in poor health also rose since 2003.

Institutions increasingly invite people to contribute their lived experience. Government agencies appoint patients to advisory panels and call on communities for their views on policy. Health New Zealand employs peer support workers and universities seek lived experience in research. These initiatives acknowledge that lived experience matters. But there is a catch. In many cases, it is still treated as perspective or testimony rather than as a form of expertise.

The Pacific seabed is no longer an empty space between nations. It is becoming one of the most strategically crowded environments in the region. That crowding is producing a qualitatively different strategic environment – one where the risks are generated not by any single actor or activity, but by the interaction between them. For decades, Australia’s maritime thinking has been shaped by what sits above the surface.

Australia is rich in minerals, metals, sun and wind. Iron ore, copper and critical minerals are all mined here and largely exported overseas to be turned into products such as steel, fertiliser, fuel and infrastructure. Mining and heavy industries create jobs and wealth. But their emissions are some of the hardest to cut. This is changing. Steel can now be made without coal. Hydrogen can be made using water and renewable power rather than from gas.

Many people now use apps, smartwatches or wearable devices to track their physical activity. Fitness trackers promise to help users become fitter, happier and healthier versions of themselves. For many people, they can be useful: a nudge to move more, a way to notice patterns, or a reminder that activity does not have to happen in a gym. But self-tracking devices do more than record behaviour. Through prompts, defaults, streaks, badges and automated feedback, they also shape it.

You know that feeling when you walk into a room and immediately forget why you came in? Maybe you were there to fetch your keys. On your way to the room, you were thinking about grabbing your keys. But once you arrive, your keys have completely disappeared from your mind. This is sometimes known as the doorway effect, since it often strikes when you walk into a new room. Why does it happen? The answer has a lot to do with a faculty called working memory.