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Articles by Simon Leo Brown
Three ASX small caps set to shine in 2024
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Here are the answers to five questions about money you probably haven't asked
Chances are you've spent a lot of time thinking about money. But probably not in the same way Financial Times journalist Gavin Jackson has. He's asked all sorts of questions about money — both practical and philosophical — and has come up with some surprising conclusions too. So here are five questions about money you probably haven't thought to ask and their answers, as told to ABC RN's The Money. Why is money valuable? Well, according to Jackson, it isn't.
Sesame Street documentary Street Gang shows how children's television can change the world
Film director Marilyn Agrelo was a little older than the target age group for Sesame Street when it first aired in 1969. But, she says, she immediately became aware of the show. "It was a phenomenon," Agrelo tells RN's The Drawing Room. "It was watched by university students, high school students." Agrelo says she watched it and fell in love with characters including Oscar the Grouch.
The history of dieting by calorie counting shows why it should stay in the past, experts say Original
Calorie counting has been the basis of weight-loss programs for more than a century. It's still a popular way to approach losing weight, whether it be keeping below a certain calorie limit on fasting days or using an app to calculate "calories in" versus "calories out". But many leading experts are now calling for that to change. They say calorie counting is based on flawed, obsolete science. And they say our obsession with the calorie has actually served to make us fatter.
If you see a young male face in this image, it's not just you. But researchers aren't sure why you have that bias
If you've everimagined that you could see a face staring at you from a slice of Swiss cheese, you've experienced a phenomenon known as face pareidolia. That's the scientific name for seeing faces in everyday objects such as food, clouds or plants. Now, new research has revealed that when people experience face pareidolia, most visualise a young male face. The study may help explain why there is a man, not a woman, in the moon or why Jesus appears in toasted sandwiches more often than Mary.
'If those people were ill, then the school would have to close': the flaw in the states' back-to-school plans
Retired and trainee teachers may not be available to meet the shortfall if too many educators become infected with COVID at once, the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) warns. As schoolchildren prepare to return to the classroom, there are plans in several states to ask retired teachers and trainees to fill gaps in the school workforce left by those isolating with COVID. But APPA President Malcolm Elliott has warned some schools may close if Omicron takes hold in their community.
Looking for a new book to read this summer? Here are some tips from renowned Australian authors
With everything that's going on in the world, it's been a great time to read a good book. In fact, you may already have finished your summer reading list. So, ABC RN Breakfast caught up with some of Australia's favourite authors to find out what they've been up to and what they've been reading. Here are their suggestions, including a couple for the smaller members of your family. Helen Garner: The Dancer by Evelyn Juers Helen Garner has spent her summer gardening, at her home in Melbourne.
The media blamed this murder on 'horror' radio. Newly opened files reveal a darker truth
Trevor McKenzie knew he was in trouble. On July 17, 1946, the 43-year-old ex-serviceman and petty criminal rang Melbourne detective Joseph Heath and told him so. "I have something heavy for you," Detective Heath later recalled McKenzie telling him. McKenzie confessed he had shot and beaten his housemate and co-worker, Phillip Johnson, to death — partly over a dispute about what to listen to on the radio.
'The wobbly wheel in the Federation.' Will the divides between states continue in a post-COVID Australia?
Pre-COVID, most Australians would have never believed their state might put up hard borders with the state next door. For many, the biggest consideration when crossing state lines was what size beer to order, or whether to ask for potato cakes or potato scallops at the fish and chip shop. Several people, including Bob Hawke, have even argued that Australia should do away with state governments entirely.
Meet the migrant mumpreneurs helping each other to grow their businesses
Five years ago, Oznur Demirhan and her husband moved to Australia from Turkey. Turkey's political unrest and economic troubles pushed the couple to seek a new life in another country, Oznur says. "We are so grateful that we call Melbourne our home," she tells ABC RN's Life Matters. "We feel so safe here that we are just so happy." Listen to the podcast Life Matters is here to help you get a handle on all the important stuff: love, sex, health, fitness, parenting, career, finances and family.
Simon Leo Brown - ABC News
Simon is Deputy Editor of RN Online. He was previously an online reporter for ABC Local Radio for more than a decade, covering local stories in Tasmania, Western Australia and Melbourne. Contact Simon Leo Brown Latest by Simon Leo Brown What does happiness cost? More than most Australians get paid, according to recent research / By Simon Leo Brown and Bec Zajac for Life Matters Money may not be able to buy happiness but recent research shows it helps.
Happiness is becoming more unaffordable, researchers say. But there are still some things money can't buy
Anna Irwin-Schutze was worried when Dotti, her mother's 12-year-old golden retriever, showed signs of being unwell. "She sort of went mute and we couldn't work out why," Anna says. They took Dotti from their home in regional Victoria to Melbourne for tests, which revealed the dog needed surgery. This was when the emergency fund Anna and her husband maintain came in handy. "The scans alone were $1,200," she says.
Cannibalism, disease and smothering are just some of the dangers free-range chickens face
Australians consume 17 million eggs every day, which are laid by the Australian egg industry's nearly 22 million chickens. Lately, those chickens have been the focus of much attention. Recently revealed documents show NSW's Agriculture Minister going against his own department to oppose a draft national plan to phase out battery hens in Australia by 2036. The independent panel that drafted the plan had to balance the needs of the food industry against the rights of hens to a happy life.
'A greater awareness of our fragility': John Bell on the role of cultural leaders and the arts after COVID
In 2015, John Bell stepped aside from Bell Shakespeare, the Australian theatre company he co-founded 25 years previously. At the time he made one thing very clear: he was not retiring. True to his word, Bell has been busy ever since — writing, performing and making public appearances, including recently on Q&A ahead of his forthcoming ABC Boyer Lectures. Boyer Lectures Each year since 1959, the ABC has sparked conversation about critical ideas with the Boyer Lectures.
Ron knew the carved panels in the Sotheby's catalogue were stolen. The NZ government had to fight to get them back
The history of the Motunui epa has included wars, smuggling, a kidnapping and a high-profile court case. (Supplied: Robin Martin) For more than a century, this sacred treasure was hidden in a New Zealand swamp before being spirited away to Europe. This is how it was returned. On October 3, 1977, five year-old Graziella Ortiz-Patino was kidnapped by Italian criminals. She was outside her home in Geneva, Switzerland, on her way to kindergarten, when two men grabbed her and knocked out her driver.
Mindfulness meditation apps claim to ease anxiety and stress but are they worth trying?
If the pandemic has pushed you to breaking point, you're not alone. To cope, you may have considered using — or have already used — mindfulness meditation to instil some peace into your day-to-day life. Mindfulness is "learning how to be present to be within the moment," Dr Addie Wootten, clinical psychologist and CEO of the not-for-profit Smiling Mind app, says. She says mindfulness is about "being open, being curious, … being able to sit with difficulty, being kind to ourselves".
Nietzsche didn't consider himself a nihilist and other things you should know about nihilism
Nihilism doesn't have a great reputation. It's associated with existential dread, immorality and Nazis. But writer and journalist Wendy Syfret says the philosophy can also lead to a happy, positive, fulfilling life. Wait, what is nihilism again? Syfret says nihilism's basic message is that "life is meaningless".
Ern Malley was praised as one of Australia's greatest poets. But he didn't exist
In 1944, 23-year-old Max Harris was an Adelaide-based poet and co-editor of modernist art and literary journal Angry Penguins. In that year's edition, he featured the poems of Ern Malley who, it was said, had died the year before, aged 25. But in publishing these poems, he fell for one of the greatest literary hoaxes in Australian history — and made Ern Malley a household name for all the wrong reasons.
Files on murder of 'Fat Joe' Versace, believed to be early mafia killing, opened for first time
The 1945 murder of Giuseppe "Fat Joe" Versace was horrific. His stomach was cut open. He was stabbed in the face, neck and torso. In all, the medical examiner found 91 knife wounds — some inflicted after his death. Presented to police at the time as the result of an argument over a woman, researchers now believe the murder was an early "hit" by Melbourne's Calabrian mafia.
Management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: less is more
Simon Brown Emma Ball Y C Gary Lee Y C Gary Lee Affiliations Centre for Respiratory Health, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia Search for articles by this author Richard Beasley Graham Simpson on behalf of thePSP Investigators † Author Footnotes † Investigators are listed in the appendix We congratulate Rob Hallifax and colleagues on their study of the management of moderate-to-large primary spontaneous pneumothorax.
The Australian anti-coal campaign that took on 'the world's richest man' and won
In 1973, Sydney's Daily Telegraph ran a series of articles on how to start your own action group. Environmental activism was becoming mainstream and, the paper said, action groups were "springing up in NSW at the rate of two a week". The series included a profile of Judy Gjedsted, headlined: "Blonde who beat richest man in the world." Judy was part of the fight to stop a coal development south of Sydney — described in the article as "one of the most successful campaigns ever staged in Australia".
Space isn't as lawless as you think. Here's how a 'space war' rulebook might work
Armed conflict in space is unlikely to look like it does in The Mandalorian. But with the United States creating its Space Force and India testing anti-satellite weapons, a real-life space battle is more possible than ever. An international project is trying to establish what the rules of engagement of that battle would be. That project is called the Woomera Manual. What is the Woomera Manual?
This teacher taught Aboriginal children 'leading and writing'. His students changed Australia for the better
If a teacher's success is measured by their students' achievements, then Thomas Shadrach James must be one of the most successful teachers in Australian history. He taught in a small schoolhouse near the Murray River on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. The government at the time ruled that the children he taught should not receive more than three years of education. But James's students would become some of the leading Indigenous activists of the 20th century.
Donald Trump's lack of a dog has become an election issue. Here are four dogs that made US political history Original
US President Donald Trump doesn't have a dog. Joe Biden, meanwhile, has two German shepherds — he adopted one of them, Major, after fostering him. This difference between the two candidates has become a campaign issue, with an ad from "Dog Lovers for Joe" denouncing Mr Trump for being the first president in a century not to have a dog in the White House. (It's a charge that's only technically true — more on that below.) This isn't the first time dogs have played a part in US politics.
The unique pandemic 'doortraits' that captured moments of isolation, fear and hope
Jim Barker started his photography business in October, 2019. Then the pandemic hit. "Everything kind of fell off the grid in March," he tells ABC RN's Life Matters. So he put out a call on social media, asking if people wanted their portraits taken at their front door. The resulting series, called Doortraits ("I'm a big fan of the portmanteau," Barker says), consists of dozens of photographs of Sydneysiders in front of their homes.
Why did Birdlife International expel the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation? What does it have to do with China?
A global environmental group has booted out one of its partner organisations. BirdLife International expelled the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation after the local group refused to sign a document it described as "political". What happened? And what does this all have to do with China? Here are five quick questions, answered. Who are Birdlife International and the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation? BirdLife International is a UK-based conservation charity, with regional offices around the globe.
Coronavirus has led to empty offices and quiet CBDs. It's time to get creative
The pandemic has left our major cities with neither hustle nor bustle. As millions of people around the world are told to work from home, officials in cities like Melbourne and Sydney are making plans to kickstart their CBDs. One group, among the hardest hit by the pandemic, may hold the key — artists and creatives such as musicians, designers, craftspeople and theatre makers. Can cities go back to the way they were? Not in the short term, according to Bond Business School's Libby Sander.
The 'asylum seeker phone ban' bill is before the Senate. Advocates say it will cut a critical lifeline
A Saudi Arabian journalist seeking asylum in Australia has spoken out against banning mobile phones in immigration detention centres. The Federal Government has introduced laws giving the Australian Border Force (ABF) increased powers to search detainees and seize items including mobile phones, a move it says is necessary to keep Australians safe. Sultan*, who is living in Australia under a Temporary Protection Visa, says the law reminds him of the regime he fled with his partner.
'One of the most bizarre things I've ever come across': The face masks people once wore
With mask-wearing compulsory in Melbourne, and encouraged in many other parts of Australia, many people are using their masks to make a fashion statement. You can find all sorts of masks for sale online — sequinned masks, masks made from upcycled vintage fabrics and novelty masks emblazoned with slogans such as "will remove for wine". But this isn't the first time masks have had a moment.
Starting a new job is hard. So is being made redundant. Working from home during COVID-19 makes both even harder
Clinton Elliot was philosophical about being made redundant. When he was told via video meeting that his position was no longer needed, the Melbourne-based communications professional saw it as an opportunity find a new job where he could expand his skillset. Nonetheless, he says the experience would have been different had it not happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How talking to kids about the 'zoo in their poo' could inspire healthier food choices
Poo. It's the one conversation topic that most young children seemingly never tire of. And if you're the parent of a young child, you might think you've had enough poo talk to last a lifetime. But a Victorian couple want you to use that poo chat to help both you and your child live a little longer. Felice Jacka and Rob Craw have created a new book, There's a Zoo in My Poo, which teaches adults and children how eating fruit, vegetables and wholegrains helps their mental and physical health.
Catherine Hill speaks out about sexual harassment as her lawyer warns COVID-19 could 'add to power imbalance'
A lawyer who won a sexual harassment case against her former boss has spoken out for the first time, saying she owed it to her children to take a stand. Catherine Hill was awarded $170,000 in damages after pursuing a case against Owen Hughes, the head of a tiny law firm in northern New South Wales. She says legal action was a "last resort" — and it was "never about the money". "If I did nothing, it could happen again.
Jacqui and Temujin are in love, but face judgement and criticism for their age gap Original
For Jacqui Howard, it wasn't love at first sight. "There was absolutely no attraction for me whatsoever," she says of meeting Temujin Tera. But now, it's "love like nothing I ever imagined, love like a fairy-tale". They plan to marry in April. But in the three years they've been together, they've faced discrimination because of the age gap in their relationship — Jacqui is 61 years old, while Temujin is 27.
Exercising when you're in pain is hard. Finding someone to help can be harder
Akii Ngo was eight years old when it became obvious to her that the pain she was experiencing wasn't normal. Even then, she says, "it was brushed off for a number of years as women's pains, period pains, et cetera". She finally underwent surgery at 16, after a scan revealed that a spinal injury was causing nerve pain and weakness in her legs. It's no wonder, then, that Ms Ngo was never particularly into sport or exercise.
Emergency pager system 'should be encrypted'
Victoria's emergency services pager network should be encrypted, according to a former Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer and radio technician. The Emergency Services Telecommunication Authority (ESTA) uses the network to dispatch country fire brigades, rural ambulances and SES volunteers. Pager messages sent over the Emergency Alerting System (EAS) can include personal and sensitive information about ambulance patients.
Three projects linking Aboriginal communities and police that are helping to stop more Indigenous people going to jail
One of the calls coming from Australia's Black Lives Matter movement is to stop disproportionately jailing Indigenous people. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men is 4.7 per cent — more than 10 times the rate of the general male population. What will it take to make that change? Three programs in NSW that may offer some answers show that success begins with listening to Aboriginal communities.
Restaurants and cafes facing mass closures without more coronavirus support, industry group warns
The tiny, family-run Salad Days cafe in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Sandgate relies on a small number of regulars. "We have people that come every couple of days, are always going to be here on certain days," says Lianna Voysey, whose mother owns the business. The cafe is slowly emerging from the coronavirus shutdown, but it's still "kind of hit or miss at the moment".
Animals eating your vegetables? Here's whet Chunk the groundhog can teach you about gardening
Jeff Permar was at his wits' end. It was late spring, 2019, and the keen gardener from Delaware in the US was suffering crop damage to his vegetable patch. "I was really upset because I didn't know what was eating out of the garden," he tells ABC RN's Life Matters. "I thought it was a deer, or it could have been a rabbit." Jeff set up a motion-detection camera to catch the vegetable thief in the act. When he replayed the footage, he saw a groundhog "just staring at the camera".
Prisoners Offence Book reveals stories of Female Prison inmates in early 20th century
Posted January 01, 2020 07:00:53 In 1917, Daphne Stewart broke out of her prison cell with a spoon. Initially imprisoned the previous year for insufficient means, Stewart was being held indefinitely at Melbourne's Female Prison under the Venereal Diseases Act. She didn't dig her way out — instead she used the spoon to open the door of her cell, along with the cells of four other women. She was caught, cautioned and punished with "one day separate".
Bob Hawke's 1979 Boyer Lectures outlined radical proposals including abolishing the states
Three-and-a-half years before he became Prime Minister, Bob Hawke laid out his vision for a radical remake of Australia. In 1979, while still president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, he presented the ABC's Boyer Lectures, where a prominent Australian is invited to give a series of talks.
Newly opened files at Public Record Office Victoria reveal life in 1940s mental hospitals
Posted January 01, 2019 06:00:00 On January 29, 1942, Ms Jacobson, a patient at Melbourne's Kew Mental Hospital, bit Nurse Carey on the forearm. The same day, patient Hart climbed onto the hospital's roof, broke a window, entered the bell tower and rang the bell. In the men's wards, meanwhile, patient O'Donnell punched another patient in the face. These events are recorded in Kew Mental Hospital's daily report book which is held at Victoria's state archives, Public Record Office Victoria (PROV).
Julian Assange was involved in Melbourne's rave scene in the 1990s, Techno Shuffle book reveals
In early '90s Melbourne it was difficult to find electronic dance music on the radio or at the record store. But almost every weekend, somewhere in the city, a dancefloor would be filled with ravers wearing brightly-coloured home-made costumes. "If you wanted to hear this music — you know, techno music, acid house, house music — you could only really hear it in a club, at a party or at a rave," says Paul Fleckney, author of Techno Shuffle: Rave Culture and the Melbourne Underground.
Footscray Maker Lab an experiment in community building
The group behind a new space in Melbourne's western suburbs wants people who want to build things. The Footscray Maker Lab (FML) is to hold its first public open day on October 19 and is looking for trial members. Based in a warehouse in an industrial area of West Footscray, the space provides tools for metalworking, woodworking and electronics. Board member Matt Rowbottom said FML would be an opportunity for city people to have access to the kind of workshops found in country Australia.
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement wants you to rethink having children
© Provided by ABC News Congratulating someone on their baby is an example of 'natalist propaganda', Les Knight says. If you announce on Facebook that you're having a baby, don't expect Les Knight to be among the well-wishers. The self-described "finder" of the provocatively-named Voluntary Human Extinction Movement — or VHEMT (pronounced "vehement") — says congratulating people on a pregnancy is an example of "natalist propaganda".
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement wants you to rethink having children
If you announce on Facebook that you're having a baby, don't expect Les Knight to be among the well-wishers. The self-described "finder" of the provocatively-named Voluntary Human Extinction Movement — or VHEMT (pronounced "vehement") — says congratulating people on a pregnancy is an example of "natalist propaganda". "If someone announces on social media that they're expecting, everybody's going to say congratulations," Mr Knight told RN Drive's Patricia Karvelas.
De-extinction: If we can save the white rhino, can we bring back the T-rex?
News that scientists have created hybrid white rhino embryos has given new hope to those who feared the northern white rhino was doomed to extinction. But could scientists bring back other, longer-extinct species — and if so, should they? The work to save the northern white rhino uses IVF technology, but that method is unlikely to work on an animal that has been extinct for thousands of years.
Koalas, wood glue and the FBI: Fascinating facts about fingerprinting
It took just 10 minutes to fool the iPhone's fingerprint sensor. The team of cyber experts began by getting the phone user's fingerprint from a piece of white paper. They illuminated the print with black powder, then captured it with a high resolution camera. That image was printed onto a transparent plastic sheet and covered in wood glue. Finally the glue film was peeled away to reveal a counterfeit print. After 20 attempts, the fingerprint identity sensor had been fooled.
Your grandmother did more housework in a week than you do in a month
By Simon Leo Brown and Matthew Crawford for Life Matters Updated May 29, 2018 13:11:23 You read that headline right. In fact, the average 1950s Australian housewife probably spent more time on chores in one day than you do all week. Before modern feminism — and without house robots to do dishes, wash laundry or cook food by zapping it with microwaves — a typical 1950s housewife did up to 15 times the amount of housework Australians do today.
What we must learn from Holocaust survivors, before it's too late
When Allied forces liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, even the horrors of World War II had not prepared the soldiers for what they saw. "They vomited, they fainted and they cried like children," said Olga Horak, then a prisoner who had survived Auschwitz and the death march to Bergen-Belsen. "We were already emaciated, skeletal figures. I was 29 kilos.
The life and myths of Padre White
He's been called the Father of the Anzac Dawn Service. Find out more about the life of an extraordinary priest. He lies buried in the small Queensland town of Herberton, under a simple white cross. The grave gives no real clue to his identity. The inscription simply reads "A Priest". Yet his humble grave has become a pilgrimage point for those interested in the origins of our ANZAC traditions.
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