People have become ‘more insular and bonding-oriented’ amid Covid, and now many aren’t sure how to start rebuilding their social livesPruning is usually a technique applied to roses in winter, but more recently the gardening term has been cropping up w…
The pandemic has allowed us to see so much. What will we do with our newfound clarity?
From government systems to family units to our own psyches, the pandemic brought revelation. What will we change?A retreating ocean is often the first sign of a tsunami. The water along the shoreline is dragged back dramatically, exposing parts of the …
‘Leave it until the morning after’: how to properly wash wine glasses
Whether you’re chucking them in the dishwasher or rinsing them by hand, cleaning your best glasses requires care – and there’s no one-size-fits-all solutionYou’ve navigated Christmas lunch. Everyone has eaten and drunk well. Peace and harmony reign. So…
Eating pearl: a staple for millennia becomes a modern luxury
Long associated with traditional uses, gemstones and button-making, pearls have now become a premium buy for their meat, which fetches up to $200 a kilogram“Our mob in the West Kimberley and probably the whole West Australian midwest, north-west are th…
Under the table: Australia’s dazzlingly diverse home cooking underground
Social media and online marketplaces have facilitated a boom in Australian home cooking businesses – but many operate without regulationDuring the Sydney lockdown I ordered from a different home cook every Friday night, for me and my neighbours. I disc…
I am concerned about my overattachment to men I hardly know. Can I date safely? | Leading questions
The pain of a budding romance ending is not just about what it was, but what it could have been, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-SmithI divorced from my husband over a year ago (we had been living separately for a couple of years before that). H…
Baking for teens: easy starter recipes, from homemade Tim Tams to speedy brownies
Melbourne’s doughnut don Morgan Hipworth launched his bakehouse at just 15. Here, he shares three favourite recipes for young chefsSince I was a kid, the kitchen’s always had an allure, and baking and cooking has played a massive part in my life. Excus…
The relationship sabotage scale: quantifying why we undermine ourselves in love
Developed over the course of five studies, the relationship sabotage scale is designed to give analytical rigour to a term more common in pop cultureDo you feel constantly criticised by your partner? Do you sometimes check their social media profiles? …
A birder’s eye view of Kakadu: ‘Don’t give up until you go to bed’
A far cry from twitching, at Bird Week in Kakadu national park, Alexis Buxton-Collins finds a chance to slow down“There are two rules you need to follow on board,” Luke Paterson informs me as I step on to a large flat-bottomed boat. The first is to kee…
Free flights and $1,000 vouchers: Australian hospitality sector lures UK workers
As the industry prepares to ramp up again amid staff shortages, one company is offering big incentives to British workers Chelsee Whitehead has worked in the hospitality industry since she left high school four years ago. Before Covid-19, she always th…