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Beans have travelled a long way to make your cup of coffee. Jack Fussell/Flickr

Where’s that bean been? Coffee’s journey from crop to cafe

Welcome to the third instalment in our series Chemistry of Coffee, where we unravel the delicious secrets of one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world. As you listen to the whirring grinders…
Outreach is a crucial element of the G20 leaders summit. Shutterstock

Explainer: who gets invited to the G20 summit, and why

The G20 is full of traps for the unwary punter, new to its byzantine ways. There are not 20 member countries in the G20, for example. There are 19 countries, plus the European Union. In November, you will…
International law is clear on whether sexual consent is possible when civilians are faced with armed soldiers. Instagram/Furymovie

The rape scene in Brad Pitt’s Fury no-one is talking about

Brad Pitt says his new Oscar-tipped film Fury is “a real study in leadership and learning to command respect and because of this, I am now a better father”. But while many reviewers have commented on the…
Zero tolerance is a faith and not a policy. Creativity103/Flickr

Like men possessed: what are illicit drug laws really for?

According to the UK government’s “first evidence-based study”, released at the end of last week, tough laws for personal possession of illicit drugs fail to lower levels of their use. This is not news…
Jane Goodall is one of many scientists who have revealed how much there is to learn from animals about social organisation and communication. AAP/Julian Smith

If we could talk to the animals, what might they tell us about politics?

To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental about both animals and us. – Frans De Waal Some time ago I began reading scientific…
The quoll, one of the mammal species that calls Kakadu home. Jonathan Webb/supplied

Too good to lose: how to reverse the species declines at Kakadu

Kakadu National Park in Australia’s tropical north is one of the world’s premier conservation reserves. However, it is partly failing in one of its principal purposes. The past two to three decades have…
What does it feel like when everyone in the class gets it, except for you? AAP

What is school like for a child with learning difficulties?

The term “learning difficulties” is the hand grenade of education. Throw the terminology around and teachers, students, parents and school community members react widely and, at times, wildly. Some individuals…
A guide to help you shake out some enduring Anzac myths. State Library of South Australia

Ten things you need to know to prepare for the Anzac centenary

The centenary of the Great War has begun. Now, as we move towards the centenary of the Gallipoli landings on April 25 2015 we are gearing up for an extravaganza of Anzac-ery. The combined processes of…
Social workers can successfully work with most families that find themselves in trouble without taking their children away. Nadezhda1906/Flickr

Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families

After a long period of expansion in the number of children living in out-of-home care, most modern child protection systems around the world have been labouring to prevent such placements. Instead, they’re…
The 2014 HWC Chilean men’s team loft the trophy after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. Homeless World Cup

Chile won the Homeless World Cup, but the benefits are global

Chile won both the men’s and women’s Homeless World Cups (HWC) last Sunday, with the men defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina by more than five goals and the women defeating Mexico by a solitary goal in a…
Indonesian students, already struggling in maths, reading and science, are often in the middle of conflicts between their schools and communities. AAP/Diana Plater

Indonesia must tackle conflicts between schools and communities

Indonesia’s new Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Anies Baswedan has a huge task ahead of him. Australia was alarmed when its students ranked 19th in the Organisation for Economic…
Bernie Fraser of the Climate Change Authority, environment minister Greg Hunt, and Clive Palmer announce a deal on a plan to cut Australia’s emissions this decade. What happens after that isn’t so clear. AAPImage/Alan Porritt

Direct Action’s here, but how will Australia cut carbon after 2020?

With the passage of the Emissions Reduction Fund through the Senate last night, the federal government has taken a step towards achieving Australia’s minimum target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to…
Defence Minister David Johnston has offshore-produced submarines in his sights. Lukas Coch/AAP

Government in a rush to make the wrong decision on submarines

In the last week, Defence Minister David Johnston has flagged a “capability gap” if the next fleet of submarines is designed and built in Australia. “We are under such time constraints to avoid a capability…
The abuse unleashed online can be devastating at times. Flickr/Spyros Papaspyropoulos

Five ways to fight online abuse with good manners

Online and social media’s capacity to enable anyone to communicate their ideas and views is much celebrated. So why do so many people feel nervous about getting involved with online debate? Too often…
Landscape architects need to mediate between the soft and hard elements of the city. Forecast, photo by John Gollings

Future forecasting: landscape architects might save the world

I predict we’re going to hear a lot more from landscape architects in the coming years. There has long been a misunderstanding about what they actually do – “something about gardens” being a common response…
Female members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) helped patrol the outskirts of Makhmur, a northern Iraqi town that was seized back from Islamic State militants in August. AAP/Eddie Gerald

Our forgotten allies against Islamic State: Iraqi and Syrian women

Women and girls living in Syria and Iraq have been subject to gross sexual violence, economic strife and the psychological trauma of a war that, to them, seems endless. But women in these countries are…
Piloted in South America, Coca-Cola Life launched in the UK and US in September, and is due in the Australian market in April. RiveraNotario/Flickr

A rose by any other name: the low-down on ‘healthy’ Coke

Coca-Cola has announced it will launch its newest soft drink in the Australian market in April 2015. Strongly promoted as “healthy” Coke elsewhere, Coca-Cola Life may do more to improve the company’s finances…
If Democrats win governorships in battleground states, their fortunes in the House of Representatives will improve considerably – in the long term. EPA/Michael Reynolds

Why the US midterms matter – and why Democrats see a silver lining

If the polls are correct, the headlines on November 5 following the US midterm elections will proclaim that Democrats have suffered a major defeat. The Democrats will likely lose the Senate. President…
Clive Palmer was totally opposed to the government’s “direct action” climate policy only a few months ago. Now he’s voting for it. AAP/Alan Porritt

Grattan on Friday: Abbott government gets some wins – and gives the odd hostage to the future

In a move that channels John Howard, Tony Abbott has put changing the GST on the political agenda, just over a year after assuring the public it would not be altered, “full stop, end of story”. In the…
In the realm of pop culture, ‘killer clowns’ have really proliferated and fostered coulrophobia – the fear of clowns. Mark Crossfield

Are clowns scary? Ha ha aaaargh

When Australian singer and TV personality Mark Holden appeared as a clown recently on Channel 7’s Dancing with the Stars, his supposedly “bizarre” behaviour sparked furious debate and complaints to the…
Nick Cater’s shortlisted work, The Lucky Culture, is one of several non-fiction options. AAP /Dean Lewins

The curious case of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

This year’s cultural debates about the constitution of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards judging panels are now giving way to consideration of the shortlists and their relative worth. Even as these…
Go with the group on trick or treat this Halloween. Sean Locke Photography

Trick or treating this Halloween? Know your group behaviour

Halloween is upon us tonight and it’s all just a bit of harmless fun, right? Or is there truly a dark side to Halloween? What should we make of kids getting together in groups, wearing costumes that hide…