We seem to be obsessed with them and I wonder if this speaks to our national character

Could the legitimisation of the guilty pleasure mean the end of judgmental music criticism (good riddance!), or are new hierarchies of taste emerging?

And what was the deal with that Cambodia resettlement? So much money for four people…

I’m a traveller, and as an Indian, I find travelling beyond India quite challenging due to Visa restrictions. This is a symptom of a larger problem. Till the time there are boundaries, there are going to be conflicts. The direction of history has been towards unification, we have far less independent political sovereignities today in the world than ever in history, but world unification still seems elusive. Is it going to happen anytime soon?

How many times have you heard, ‘I wish it was a long weekend EVERY weekend…’ after a public holiday?? Australia has one of the highest rates of unpaid overtime in the western world. In a globally competitive, free-market (rat) race to make a living, are we forgetting to make a life for ourselves? Could a four day week be the ticket to improve our relationships, our mental health and our ability to find meaning and purpose in our lives? How would our economy react if we all collectively agreed to work less?

The state’s involvement in economics, our system of interventionism, breed further and further control over individual lives, liberty and freedom. It matters to me as I’m a producer constantly paying higher and higher taxes, and losing more and more of my freedoms. It should matter to anyone who values freedom and liberty.

Poverty is a global problem. the most vulnerable are also affected by climate change. Education can address both issues.

Regional areas in particular are being devastated and families are being torn apart. What is the heart of the issue? Boredom? A lack of other outlets in regional areas?

(In Memoriam Lewis Carroll.)

Has an increase in knowledge without an arguably similar increase in wisdom created a less accepting global community? In our thirst for more an more knowledge do we have less time/inclination to consider the implications of that knowledge? I feel that we are becoming less tolerant as the world community becomes smaller. Reduced tolerance can and usually does lead to increased ignorance and potential conflict.

My politics, formed in late high school, which views the world through a feminist, social justice and environmentalist lens has barely changed since I was 17 years old. Having children has made my feminism a bit more nuanced, thoughtful and even gentle in some ways, but otherwise I am unchanged. What does it take to change your opinion? And is change only possible with generational change, like we have seen with the huge support for marriage equality?