December 13 – 19, 2025
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Opera star Jonas Kaufmann
Dubbed the world’s greatest tenor, Jonas Kaufmann has forged his stellar career on a mix of thrilling talent, relentless hard work and extraordinary dramatic ability.
Film
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man, is a perfectly balanced romp.
Fiction
People like us
“Under the rusty annexe that must once have belonged to something else, that is held together with cobwebs and ribbons, we don’t mean to mention dead mother but we do. Dead mother, who aren’t in heaven, we say in unison, in deep voices as if we are truly solemn, as if we don’t know it should be our father who art in heaven. Then we laugh and one of us whispers, Hallowed by thy name. Hallowed be, the other says. Then we laugh together again as though we are little hyenas.”
Books
Life
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Quotes
Remembrances
“He was nearly as much a Sydney landmark as the Harbour Bridge.”
The prime minister gives a eulogy at the state funeral for Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson. The difference is that the bridge was put together with fewer than six million screws.
Murder
“… I had a very nice shoulder bag and in it I would have a Sabatier kitchen knife with a 10-inch blade…”
The widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke details how she planned to murder him after he reneged on a marriage proposal. This might have been less traumatic than the Woman’s Day bathrobe photoshoot.
Apologies
“Victoria will not look away. Not from the truth. Not from the work. Not from you.”
The premier delivers an apology to First Nations Victorians for the injustices and violence inflicted since colonisation. It is another just step on the path to reconciliation.
Race
“This apology mania is wrong and must stop.”
The former chief of staff to Tony Abbott complains about Victoria’s apology to First Peoples. Abbott famously only apologises when he thinks he has a love child.
Typography
“To restore decorum … the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface.”
The US secretary of state bans the department’s use of Calibri, a font favoured by the previous administration to cater to people with disabilities. It’s a blow to Elon Musk’s Comic Sans project but a compromise on the original plan for Gothic.
Travel
“I’m not the finance minister. I haven’t changed the rule.”
The prime minister responds to the widening scandal over travel expenses. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out who leads the government.
