What cost-of-living crisis? Luxury travel is booming – and set to grow further

| Insights & Views

About ten years ago, while working at Badrutts Palace Hotel in the Swiss town of St Moritz, I was shocked to learn a guest once requested an elephant be brought in to deliver a birthday gift to his wife. And the hotel made...

Elon Musk, Gauguin and are we Australia fair? The 10 best podcasts of 2024

| Insights & Views

This year saw podcasts attract widespread attention for their influence on the political agenda (a hack that goes back to 2015, when Obama caused outrage with his raw take on race on Marc Marons WTF). Spotify continues to...

Don’t go chasing waterfalls: slippery rocks, currents and daredevil jumpers make Australia’s waterways surprisingly deadly

| Insights & Views

Every summer, Australians look for ways to cool down. Millions of us head to the beach. Those inland head for rivers, waterholes and waterfalls. But cooling off comes with risks, from dangerous rips in the ocean to hidden...

The longer the race, the closer it gets: women are closing in on men when it comes to ultra-endurance events

| Insights & Views

Men are dominant at most athletic events but ultra-endurance sports (exercising for six hours or more) represent a unique domain where the performance gap between men and women is narrowing significantly. In traditional...

Skyrocketing prices are an age-old problem. Here’s how Roman emperors battled runaway inflation

| Insights & Views

Therefore, who would not know that effrontery hijacks the public interest? […] It ratchets up the prices of things for sale, not fourfold or eightfold but so much that the human tongues reckoning cannot untangle...

Why do disinfectants only kill 99.9% of germs? Here’s the science

| Insights & Views

Have you ever wondered why most disinfectants indicate they kill 99.9% or 99.99% of germs, but never promise to wipe out all of them? Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind mid-way through cleaning your kitchen or...

Holiday playdates are great for kids – but ditch the stress and don’t compare milestones

| Insights & Views

During school holidays, playdates can provide a brilliant opportunity for social interactions for both children and their parents. They can help children get to know kids at their current or future daycare and school. So,...