Culture

magic mushrooms

Can psychedelic drugs help people who are facing death cope with their fears and emotions? That question is examined in Dosed 2: the trip of a lifetime, a new Canadian documentary. Barry Healy reviews.

Capitalism by Dave Riley

In his new self-published e-book, long-time Australian ecoanarchist Ted Trainer argues for a Simpler Way, where people shift from competition to cooperation, individualism to collectivism, and acquisitiveness to gaining life satisfaction from non-material pursuits. Hans A Baer reviews.

Inequality Boulevard

Fremantle singer/songwriter Dave Johnson has produced an album full of big themes, heart and musicality, writes Bill Lawrie.

margrete_queen_of_the_north

With classy production values, consummate acting and tasteful direction, Margrete: Queen of the North is a very humane couple of hours of cinema. Barry Healy reviews.

New Theatre

A new collection of essays chronicles Australia’s radical New Theatre, writes Maree F Roberts, where women took on prominent roles, including as creative and production directors, and playwrights.

Joe Biden and Roch Marc Christian Kaboré

The whole world knows about the recent US midterm elections, but how many people in the global north are aware of other country’s elections, or the recent coup in Burkina Faso, asks Tamara Pearson.

Ecosocialist Bookshelf

Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus presents six new books for reds and greens.

Soldier

The latest screen adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front, exposes the brutality, bloodshed and chaos of World War I trench warfare. Alex Salmon reviews.

Oil Black Swan Theatre

Oil is a sprawling and epic play, spanning 160 years, which traces the petroleum industry’s problematic history and future. Barry Healy reviews.

Maree F Roberts reviews The Stasi Poetry Circle — a thought-provoking approach to the Cold War's culture wars in the former German Democratic Republic.

Danger is omnipresent in this documentary by Australian filmmaker, Karl Malakunus, which accompanies unarmed environmental campaigners in the Philippines, as they confront illegal loggers and fishers. Barry Healy reviews.  

Alex Salmon reviews Danielle Laidley’s 2022 memoir, Don’t Look Away, which tells the story of her life — from growing up in Perth’s northern suburbs, through to her professional football career and gender transition.