47 minutes
L’estat francés es uèi la segonda poténcia mondiala dins l’indústria de l’armament, un sector estrategic que recampa d’actors de dimensions mondialas e que poiriá prene una dimension novèla amb lo plan de rearmament que l’Union Europèa es encara a desvolopar. Dins aquela indústria, Occitània jòga un ròtle màger, puèi qu’aculhís las segonda e tresena regions de l’estat francés mai implicadas: Provença-Alps-Còsta d’Azur (PACA) e Nòva Aquitània. Continua llegint
L’estat francés es uèi la segonda poténcia mondiala dins l’indústria de l’armament, un sector estrategic que recampa d’actors de dimensions mondialas e que poiriá prene una dimension novèla amb lo plan de rearmament que l’Union Europèa es encara a desvolopar. Dins aquela indústria, Occitània jòga un ròtle màger, puèi qu’aculhís las segonda e tresena regions de l’estat francés mai implicadas: Provença-Alps-Còsta d’Azur (PACA) e Nòva Aquitània. Continua llegint
1 hour
เสนอเหตุการณ์โลกปัจจุบัน ข่าวต่างประเทศที่สำคัญ บทวิเคราะห์ทางการเมือง รายงานวิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยีการแพทย์ เรื่องของสตรี สุขภาพ การศึกษาและสังคม รายงานการบันเทิง กีฬาและวัฒนธรรมอเมริกัน รวมทั้งชีวิตคนไทยในอเมริกา
เสนอเหตุการณ์โลกปัจจุบัน ข่าวต่างประเทศที่สำคัญ บทวิเคราะห์ทางการเมือง รายงานวิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยีการแพทย์ เรื่องของสตรี สุขภาพ การศึกษาและสังคม รายงานการบันเทิง กีฬาและวัฒนธรรมอเมริกัน รวมทั้งชีวิตคนไทยในอเมริกา
1 hour
(The Center Square) – One of the largest human smuggling operations in U.S. history has been dismantled by federal and local law enforcement officers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and Inglewood Police investigators in California launched an investigation that led to the arrests of four Guatemalan human smuggling ringleaders who were all living illegally in the U.S. They were charged and indicted on multiple counts for orchestrating what law enforcement said was one of the largest human smuggling organizations in America. They were indicted on charges of smuggling roughly 20,000 Guatemalans into the U.S. over a period of five years. Overall, the smuggling operation was active for roughly 12 years nationwide, according to a recently unsealed indictment. Authorities arrested the alleged ringleader, Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, and his alleged right-hand man, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. They were arraigned the same day, ordered jailed without bond; a trial is set for next month. Two others charged include Guatemalans Helmer Obispo-Hernandez, a lieutenant in the criminal organization who remains a fugitive, authorities said, and Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, a driver for the smuggling organization. Paxtor-Oxlaj is currently incarcerated in Oklahoma for causing a November 2023 car accident that killed seven, authorities said, including three minors in Elk City, Oklahoma. The accident occurred during a smuggling operation when he was transporting illegal foreign nationals from New York to Los Angeles, authorities said. He was arrested and charged in the Western District of Oklahoma. He had previously been removed from the U.S. in 2010 and illegally reentered as a gotaway – those who illegally enter between ports of entry and intentionally evade capture. A record more than two million gotaways illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported. Each of the four Guatemalan men were charged with “conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, transporting aliens in the United States, and harboring aliens in the United States for private financial gain and resulting in death,” according to the indictment. Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj were also charged with two counts of hostage-taking. According to the indictment, from April 2024 to July 2024, they held hostage two Guatemalan nationals who were smuggled into the U.S. who hadn’t paid their smuggling fees and allegedly threatened to kill them until third parties paid for their release. In a separate and more recent complaint, Obispo-Hernandez was charged with threatening to cut off the heads of an ICE task force officer and his family members. He allegedly made the threats after search warrants were executed at his residence. The Renoj-Matul transnational criminal organization operated for at least a dozen years, specializing in smuggling Guatemalans into the U.S., primarily transporting illegal foreign nationals from Phoenix to Los Angeles, according to the indictment. Renoj-Matual’s associates based in Guatemala allegedly solicited Guatemalans to come to the U.S., charging between $15,000 and $18,000 for each to be smuggled into the U.S., investigators say. Once they reached Mexico, Mexican cartel smugglers transported them through Mexico and across the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. They were then held hostage in stash houses in Arizona and eventually picked up by Renoj-Matul’s lieutenants, according to the indictment. For an additional fee, the smuggled Guatemalans paid to be transported throughout the U.S., including to Los Angeles. Those who couldn’t pay were allegedly held hostage in a stash house in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, according to the complaint. Renoj-Matul also orchestrated a process for the human smuggling proceeds to be transported from Los Angeles to Phoenix, given to Mexican smugglers “to pay the expenses incurred by Renoj-Matul’s transnational criminal organization,” according to the complaint. If convicted of all charges, each of the four Guatemalan ringleaders face a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. Authorities also arrested two additional illegal foreign nationals and alleged lieutenants in the Renoj-Matul transnational criminal organization. Rolando Gomez-Gomez, who was previously deported, was arrested in South Los Angeles, charged with “one count of being an illegal alien found in the United States following removal.” Juan Lopez Garcia was arrested in Downtown Los Angeles on a civil removal matter. The smuggling bust occurred after a record nearly one million Guatemalans illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.
(The Center Square) – One of the largest human smuggling operations in U.S. history has been dismantled by federal and local law enforcement officers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and Inglewood Police investigators in California launched an investigation that led to the arrests of four Guatemalan human smuggling ringleaders who were all living illegally in the U.S. They were charged and indicted on multiple counts for orchestrating what law enforcement said was one of the largest human smuggling organizations in America. They were indicted on charges of smuggling roughly 20,000 Guatemalans into the U.S. over a period of five years. Overall, the smuggling operation was active for roughly 12 years nationwide, according to a recently unsealed indictment. Authorities arrested the alleged ringleader, Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, and his alleged right-hand man, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. They were arraigned the same day, ordered jailed without bond; a trial is set for next month. Two others charged include Guatemalans Helmer Obispo-Hernandez, a lieutenant in the criminal organization who remains a fugitive, authorities said, and Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, a driver for the smuggling organization. Paxtor-Oxlaj is currently incarcerated in Oklahoma for causing a November 2023 car accident that killed seven, authorities said, including three minors in Elk City, Oklahoma. The accident occurred during a smuggling operation when he was transporting illegal foreign nationals from New York to Los Angeles, authorities said. He was arrested and charged in the Western District of Oklahoma. He had previously been removed from the U.S. in 2010 and illegally reentered as a gotaway – those who illegally enter between ports of entry and intentionally evade capture. A record more than two million gotaways illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported. Each of the four Guatemalan men were charged with “conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, transporting aliens in the United States, and harboring aliens in the United States for private financial gain and resulting in death,” according to the indictment. Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj were also charged with two counts of hostage-taking. According to the indictment, from April 2024 to July 2024, they held hostage two Guatemalan nationals who were smuggled into the U.S. who hadn’t paid their smuggling fees and allegedly threatened to kill them until third parties paid for their release. In a separate and more recent complaint, Obispo-Hernandez was charged with threatening to cut off the heads of an ICE task force officer and his family members. He allegedly made the threats after search warrants were executed at his residence. The Renoj-Matul transnational criminal organization operated for at least a dozen years, specializing in smuggling Guatemalans into the U.S., primarily transporting illegal foreign nationals from Phoenix to Los Angeles, according to the indictment. Renoj-Matual’s associates based in Guatemala allegedly solicited Guatemalans to come to the U.S., charging between $15,000 and $18,000 for each to be smuggled into the U.S., investigators say. Once they reached Mexico, Mexican cartel smugglers transported them through Mexico and across the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. They were then held hostage in stash houses in Arizona and eventually picked up by Renoj-Matul’s lieutenants, according to the indictment. For an additional fee, the smuggled Guatemalans paid to be transported throughout the U.S., including to Los Angeles. Those who couldn’t pay were allegedly held hostage in a stash house in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, according to the complaint. Renoj-Matul also orchestrated a process for the human smuggling proceeds to be transported from Los Angeles to Phoenix, given to Mexican smugglers “to pay the expenses incurred by Renoj-Matul’s transnational criminal organization,” according to the complaint. If convicted of all charges, each of the four Guatemalan ringleaders face a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. Authorities also arrested two additional illegal foreign nationals and alleged lieutenants in the Renoj-Matul transnational criminal organization. Rolando Gomez-Gomez, who was previously deported, was arrested in South Los Angeles, charged with “one count of being an illegal alien found in the United States following removal.” Juan Lopez Garcia was arrested in Downtown Los Angeles on a civil removal matter. The smuggling bust occurred after a record nearly one million Guatemalans illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.
1 hour
Un equipo de científicos ha encontrado un ecosistema con corales, arañas marinas gigantes y posibles nuevas especies en el lecho marino expuesto tras la fractura de un iceberg del tamaño de Chicago.
Un equipo de científicos ha encontrado un ecosistema con corales, arañas marinas gigantes y posibles nuevas especies en el lecho marino expuesto tras la fractura de un iceberg del tamaño de Chicago.
1 hour
Shutterstock/S Watson When we think about flood management, higher stop banks, stronger levees and concrete barriers usually come to mind. But what if the best solution – for people and nature – isn’t to confine rivers, but to give them more space? This alternative is increasingly being considered as an approach to mitigating flood risk. But allowing rivers room to move also delivers ecological benefits far beyond flood risk reduction. It supports biodiversity, improves water quality and stores carbon. As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme floods, rethinking our approach to managing floodplain rivers has never been more urgent. Climate change, floods and river confinement Climate change is amplifying flood risks worldwide, and Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception. Large floods are expected to become much more frequent and severe, threatening communities, infrastructure and ecosystems. Many of these risks are made worse by past management decisions that have artificially confined rivers within narrow channels, cutting them off from their natural floodplains. Floodplain river systems have historically been dynamic, shifting across landscapes over time. But extensive stop banks, modification of river channels and land development have restricted this natural variability. Strangling rivers in this way transfers and heightens flood risks downstream by forcing water through confined channels at greater speeds. It also degrades ecosystems that rely on the natural ebb and flow of river processes. The Waiau River, a gravel-bed braided river in the South Island, has been constrained by land development, primarily for agriculture. Background satellite image: Google (c) 2025 Airbus, CC BY-SA Giving rivers space to roam The idea of allowing rivers to reclaim space on their floodplains is not new. In the Netherlands, the Room for the River programme was a response to flooding in 1995 that led to large-scale evacuations of people and cattle. In England, predictions that economic risks associated with flooding will increase 20-fold within this century ignited the Making Space for Water strategy. However, these initiatives typically remain focused on flood protection, overlooking opportunities to maximise ecological benefits. Our new research shows that well-designed approaches can deliver ecological gains alongside flood protection. This is crucial because floodplain river systems are among the most valuable ecosystems. They provide about a quarter of all land-based ecosystem services such as water retention and pollutant filtration, as well as educational, recreational and cultural benefits. Managing rivers for variability A fundamental shift in river management involves acknowledging and accommodating natural variability. Floodplain rivers are not static: they change across landscapes and through time, responding to seasonal flows, sediment movement and ecological processes. Braided rivers are an example of floodplain rivers that have natural variability and diverse habitat types. Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA Our research synthesises the ecological processes that are enabled when floodplain rivers have room to move. Rivers that are not unnaturally confined are typically more physically complex. For instance, along with the main river channel, they might have smaller side channels, or areas where the water pools and slows, springs popping up from below ground to re-join the surface waters, or ponds on the floodplain. A diverse range of habitats supports a rich variety of plant and animal life. Even exposed gravel, made available in rivers that flow freely, provides critical nesting sites for endangered birds. Biodiversity is not one-dimensional. Instead, it exists and operates at multiple scales, from a small floodplain pond to a whole river catchment or wider. In a dynamic, ever-changing riverscape, we might find the genetic composition of a species varying in different parts of the river, or the same species of fish varying in their body size, depending on the habitat conditions. These examples of natural biological variability enable species and ecosystems to be resilient in the face of uncertain future conditions. Rivers that have room to move on their floodplains are highly dynamic. This diagram shows the main types of ecological variability in a free-flowing river: physical variability, habitat heterogeneity and variable ecosystem processes. Adapted from McCabe et al. 2025 Nature Water, CC BY-SA At a larger scale, the type and number of species that live in different floodplain river habitats also varies. This diversity of biological communities produces variation in the functions ecosystems perform across the river, such as the uptake of nutrients or processing of organic matter. This can even help to diversify food webs. These variations mean not all species or groups of species in the river will be vulnerable to the same disturbances – such as droughts or floods – at the same time. This is because plants and animals in rivers have evolved to take advantage of long-term rhythms of floods and droughts in different ways. For instance, the cottonwood poplars of the southwest United States time their seed release with the highly predictable rhythms of snowmelt-driven spring floods in that part of the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, whitebait fish species typically deposit their eggs during high autumn flows, which then get transported to sea as larvae during high winter flows. Some animals need multiple habitats within the river for different stages of life. Other creatures travel from afar to use river floodplains for only a short time. The latter includes the banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus), endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. This bird travels as far as 1,700km to nest on braided-river gravels each spring. Banded dotterels are in decline, and they rely on habitats provided by rivers that have space to roam. The endangered black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) uses gravel bar habitats on river floodplains for nesting. Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA A call for more sustainable river management As climate change accelerates, we must rethink how we manage our waterways. Reinforcing levees and deepening channels may seem like logical responses to increased flood risk, but these approaches often exacerbate long-term vulnerabilities and transfer risk elsewhere. We call for practitioners to broaden the scope of values included in river management policy and programmes to include ecological variability. Nature-based solutions are approaches that seek to benefit both people and nature. By working with nature rather than against it, we can create landscapes that are more resilient, adaptive, and supportive of both people and biodiversity. It’s time to embrace a new paradigm for river management – one that sees rivers not as threats to be controlled, but as lifelines to be protected and restored. Christina McCabe receives funding through an Aho Hīnātore doctoral research scholarship at the University of Canterbury. Jonathan Tonkin receives funding from a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship and the Centre of Research Excellence Te Pūnaha Matatini. He also receives funding from the Antarctic Science Platform and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Shutterstock/S Watson When we think about flood management, higher stop banks, stronger levees and concrete barriers usually come to mind. But what if the best solution – for people and nature – isn’t to confine rivers, but to give them more space? This alternative is increasingly being considered as an approach to mitigating flood risk. But allowing rivers room to move also delivers ecological benefits far beyond flood risk reduction. It supports biodiversity, improves water quality and stores carbon. As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme floods, rethinking our approach to managing floodplain rivers has never been more urgent. Climate change, floods and river confinement Climate change is amplifying flood risks worldwide, and Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception. Large floods are expected to become much more frequent and severe, threatening communities, infrastructure and ecosystems. Many of these risks are made worse by past management decisions that have artificially confined rivers within narrow channels, cutting them off from their natural floodplains. Floodplain river systems have historically been dynamic, shifting across landscapes over time. But extensive stop banks, modification of river channels and land development have restricted this natural variability. Strangling rivers in this way transfers and heightens flood risks downstream by forcing water through confined channels at greater speeds. It also degrades ecosystems that rely on the natural ebb and flow of river processes. The Waiau River, a gravel-bed braided river in the South Island, has been constrained by land development, primarily for agriculture. Background satellite image: Google (c) 2025 Airbus, CC BY-SA Giving rivers space to roam The idea of allowing rivers to reclaim space on their floodplains is not new. In the Netherlands, the Room for the River programme was a response to flooding in 1995 that led to large-scale evacuations of people and cattle. In England, predictions that economic risks associated with flooding will increase 20-fold within this century ignited the Making Space for Water strategy. However, these initiatives typically remain focused on flood protection, overlooking opportunities to maximise ecological benefits. Our new research shows that well-designed approaches can deliver ecological gains alongside flood protection. This is crucial because floodplain river systems are among the most valuable ecosystems. They provide about a quarter of all land-based ecosystem services such as water retention and pollutant filtration, as well as educational, recreational and cultural benefits. Managing rivers for variability A fundamental shift in river management involves acknowledging and accommodating natural variability. Floodplain rivers are not static: they change across landscapes and through time, responding to seasonal flows, sediment movement and ecological processes. Braided rivers are an example of floodplain rivers that have natural variability and diverse habitat types. Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA Our research synthesises the ecological processes that are enabled when floodplain rivers have room to move. Rivers that are not unnaturally confined are typically more physically complex. For instance, along with the main river channel, they might have smaller side channels, or areas where the water pools and slows, springs popping up from below ground to re-join the surface waters, or ponds on the floodplain. A diverse range of habitats supports a rich variety of plant and animal life. Even exposed gravel, made available in rivers that flow freely, provides critical nesting sites for endangered birds. Biodiversity is not one-dimensional. Instead, it exists and operates at multiple scales, from a small floodplain pond to a whole river catchment or wider. In a dynamic, ever-changing riverscape, we might find the genetic composition of a species varying in different parts of the river, or the same species of fish varying in their body size, depending on the habitat conditions. These examples of natural biological variability enable species and ecosystems to be resilient in the face of uncertain future conditions. Rivers that have room to move on their floodplains are highly dynamic. This diagram shows the main types of ecological variability in a free-flowing river: physical variability, habitat heterogeneity and variable ecosystem processes. Adapted from McCabe et al. 2025 Nature Water, CC BY-SA At a larger scale, the type and number of species that live in different floodplain river habitats also varies. This diversity of biological communities produces variation in the functions ecosystems perform across the river, such as the uptake of nutrients or processing of organic matter. This can even help to diversify food webs. These variations mean not all species or groups of species in the river will be vulnerable to the same disturbances – such as droughts or floods – at the same time. This is because plants and animals in rivers have evolved to take advantage of long-term rhythms of floods and droughts in different ways. For instance, the cottonwood poplars of the southwest United States time their seed release with the highly predictable rhythms of snowmelt-driven spring floods in that part of the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, whitebait fish species typically deposit their eggs during high autumn flows, which then get transported to sea as larvae during high winter flows. Some animals need multiple habitats within the river for different stages of life. Other creatures travel from afar to use river floodplains for only a short time. The latter includes the banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus), endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. This bird travels as far as 1,700km to nest on braided-river gravels each spring. Banded dotterels are in decline, and they rely on habitats provided by rivers that have space to roam. The endangered black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) uses gravel bar habitats on river floodplains for nesting. Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA A call for more sustainable river management As climate change accelerates, we must rethink how we manage our waterways. Reinforcing levees and deepening channels may seem like logical responses to increased flood risk, but these approaches often exacerbate long-term vulnerabilities and transfer risk elsewhere. We call for practitioners to broaden the scope of values included in river management policy and programmes to include ecological variability. Nature-based solutions are approaches that seek to benefit both people and nature. By working with nature rather than against it, we can create landscapes that are more resilient, adaptive, and supportive of both people and biodiversity. It’s time to embrace a new paradigm for river management – one that sees rivers not as threats to be controlled, but as lifelines to be protected and restored. Christina McCabe receives funding through an Aho Hīnātore doctoral research scholarship at the University of Canterbury. Jonathan Tonkin receives funding from a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship and the Centre of Research Excellence Te Pūnaha Matatini. He also receives funding from the Antarctic Science Platform and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
2 hours
There is a rise in cases of blackmailing LGBTQ+ people over the past two years. Criminals often act out of political motives rather than just for financial gain
There is a rise in cases of blackmailing LGBTQ+ people over the past two years. Criminals often act out of political motives rather than just for financial gain
2 hours
2 hours
Sabinayro/Shutterstock Earlier this month, Kmart pulled a “hyaluronic acid cleansing balm” from its shelves, after a teen who used the skincare product was hospitalised, reporting eye pain and blurred vision. It’s unclear what ingredient caused this reaction. In a statement, Kmart said it was removing the product while conducting an investigation. The retailer also said: We want to assure our customers that our cosmetics are designed to ensure that they comply with both Australian and European requirements on ingredients. Hyaluronic acid – despite the name – is a gentle ingredient commonly used in skincare products. But what does hyaluronic acid do to your skin as a skincare ingredient? And is it safe for tweens and teens? What is hyaluronic acid? Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan – a sugar-based molecule found naturally in the skin, eyes, joint fluid and connective tissue. It plays a key role in hydrating the skin and tissues, lubricating our joints and supporting tissue repair. Beyond cosmetics, hyaluronic acid is used in drug delivery, regenerative medicine, wound repair, and to treat conditions such as atherosclerosis (where the arterial walls harden and narrow) and osteoarthritis (a degenerative joint disease). It is also a key ingredient in many eye drops and contact lens care solutions. How is it used in skincare? While the word “acid” might suggest it is harsh and potentially damaging to the skin, hyaluronic acid is not used in its acidic form in skincare products. It is usually used in its salt form, sodium hyaluronate. In skincare, active acids such as salicylic acid usually lower the skin’s pH and exfoliate it by breaking the bonds between dead skin cells. Hyaluronic acid, in contrast, is used to hydrate the skin. It is a humectant, an ingredient that attracts and retains water molecules. Hyaluronic acid has three qualities that make it suitable for skincare: it’s soluble (can be dissolved in water), biocompatible (meaning it’s not harmful to the body), and biodegradable (naturally breaks down into non-toxic, simpler substances). It is usually safe and well-tolerated, meaning it has very few side effects. In skincare products, hyaluronic is used in different forms. Smaller hyaluronic molecules can penetrate deeper into the skin and hydrate the lower levels. In products this is often advertised as “anti-ageing”, because it stimulates the production of collagen (a structural protein in the skin), and helps to improve elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines. Larger hyaluronic acid molecules remain on the skin’s surface and have an immediate hydrating effect, preventing water evaporation from the skin. Hyaluronic acid helps the skin attract and retain water molecules for hydration. Art_Photo/Shutterstock Any risks? Hyaluronic acid is generally a safe ingredient, even for sensitive skin. But products advertised as “hyaluronic acid skincare” may contain other ingredients which can cause irritation. In particular, fragrances, preservatives and surfactants (ingredients that produce foam and help wash away oil and dirt) may be safe for skin but burn or otherwise irritate the eyes. This is because the cornea and conjuctiva (the thin membrane covering the eye) are much more sensitive than the skin. How are skincare ingredients regulated? Unlike medicines and products used for therapeutic reasons, which are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), general cosmetic products do not require pre-market safety testing or approval. Instead, companies need to register their business with the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme and verify that their ingredients are not banned or restricted in Australia. This creates a potential gap where defective products remain on the market, only to be recalled after adverse reactions occur. Are these products appropriate for children? Most scientific research on active ingredients – including hyaluronic acid – has been evaluated in older populations. This leaves a gap in understanding how they affect teen and preteen skin. Many products are designed for ageing and/or specific skin types, and are largely unnecessary for children and younger people. In some cases, they can potentially be harmful to their skin. For example, unless prescribed by a dermatologist, it’s advisable for young people to avoid retinoid products (containing retinol or retinal) as they can cause redness, peeling and drying. Similarly, products with alpha hydroxy acids can cause irritation, itching, redness and may worsen acne in young skin. So, what should younger people look for? Preteens and teens should avoid products containing active ingredients such as retinol, vitamin C, alpha- and beta- hydroxy acids, and peptides, as well as those labelled with terms such as anti-ageing, wrinkle-reducing, brightening, or firming. To keep skin clean and protected, teenagers can use a good cleanser, a simple moisturiser and a broad spectrum SPF 30 or 50 sunscreen. It’s best to opt for gentle, fragrance-free cleansers and moisturisers suitable for all skin types. Consulting with a pharmacist can provide personalised recommendations based on individual skin needs. Laurence Orlando is a council member with the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Zoe Porter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
2 hours
Sabinayro/Shutterstock Earlier this month, Kmart pulled a “hyaluronic acid cleansing balm” from its shelves, after a teen who used the skincare product was hospitalised, reporting eye pain and blurred vision. It’s unclear what ingredient caused this reaction. In a statement, Kmart said it was removing the product while conducting an investigation. The retailer also said: We want to assure our customers that our cosmetics are designed to ensure that they comply with both Australian and European requirements on ingredients. Hyaluronic acid – despite the name – is a gentle ingredient commonly used in skincare products. But what does hyaluronic acid do to your skin as a skincare ingredient? And is it safe for tweens and teens? What is hyaluronic acid? Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan – a sugar-based molecule found naturally in the skin, eyes, joint fluid and connective tissue. It plays a key role in hydrating the skin and tissues, lubricating our joints and supporting tissue repair. Beyond cosmetics, hyaluronic acid is used in drug delivery, regenerative medicine, wound repair, and to treat conditions such as atherosclerosis (where the arterial walls harden and narrow) and osteoarthritis (a degenerative joint disease). It is also a key ingredient in many eye drops and contact lens care solutions. How is it used in skincare? While the word “acid” might suggest it is harsh and potentially damaging to the skin, hyaluronic acid is not used in its acidic form in skincare products. It is usually used in its salt form, sodium hyaluronate. In skincare, active acids such as salicylic acid usually lower the skin’s pH and exfoliate it by breaking the bonds between dead skin cells. Hyaluronic acid, in contrast, is used to hydrate the skin. It is a humectant, an ingredient that attracts and retains water molecules. Hyaluronic acid has three qualities that make it suitable for skincare: it’s soluble (can be dissolved in water), biocompatible (meaning it’s not harmful to the body), and biodegradable (naturally breaks down into non-toxic, simpler substances). It is usually safe and well-tolerated, meaning it has very few side effects. In skincare products, hyaluronic is used in different forms. Smaller hyaluronic molecules can penetrate deeper into the skin and hydrate the lower levels. In products this is often advertised as “anti-ageing”, because it stimulates the production of collagen (a structural protein in the skin), and helps to improve elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines. Larger hyaluronic acid molecules remain on the skin’s surface and have an immediate hydrating effect, preventing water evaporation from the skin. Hyaluronic acid helps the skin attract and retain water molecules for hydration. Art_Photo/Shutterstock Any risks? Hyaluronic acid is generally a safe ingredient, even for sensitive skin. But products advertised as “hyaluronic acid skincare” may contain other ingredients which can cause irritation. In particular, fragrances, preservatives and surfactants (ingredients that produce foam and help wash away oil and dirt) may be safe for skin but burn or otherwise irritate the eyes. This is because the cornea and conjuctiva (the thin membrane covering the eye) are much more sensitive than the skin. How are skincare ingredients regulated? Unlike medicines and products used for therapeutic reasons, which are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), general cosmetic products do not require pre-market safety testing or approval. Instead, companies need to register their business with the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme and verify that their ingredients are not banned or restricted in Australia. This creates a potential gap where defective products remain on the market, only to be recalled after adverse reactions occur. Are these products appropriate for children? Most scientific research on active ingredients – including hyaluronic acid – has been evaluated in older populations. This leaves a gap in understanding how they affect teen and preteen skin. Many products are designed for ageing and/or specific skin types, and are largely unnecessary for children and younger people. In some cases, they can potentially be harmful to their skin. For example, unless prescribed by a dermatologist, it’s advisable for young people to avoid retinoid products (containing retinol or retinal) as they can cause redness, peeling and drying. Similarly, products with alpha hydroxy acids can cause irritation, itching, redness and may worsen acne in young skin. So, what should younger people look for? Preteens and teens should avoid products containing active ingredients such as retinol, vitamin C, alpha- and beta- hydroxy acids, and peptides, as well as those labelled with terms such as anti-ageing, wrinkle-reducing, brightening, or firming. To keep skin clean and protected, teenagers can use a good cleanser, a simple moisturiser and a broad spectrum SPF 30 or 50 sunscreen. It’s best to opt for gentle, fragrance-free cleansers and moisturisers suitable for all skin types. Consulting with a pharmacist can provide personalised recommendations based on individual skin needs. Laurence Orlando is a council member with the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Zoe Porter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
2 hours
ཉིན་ལྟར་ཐོན་བཞིན་པའི་བོད་དང་ཨ་རིའི་གསར་འགྱུར་ཁག་དང་། འཛམ་གླིང་གསར་འགྱུར་ཁག་རྒྱང་སྲིང་ཞུས་པ་ཕུད། དེ་མིན་དམིགས་བསལ་ལེ་ཚན་ཁག་ཅིག་རྒྱང་སྲིང་ཞུ་བཞིན་ཡོད།
2 hours
ཉིན་ལྟར་ཐོན་བཞིན་པའི་བོད་དང་ཨ་རིའི་གསར་འགྱུར་ཁག་དང་། འཛམ་གླིང་གསར་འགྱུར་ཁག་རྒྱང་སྲིང་ཞུས་པ་ཕུད། དེ་མིན་དམིགས་བསལ་ལེ་ཚན་ཁག་ཅིག་རྒྱང་སྲིང་ཞུ་བཞིན་ཡོད།
2 hours
Rohingya Broadcast
2 hours
Australian voters heading to the polls need to be aware there’s little standing between them and potential manipulation of information by vested interests. The loss of Australia’s go-to political fact-checker and the rise of AI tools has created a crisis for political accountability just as the nation’s voters prepare to go to the polls. Professional […] The post Why voting in a fact-checking void should worry you appeared first on 360.
Australian voters heading to the polls need to be aware there’s little standing between them and potential manipulation of information by vested interests. The loss of Australia’s go-to political fact-checker and the rise of AI tools has created a crisis for political accountability just as the nation’s voters prepare to go to the polls. Professional […] The post Why voting in a fact-checking void should worry you appeared first on 360.
2 hours
Danko has been an off-and-on Liberal Party member in recent years. With Liberal polling numbers increasing, he's returned to the Party.
Danko has been an off-and-on Liberal Party member in recent years. With Liberal polling numbers increasing, he's returned to the Party.
2 hours
မြန်မာစံတော်ချိန် နံနက် ၆ နာရီကနေ ၇ နာရီထိ (၁) နာရီကြာ ထုတ်လွှင့်နေတဲ့ ဒီရေဒီယိုအစီအစဉ်မှာ မြန်မာ၊ ဒေသတွင်းနဲ့ နိုင်ငံတကာသတင်းနဲ့ သတင်းဆောင်းပါးတွေ သီတင်းပတ်စဉ်ကဏ္ဍတွေကို နားဆင်နိုင်ပါတယ်။
2 hours
မြန်မာစံတော်ချိန် နံနက် ၆ နာရီကနေ ၇ နာရီထိ (၁) နာရီကြာ ထုတ်လွှင့်နေတဲ့ ဒီရေဒီယိုအစီအစဉ်မှာ မြန်မာ၊ ဒေသတွင်းနဲ့ နိုင်ငံတကာသတင်းနဲ့ သတင်းဆောင်းပါးတွေ သီတင်းပတ်စဉ်ကဏ္ဍတွေကို နားဆင်နိုင်ပါတယ်။
2 hours
تسود "حالة من الإظلام الإعلامي" للحرب في السودان، وانتشار للمعلومات المضلِّلة، بسبب السيطرة والتحكم من طرفي الصراع في المعلومات المنشورة، بما يجعل من الصعب التحقّق من صحتها أو دقتها، وعن عدم قدرة الصحافيين في السودان على التغطية المباشرة أو استخدام الكاميرا، حيث يجري استهدافهم بالقتل أو الاعتقال أو مصادرة الهواتف والكاميرات، مما يؤدي إلى عدم توثيق الجرائم والانتهاكات، ومن ثمّ إفلات مرتكبيها من العقاب. The post الصحافة السودانية في ظـلّ الحرب appeared first on السفير العربي.
تسود "حالة من الإظلام الإعلامي" للحرب في السودان، وانتشار للمعلومات المضلِّلة، بسبب السيطرة والتحكم من طرفي الصراع في المعلومات المنشورة، بما يجعل من الصعب التحقّق من صحتها أو دقتها، وعن عدم قدرة الصحافيين في السودان على التغطية المباشرة أو استخدام الكاميرا، حيث يجري استهدافهم بالقتل أو الاعتقال أو مصادرة الهواتف والكاميرات، مما يؤدي إلى عدم توثيق الجرائم والانتهاكات، ومن ثمّ إفلات مرتكبيها من العقاب. The post الصحافة السودانية في ظـلّ الحرب appeared first on السفير العربي.
2 hours
La argentina reaparece y responde con actitud desafiante.
La argentina reaparece y responde con actitud desafiante.
2 hours
په دې نیم ساعته خپرونه کې د افغانستان او نړۍ تازه خبرونه، مهم رپوټونه، مطبوعاتو ته کتنه او مرکې شاملې دي.
2 hours
په دې نیم ساعته خپرونه کې د افغانستان او نړۍ تازه خبرونه، مهم رپوټونه، مطبوعاتو ته کتنه او مرکې شاملې دي.
2 hours
Nae Ionescu, ideologul Mișcării Legionare din anii 30-40, este în continuare motiv de mândrie pentru instituțiile de cultură brăilene. Deși nu a scris nici o carte, iar publicațiile care îl au drept autor sunt cursuri de filozofie puse cap la cap de foștii studenți, Nae Ionescu de numele căruia se leagă deriva către totalitarism a societății românești interbelice, este motiv de mândrie la Brăila, orașul său de baștină.
Nae Ionescu, ideologul Mișcării Legionare din anii 30-40, este în continuare motiv de mândrie pentru instituțiile de cultură brăilene. Deși nu a scris nici o carte, iar publicațiile care îl au drept autor sunt cursuri de filozofie puse cap la cap de foștii studenți, Nae Ionescu de numele căruia se leagă deriva către totalitarism a societății românești interbelice, este motiv de mândrie la Brăila, orașul său de baștină.
3 hours
Les trois quarts du trafic maritime américain devant transiter en mer Rouge sont aujourd'hui obligés de contourner la zone et de passer par le sud de l'Afrique, en raison des frappes menées par les Houthis du Yémen, a affirmé dimanche 23 mars un conseiller de la Maison Blanche.
3 hours
Les trois quarts du trafic maritime américain devant transiter en mer Rouge sont aujourd'hui obligés de contourner la zone et de passer par le sud de l'Afrique, en raison des frappes menées par les Houthis du Yémen, a affirmé dimanche 23 mars un conseiller de la Maison Blanche.
3 hours
El golpe a Leclerc, Hamilton y Gasly en China tras las verificaciones técnicas termina beneficiando al piloto madrileño.
El golpe a Leclerc, Hamilton y Gasly en China tras las verificaciones técnicas termina beneficiando al piloto madrileño.
3 hours
In his latest book, Peter Kirkpatrick retrieves from Australian cultural history the compelling figure of the “wild reciter”, as a reviewer in the 1920s termed amateur elocutionists. From the late 19th century, men, women and children recited popular verses to audiences who shared in the mass appeal of poetry. Their performances could become histrionic or strident. Review: The Wild Reciter: Poetry and Popular Culture in Australia, 1890 to the Present (Melbourne University Publishing) Bush ballads by Henry Lawson and A.B. “Banjo” Paterson, as well as English and American classics and topical verses, formed the repertoire of public speakers, such as the “Tangalooma Tiger” – one of many eccentrics who frequented Sydney’s Domain, drawing large crowds. Children who learned elocution as a form of self-improvement and social mobility would practise their craft at local events. In 1933, Nancy Turner from Lithgow performed James Elroy Flecker’s War Song of the Saracens at the first City of Sydney Eisteddfod. The Daily Telegraph reported that Turner recited like a ferocious kitten, and screwed her eyes up tightly when she shouted “We have marched from the Indus to Spain and, by God, we will go there again”, as if she meant it. “Light-years behind Taylor Swift in terms of high-class showbiz professionalism,” writes Kirkpatrick, “the wild reciter represents poetry’s neglected and – in the best possible sense of the word – vulgar past, offering a perspective that might also speak to its present and future as a demotic art.” Henry Lawson (c.1889). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. A privileged place We turn to poetry for many of life’s significant moments. Weddings and funerals remind us that rhyming verse has a privileged place in human communication. The form is freighted with meaning and can express heightened emotion. Achingly earnest or spiritually intense, romantic or maudlin, poetic language affects us, even in popular usage such as greeting cards. In these instances, we do not always hear “good” poetry. Aesthetic qualities are often ranked second to a poem’s timely message or the personal feelings of the poetic messenger. George Orwell coined the phrase “good bad poems” in 1942 to describe 19th-century favourites, such as Rudyard Kipling’s If and the boys’ own imperial adventure poem Gunga Din. Orwell called such poems “vulgar”; these days we might call them clichéd (and racist). Yet he observed that they expressed emotions “which nearly every human being can share”. Peter Kirkpatrick. Melbourne University Publishing. Orwell also reminded his readers that poems are mnemonic devices. Many older Australians can still remember verses from their schoolrooms. According to historians Martyn Lyons and Lucy Taksa, those brought up around the first world war were a “poetry generation”. Many of those brought up in the aftermath of the second world war can recite verses from the school readers that used to structure their English literature classes. Being able to recite as well as appreciate poetry was seen as a foundational educational skill, even if children mostly remembered stirring lines such as “the boy stood on the burning deck,” from Felicia Hemans’ Casabianca. As political commentator Rory Stewart explains in his BBC podcast The Long History of Argument, speaking and arguing well have been seen for millennia as the key to a good education and the building blocks of democracy. Turn of the century experts, such as the American Alfred Ayres – the pen name of Thomas Embly Osmun (1826–1902) – advocated a modern style of verse performance. Late Victorian elocution, Ayres wrote, was characterised by orotunds, sostenutos, whispers and half-whispers, monotones, basilar tones and guttural tones, high pitches, middle pitches and low pitches, gentle tones, reverent tones, and all the rest of that old trumpery that has made many a noisy, stilted reader, but never an intelligent, agreeable one. The old school of elocution, he argued, produced “readers occupied with the sound of their own voices”. Modern elocution, by contrast, sought to clarify “the art of speaking words in an intelligent, forcible, and agreeable manner”. Appreciating the art of rhetoric may become ever more important in our “post-truth” world. In the age of artificial intelligence, literature professors like me are considering a return to oral assessments to verify our university students have read and understood the course readings, not just regurgitated a ChatGPT summary. Songs and mass media Kirkpatrick enjoys disrupting assumptions about high and low culture. He begins his book with Taylor Swift, whose 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department and subsequent world tour spawned events, media articles and academic conferences. He ends by speculating about who might be appointed as Australia’s first Poet Laureate, suggesting indie rock singers such as Nick Cave and Paul Kelly, or First Nations rapper The Kid Laroi, have a stronger hold on the public imagination than literary poets. He has a soft spot for Evelyn Araluen’s bestselling collection Dropbear, but wonders how a First Nations poet would feel about a position intended to amplify the literature of the colonial state. The most sustained focus on women’s writing in The Wild Reciter is reserved for Lesbia Harford’s “mortal poems”. Like the colonial Irish-Australian poet Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, Harford set and sang her poems to Irish tunes. Whether Harford meant her poems to be sung by others remains an elusive question. But Kirkpatrick rightly notes that “we now hold song lyrics in our heads in the way that Harford’s generation held poems”. Recurring poetic motifs, such as horses, allow Kirkpatrick to show how bush ballads contributed to emerging forms of 20th-century entertainment. Popular Australian themes would have a global influence, as modern technologies brought imagined communities together via radio, cinema and popular music. Kirkpatrick links Paterson’s The Man from Snowy River (1890) to Buffalo Bill and touring Wild West shows, and later to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony. A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson (c.1890) Public domain Identifying how poetry has interacted with different media challenges the common assumption that poetry is formal or stuffy: something confined to university study and highbrow poetry readings. Kirkpatrick argues, for example, that Kenneth Slessor’s appreciation of recorded music influenced his verse, as did his work as a cinema critic for the popular magazine Smith’s Weekly. Radio programs provided opportunities for Ronald McCuiag’s light verse to reach audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s. John Laws, characterised by Bob Ellis as “the worst poet in the whole history of the entire universe”, was certainly advantaged by his long talkback radio career, which ensured a market for his five collections of poetry. Kirkpatrick is adept at waspish summaries of bad poetry. Celebrity brought attention to Clive James’ poems – more, perhaps, than they deserved. “It’s not simply the earnestness of so many of his later poems that disables them,” writes Kirkpatrick: “the humorous ones are just as likely to disappoint.” Popular poetry that Kirkpatrick doesn’t much care for receives little attention, and sometimes unkind assessment. He does not find Dorothy Porter’s The Monkey’s Mask (1994), a lesbian detective novel in verse, nearly as innovative as Porter or her admiring academic critics have claimed. More than “any other kind of present-day reading or recitation”, Kirkpatrick enjoys slam poetry performances, but he finds them hard to critique. He views them as highly personal and ephemeral, based on his experience of the Bankstown Poetry Slam and the Australian Poetry Slam. His assessment mirrors cultural criticism of rap: “Slam comes from America and its missionary zeal talks with an American accent.” Considering a contemporary Australian writer like Maxine Beneba Clarke might have revealed more complex oral poetry lineages here. Clarke’s poetry shifts confidently across performance and print; her work with schools demonstrates the ongoing vitality of poetry, and the importance of poetic education, for diverse youth communities. Maxine Beneba Clarke’s work shifts confidently across performance and print. Hachette. Clarke’s poem Tik Tok Dance shows that the relationship between poetry and new media technologies, which Kirkpatrick traces impressively throughout the book, is constantly evolving. “Changing the wor(l)d, verse by verse!” is the evocative catchline for the youth section of the Bankstown Poetry Slam. In February 2025, a Grand Slam billed as “Australia’s largest live poetry event” and starring the Irish–Indian “Instapoet” Nikita Gill was held at the Sydney Opera House, the heart of high culture. Kirkpatrick is a poet and critic whose deep knowledge of poetry, literary magazines and media cultures is evident throughout. Each chapter in The Wild Reciter focuses on a different instance of popular poetry. Academic readers will recognise some chapters from their earlier publication in various books and journals. Those professional critics might find the thin veil of scholarship in the book frustrating, but its entertaining style does not pretend to high theory, or even to much close reading. The Wild Reciter is a pacey, provocative romp through Australian literary history. Kirkpatrick enjoys a bon mot and his writing is amusing and sharp. The figure of the public orator gets lost in some chapters – one concerns the Railroad, a magazine published by the Australian Railways Union. But it is a pleasure when the wild reciter returns in ever-new guises to thread together the multifarious parts of this enjoyable book, which returns poetry to the Australian people. Anna Johnston receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
3 hours
In his latest book, Peter Kirkpatrick retrieves from Australian cultural history the compelling figure of the “wild reciter”, as a reviewer in the 1920s termed amateur elocutionists. From the late 19th century, men, women and children recited popular verses to audiences who shared in the mass appeal of poetry. Their performances could become histrionic or strident. Review: The Wild Reciter: Poetry and Popular Culture in Australia, 1890 to the Present (Melbourne University Publishing) Bush ballads by Henry Lawson and A.B. “Banjo” Paterson, as well as English and American classics and topical verses, formed the repertoire of public speakers, such as the “Tangalooma Tiger” – one of many eccentrics who frequented Sydney’s Domain, drawing large crowds. Children who learned elocution as a form of self-improvement and social mobility would practise their craft at local events. In 1933, Nancy Turner from Lithgow performed James Elroy Flecker’s War Song of the Saracens at the first City of Sydney Eisteddfod. The Daily Telegraph reported that Turner recited like a ferocious kitten, and screwed her eyes up tightly when she shouted “We have marched from the Indus to Spain and, by God, we will go there again”, as if she meant it. “Light-years behind Taylor Swift in terms of high-class showbiz professionalism,” writes Kirkpatrick, “the wild reciter represents poetry’s neglected and – in the best possible sense of the word – vulgar past, offering a perspective that might also speak to its present and future as a demotic art.” Henry Lawson (c.1889). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. A privileged place We turn to poetry for many of life’s significant moments. Weddings and funerals remind us that rhyming verse has a privileged place in human communication. The form is freighted with meaning and can express heightened emotion. Achingly earnest or spiritually intense, romantic or maudlin, poetic language affects us, even in popular usage such as greeting cards. In these instances, we do not always hear “good” poetry. Aesthetic qualities are often ranked second to a poem’s timely message or the personal feelings of the poetic messenger. George Orwell coined the phrase “good bad poems” in 1942 to describe 19th-century favourites, such as Rudyard Kipling’s If and the boys’ own imperial adventure poem Gunga Din. Orwell called such poems “vulgar”; these days we might call them clichéd (and racist). Yet he observed that they expressed emotions “which nearly every human being can share”. Peter Kirkpatrick. Melbourne University Publishing. Orwell also reminded his readers that poems are mnemonic devices. Many older Australians can still remember verses from their schoolrooms. According to historians Martyn Lyons and Lucy Taksa, those brought up around the first world war were a “poetry generation”. Many of those brought up in the aftermath of the second world war can recite verses from the school readers that used to structure their English literature classes. Being able to recite as well as appreciate poetry was seen as a foundational educational skill, even if children mostly remembered stirring lines such as “the boy stood on the burning deck,” from Felicia Hemans’ Casabianca. As political commentator Rory Stewart explains in his BBC podcast The Long History of Argument, speaking and arguing well have been seen for millennia as the key to a good education and the building blocks of democracy. Turn of the century experts, such as the American Alfred Ayres – the pen name of Thomas Embly Osmun (1826–1902) – advocated a modern style of verse performance. Late Victorian elocution, Ayres wrote, was characterised by orotunds, sostenutos, whispers and half-whispers, monotones, basilar tones and guttural tones, high pitches, middle pitches and low pitches, gentle tones, reverent tones, and all the rest of that old trumpery that has made many a noisy, stilted reader, but never an intelligent, agreeable one. The old school of elocution, he argued, produced “readers occupied with the sound of their own voices”. Modern elocution, by contrast, sought to clarify “the art of speaking words in an intelligent, forcible, and agreeable manner”. Appreciating the art of rhetoric may become ever more important in our “post-truth” world. In the age of artificial intelligence, literature professors like me are considering a return to oral assessments to verify our university students have read and understood the course readings, not just regurgitated a ChatGPT summary. Songs and mass media Kirkpatrick enjoys disrupting assumptions about high and low culture. He begins his book with Taylor Swift, whose 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department and subsequent world tour spawned events, media articles and academic conferences. He ends by speculating about who might be appointed as Australia’s first Poet Laureate, suggesting indie rock singers such as Nick Cave and Paul Kelly, or First Nations rapper The Kid Laroi, have a stronger hold on the public imagination than literary poets. He has a soft spot for Evelyn Araluen’s bestselling collection Dropbear, but wonders how a First Nations poet would feel about a position intended to amplify the literature of the colonial state. The most sustained focus on women’s writing in The Wild Reciter is reserved for Lesbia Harford’s “mortal poems”. Like the colonial Irish-Australian poet Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, Harford set and sang her poems to Irish tunes. Whether Harford meant her poems to be sung by others remains an elusive question. But Kirkpatrick rightly notes that “we now hold song lyrics in our heads in the way that Harford’s generation held poems”. Recurring poetic motifs, such as horses, allow Kirkpatrick to show how bush ballads contributed to emerging forms of 20th-century entertainment. Popular Australian themes would have a global influence, as modern technologies brought imagined communities together via radio, cinema and popular music. Kirkpatrick links Paterson’s The Man from Snowy River (1890) to Buffalo Bill and touring Wild West shows, and later to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony. A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson (c.1890) Public domain Identifying how poetry has interacted with different media challenges the common assumption that poetry is formal or stuffy: something confined to university study and highbrow poetry readings. Kirkpatrick argues, for example, that Kenneth Slessor’s appreciation of recorded music influenced his verse, as did his work as a cinema critic for the popular magazine Smith’s Weekly. Radio programs provided opportunities for Ronald McCuiag’s light verse to reach audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s. John Laws, characterised by Bob Ellis as “the worst poet in the whole history of the entire universe”, was certainly advantaged by his long talkback radio career, which ensured a market for his five collections of poetry. Kirkpatrick is adept at waspish summaries of bad poetry. Celebrity brought attention to Clive James’ poems – more, perhaps, than they deserved. “It’s not simply the earnestness of so many of his later poems that disables them,” writes Kirkpatrick: “the humorous ones are just as likely to disappoint.” Popular poetry that Kirkpatrick doesn’t much care for receives little attention, and sometimes unkind assessment. He does not find Dorothy Porter’s The Monkey’s Mask (1994), a lesbian detective novel in verse, nearly as innovative as Porter or her admiring academic critics have claimed. More than “any other kind of present-day reading or recitation”, Kirkpatrick enjoys slam poetry performances, but he finds them hard to critique. He views them as highly personal and ephemeral, based on his experience of the Bankstown Poetry Slam and the Australian Poetry Slam. His assessment mirrors cultural criticism of rap: “Slam comes from America and its missionary zeal talks with an American accent.” Considering a contemporary Australian writer like Maxine Beneba Clarke might have revealed more complex oral poetry lineages here. Clarke’s poetry shifts confidently across performance and print; her work with schools demonstrates the ongoing vitality of poetry, and the importance of poetic education, for diverse youth communities. Maxine Beneba Clarke’s work shifts confidently across performance and print. Hachette. Clarke’s poem Tik Tok Dance shows that the relationship between poetry and new media technologies, which Kirkpatrick traces impressively throughout the book, is constantly evolving. “Changing the wor(l)d, verse by verse!” is the evocative catchline for the youth section of the Bankstown Poetry Slam. In February 2025, a Grand Slam billed as “Australia’s largest live poetry event” and starring the Irish–Indian “Instapoet” Nikita Gill was held at the Sydney Opera House, the heart of high culture. Kirkpatrick is a poet and critic whose deep knowledge of poetry, literary magazines and media cultures is evident throughout. Each chapter in The Wild Reciter focuses on a different instance of popular poetry. Academic readers will recognise some chapters from their earlier publication in various books and journals. Those professional critics might find the thin veil of scholarship in the book frustrating, but its entertaining style does not pretend to high theory, or even to much close reading. The Wild Reciter is a pacey, provocative romp through Australian literary history. Kirkpatrick enjoys a bon mot and his writing is amusing and sharp. The figure of the public orator gets lost in some chapters – one concerns the Railroad, a magazine published by the Australian Railways Union. But it is a pleasure when the wild reciter returns in ever-new guises to thread together the multifarious parts of this enjoyable book, which returns poetry to the Australian people. Anna Johnston receives funding from the Australian Research Council.