Outputs and inputs

Once a month I'm going to do a round-up of stuff I've been writing, reading, listening to and watching. This will be bonus content for paid subscribers, but this first one's for free.

[First published on Substack on 7 December 2023]

“You gotta set the tone!” (Shoresy)

Outputs

The big story this month was a ABC feature about vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC), and the uphill struggle that many parents face in trying to achieve this. It was a challenging story to write – especially working with people who have experienced birth trauma, and trying to ensure my interviewing and reporting doesn’t add to that trauma – but an important one.

I also had a few interesting news stories for Nature magazine, including when national security and scientific collaboration clash, the southern hemisphere’s scorching summer-to-come, and the significant case of Siouxsie Wiles vs the University of Auckland (the latter of which will be the subject of a more in-depth post soon).

Inputs

Reading

I really enjoyed and appreciated this story from ABC’s Jack Ryan about the messy interaction of AI and copyright, which dives into the legal and ethical quagmire in a way that makes sense for the first time (for me, at least!).

This is a beautiful and important piece of writing from Cosmos deputy editor Lauren Fuge scales the heights of lutruwita/Tasmania’s Grove of Giants, and explores these ‘coral reefs in the air’. The piece rightly won a Gold Kavli Award this year – one of the highest accolades a work of science journalism can get.

Listening

In light of recent hand-wringing among journalists both in Australia and internationally about coverage of the attacks in Gaza, and debates about impartiality, objectivity and the ‘view from nowhere’ school of journalism, I greatly appreciated this episode of the Longform podcast, featuring US writer and illustrator Mona Chalabi.

In a similar vein, this episode of Nick Bryant’s Journo podcast, featuring the BBC’s Ros Atkins, covers some of the same ideas.

Watching

I’ve been a keen watcher of the Apple TV series ‘For All Mankind’, which presents an alternative history of the space race. Season 4 is rolling out at the moment, and I love the complex mix of geopolitical, personal, ethical and romantic tension set against the backdrop of Mars.

OK, this one’s a total curveball and might reveal more about my psyche than I probably should in public, but I absolutely bloody love Shoresy (on SBS, for Australians). It’s all about Canadian ice-hockey, and is a bit like Ted Lasso meets Deadpool. It’s foul-mouthed, funny violent (yes, that can be a thing), rude as hell, and I find it hilarious. Please don’t judge me.