Explainers
Explainer
US politics
What are the Capitol riot hearings all about?
The hearings aim to show that Donald Trump was central to a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 US election results. But how do they work?
- by Farrah Tomazin
Latest
Top picks from the explainer desk
From world politics to sport and time travel, national explainer editor Felicity Lewis offers these recommendations for winter reading.
- by Felicity Lewis
Explainer
Gas
Where did all the power go? What caused the east coast energy crisis?
A combination of forces has sent energy prices soaring. And now there’s talk of blackouts too. How did it come to this?
- by Josh Gordon
Explainer
Inflation
What’s stagflation, and what would it mean for you?
Big in the ’70s and ’80s, talk of stagflation has reared its head again. What is it, and are we heading for a new era of it?
- by Clancy Yeates
Explainer
Monkeypox
What is monkeypox and should we be worried?
Monkeypox has been recorded in Australia for the first time. What is it?
- by Sherryn Groch
Explainer
Coronavirus pandemic
We’re now in the ‘age of pandemics’. Can we stop the next one?
What needs to happen to avert another virus-borne global tragedy? We ask the scientist who helped discover Ebola, a Nobel laureate, and the man who first published COVID-19’s genetic code.
- by Sherryn Groch
Explainer
Sri Lanka
Food shortages, violence, economic ruin: How did things get so bad in Sri Lanka?
How bad is the crisis in Sri Lanka? And what lies ahead for the island nation?
- by Chris Barrett
Explainer
Mental health
‘I’m so OCD’ is a throwaway refrain. What actually is OCD, and how does it feel?
More than half a million Australians suffer with OCD. How does it affect their everyday lives, and what are the treatments?
- by Billie Eder
Explainer
Extreme weather
You can complain about how cold it is, just don’t call it a ‘polar vortex’
When is a weather term clear and accurate? When is it overblown? And what’s the forecast for terms we’ll be hearing more often?
- by Stuart Layt
Explainer
Cardiovascular health
What’s a heart attack? How can you tell if you’re on the edge of one?
One in every 25 deaths in Australia is from heart attack. More than half will be sudden. What are the signs?
- by Sophie Aubrey
Explainer
Guns in America
Why can’t America fix its gun crisis?
Why do mass shootings keep happening in the US? What does the Second Amendment mean? Who are the NRA? And where is gun regulation reform at today?
- by Sherryn Groch and Billie Eder