Saving your local pool and how to embrace friction in your life

After the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Australia built thousands of public pools, which are now reaching the end of their lives. Royal Surf Life Saving Australia estimates about 40 per cent of public pools will be obsolete by 2030. So what do we lose if our pools start closing, and why are they so important that locals are lobbying to save them?

In an age where people are writing entire novels using ChatGPT, author Bri Lee chose to write her latest work completely by hand. It's a small act of resistance pushing back against the relentless quest for convenience, but Bri's not alone. Columnist for New York magazine The Cut, Kathryn Jezer-Morton, coined the term 'friction-maxxing' while investigating this trend, pushing back against the mindless optimisation of all facets of modern life. 

Do you ever catch up with your grandkids for a good old-fashioned yap, only to find you're barely speaking the same language? Don't worry, that won't last. The American Dialect Society has named its words of the year for 2025 and it appears that old-school gems like 'yap', 'skedaddle', even 'diabolical' are making a comeback.