Culture
The latest from Culture on Lifestyle Desires.
When Vivid’s drones faltered, Sydney kept staring
Vivid Sydney’s drone show stumble exposed how much the city now expects free public wonder to arrive smoothly, safely and on cue.
Why the suffering artist myth still flatters us
The suffering artist myth still sells pain as proof of genius, but the research points to a messier link between creativity, stigma and care.
The TV bundle came back in app icons
Streaming fatigue in Australia now means ad tiers, stacked apps and quiet monthly charges that make a night in feel more like household admin.
The soft-focus language that nearly swallowed Hannah Murray
Hannah Murray’s wellness cult memoir traces how healing language, shame and certainty can blur into control long before anyone calls it danger.
Bluey was never meant to feel like content slurry
Bluey minisodes on Disney+ are only a few minutes long, but they sharpen a bigger worry: when a family ritual becomes platform upkeep.
More
Why Kylie is finally letting the family in
Kylie Minogue documentary KYLIE turns family, archive and old hurt into public record at last, softening an icon who has always stayed just out of reach.
Why Delta Goodrem's Eurovision run felt bigger than nostalgia
Delta Goodrem finished fourth at Eurovision, but the larger story was what her performance revealed about Australian pop ambition, sincerity and our fear of cringe.
The accent that keeps Apex alive
Taron Egerton's turn in Apex is being sold as thriller pulp, but in Australia the real hook is the accent that somehow lands.
Why Shaun Micallef's gambling series feels like an intervention
Shaun Micallef's ABC documentary about gambling lands as a culture story first, turning the background noise of punting into something far harder to ignore.
Twelve million Australians are streaming music. The old monoculture is gone
A Roy Morgan-backed report says 12.7 million Australians now stream music. The bigger story is cultural: our listening has become private, mood-led and less local, and the shared soundtrack feels thinner for it.
Sixth for culture, first for comedy. What Melbourne's ranking leaves out
Melbourne just landed at number six on Time Out's global culture ranking — and first in the world for comedy. But what does a 92 per cent local approval score actually tell us about the city?
Off Campus is steamier than it has any right to be
Prime Video's hockey romance adaptation lands with all eight episodes and a season-two renewal already in the bag. Jordan Atkinson binged it in a night and has thoughts.
Six men and a gold sheet walked onto Rod Laver Arena
Seventeen years is a long time between drinks. Long enough that the bloke next to me in Section 12, salt-and-pepper stubble and a faded 1983 tour tee, was holding his wife's hand like he'd been waiting for this since his kids were in primary school.
Three fingers, six fingers, and a prompt: AI meets Australian Fashion Week
Karla Spetic asked AI to generate images for her latest collection and it gave her hands with six fingers, but it also demanded a clarity she did not know she needed. As Australian Fashion Week opens, the industry AI debate is getting specific.
Why I keep booking flights to Melbourne in May
Melbourne Design Week opens its tenth edition on 14 May with more than 400 events, and I have been booking flights down for years now. The honest answer to why is that the rest of the country still has not built what Melbourne already has.
Two Cages, one Brontë and the May streaming pile
Bugonia, Marty Supreme, a Cage doubleheader and a Brontë adaptation I cannot quite defend. What I am watching, and what I am skipping, on the May 2026 Australian streamers.
Something Has Gone Wrong With Australian Streaming
Free aggregation apps like Stremio are gaining traction as streaming costs rise and the market fragments. What happened to the promise of easy, affordable television?
Reading the Netflix top 56 from the couch this autumn
TVGuide's annual ranking landed in May. I worked through the upper bracket across the week, and have opinions. Five films, one half-watch, and a quiet suspicion of the form itself.
Best New Shows Streaming in Australia This May
Sam Campbell finally lands a Netflix special, the Stranger Things successor drops, and Nicolas Cage takes his first proper TV role. Your guide to the streaming releases worth your evenings in May 2026.
The Lifestyle Desires brief
Style, food, travel and wellbeing — weekly in your inbox.
Subscribe