The May issue of The Monthly represents a milestone: it marks 20 years – to the month – since the magazine first hit newsstands.
A federal election shows us the best and brightest political leadership this country has to offer and, sadly, once again, election 2025 has been an unedifying display. We are at a singular (and singularly terrifying) historic moment – in geopolitics, in the climate, even in technology – and it’s hard not to feel like our leaders may not be equal to it.
But not for the first time in the past two decades, The Monthly is here to demonstrate that our writers are equal to the moment: to naming it, to making sense of it and to transcending it.
Rick Morton, Marcia Langton, Christos Tsiolkas, Tim Flannery and Robyn Davidson address the fears and injustices of these “worst of times”, and sound a note of hope for what might come next.
Julianne Schultz warns that our Constitution doesn’t protect us against Trump-like politicians who might seek to undermine the democratic principles we take for granted, and James Ley ponders the rise of AI and its impact on our humanities and humanity.
There’s Lech Blaine, Jessica Stanley, Sonia Orchard and Peter Mares, as well as The Monthly’s unparalleled coverage of the arts, poetry, essays and more. Our birthday treat to ourselves and our readers is an issue full of the things that have made The Monthly an institution for 20 years, and will make it essential for many years to come.