It’s hard to regard the world at large without a sense of significant worry. From war to cost of living, from AI to the fracturing of the social contract, contemporary life seems defined by a rising tide of anxiety – cultural, financial and existential. The May issue of The Monthly digs into this worry, and into the effect it’s having on our politics. Karen Middleton looks at the rise of One Nation, a party whose history of stoking grievance and division may have found its natural moment. Jackson Ryan attends the annual “Science Meets Parliament” event, and considers the unease surrounding the attendance of science-sceptic Pauline Hanson. With the federal budget imminent, Richard Denniss highlights the growing pressure on the government to introduce a 25 per cent tax on exports of Australian gas, and Jo Chandler considers the environmental impacts of further gas exploration in the Otway Basin.
Plus there’s a fine art mystery and the 40th birthday of a Melbourne institution, the death of literary studies and a look at the changing attitudes to perinatal depression. Personal essays from Jonathan Green and Michael Winkler, and our customary mix of reviews of film, books and television round out this month’s issue. It may not cure your worries, but it will certainly make them better informed.