1. Alan Jones: end for the shock-jock whose views pandered to his tiny audience
‘The lists of times that Jones has been in trouble with the broadcasting regulators and with defamation is too long to reproduce here. Most disturbingly, in 2007 the Australian Communications and Media Authority found that he had encouraged the violence of the Cronulla riots, and the vilification of Lebanese people.’
2. Race, women, climate: the recurring themes of Alan Jones’s career
‘When Alan Jones suggested Scott Morrison should shove a sock down the throat of the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, last year it was the final straw for many in a 35-year radio career that has seen the divisive Sydney personality survive scandal time and time again.’
3. ‘Time to embrace history of country’: Bruce Pascoe and the first dancing grass harvest in 200 years
‘On the hill above Bruce Pascoe’s farm near Mallacoota in Victoria’s East Gippsland, there’s a sea of mandadyan nalluk. Translated from Yuin, the language of the country, it means “dancing grass”.’
4. Celebrating Arsène Wenger’s eclectic mix of right-backs at Arsenal
‘Whatever way you look at it, signing a Cameroonian player who grew up in Spain – and whose mother had to flee Equatorial Guinea while pregnant with him – from a mid-table La Liga side and moulding him into one of the world’s best in an unfamiliar position is an extremely Wenger thing to do.’
5. Supreme court grills Trump lawyers over president’s unreleased tax returns
‘Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Steven Breyer brought up requests for documents during the Watergate and Whitewater scandals, which occurred under Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton and were decided unanimously against the president concerned.’
6. Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari having failed to bring back glory days
‘Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015, taking over after the double world champion Fernando Alonso had spent five years trying to return Ferrari’s first title since 2007. He left disappointed and disillusioned. Vettel’s arrival, as a four-times champion, was supposed to herald a new dawn. Initially they looked to be heading in the right direction.’
7. Unleash hell! How Gladiator went from on-set disasters to box office glory
‘There are lots of examples in cinema history of hellish movie-making producing heavenly results. Gone with the Wind is a prime example. A two-year delay in filming, numerous writers and three different directors. The result? An all-time Oscar-garlanded money-spinner.’
8. I’ve never seen … The Magnificent Seven
‘I thought it was fun! Especially the first act, when Yul Brynner first assembles the Seven and we learn each of their unique character traits: the laidback one, the hotheaded one, the one who wears ties, etc. Brynner is enigmatic and Steve McQueen is cool, but my favourite is James Coburn as the steely Britt, who can outdraw a gunman with a throwing knife.’
9. What is ‘Obamagate’ and why is Trump so worked up about it?
‘Asked by a Washington Post reporter for the second time to name Obama’s exact offence, Trump replied cryptically: “You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.” Clear as mud, then.’
10. More birds and bees, please! 12 easy, expert ways to rewild your garden
‘But whether or not people are growing new things, terraces, balconies and gardens are receiving unprecedented levels of attention this spring. If we employ a few biodiversity-boosting tricks, we can keep the nature party in our backyards going for good.’
How we create the antidote
Every day we measure not only how many people click on individual stories but also how long they spend reading them. This list is created by comparing the attention time with the length of each article, to come up with a ranking for the stories people read most deeply.
