Featured
Deep-fried mince pies are worth trying, really
The batter coating adds crunch, while the filling becomes richer and gooier.
- Silvana Franco
The hidden history of Magic Eye pictures
Thirty years ago, a book of bizarre images took the world by storm.
- Tom Nicholson
What our most stylish designers will be wearing on New Year’s Eve
It’s the last day of 2023, so why not go out with sartorial fireworks?
- Lauren Sams
Beyond power and politics in Washington DC, a surprising culinary find
The US capital is buzzing with the traditional restaurants and tantalising aromas of Ethiopia. Here are seven eateries to try.
- Keith Austin
Naughty and nice: seven Christmas films for a cooler Yule
Whether you love a sappy classic or a darker take on the festive season, here are some of our favourites to help you escape some viewing nightmares before Christmas.
Lunch with the AFR
This billionaire started his company to avoid paying bank fees
Kristo Käärmann found a cheap way to send British pounds to his native Estonia. His solution now has 16 million global users.
- James Eyers
Author Anna Funder takes on her critics
Sydney Grammar School used Funder’s take on George Orwell’s wife to help its HSC students understand the author and his book,1984. Others are not so pleased.
- Emma Connors
LinkedIn is rotting our leaders, says Alan Joyce’s former speechwriter
Lucinda Holdforth reckons executives should focus on delivering results and ditch the bubble talk about authenticity and vulnerability.
- Myriam Robin
Yesterday
Ten of the best music books of 2023
From a biography of Aboriginal band No Fixed Address to the last word on Barbra Streisand, this year’s crop of music-themed books has something for everybody.
- Michael Bailey
- Opinion
- Review
Here are 11 of the best albums of 2023
This year’s best music features songs to make you think, laugh and dance, plus something special from one of our own.
- James Thomson and Alex Gow
How size doesn’t count in the Sydney to Hobart race
One crews on a maxi, the other skippers a 36-footer, but Sven Runow and Ed Psaltis share the same mad passion for Australia’s most notorious yachting challenge.
- Philippa Coates
‘Wonka’ is a banquet for Timothée Chalamet fans
Director Paul King and script-writer Simon Farnaby have produced a prequel to ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ that imagines an origin story for Willy Wonka.
- John McDonald
On trend and affordable: Athens hits the sweet spot but aims bigger
The Greek capital has rebounded from last decade’s dark economic times. Now a $13bn project hopes to cement its status as Europe’s next big thing.
- Hans van Leeuwen
This Month
Exclusive offer: River by The Australian Chamber Orchestra
Special offer for subscribers - 20% off tickets
Eight Christmas treats experts would cancel, and the healthier options
The average Briton eats an extra 2410 calories every day over the festive period, consuming up to 6000 calories on the main day alone. Don’t be like them.
- Laura Kilner
How perfumer Jo Malone regained her mojo after losing her sense of smell
The UK entrepreneur sold her first global brand to Estée Lauder after chemotherapy destroyed her olfactory system. Her drive to build another business followed a complete recovery.
- Lauren Sams
- Max Allen
- Champagne & sparkling wine
Two Australians walked into a French cellar, and this happened
Leanne De Bortoli and Steve Webber arrived unannounced on Charles Fourny’s doorstep 10 years ago, with the result his fine bubbly is available Down Under today.
- Max Allen
Where Perth’s top dealmakers love to lunch
Wining and dining in the Wild West is remarkably different – and cheaper – from the east coast hubs of Melbourne and Sydney.
- Aaron Weinman and Tom Rabe
How to become a billionaire by the time you’re 30
Little more than 10 years ago, Gymshark founder Ben Francis was making and selling muscle vests online from his parents’ garage.
- Elizabeth Grice
See inside Michelangelo’s ‘secret’ Florence room
In 1530, when the Medici family returned to power in the city, the artist went into hiding. He spent his days drawing on the walls of his tiny refuge, and you can now view the artworks for yourself.
- Josephine McKenna
Up for a challenge? This CEO starts every day in an ice bath
“The pain when I first hit the water is excruciating,” says frntlne founder Mark John. So why on earth does he do it?
- Life & Leisure
- Opinion
- Motoring
Tony Davis reveals his best drive of 2023
Our motoring writer tested dozens of cars on all kinds of routes during the year, but nothing beat driving two Benz classics along the California coast.
- Tony Davis
Psst. It’s OK to buy make-up and shampoo from the supermarket
Traditional beauty companies eschew mass markets but these Aussie brands are happily stocked on supermarket shelves.
- Lauren Sams
‘May our gladioli bloom in celebration’: Barry Humphries farewelled
King Charles, Rupert Murdoch, Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber led tributes at a state memorial at Sydney’s Opera House for the man who ‘invented a language’ for Australia and took it to the world.
- Samantha Hutchinson
Think you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
- Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
How Rachel Ward went from Vogue cover model to farmhand at 60
The actor and director has had an unexpected second act as a farmer. A new documentary follows her “bloody crusade”.
- Lauren Sams
This man created an $84m Netflix series you’ll never see
Filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch gambled a chunk of his production budget on shares, then bought a fleet of Rolls-Royces. Now he says the streaming giant owes him.
- John Carreyrou
Death in the Andes: a mountain gives up secrets
Fifty years after two mountaineers perished on South America’s tallest peak, a camera emerged from the ice with film that could help solve the mystery of their deaths.
- John Branch
