The fight over how to teach children to read has been called a forever war, as outdated methods linger in Australian classrooms for decades and states protect schools’ right to teach how they wish. With a third of Australian children not being able to read well, we’ve hit a turning point, with Victoria joining other states in finally mandating the best way to teach reading.

Today, Martin McKenzie Murray on why “vibes-based learning” stuck around for so long and how children should actually be taught to read.

Ten years ago, Schwartz Media launched its weekly independent newspaper, The Saturday Paper. On page three of its first edition was a story about a woman who had just become a household name: Rosie Batty.

Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper, Martin McKenzie Murray, on what he learnt about grief after following Rosie Batty’s story for a decade.

The ABC has started the year fighting off accusations of racism, unlawful dismissal and a failure to protect journalists from outside attacks. So, are the policies, the reporters, or the leaders to blame for the ABC’s problems?

Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin McKenzie-Murray, on the generational divide emerging at the national broadcaster.

Deep inside Australia’s foreign policy and defence establishment, there are whispers that we should be considering an unsettling thought – we could soon be dealing with a second Donald Trump presidency.

Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin McKenzie-Murray, on Trump, Australia’s dependence on America and the future of our alliance.

Australia’s offshore processing facility on Nauru now sits empty. The detention centre was a feature of Nauru’s identity for over a decade, but now we’re learning extraordinary details about how millions of Australian taxpayer dollars were spent in questionable deals to keep the facility running.

Today, Martin McKenzie-Murray, on what impact Australia has really had on Nauru and whether we’ve spent a fortune to make a tiny island nation worse off.

When you think about a bank run, you might think of lines around the block – of regular workers eager to get their hard-earned wages out of a troubled bank. But recently there’s been another kind of bank run, one that plays out over group chats and email threads involving Silicon Valley billionaires and cryptocurrency investors.

The panic among this group of depositors has already led to the collapse of several small and medium-sized banks in the US, and now that anxiety is hitting other banks as well.

A few weeks ago, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie stood up in parliament and dropped a bombshell on Australian megachurch Hillsong. He exposed Hillsong’s finances, and how purchases were made for some of its leaders.

Now, several days after the speech, we have access to these documents and the potential damage to the church is becoming clearer.

Indian businessman Gautam Adani is best known here for the controversial Carmichael coal mine – but his empire also spans airlines, media networks and, crucially, what he is best known for in Australia: coal.

But now, Adani’s fortune is tumbling, questions about whether he has been protected by powerful political allies in India are being raised – all because of a single report.

More and more people have to pay to see a doctor, GPs are leaving the profession, and the cost of seeing a specialist is rising at an alarming rate.

That’s why the government is promising the biggest overhaul to Medicare in its 40-year existence – the details of the plan could be released any day now.

Dr Charlie Teo is known for his incredible brain surgeries, taking on operations that other doctors won’t touch. But now, several families have come forward, who allege they were misled about the risks and that Teo’s operations left their loved ones worse off than before.

Teo denies any wrongdoing, and says he treats his patients like he would want to be treated. But there’s another player in this story that hasn’t been subject to scrutiny: the news media.

When an inner suburb of Melbourne was hit by flooding a few weeks ago, attention turned to Flemington Racecourse: home of the Melbourne Cup. This year, a new flood wall protected it.

But could the wall that saved Flemington racecourse have doomed nearby houses? Or is that debate obscuring the bigger problems facing our cities as the climate crisis closes in?

As Covid-19 hospitalisations break records in almost all states there is a curious absence of political leadership.

Frontline workers wonder why there is no greater attempt at community mitigation. What has shifted? Why are politicians no longer following the health advice, at least on masks?

Trans athletes have effectively been banned from elite swimming. The decision and the document released by FINA could have an impact not just on swimmers, but on how other sports around the world handle participation and inclusion. So what does it say? How have the people it affects most – trans athletes – reacted?

When the impresario behind Earthcore died last year, he left behind a legacy of paranoia, intimidation and financial mismanagement.

Following the death of cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne, surviving members of The Family reckon with judgement.

As the government pushes to repeal the medivac legislation, lawyers and doctors contradict the arguments put against it.

Following the sacking of Israel Folau by Rugby Australia, a fissure has opened up in the debate over equality and freedoms.

Rosie Batty talks to Martin McKenzie-Murray about grief and healing.

The election result has put faith back on the national agenda. But the issue is dogged by a review Malcolm Turnbull commissioned and never had the chance to answer.

Charlie Teo is Australia’s best-known surgeon. His career asks difficult questions about the balance between hope and orthodoxy.

Before his death, the former president of Nauru explained how a deal with Australia to open a detention centre destroyed democracy in his country.