ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 28, 2025.
Showing happiness brings social rewards, but the opposite can happen if people feel pressured to appear happy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Weijers, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Co-editor International Journal of Wellbeing, University of Waikato Getty Images Happiness has many social benefits. Happy people tend to be healthier and more successful. They are also more helpful and others often view them more positively, making it easier for them
Poor mental health often plays a role in adults killing children. But it is primarily about violence
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Teague, Associate Dean of Engagement, Murdoch University Recently, two babies died on opposite sides of the country. The first was a seven-month-old boy, found dead after being retrieved from a lake in rural Queensland. A second baby, a six-month-old girl was found dead in Perth, Western
UN climate chief tells Australia to ‘go big’ with its 2035 emissions reduction target
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, has urged the Australian government to set an ambitious 2035 emissions reduction target, declaring “bog standard is beneath you”. In a Monday speech, Stiell says, “don’t settle for what’s easy. Go
Does yellow mucus mean you need antibiotics? What phlegm can – and can’t – say about your health
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynn Nazareth, Research Scientist in Olfactory Biology, CSIRO Violeta Stoimenova/Getty When you’re sick you’ll often produce more phlegm, and might notice it’s thicker or a different colour: white, green, yellow or maybe even brown. What can this phlegm – also called mucus, snot, sputum, catarrh and booger
A look into the decades of labour that helped bring LGBTQIA+ stories to Australian TV
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University A Place to Call Home/IMDB When the Seven Network’s Bevan Lee created the story of James Bligh, a gay man living in 1950s Australia, in A Place to Call Home (2013–18), it was the culmination of a
Women’s rugby is booming, but safety relies on borrowed assumptions from the men’s game
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Dane, Postdoctoral associate, University of Calgary Rugby union, commonly known as just rugby, is a fast-paced and physical team sport. More girls and women in Canada and around the world are playing it now than ever before. As of 2021, women’s rugby reached a record 2.7
How Marvel’s Fantastic Four discovered the human in the superhuman
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By J. Andrew Deman, Professor of English, University of Waterloo The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the second cinematic reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise, and there’s a lot riding on this film. While cinema-goers have responded enthusiastically to many of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
Uganda’s land eviction crisis: do populist state measures actually fix problems?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rose Nakayi, Senior Lecturer of Law, Makerere University Populism is rife in various African countries. This political ideology responds to and takes advantage of a situation where a large section of people feels exploited, marginalised or disempowered. It sets up “the people” against “the other”. It promises
Keith Rankin Analysis – Representation versus Reality; Reaching a Low Point
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Have you noticed how, in New Zealand news items and weather reports, Nelson and Marlborough are called the “top” of the South Island rather than the ‘north’ of that island. We also get phrases such as the “lower North Island” and the “upper North Island”. And New Zealand’s narrators regularly refer
Barnaby Joyce wants Australia to abandon net zero – but his 4 central claims don’t stack up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Vines, Post-doctoral researcher, Green Lab, Monash University One-time Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce sought to dominate the first sitting week of the current federal parliament by proposing a divisive plan to reverse Australia’s net zero emissions target. The campaign, backed by fellow former Nationals leader Michael McCormack,
‘We pose no threat – our aim is to break the siege’: Tan Safi on joining the Handala Gaza flotilla
No New Zealanders were on board the Handala in the latest arrest and abductions of Freedom Flotilla crew on humanitarian siege-busting missions to Gaza. However, two Australians were and one talks to The New Arab just before the attack on Saturday. INTERVIEW: By Sebastian Shehadi The Handala, a 1968 Norwegian trawler repurposed by the Freedom
AI agents are here. Here’s what to know about what they can do – and how they can go wrong
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daswin de Silva, Professor of AI and Analytics, Director of AI Strategy, La Trobe University George Peters / Getty Images We are entering the third phase of generative AI. First came the chatbots, followed by the assistants. Now we are beginning to see agents: systems that aspire
The ghost of Robodebt – Federal Court rules billions of dollars in welfare debts must be recalculated
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney A recent landmark court decision could have significant ramifications for several million social security recipients. The ruling means the federal government will need to recalculate more than A$4 billion in debts owed to the Department of Social Services, which administers
Critics claim gender clinics are seeing an excess of trans boys. But new data suggest otherwise
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ken Pang, Senior Principal Research Fellow and Group Leader, Transgender Health Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Gender clinics provide multidisciplinary care that helps trans people to explore and affirm their gender identity. The number of adolescents referred to gender clinics has increased worldwide in recent years,
Barnaby Joyce wants Australia to abandon net zero – but his 5 central claims don’t stack up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Vines, Post-doctoral researcher, Green Lab, Monash University One-time Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce sought to dominate the first sitting week of the current federal parliament by proposing a divisive plan to reverse Australia’s net zero emissions target. The campaign, backed by fellow former Nationals leader Michael McCormack,
As post-election talks drag on, what will Hobart’s proposed stadium actually cost Tasmanians?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Madden, Emeritus Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University In the wake of last week’s Tasmanian election that delivered another hung parliament, the new government will need to shore up crossbench support. One of the issues to be negotiated will be support for the new stadium
Want to save yourself from super scams and dodgy financial advice? Ask these questions
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelique Nadia Sweetman McInnes, Academic in Financial Planning, CQUniversity Australia Is there anything you can do to protect your superannuation from dodgy providers or questionable financial advice? And if someone rings you out of the blue and tempts you with a better return on your savings –
The celebrity halo effect: why abuse allegations against powerful men like Brad Pitt are so easily forgotten
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamilla Rosdahl, Senior Lecturer, Australian College of Applied Psychology Last month, actor Brad Pitt stepped onto the Formula One circuit as the leading man of the high-octane film F1, backed by Apple Studios, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Pitt’s own Plan B Entertainment. During the publicity campaign, cameras
Debunking the theological gaslighting of Israel-supporting Imams
Muslims, and the global community, must rally around the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights: to exist, to return home, and to live free from occupation. ANALYSIS: By Shadee ElMasry In our world today, one would be hard-pressed to find a reputable, well-known scholar or group of scholars who support Israel. Of course, the keywords here are
Bougainville woman Cabinet minister battling nine men to hold her seat
INTERVIEW: By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist One of the first women to hold an open seat in Bougainville, Theonila Roka Matbob, is confident she can win again. Bougainville goes to the polls in the first week of September, and Roka Matbob aims to hold on to her Ioro seat in central Bougainville, where
