ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 27, 2026.
Homebodies: bold TV about a trans man, his mother and the conversations they never had
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University When Nora (Claudia Karvan) breaks her leg, her son Darcy (Luke Wiltshire) – a trans man – returns home to see her for the first time since he came out. It doesn’t take long before Darcy realises
‘Drive-off’ fuel thefts cost $80 million even before the war – and they’re heading up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University With petrol and diesel prices soaring, we’re hearing more reports of alleged fuel thefts from petrol stations, farms, trucks and even parked cars. Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association’s chief executive officer Rowan Lee told AAP
Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate? 2 dietitians explain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Easter chocolate is all over supermarket shelves. Some people reach straight for milk chocolate eggs while others pause at the darker varieties, assuming they’re healthier. Dark chocolate has gained a reputation as the “better” choice
Cyclone Narelle is now larger and ‘more severe’ as it crosses the Western Australian coast
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle continues to amaze us with its long journey across northern Australia. This cyclone began life near the Solomon Islands on March 16, when moist air rose rapidly and created a low-pressure zone. Narelle crossed
Closing the Afghan embassy in Canberra would put many vulnerable Afghans at significant risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, International Relations, Australian National University Since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Australia, Wahidullah Waissi, and his staff have continued to represent the people of Afghanistan under the most trying circumstances. They have continued to provide diplomatic
Will a new border deal with the US open a backdoor into Kiwis’ personal data?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Anyone who has recently travelled to the United States will be familiar with biometric checks – facial and fingerprint scans – used at the border. It is the same technology platform that is used in
Iran was always going to close the Strait of Hormuz
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation This is the text from The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up here to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox. The five-day deadline to open the Strait
The Swedish concept of ‘döstädning’ or death cleaning is about more than just getting rid of things
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynn Akesson, Professor Emerita of Ethnology in the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University The Swedish painter Margareta Magnusson died on March 12 aged 92. She became famous in 2017 for coining the smart and humorous concept of döstädning in a book known in English
Distant conflict, local crisis: is this oil shock the wake-up call NZ needed?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murat Ungor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Otago In recent years, there has been no shortage of warnings about the fragility of New Zealand’s largely imported fuel supply. Now, motorists are seeing the cost of that vulnerability at the pump. Across the country, petrol has surpassed
Are you worried about your preschoolers’ anxiety? Here’s how to help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Fogarty, Psychologist and Research Fellow in the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University New research on a group of Australian preschoolers suggests more than 40% are dealing with an anxiety disorder. The study, led by Monash University and published in the journal of
Compulsory super is higher than ever at 12%. But cutting it would hurt low-paid workers most
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Melatos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Sydney A central element of Australia’s superannuation system is the superannuation guarantee (SG). This is the compulsory 12% of an employee’s earnings that an employer must pay into the employee’s nominated superannuation fund. The compulsory contribution rate has risen
Nvidia’s new AI tool is giving female game characters a makeover – and gamers are pushing back
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sian Tomkinson, Media and Communication Scholar, Edith Cowan University Last week leading chipmaker Nvidia announced DLSS-5 (Deep Learning Super Sampling), a new artificial intelligence (AI) rendering tool it describes as a “breakthrough in visual fidelity for games”. The software takes low-resolution images and uses AI to upscale
IBS diets don’t work for everyone. New research shows why – and it’s not just about the food
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Biesiekierski, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, The University of Melbourne If you’ve ever tried a diet to fix gut symptoms, you’ll know it can be hit or miss. One person swears it changed their life. Another follows it carefully and feels no better. This is especially
What is consciousness? Michael Pollan spent 4 years looking for the answer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne Psychology, it’s said, has a long past but a short history. A popular version lists three stages. First, around the turn of the 20th century, psychologists tried to capture the stream of conscious experience in the net of
Share prices, sports results … CO₂ levels? The case for reporting climate stats every day
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elspeth Tilley, Professor of Creative Communication, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University In today’s CO₂ news, global atmospheric carbon is at 429.46 parts per million. That’s one point lower than yesterday and 79 above the recommended planetary boundary. That’s not something we hear routinely in news
A Bible Belt track without a pulse – it’s no surprise fans hate the 2026 FIFA World Cup song Lighter
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brent Keogh, Lecturer in the School of Communications, University of Technology Sydney The release of the first FIFA World Cup 2026 song Lighter by American country artist Jelly Roll, Mexican singer Carín León and Canadian producer Cirkut, has left an odd taste in the mouth of fans,
Could this energy crisis be worse for the global economy than COVID?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adi Imsirovic, Lecturer in Energy Systems, University of Oxford Despite reports of negotiations between the US and the Iranian regime, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to most oil tankers, with only a small number of vessels being allowed to pass. The result is a loss
‘I didn’t come here to get rich’: new research on the lives of Ukrainian women in Georgia’s surrogacy boom
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Oleinikova, Associate Professor and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney “I didn’t come here to get rich. I came because I had no other way to keep my son safe and care
Corruption reporting project mourns the loss of Dan McGarry, pioneering Pacific editor and investigative journalist
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – OBITUARY: By Aubrey Belford, Australia and South Pacific regional editor of OCCRP The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dan McGarry, the organisation’s Pacific editor, who died yesterday in Brisbane, Australia, at the age of 62. A
Grattan on Friday: Albanese government struggles under the ‘stress test’ posed by Middle East war
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Crises “stress test” governments and countries. Memories remain vivid of COVID, which put immense pressures on the Australian economy, the federation and Commonwealth and state budgets. The domestic crisis triggered by the Middle East war is well short of –
