In an increasingly distracting world, finding focus through reading has become both a challenge and a necessity. As the president of the American Library Association noted this week, establishing a reading habit can be difficult amidst constant distractions. Experts suggest a simple solution: read what genuinely interests you. With that in mind, here are five compelling stories from the past week that warrant your attention.
The Epstein Emails: Complicity in High Places
Newly released documents have revealed the staggering extent of Jeffrey Epstein's integration into elite circles. Washington bureau chief David Smith reports that emails show Epstein acting as a trusted consigliere to figures ranging from British royalty to White House alumni. Far from mere social connections, these communications demonstrate how the convicted sex offender's judgment on politics, scandal, and personal matters was actively sought by the powerful. The emails reveal Epstein even attempted to shape foreign policy, showing his role went far beyond what was previously understood.
The release has prompted commentary from writer Moira Donegan, who observes that the correspondence reveals a disdain for morality among elite circles. As more documents continue to emerge, the full scope of Epstein's influence network becomes increasingly apparent.
Generative AI's Threat to Global Knowledge
As generative artificial intelligence becomes the primary method for information-seeking, concerns are growing about a potential global 'knowledge collapse'. Deepak Varuvel Dennison, who studies responsible AI systems, warns that these technologies are far from neutral. The processes behind GenAI models encode existing biases and systematically exclude marginalised knowledge, particularly from oral traditions and local wisdom.
Dennison explains this creates a dangerous feedback loop that narrows the scope of accessible human knowledge. While Indigenous knowledge has long been suppressed by entrenched power structures, he notes that GenAI puts this exclusionary process 'on steroids', accelerating the loss of traditional wisdom before we fully understand what we're losing.
Systemic Failures in Domestic Violence Protection
A two-year Guardian Australia investigation has uncovered alleged failures by Queensland police and the coroner's court in handling family violence deaths. The case of 31-year-old Kardell Lomas, killed along with her unborn child by her partner, highlights systemic issues. Bodycam footage from a police callout months before her death shows Lomas apologising to officers, saying 'I'm sorry for the fuck-around'.
Darumbal and South Sea Islander academic Dr Amy McQuire writes that these words should shame every Australian who hears them. She argues the message to Black women is clear: be thankful, be gracious, and apologise for causing inconvenience. McQuire states that Lomas spoke as if she were the problem, when in reality, those around her had made her more vulnerable to death.
Spain's Unresolved Past and the Far-Right Resurgence
Fifty years after Francisco Franco's death, his legacy continues to divide Spain. The country's rapid transition to democracy included a 'pact of forgetting' that left the dictatorship largely unexamined. Now, as Madrid correspondent Sam Jones reports, the far right is gaining traction among younger voters with no direct memory of Franco's violent regime.
Spanish film-maker Almudena Carracedo notes that these young people raising fascist salutes were never properly taught their history. The failure to confront the past has created conditions where Franco's ideology can resurface, appealing to a generation with scant knowledge of the dictatorship's brutality.
Media Gossip and Journalistic Ethics
The rollout of American reporter Olivia Nuzzi's memoir, detailing what she describes as an emotional affair with Robert F Kennedy Jr, has sparked a very public feud. Her ex-fiancé, former Politico correspondent Ryan Lizza, has responded by airing allegations about her other relationships. Writer Alaina Demopoulos observes that the mudslinging has delighted media circles that revel in navel-gazing and schadenfreude.
While Nuzzi and Lizza may not be household names outside political and media circles, Demopoulos argues the very public drama fuels dangerous stereotypes about journalists and their professional ethics.
