From the revival of baking, pickling and beards to the fetishisation of former public housing and terraces, austerity nostalgia has taken prominence in our cultural landscape. But one expert believes it's also obscuring our political reality.

An 18-year-old man is critically ill after nine partygoers were taken to hospital following a mass drug overdose at a Melbourne dance party, prompting health warnings and renewed calls for pill testing at events.

Does Missy Higgins or Nick Cave have the more verbose lyrics? And between Courtney Barnett, Paul Kelly and Kasey Chambers, whose lyrics are more readable?

Donald and Melania Trump wanted to borrow a Van Gogh painting from New York's Guggenheim Museum, but are instead offered a working solid-gold toilet made by an Italian artist.

The media mogul was urged to run for the US presidency in 2020 following her impassioned Golden Globes speech against sexual harassment and assault, but says being in the White House is "not something that interests me".

Performers and yoga teachers are among those who say they are owed thousands of dollars by the festival organisers, who have filed for insolvency.

Artists and politicians are strange bedfellows. When there's a one-sided association, things can get complicated.

French activist and former actress Brigitte Bardot says many actresses sexually provoke film producers to win roles and then complain about harassment to get attention.

Frontman Colin Hay says the meaning of his song Down Under is lost on Cory Bernardi, suggesting the South Australian senator dabble in some "light hallucinogens", wander into a field and reconsider his own importance.

The vending machine is an item synonymous with modern life. But its origins extend back to first century Egypt.

A study finds wearing the popular mermaid tails and fins can reduce a child's ability to swim by up to 70 per cent, after viral video shows girl becoming stuck upside-down in backyard pool.

Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi says artists asking to be removed from his party's "alternative to the Hottest 100" playlist should be thankful for the royalties, after Powderfinger, Hilltop Hoods and Darren Hayes voice their opposition.

What's red and a bit squishy? Australian opera singer Eve Klein uses a laryngoscope to connect her audience to the inner workings of her vocal chords.

The 70-metre-long tapestry depicting the conquest of England by Norman invaders in the 11th century is creating excitement in Britain after France confirms it will loan the historically significant piece.

Sweet Country — a film that competed at last year's Venice Film Festival where it won a special jury prize — sees Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton artfully tackle the Western, a genre well suited to examining issues of race and colonisation.

Dubs Yunipingu is helping put a fresh spin on Lewis Caroll's classic tale. For the first time, the heroine is being played by a "proud Indigenous woman" — and that's just the first twist on the story.

Once a year Sydney's Central railway station turns into a sweaty sea of black sideburn wigs and tight jumpsuits to honour the King.

A literary scholar and supermodel Lily Cole are feuding over what Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte would think of plans to celebrate her 200th birthday. The bizarre scenario has sparked real debate about elitism and sexism in Britain.

A male crew member on the 2014 tour of the Rocky Horror Show tells police that the show's star, Craig McLachlan, indecently assaulted him backstage and groped a female crew member several times.

Lydia Hantke transformed herself for the first time on the TV show The Biggest Loser. She then had to do it all over again after having a baby. This is her story.

There was a time when washing your hair — and waiting for it to dry — was seen as a perfectly acceptable excuse to decline an invitation out. Naturally, the French, with their impeccable sense of style, were the first to come up with a solution.

The Oscar-winning actor issues a pre-emptive denial of a sexual misconduct accusation by a former employee, saying he wanted to get ahead of a potential story being investigated by Hollywood publications.

A driver on a TV production and a tanning salon worker are the latest women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Rocky Horror star Craig McLachlan.

The producers of the Rocky Horror Show have publicly apologised after the ABC and Fairfax put questions to them about two more cast members who allege complaints about bullying and intimidation were ignored.

One of the women to accuse Craig McLachlan of indecent assault and sexual harassment says she has received social media messages from people saying "they hope I get raped", but that "the amount of love is drowning them out".