Some household surfaces do attract more dust – but changing your home’s climate can make a difference

With new saunas popping up apace, getting our gear off should be normalised. Sweating into towels feels more hygienic than a mandatory swimsuit Do as the Germans do, I say. Or the rational Scandinavians, where saunas originate. In both places, even in mixed gender rooms, saunas are done naked. Australia’s enthusiasm for saunas is still rising. In the five years to June 2026, Australian Google searches for “sauna” increased from about 120,000 a month to over 500,000. Continue reading...

In a blind test of more than 26 tins of tomatoes, Nicholas Jordan sorts fact from pulp fiction

Sustainability promised to change the industry. With Shein reportedly acquiring Everlane, and Allbirds pivotting from eco sneakers to AI, it seems that promise was mostly marketing It was always about the money, wasn’t it? For a while there, it seemed like the execs opining sustainability is not a trend, it’s the future actually meant it. But when yet another global brand drops its net zero goals or stops talking about DEI, you do wonder. Recent headlines include Stella McCartney adulterating her eco gloss with a sustainable capsule collection for H&M – don’t worry, she’s just “infiltrating from within” – and Lululemon being investigated for Pfas. The letdowns keep coming. Now the internet is reeling from a report that Shein plans to acquire Everlane, the San Francisco-based sustainable basics brand built on “radical transparency”. Shein is the Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant epitomising murky supply chains and crazy-cheap landfill fashion. They release up to 10,000 styles a day, and have been making headlines of their own over secrecy and alleged links to forced Uyghur labour. Continue reading...

After being approached for ‘a quick chat’ at four different companies, I started to feel cursed. However, for those in the same boat, not all hope is lost. Even if it feels like it “Your role may be impacted.” That’s how they put it. It’s corporate language, crafted by lawyers, to absolve and protect your soon-to-be former employer. Continue reading...

Civic participation is in decline across the English-speaking world. To opt out of the trend, Tom Gill learns to join in

A journalist explores the “sexual wellness industry”

People dump their bags everywhere, fail to file to the sides and force fellow riders to fight their way to the doors upon departure

Amid a backslide in the industry’s commitment to body and age diversity, at Australian fashion week some designers are taking a different approach to casting

A loose private network on Signal and WhatsApp helped usher in the new alliance between Silicon Valley and Donald Trump’s new right.

Sites attracting hot competition from first-home buyers, builders and neighbours looking to expand their landholding

Lifestyle editor and author of All Women Want Alyx Gorman explains to Reged Ahmad why too many cisgendered women are having mediocre sex – and what can be done to fix it

YouTube video by Guardian Australia

In unequal households – the majority of heterosexual homes – domestic and emotional pressures on women can have a direct effect on libido

On a fairly subdued red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild awards, the cast of Wicked stood out in full fantasy regalia

Ten years ago, Jo Nemeth quit her job and closed her bank account. Today, she’s more committed than ever to her moneyless life

The best handpicked Christmas presents that are truly last minute – no trip to the shops required

Marjorie Fiterman and Bernie Littman met at Philadelphia nursing home after both of their longtime spouses died

With strategic shopping and some homemade additions, $20 is enough to pull together an abundant party plate of meat, cheese and dips. With more to spend, some premium items still deliver better value

It might sound like a drink special at your local cafe but the trendy shade is set to be everywhere in 2025 – according to the paint company, that is

The world is a big thing to get interested in, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. What if you start with the little things instead? I used to be really interested in the world. I’d read lots of news, books from authors around the world and had opinions about world events. I work for a charity that works globally too. But lately I’ve become less engaged. I don’t know if it’s due to having children, fatigue or the harshness of the world, but I feel unplugged from it all and not interested. Equally I’m not interested in anything else as an alternative. I feel my world becoming smaller. I spend hours scrolling Instagram too. How can I find “something” to be interested in again? Eleanor says: When I was in my early teens my dad was trying to explain depression to me because a dear friend had it and I thought she was making a mistake. I interrupted him to pause and savour a bite of sourdough toast with cream cheese. He pointed to that exact moment – there – that’s what your friend can’t feel right now. Continue reading...

For healthy people, pills, patches and gummies just create ‘expensive urine’. But for those with nutrient deficiencies, vitamin supplements have clear benefits

Plant a tomato bush then lecture it on how it should grow tomatoes

There is no relationship where neither party ever finds other people attractive, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But it is still legitimate to ask our partners to assuage our fears

Bridie Jabour talks to the editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally about the future of news online and why the Guardian has quit X