Mike Seccombe In a final interview as race discrimination commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane condemns politicians and media organisations for profiting from racism, and warns it will get worse. Mike Seccombe reports.

Alex McKinnon As the backlash set in after Sky News’s interview with Blair Cottrell, one activist group turned its sights to the channel’s corporate sponsors.

Cat Rodie An Australian data analytics company has partnered with anti-sex-trafficking campaigners to help identify villages in India where girls and young women are most at risk.

Alex McKinnon Actor Danny Glover is probably best known for his on-screen roles spanning nearly 40 years, but his appearance in Australia to address a trade union conference comes after a lifelong commitment to civil rights and labour activism. “I was invited here again, by First Nations people, 22 years ago. I went to visit men who were incarcerated and, like in my own country, they were disproportionately people of colour. Then I knew a little bit more about Australia.”

Annie Smithers I know I’m courting controversy and might even lose some of you immediately with the next statement, but here we go. Candied peel is absolutely delicious. I can hear the howls of horror in my head. I’ve come to conclude that it must be one of the pantry’s most divisive common ingredients. At Christmas, people want fruit mince tarts sans peel. At Easter they want hot cross buns sans peel. A lot of people really, really seem to dislike it. But have they tasted handmade, seasonally produced peel, or have they only ever come across the nasty supermarket packet version?

Behrouz Boochani The soul of Manus prison and the system that created and governs Manus prison is in the process of replicating itself throughout Australian society, reproducing itself in unlimited numbers. This is the merciless system that takes humans as captives and subjects them to rules and regulations of micro-control and macro-control, a system that takes their human identities.

Sean Kelly Like Donald Trump’s presidential victory, the appearance of far-right nationalist Blair Cottrell on Sky News cannot be excused by reference to recent events. It wasn’t the dumb mistake of a producer, nor was it unique to Sky. The expansion of what is considered acceptable to broadcast in this country did not begin this week. The middle ground may be where it has always been but the edges have been getting further out for years now. It’s the political equivalent of urban sprawl.

Richard Ackland We’re surrounded by death and the passing of great totems of our time. The death of Fairfax’s independence coincided with the death of one of the era’s standout journalists, Evan Whitton. Then we had news of the death of Clive Evatt, the great Sydney defamation barrister, turf man, art collector and frequent visitor to Wagner at Bayreuth. Whitton and Evatt were polar opposites – one liked to expose wrongdoing while the other liked to sue the backside off newspapers on behalf of punters who were exposed.

That is the problem with Joyce: the politics never elevates above the schoolyard. He is a child and he is indulged by a system built for childish men. The bell he complains of is the one that asks him to vote on legislations, the one that encourages him to do his job. Urges call to him but duty is not one of them. Politics as Joyce describes it is without responsibility.

Royce Kurmelovs The legality of using 3D printers to produce firearms has made headlines here and in the US, but what of the actual practicalities?

Hamish McDonald China pushes back on dissent. Misgivings over Xi's leadership spread. Dalai Lama succession plan.

Dave Faulkner While Gabe Gurnsey’s Physical is a slow-burn techno album that evokes the unfolding of a big night out, Rebel Yell’s Hired Muscle delivers a sharp slap of industrial primitivism.

Maxine Beneba Clarke In the writing room with playwright Declan Greene

Clem Bastow Library-borrowed copies of Dolly magazine offered a much-loved window to the world of beauty, fashion and budding sexuality. But, beyond the model searches and sealed sections, they were also tinged with feelings of solidarity and shame.

Linda Moon Suicide rates among the middle-aged are on the rise. And, according to experts, growing social fragmentation, income insecurity and life pressures are fuelling the trend.

Cindy MacDonald Sydney Stingers’ Emily Scott on re-finding her love of water polo, empowering the LGBTQI community, and the exciting and inclusive atmosphere of the Gay Games.

Cindy MacDonald Test your general knowledge with our weekly quiz.