Could our beach shacks disappear?

Australians are very attached to their shacks. Clusters of old shacks made with driftwood, tin, fibro or second-grade timber can be found up and down our coast, from the Torres Strait to Tasmania.
But as modern developers move in to build bigger, more stylish homes elsewhere along Australia’s coast, 'shackies' fear the beach shack will be lost to history.

Read our online feature to learn more about the hidden history of Australia's iconic shacks and those fighting to save them from disappearing forever.

For the film lovers, The Screen Show spoke to 90s star Pamela Anderson, who is making a surprising comeback in Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl — a role she says she had "been waiting my whole life for".
And pages of February's best books promise a lot: a queer love story full of incisive observation about life, a fiction-memoir blend about a body in love and in pain, and a character convinced they're being hunted by snipers.

Happy reading!

Australia’s beach shacks are an architectural quirk of history. But as they slowly disappear from our coastlines, ‘shackies’ and historians argue we should be paying more attention to the hidden history of these emblems of summer.

The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness — and how recognising his own led to true healing.

There are hidden family stories, and tales of love and loss both real and imagined in this month's best books, as recommended by ABC Arts critics and readers.

When questions were raised in Federal Parliament about two artworks by Khaled Sabsabi, it was enough for Creative Australia to dump the artist from next year's Venice Biennale. The move risks creating the opposite effect: compromising artistic freedom and the appearance of independence of the arts funding agency.

One of US President Donald Trump's first executive orders was to declare that there are only two genders and to ban transgender women from participating in female sports. Trans poet and comedian Alok Vaid-Menon says people across the argument need to have compassion.

A memoir, a documentary, a Broadway debut and now her first lead role in a feature film in three decades: welcome to the 'Pam-aissance'.

Undercover reporting is one of those practices that challenges public trust with journalists, so when is it justified to deceive to get a story?

One of the stand-out shows at this year's Adelaide Festival is a devastating performance of love for family and for country. In it, audiences hear from a renowned Rwandan playwright who refused to let anger ruin him.

Shortly before he died, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto performed a piano concert called Kagami – which was filmed and recorded with mixed reality technology. Thanks to that, the audience can see and hear Sakamoto play on a level of reality which pushes the boundaries of what a concert can be.

Cramping muscles are common, whether they’re associated with exercise or not. Knowing what causes them can help people avoid them or treat them, but for many it's not a simple story.