One year. Questions that will endure.

In these short essays, Greg Cary examines the events of 2026-and what they reveal about leadership, justice, identity and the country we want to become.

Developed from his daily A View from the Mountain YouTube commentaries, watched in more than thirty countries, the essays range from the prosecution of Ben Roberts-Smith and the rise of Pauline Hanson to war in Iran, antisemitism after Bondi, gambling’s grip on sport and the extraordinary possibilities and dangers of artificial intelligence.

But this is also a book about the things beyond the headlines: kindness, courage, love, memory, growing older-and the importance of having something worth looking forward to.

Drawing on forty years in broadcasting, Cary brings experience, humour and an independent mind to issues that rarely have simple answers.

At its heart is a question that reaches beyond any single year: how do we remain questioning without becoming cynical-and hold on to hope in an uncertain world?