Background Briefing

Long Read | How social media algorithms decide who you are

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Prianka Srinivasan arms herself with a burner phone and a fake name, and sets out to learn how Instagram’s algorithm really works.

04 Before and After | Behind the sunscreen

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the founder of a skincare company discovers his zinc sunscreen product potentially isn't achieving the protection it's supposed to, it doesn't t...

03 Before and After | Under your skin

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The injectable industry is booming, but behind the glossy ads and plump looks, some patients are discovering filler that doesn’t dissolve. This wee...

02 Before and After | For a couple extra inches

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Daring narrative journalism: Australian investigations with impact.

01 Before and After | The cost of keeping your hair

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hair loss ads are everywhere. Telehealth clinics with thousands of five-star reviews promise fast consults and discreet delivery to your doorstep. Bu...

Introducing... Before and After

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Before and After is a new series by Background Briefing that exposes how medical hype spreads online, who profits, and who pays.

The secret teacher blacklist

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kim saw a teacher’s aide laughing at a video of a vulnerable student and reported it to the principal. She had no idea it would come to define the ...

05 The Favourite - A Day in Court

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After years of manipulation, Alliyah is determined to see justice done. When Kellie appears in the dock, what will she say? And how will the judge re...

04 The Favourite | Full Disclosure

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alliyah steps into a police station on the outskirts of Brisbane, and says: “I want to report a crime.” After keeping the so-called relationship ...

03 The Favourite | Alliyah's choice

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new job and a surprise encounter show Alliyah that another way is possible. Will they manage to slip out of Kellie's control?

02 The Favourite | A marriage proposal

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the principal discovers Alliyah and their teacher Kellie are exchanging secret messages outside class, Kellie is warned — but not fired. Then,...

01 The Favourite | Secrets after school

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

12-year-old Alliyah’s clowning around in science class, testing the waters to see how the new teacher will respond. An unusual bond grows between t...

Introducing... The Favourite

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

She's every student’s favourite teacher — warm, funny, the kind who bends the rules. But for one 12-year-old, Alliyah, her attention goes far bey...

The invisible stuff on your blueberries

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a marine scientist starts picking up traces of pesticides in oysters, she follows a trail that leads inland — to NSW blueberries carrying a po...

Long Read | The smart kids who can’t afford to succeed

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Catherine Taylor investigates how money, disadvantage and resources risk holding back our brightest students.

Long Read | The fight over your backyard

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Yes In My Backyard movement is lobbying for denser cities and more housing in places people want to work and live. The YIMBYs want these homes bu...

PRESENTS — Criminal Psychology from All in the Mind

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fascinated by true crime? Or intrigued by what drives people to break the law?Criminal Psychology, a gripping series from All in the Mind, takes you ...

Long Read | The Summer of Trump

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Nick Bryant returns to the US for the first time in four years, finding a country that doesn't want to talk about politics, despite being ...

Dr Mo: The Beast from the Middle East

03 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An Australian doctor sells his car and writes a will — unsure if he’ll ever make it back home. He crosses the concrete walls that surround the Ga...

04 Beef | YouTube detectives uncover PlayStation guru’s shocking secret

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It started with a bizarre customer-service experience and soon transformed into something darker. Outrage rippled across Youtube, spurring an army of...

03 Beef | Pensioner takes big bank to court to prove a point

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ian Williams woke up one morning to find $1338 has been stolen from his account. Two years later, the 73-year-old is taking on NAB at the Supreme Cou...

02 Beef | Who would shoot a wombat?

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most Aussies see wombats as an iconic native. But reporter Tynan King discovered one regional NSW town where farmers see them through a scope.

01 Beef | Big Rob versus just about everyone in town

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Big Rob has gone from online vigilante to censured politician, starting little fights that have become big problems for his divided city. 

INTRODUCING — Beef

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new series by Background Briefing investigates when small feuds take on a life of their own.  First episode coming June 28.

Long Read | The hunt for the next pandemic is on our shores

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, reporter Catherine Taylor investigates a new strain of avian flu virus that's running rampant across Europe, Asia, South America and the U...

Long Read | Can Wikipedia survive the rise of AI and Trump?

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rhiannon Stevens investigates the existential threats facing Wikipedia from artificial intelligence and Trump’s America.

Long Read | Australia: burnout capital, or how to get a career break right

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Annie Louey discovers what happens when your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing means your career is no longer worth the money.

05 Agents of Influence | The letters journalists fear

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s something shaping what appears in your newsfeed that you might not be aware of. Reporter Gina McKeon investigates.

04 Agents of Influence | The powerbroker unseated by ‘traitors’

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, reporter Annika Blau  gets the inside story of a union powerbroker’s rise, and the people who risked it all to stop her

03 Agents of Influence | The man whose name is all over Sydney

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Take a stroll around Sydney and you'll find his name on many venerated buildings. But this man, a 101-year-old billionaire, has also created machines...

02 Agents of Influence | The Billionaire's New Sport

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A former oil tycoon has just bought the streaming rights to Australia’s great homegrown sports, the AFL and NRL. This week, reporter Marty Smiley i...

01 Agents of Influence | The PM's secret strategists

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Millennial content makers can influence election outcomes from their home studios. After witnessing the power of podcasts in the US election, our pol...

Introducing... Agents of Influence

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They're not household names. But they wield serious power under the radar.

Long Read | How deepfakes, nudes and teen misogyny have changed growing up

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Bri Lee investigates tech-assisted gendered abuse by schoolboys against their peers and teachers. 

Long Read | The church’s disappearing women

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three decades after the first ordinations of women to the Anglican priesthood, women are still struggling to reach leadership — and now the congreg...

05 The Invisible Killer | Did police miss a murder?

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A court found that Garry Davis injected three victims with lethal doses of insulin during a 48 hour period. But what if there was another victim? Is ...

04 The Invisible Killer | Under the bed

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When reporter Anne Connolly discovers that Garry Davis had a collection of strange items under his bed, it  changes the course of her investigation,...

03 The Invisible Killer | Reasonable Doubt

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Garry Davis has now been convicted of murdering two residents at SummitCare and attempting to murder a third. But all the evidence against him is cir...

02 The Invisible Killer | 'Who did this?'

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Someone injected three residents with lethal doses of insulin at an aged care facility in Newcastle. Now, the race is on to catch the killer. Will th...

01 The Invisible Killer | Doctor’s discovery

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When residents start falling ill at a nursing home in Newcastle, the workers don't think much of it. After all, people die in aged care all the time....

More to the story... Kathy Jackson’s missing millions

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It looked like the Health Services Union might finally be returned millions of dollars owed by the whistleblower turned convicted fraudster, Kathy Ja...

More to the story... Who controls the Murdoch empire?

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lachlan Murdoch is caught in an ongoing court battle with his siblings to maintain control of the family empire when Rupert Murdoch dies. Now there’...

More to the story... Meeting your mum as an adult

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After Background Briefing's investigation, Anna was flooded with messages from Korean adoptees all over the world. The overwhelming response prompted...

More to the story... Sex, lies and 'big coconut balls'

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Background Briefing last investigated testosterone salesman Michael Farrelly, he was nowhere to be found. Then, a few weeks ago, came a surprisi...

More to the Story... My friend, the cop killer

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Police and politicians labelled the Wieambilla killers evil terrorists.  But what really went on inside their heads?

More to the story... Inside a scam factory

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Scam baiter Jim Browning recently helped bring down a multinational scam syndicate in Dubai. His next target is a scam with potential links to the R...

03 Births, Deaths, and Marriages | ‘Horror stories’ from inside the funeral industry

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ani Valatava went to see her sister’s body at a funeral home in suburban Sydney. She could never have prepared for what she saw next. Reporter Gina...

02 Births, Deaths and Marriages | Facebook's sperm marketplace

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a couple are quoted $13,000 to access a sperm donor through a clinic, they decide to take matters into their own hands. On Facebook, they find a...

01 Births, Deaths and Marriages | The Wedding Celebrant

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Becc and Nathan decided to get married, they wanted something intimate — a small ceremony at home with just their closest friends and family. ...

The inconvenient patients

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle went to hospital on three occasions, complaining of searing chest pains. She was told to go home and seek therapy for her "anxiety issues". ...

The cop accused of sharing a suspect's explicit video

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After a police squad stages a tense siege against a dangerous fugitive, a phone is recovered from the crime scene, carrying vital information. But th...

03 | Murdoch's Endgame

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Will Lachlan Murdoch succeed in brushing his rival siblings aside to command control over the future of his family’s media empire? Or could we be l...

02 | Murdoch's Endgame

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For much of his youth, Lachlan Murdoch seemed ambivalent about being next in line to control the family’s global media empire. So why is his father...

01 | Murdoch's Endgame

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are we looking at the end of the Murdoch family's global media empire? That's the question journalists Paddy Manning and Alex Mann investigate in thi...

Introducing... Murdoch's Endgame

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Murdoch family is locked in a secret court battle. 

Has dot art spread too far?

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dots are so strongly associated with traditional Aboriginal visual language that Shane gets asked why he doesn’t paint them. 

'This must be a joke': the homes for sale without owners' knowledge

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a caravan park in central NSW, a group of grey nomads were sold a Utopia - a  “home base” to hang up the keys and enjoy “real estate securi...

Stop and Search | 04 The Botched Backyard Operation

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are only two witnesses to Brad Balzan's final moments: the two officers who chased him into his backyard. But their accounts of what happened d...

Stop and Search | 03 The Numbers Game

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the investigation into Bradley Balzan's death continues, serious questions are raised about how the country’s largest police force uses its sear...

Stop and Search | 02 Last Moments Before Gunshots

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Balzan is shot dead in his own backyard after a police encounter goes wrong. In episode two of Stop and Search, a new mini-series by Background...

Stop and Search | 01 Where's Brad?

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A 20-year-old is chased by four plain-clothes police officers into his western Sydney backyard. But he hasn't committed a crime. He hasn't even done ...

Dancing with Bulls

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ruby's barely a teenager, and already she's become a champion bull rider. She's also had eight concussions and multiple brain bleeds. Reporter Tynan ...

Finding Jean Nassif

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He left a trail of defect-riddled apartment buildings across Sydney and debts exceeding $600m to his creditors. Police have issued a warrant for his ...

Sex, lies & 'big coconut balls' — the clinic that sold a fix to getting old

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Testosterone is often marketed as a silver bullet that can help you build muscle mass, improve your energy levels and fix your sex life. But as repor...

The agency accused of paying bribes for babies

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Anna grew up believing she was an orphan. But she later discovered she’d been lied to. And that she's one of many Australian adoptees who has been ...

Notorious 08 | My friend, the cop killer pt 2

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nathaniel Train was renowned as a distinguished principal who could deliver impressive results for disadvantaged schools. His childhood friend, repor...

Notorious 07 | My friend, the cop killer Pt 1

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One morning reporter Josh Robertson woke up, read the headlines, and made a terrible realisation.

Notorious 06 | From Sydney to a Syrian prison

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He is shut off from the outside world. Locked inside a makeshift jail in north Syria for the past five years, Hamza doesn’t even know who the Prime...

Notorious 05 | Killers in the suburbs

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes they’re armed with a chainsaw, sometimes a bottle of poison, and often they’re operating in broad daylight. So why is it so hard to cat...

Notorious 04 | From top gun to wanted man

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Duggan’s career was spent pushing warplanes to their limits. Now the United States wants him extradited from Australia and prosecuted for co...

Notorious 03 - Crafting a Villain

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Olivia went on Australia’s biggest show to find love. She came out as Australia's "most hated" reality TV star and lost almost everything.Reporter ...

Notorious 02 | The Prankster

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It was the infamous Royal prank call that shattered lives. One woman took her own life; another is haunted to this day. Reporter Rachael Cusick inves...

Notorious 01 | Inside the scam factory

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the outskirts of Dubai there is a secret scam factory, where hundreds of employees smoke, eat, and pretend to be glamorous women — but one has a...

Introducing... Notorious

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There's a saying that every good story needs a bad guy. 

The whistleblowers who stared down threats from Australia's biggest bank

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How the Commonwealth Bank tried to stop a royal commission by using dirt files, intimidation, threats and surveillance against whistleblowers and jo...

The whistleblower who believed his employer was covering up an oil spill

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.

The whistleblower who exposed Australia’s secretive offshore detention system

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporte...

The Whistleblower who brought down Australia's Dr Death

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When patients start unexpectedly dying at a regional hospital, nurse Toni Hoffman takes a big risk to blow the whistle on a negligent surgeon. But ...

The whistleblower who captured the nation — and the man who unmasked her as a fraud

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kathy Jackson was once heralded as a revolutionary who shone a bright spotlight on union corruption but she too was later found to be a fraudster who...

The whistleblower who helped catch a paedophile politician

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When an electoral officer helps police arrest a popular politician, her life begins to unravel. Her boss would spend more than a decade in prison, bu...

The Whistleblowers

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when a person blows the whistle on wrongdoing? 

A mother's message and the hospital that didn't want to hear it

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A woman has lost the ability to speak and is forced to communicate by blinking. From her hospital bed she tries to blink out a request, but hospital ...

Tears, tea and bloodshed — can violent men ever change?

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week reporter and Dharawal woman Brooke Fryer goes inside a program that's helping violent men turn their lives around.

Finding Jean Nassif

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He left a trail of defect-riddled apartment buildings across Sydney and debts exceeding $600m to his creditors. Police have issued a warrant for his ...

Dancing with Bulls

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ruby's barely a teenager, and already she's become a champion bull rider. She's also had eight concussions and multiple brain bleeds. Reporter Tynan ...

04 Stop and Search | The Botched Backyard Operation

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are only two witnesses to Brad Balzan's final moments: the two officers who chased him into his backyard. But their accounts of what happened d...

03 Stop and Search | The Numbers Game

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the investigation into Bradley Balzan's death continues, serious questions are raised about how the country’s largest police force uses its sear...

02 Stop and Search | Last Moments Before Gunshots

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Balzan is shot dead in his own backyard after a police encounter goes wrong. In episode two of Stop and Search, a new mini-series by Background...

01 Stop and Search | Where's Brad?

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A 20-year-old is chased by four plain-clothes police officers into his western Sydney backyard. But he hasn't committed a crime. He hasn't even done ...

What's the price of a freebirth?

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are women choosing to “freebirth” completely outside the medical system.

Meet the AI insiders who say it’s time to ‘accelerate or die’

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

They have anonymous leaders, manifestos, and even a flag with a snake on it. 

'They use us': The Balinese villagers taking on Russian-backed developers

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

‘Cities’ are popping up across Bali’s spiritual heartland. Can villagers from Ubud hold back a tsunami of foreign money and preserve the islan...

Summer Season: Prisoner of the State

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a nursing home lives an elderly man who is being held against his will. We can’t tell you his name. We can’t tell you his age. We can’t eve...

Summer Season: Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a teenager, Remy learnt to survive by hustling on the streets of Parramatta. Then she hit the bigtime. Reporter Mahmood Fazal investigates what ...

Summer Season: False Witness

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Heidi Davoren provides an extraordinary insight into a parenting dispute, where a mother and father come together after a Family Court psyc...

Summer Season: Darcey and Chloe Part 01 - How the system failed to save two baby girls

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Queensland authorities failed to heed multiple serious warnings that a young pair of sisters were in danger, before it was too late. Their grieving ...

Summer Season: Darcey and Chloe Part 02 - How the system failed to save two baby girls

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When two infants die after being left inside a hot car, their family seek answers to how this could have happened. Reporter Alexandra Blucher track...

Summer Season: The Whistleblower who helped catch a paedophile politican

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After an electoral officer helped police arrest a popular state minister, her life began to unravel.

Summer Season: The whistleblower who exposed Australia’s secretive offshore detention system

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporte...

Summer Season: An aspiring doctor from the 'burbs takes on medical schools for elitism

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From humble beginnings, Fahad faced hurdles entering medical school. Now, he fights for equal access to medical education. Marty Smiley reports.