News Club
Episodes
Your Shortcut to... Belarus
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Belarus has been making news lately after a commercial flight was forced to land in the capital Minsk and a journalist and his girlfriend - both outsp...
Your Shortcut to... Cryptocurrency
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptocurrency, perhaps the most requested Shortcut and one that has taken a little bit of time to wrap our head around. But we've got there and in th...
Your Shortcut to... the Israel-Gaza Conflict
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The latest eruptions of long-running tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Territories have prompted the UN to warn of a "full-scale war". It's ...
Your Shortcut to... the 2021 Federal Budget
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After what has been one of the most expensive policy years in Australian history, the Federal Government handed down its 2021-22 budget this week. Let...
Your Shortcut to... the Modern-Day Space Race
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years, people have looked up at the night sky with questions and as technology has advanced so have we in coming closer and closer to...
Your Shortcut to... Australia's Gun Laws
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the 25th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, the worst single-person mass shooting in Australia’s history and a tragedy that left 35 peo...
Your Shortcut to... Australia's Vaccine Rollout
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The rollout of Australia’s coronavirus vaccination program has had a couple of bumps in the road... There have been challenges with supply and the p...
Your Shortcut to... The life and death of Prince Philip
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was described by his wife Queen Elizabeth as “my strength and stay”. He died on Friday at 99yo, just a coupl...
Your Shortcut to... What's happening in Taiwan
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Chinese Government sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country again. While some Taiwanese think this could ev...
Your Shortcut to... What's going on with property prices
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With a global pandemic on our hands and Australia’s first recession in almost 30 years, some analysts thought property prices would collapse… but ...
Your Shortcut to... Making the Tokyo Olympics happen
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Tokyo Olympics have already been postponed once and questions about whether they will happen this year have been highly speculated on. So in this ...
Your Shortcut to... China's tightening grip on Hong Kong
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was back in August 2019 when we launched Squiz Shortcuts with our very first topic being Hong Kong and its relationship with China. At the time, Ch...
Your Shortcut to...freeing Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert is a 33yo British-Australian who until her arrest in Iran in 2018 was a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Melbou...
Your Shortcut to... the Royal Commission into Aged Care
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past two years, a Royal Commission into aged care quality and safety has heard the harrowing evidence of a broken system. It’s a system tha...
Your Shortcut to... Why Facebook Removed the News
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many Aussies got quite a shock when they woke up on 18 February to find no news content on their Facebook feeds. But less than a week later, following...
Your Shortcut to... Crown's Casino Woes
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Crown Resorts is in the news after an inquiry launched by NSW's gaming regulator found it unfit to operate a newly built casino in Sydney after allega...
Your Shortcut to... the Coup in Myanmar
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The coup in Myanmar is the latest flex of military muscle in a nation that is 70 years into a fight for democracy. In this episode of Squiz Shortcuts ...
Your Shortcut to... What's Happening with the Economy
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The coronavirus pandemic is not just a health crisis - it’s also delivered a once-in-100-years economic blow. We talk a lot about the health issues,...
Your Shortcut to... Biden's Agenda
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the past few months, there's been a bit happening in the United States... Democrat Joe Biden is now the president and there's been a lot of talk ab...
Your Shortcut to... the Disappearance of Alibaba's Jack Ma
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the founder and former boss of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Jack Ma is one of the most powerful people in the world. Which means he's drawn th...
Your Shortcut to... Trump's Social Media Ban
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the assault on the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters last week, Twitter decided to permanently suspend the President's account. It wasn’t ...
Your Shortcut to... Changes to Australia's National Anthem
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Discussion about our national anthem Advance Australia Fair was a big part of the start of 2021. That's because our PM announced that the song's seco...
Year in Review - Part 3 (Sep-Dec)
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the third and final episode of our three-part Year in Review series, we revisit the big local and international stories that shaped September throu...
Year in Review - Part 2 (May-August)
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second episode of our three-part Year in Review series, we revisit the big local and international stories that shaped May through to August, a...
Year in Review - Part 1 (Jan - April)
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of our three-part Year in Review series, we revisit the big local and international stories that shaped January through to April,...
Your Shortcut to... 2020 Catch Up
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
2020 - it was a big one. In our final Squiz Shortcut for the year, we're aiming to achieve one thing - to catch you up on where some of the big issues...
The Great Big Squiz Quiz 2020
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's a bit of fun, it's a bit festive, with a lot of laughs. Take a lighter look at year that was 2020 by joining us for The Great Big Squiz Quiz. See...
Your Shortcut to... Paying for the News
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is set to become the first place in the world where Google and Facebook will have to pay for news content, with the mandatory bargaining cod...
Your Shortcut to... Shark Attacks in Australia
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This year, there have so far been eight fatalities from shark attacks - the most in nearly a century - and a total of 23 attacks. So with summer upon ...
Your Shortcut to... Who Owns the Music
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pop star Taylor Swift was MIA from the recent American Music Awards, saying she was busy re-recording all of her old music. Her fight to own the maste...
Your Shortcuts to... Alleged War Crimes in Afghanistan
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Squiz Shortcuts we dive in to the events leading up to the release of the Brereton Report - which looks into allegations that membe...
Your Shortcut to... The US Elections (Part 5): What Went Down
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we come down from a frantic week of wall-to-wall US election talk, this final episode in our shortcut on the US elections covers how it all went do...
Your Shortcut to... the US Elections (Part 4): Navigating Election Day
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 4 of our Squiz Shortcut series in the lead up to the US election, we arm you with handy information that'll help as you tune into the see the ...
Your Shortcut to...the US Elections (Part 3): the Policy Debate
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you've been tuning into to news about the US election it would be easy to think the race to the White House is only about character. So in Part Thr...
Your Shortcut to...the US Elections (Part 2): the Presidential Race
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second episode of our four-part Shortcuts series in the lead up to the US election we tackle the Presidential Race - so we're talking the elect...
Your Shortcut to... the US Elections (Part 1): the Congressional Races
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This is the first in our four part series in the lead up to the US Election on 3 November. We're going to start though outside of the presidential rac...
Your Shortcut to... Protests in Thailand
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thailand has a particularly turbulent political history. It's got a lot of beautiful beaches, but it's also got military coups and a monarchy that's c...
Your Shortcut to... Australia's Border Restrictions
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The lockdown of our national border along with state and territory borders, have become some of the most contentious issues of the coronavirus crisis....
Your Shortcut to... the Australia-China Relationship
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It seems like every week, there's a new low in the Australia-China relationship. From trade disputes to diplomatic arguments - these have been some of...
Your Shortcut to... Vladimir Putin
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, is in the news a lot. Whether it's on the diplomatic trail, in dealings with the US and other big nations, or...
Your Shortcut to... Aged Care in Australia
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"It’s not easy growing old. We avoid thinking and talking about it." That's how the interim report from the Royal Commission into aged care starts. ...
Your Shortcut to... Mail-in Voting in the US Election
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2020 US presidential election is happening in November, but with the country still in the grip of COVID-19, there's a lot of talk about how the vo...
Your Shortcut to... the US Vice Presidential Race
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Squiz Shortcuts we take a look at the role of the Vice President of America, and learn a bit more about the current veep, Mike Pen...
Your Shortcut to... Vaccines
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A vaccine for the coronavirus is being held out as the thing that's going to get the world back on track. In this episode of Squiz Shortcuts we look a...
Your Shortcut to... Yemen
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's one of the Arab world's poorest countries and in recent years has been devastated by a civil war. Millions of civilians are now starving and thou...
Your shortcut to... Vaping
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It comes up a bit in the news due to concerns about the health effects. In this episode we’ll take you through exactly what vaping is, the argument...
Your shortcut to... Facebook
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's the biggest social media platform in the world so inevitably Facebook is in the news a lot. In this episode we take a look at how Facebook makes ...
Your Shortcut to... TikTok
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Squiz recommends: Forbes profile on Zhang Yim- https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2019/11/04/meet-zhang-yiming-the-chinese-billionaire-behind...
Your shortcut to... Israel and Palestine
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is in essence a fight over territory. But it is so much more that with religion, nationalism, and a lot of h...
Your shortcut to... Donald Trump
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump is probably the most talked about person on the planet. The leader of the free world had a colourful path to becoming President of the Un...
Your shortcut to... Joe Biden
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
He's the Democratic candidate running against Donald Trump in November's presidential election. A former vice president, Biden's been around American ...
Your Shortcut to... China's Belt and Road Initiative
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s most ambitious foreign policy initiatives - and it's contentious. Officially called One Belt, One Road it...
Your Shortcut to... Royal Commissions
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this Shortcut we'll look at what a Royal Commission is, the power and effectiveness of Royal Commissions, and take a quick look at the ones current...
Your Shortcut To... Civil Rights in America
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We take a look at the history of slavery in America, the fight for civil rights, and what's happening now. Squiz Shortcuts - The Back Story To The Big...
Your shortcut to... Xi Jinping
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Xi Jinping is the man in charge of China. So, let’s take a look at who he is, how he came to be the leader, his broad agenda and how he is using his...
Your shortcut to ... the South China Sea
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's the big 'un of global politics... we're talking the South China Sea. By popular request we explain why it is so strategically important, the comp...
Your Shortcut to... The Federation
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the coronavirus crisis requiring a coordinated response between the federal government and our states and territories we take a step back and loo...
Your shortcut to... the World Health Organisation
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We don't need to tell you why the World Health Organisation is in the news a lot lately. That's why you might want to know a bit more about how it ope...
Your Shortcut to... Coronavirus Key People (Prof. Brendan Murphy, Greg Hunt and Neville Power)
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
They're some of the key people involved in our coronavirus response. So, who are they and what are we relying on them for? This week on Squiz Shortcut...
Your Shortcut to... Recession
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hand in hand with the measures being used to contain the spread of Covid-19 comes the economic consequences. While we are flattening the curve, busine...
A Squiz Kids Shortcut: Kids-only Coronavirus Q&A with Prime Minister Scott Morrison
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Scott Morrison answers kids' questions about Coronavirus, in a kids-only Q&A. Squiz Kids is a news podcast just for kids. A short week...
Your Shortcut to... Infectious Diseases
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the world braces for the impact of COVID-19, we're going to take a look back at some of the big infectious disease outbreaks of the past. Where the...
Your shortcut to... Daylight Saving Time
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Turns out there's a long history of people messing with time. In this episode we'll get you across the reasons it came about in the first place, the c...
A Squiz Kids Shortcut: Coronavirus Explained
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This Squiz Shortcuts episode is a little different. It’s brought to you by Bryce Corbett, the host of our Squiz Kids podcast. In this 10 minute epis...
Your shortcut to... Note-able Australian Women
08 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dame Mary Gilmore, Mary Reibey, Edith Cowan, and Dame Nellie Melba are four notable Australian women whose significant achievements are honoured throu...
Your shortcut to... The US Election
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who can become the President of the USA, how the parties elect their candidates, the all-important numbers; and what to watch out for in the 2020 elec...
Your shortcut to... Education in Australia
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How Australian kids perform at school is always a hot topic with parents, teachers and taxpayers. We're taking to take a look at how the Australian ed...
Your shortcut to... The Rohingya and the Uyghurs
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Rohingya and the Uyghurs - both groups are considered by the United Nations to be victims of human rights abuses. Here we explain who they are, as...
Your shortcut to... Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From how they grew up, how they came to politics and where they stand on key issues - this episode looks at the bloke who runs the country and the blo...
Your shortcut to... Coronavirus
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What coronavirus actually is, where it came from, the broader implications, and how we stop the spread. Squiz Recommends: Quartz "How China can build ...
Your shortcut to... Harry and Meghan's 'new arrangement'
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What it means to be a 'senior royal', how are the Royal Family funded and how do they work with the media? In this episode we tackle those questions w...
Your shortcut to... Huawei
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's the Chinese tech company that's been banned from rolling out 5G networks here in Australia, in NZ and in the US. Here we step through what the co...
Your shortcut to... Australia Day
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What the date marks, how it evolved, the argument for and against moving it, and what our leaders think. Squiz recommends: Australia Day Council adver...
Your shortcut to... Bushfires in Australia
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Australia’s bushfire history, the scale and extent of what we've seen in 2019/2020, the conditions that have caused this event, what we can learn fr...
UPDATED: Your shortcut to... Brexit (Part 2)
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Since the UK Election we've updated this episode of Squiz Shortcuts. It now covers Brexit - post Johnson becoming Prime Minister. A bit about him, his...
The Great Big Squiz Quiz 2019
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's a bit of fun, it's a bit festive, with a lot of laughs. Take a lighter look at year that was 2019 by joining us for The Great Big Squiz Quiz. The...
Your shortcut to... Julian Assange
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Who is he and what is exactly is Wikileaks? Plus, the events that thrust Assange and Wikileaks into the spotlight and the ongoing legal fallout. Squiz...
Your shortcut to... US-China Trade War
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The battle of the big economies. Why the trade war started, how it is playing out and how it is affecting all of us. Squiz Recommends: The Conversati...
UPDATED: Your shortcut to... Impeachment
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We'll tell you what it means, what the process is, when it's happened before and why it's happening to Donald Trump. Squiz Recommends: Tim 'Apple' Vox...
Your shortcut to... Online Mega Sales
28 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How has online shopping changed the face of retailing? And what are the major shopping events that are now landmarks on the shopping calendar? Squiz R...
Your shortcut to... Drought
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret Australia is in drought. In this episode we look at how bad this one actually is, and what's being done to help. Squiz recommends: Ins...
Your shortcut to... Islamic State
17 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A look at how Islamic State came to be, the power it had at its peak, and the push to defeat it. Squiz Recommends: ABC "Married to Islamic State": htt...
Your shortcut to... World Leaders (Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Modi)
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Three world leaders who are in the news a lot are the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and India's...
Your shortcut to... 1MDB
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Squiz Shortcuts is all about 1MDB - the fund, set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and is at the centre of one of th...
Your shortcut to... Climate Change
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Squiz Shortcuts will give you the background to one of the most commonly used phrases in news - climate change. We'll steer clear of t...
Your shortcut to... West Papua
20 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
West Papua is seeing the largest scale uprising for some time which has led to deadly riots and mass arrests. Here is the history of the region, the m...
Your shortcut to... America, Turkey and the Syrian Kurds
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The context to what is going on in northeast Syria. This shortcut will get you across why America is in Syria in the first place, who the Kurds are, t...
Your shortcut to... US and Iran
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Squiz Shortcuts will get you across why the relationship between the US and Iran is so significant for the world; why Iran is strategi...
Your shortcut to... Brexit (Part 1)
05 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This is all things Brexit pre-Boris Johnson. Have a listen for an understanding on why Britain was ever part of the EU, why they decided to leave, why...
Your shortcut to... Ash Barty
01 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Squiz Shortcuts we're getting you across Ash Barty. 2019 really has been her year, winning the French Open and spending eight weeks...
Your shortcut to... Hong Kong
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this (first) episode of Squiz Shortcuts we are looking at Hong Kong. It's been in the news every day for the past few months given the ongoing demo...
TRAILER: Squiz Shortcuts
20 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Squiz Shortcuts - our new weekly podcast. It's your shortcut to more than the headlines. Are you interested in the news but sometimes find...