The Briefing
Episodes
Jan Fran questions everything (and so should you)
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeanette Francis, better known as Jan Fran, is one of our brilliant hosts of The Briefing podcast. Jan recently returned to the show after having her ...
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a...Chinese spy balloon?
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week a massive white balloon drifted across U.S. airspace before being shot down by the Air Force. But where did it come from? The US believes Ch...
Birth Part 3: Australia’s maternity crisis
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rural regions in Australia are facing major maternity shortages as services in rural hospitals are forced to close. Pregnant women are travelling fo...
Birth Part 2: Is IVF the answer?
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The first baby born through IVF was in 1978 and since then the treatment has dramatically changed how the family unit can look. It has also given sam...
Birth Part 1: The rise of solo mothers by choice
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Women across Australia are continuing to choose to become solo mothers by choice, using assisted fertilization (IVF, donor) because of factors like ag...
Swipe right: making dating apps safer
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Safety on dating apps has been at the centre of a government roundtable as the number of domestic violence cases across Australia continues to rise. ...
Alex Dyson eats politics for breakfast
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Dyson is an Australian radio and podcast presenter, author, business owner and former political candidate. He currently hosts the podcast ‘Mat...
Jan Fran is back on The Briefing
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
So, Briefing co-host Jan Fran is back after more than six months away from the microphone. In this episode, Tom interviews Jan about what’s sh...
A powerful description of what it’s like living with adult ADHD
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There has been a rise of well-known Aussies, particularly females, announcing that they have been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Due to this rise t...
Hamish Macdonald: Take Me To Your Leader
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi…some of the leaders radically reshaping today's world. Who are they and what drives them? We’re joine...
Drowning tragedy: How to save a life, without losing your own
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three hundred and thirty-nine people lost their lives to drowning last year while a further 686 experienced a non-fatal drowning incident. Between Dec...
The Tiktok trending weight loss drug
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ozempic is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity but social media influencers have now turned it into the most popular weight loss drug. Pr...
Chloe Fisher's persistent pursuit of motherhood
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chloe Fisher married her now-husband, Grammy-nominated DJ Fisher, in 2020. It was on their wedding night that Chloe fell pregnant for the first time. ...
Mindful Drinking: the success of Heaps Normal
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australia’s beer culture is almost embedded in Aussies from childhood, whether one of your parents is asking you to grab them a beer from the fr...
January 26: A day of mourning for Indigenous Australians
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australians across the country will “celebrate” Australia Day today, January 26. Many believe it ought to be scrapped as a day of celebration ou...
Why Machu Picchu is off the bucket list, for now
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since December protests have rocked Peru as the former president Pedro Castillo was ousted after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to prevent a...
Could 2023 be the year Julian Assange is released
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve years ago, ‘cable gate’ was published by Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. 251,000 confidential cables from the US State Department w...
Vaping: I was addicted to nicotine
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Having a nicotine addiction used to only be associated with cigarette smokers who’d have a pack a day and always try to bum a cig. Now vaping has be...
Elise McCann turns lemons into lemonade
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever been at dinner with mates and someone comes up with a clever idea and you all agree it could totally be an app? Well, Elise McCann is th...
The Ardern era: How will history judge Jacinda?
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will quit as New Zealand prime minister next month, saying she no longer has "enough in the tank" to lead. Ms Arder...
Inside China’s deadly Covid chaos
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this month the Chinese government reversed their covid-zero policy and changed how they report Covid infections and illnesses. It’s led to a...
Back to the 70s: what is stagflation?
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wars, the pandemic, China’s economic woes and critical flaws in the supply chain have put economies on alert across the globe. 2023 is tipped to be ...
“A bunch of bloodsuckers”: Tom Tilley's verdict on Prince Harry’s memoir
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Prince Harry’s new biography ‘Spare’ caused controversy before it was even released. It details everything from losing his virginity, to killing...
The story behind the billionaire Sun Cable bust-up
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australian billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest have fallen out over the $30b Sun Cable project, which is the giant NT solar farm tha...
The complicated story of George Pell
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The former leader of the Catholic Church in Australia, Cardinal George Pell died suddenly in Rome this week. His reign was dogged by scandal. Impris...
The psychology behind the world’s most famous sibling rivalry - Harry v William
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Prince William has been thrown back into the spotlight, after Prince Harry claimed he physically attacked him in his new book ‘Spare.’ The relatio...
Protestors take Brazil to the brink
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brazil is undergoing riots that have been likened to when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. Far-right Bolsonaro supporters have stormed the Bra...
Will 2023 be the end of Covid?
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New data from the ACT Government shows just 20% of people who reported a Covid infection in December were known to have previously had the illness. Au...
Our food: budgeting, supply shocks and the 2023 forecast
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Aussies are starting the new year with higher rates, rent and fuel along with rocketing food prices. Food shortages are hitting supermarkets across th...
What Canada’s ban on foreign property ownership could mean for us
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is facing a housing crisis, and we're not the only ones. Canada is also dealing with a shortage of homes, and has just introduced a ban on f...
How much Vitamin D do we really need?
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is known for its harsh sun and hot summers, but Vitamin D deficiency is growing. Vitamin D is crucial to our physical and mental health, yet...
Starting 2023 with more attention and less distraction
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We know gym memberships go up at the start of the year with people keen to get their bodies in shape, but what about our minds? In this episode of the...
Behind the mask of the Australian bushranger
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The bushranger holds a special place in the Australian psyche. Celebrated for their bravery and their ability to go against the grain, against authori...
The man behind Sydney’s fireworks
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This year, the Sydney New Year’s fireworks were watched by millions of people around the world, but have you ever wondered how it’s put together? ...
2022: A year in review
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A look back on The Year That Was with Tom Tilley, Katrina Blowers, Antoinette Lattouf and Rhianna Patrick. We talk about the biggest stories of the ye...
Best of 2022: BookTok: How TikTok is changing literature
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the BookTok phenomenon? Is it making reading cool? And how is it affecting book sales? There’s been a big surge in book sales, and publisher...
Best of 2022: Amber Heard's lawyer speaks to The Briefing
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s Briefing we look at a perverse twist of 'Me Too'. The wave of abuse stories has come with a wave of defamation lawsuits. London-based bar...
Best of 2022: The deathbed confession of Jane Roe (Roe v Wade)
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year the USA has been rocked by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade - the case that has protected the right to abortion in the ...
Best of 2022: How to not worry in chaotic times
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With rising interest rates, escalating inflation, a war underway in Ukraine and coming out of the pandemic, it’s understandable we’re all a bit mo...
Inside a Santa training camp and beyond
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all know Santa Claus as a jolly old white man with a grey beard and red suit, but is this version of Mr Claus about to change? Australian director ...
How to teach kids about money with The Barefoot Investor
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do you teach kids about money? That's the question The Barefoot Investor has set out to answer in his new book Barefoot Kids. He covers pocket mon...
ChatGPT: You’ll want to trust this chatbot, but should you?
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
ChatGPT released by OpenAI can write essays, complete maths problems and even speak in Shakespearean English. It's the latest iteration in this new te...
Killer Robots: no longer a sci-fi story
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Killer robots no longer belong to science fiction stories, with San Francisco recently having to make a decision about whether to allow robots to use ...
Argentina wins the FIFA World Cup!
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Qatar 2022 World Cup has ended with a spectacular final that culminated in a penalty shootout and a win for Argentina. It's been an eventful tourn...
Virginia Gay is highly sexed chaos
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Virginia Gay describes herself as ‘highly sexed chaos’. Virginia is an Australian actress, writer and director. You’ll most likely recognise ...
A basketball star for a notorious arms dealer: the US-Russia prisoner swap
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a story fit for a James Bond movie: last week US WNBA star Brittney Griner came home, after being swapped for notorious Russian arms dealer Vik...
Is the fight for gender equality in Australia stagnating?
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Women in Australia are earning around $26,500 less each year than men, according to the latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency report. That number ha...
Mental health crisis: the solution could be simpler than we think
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government is facing criticism for its decision to cut the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions under the Better Access sc...
Inside Indonesia's new 'Bali bonk ban'
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bali’s tourism industry could take a hit after new laws banning sex outside of marriage were passed in Indonesian parliament. The new criminal code ...
Australia’s rental crisis: the worst could be yet to come
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Renters and first-time homeowners look set for a difficult Christmas after the RBA announced another hike in interest rates. Australia is already in t...
Anna Spargo-Ryan has stopped searching for a cure.
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Spargo-Ryan is an award winning author and writer, whose work has appeared in The Guardian, the Good Weekend, The Saturday Paper and more. She is...
Could a tax offset save Australia’s live music industry?
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Could a tax adjustment save Australia's live music venues? A new study has found a 70% drop in the number of venue-based live music gigs taking place ...
The long journey to justice for Toyah Cordingley
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did police track down Toyah Cordingley’s suspected murderer, and where do we go from here? 24-year-old Toyah was murdered on a beach near Cair...
Are lab-grown diamonds a girl's best friend?
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What are lab-grown diamonds, and why are they becoming so popular? Lab-grown diamonds are becoming increasingly popular, with a recent survey showing ...
North Korea’s tween successor
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why has North Korean leader Kim Jong-un decided to reveal his daughter to the world now? Kim Jong-un has revealed North Korea plans to build the “...
WA’s Banksia Hill’s shameful treatment of detainees
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like for youngsters locked up inside Western Australia’s Banksia Hill detention centre? We’re joined by the ABC reporter Grace T...
The Choice: Violence or Poverty with Dr Anne Summers
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Anne Summers is one of Australia's greatest contributors to the feminist movement. She is a writer, speaker and author, who was editor of the Amer...
Isaiah Firebrace: teaching kids about our First Peoples
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You may know Isaiah Firebrace from the X Factor or Eurovision. Well he’s written a new children’s book - Come Together - things every kid should...
Inside China’s Covid protests
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Chinese government introduced its ‘zero-Covid’ policy back in 2019 when the virus was first detected. So why are protesters choosing to demons...
Freezing eggs and buying time - why are more women choosing IVF?
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it becoming more common for women to freeze their eggs? A couple in the US has just welcomed twins into the world using embryos made 30 years...
Put down the phone: your right to disconnect
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Should employers respect a worker’s right to disconnect? The age of mobile phones and the internet means we’re connected more than ever. We’re b...
Why finding a psychologist seems impossible
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So many of us have developed mental health problems in the wake of the pandemic. The federal government currently has a program where you can see a...
Angela White is the "Meryl Streep" of porn
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Angela White is Australia's most successful porn star. Angela knew she wanted to work in porn from the age of fourteen. She saw the industry as a...
Crypto-meltdown: The story of Sam Bankman-Fried
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptocurrency is having a year from hell. And it’s been a massive fall - the market capitalisation of the crypto market has fallen from around $U...
Why China took Australia out of the diplomatic deep freezer
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chinese president Xi Jinping met with Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese last week. It was a first step in a bid to mend relations betwee...
QLD Police Service's toxic culture
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We look at the results of an inquiry into sexism in the Queensland Police Service. In May, QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced an independent ...
Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Why Iranian protests are going into a third month
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Protests against Iran's clerical establishment erupted two months ago after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained ...
Vic Election: The backstory of Daniel Andrews
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria will head to the polls this weekend, to decide whether to re-elect Daniel Andrews. We look into what has shaped the man who has become one of...
Tom Boyd’s surprising call for AFL reform.
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Boyd was just eighteen years old when he was named the number one AFL draft pick of 2013. After briefly playing for Greater Western Sydney he move...
INTRODUCING: It's a Sign, your new daily guide to life!
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Each morning, The Briefing tells you what is happening in the world. But does it tell you why it is happening? Well, yes, actually it does. It’s a r...
It's baaaack. Covid rears its ugly head
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Covid cases are rapidly rising on Australia's east coast, leading Queensland to issue an amber alert across the state. There are fears Australia is he...
NSW floods: “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before”
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Towns in the Central West of NSW have been inundated by floodwaters this week. Residents of Forbes were told to leave town with the Lachlan River fo...
Detective gives inside story on covert operation to stop child abuse
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A brand new podcast has lifted the lid on every parent’s worst nightmare. Listnr’s new podcast, The Children in the Pictures follows Australian do...
Elon Musk's Twitter chaos, blow by blow
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After Elon Musk’s incredible success at Tesla and Paypal, the world wanted to see what he would do when he announced he was buying Twitter. So far, ...
Surrogacy, Rebel Wilson, and whether we need to change our laws
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rebel Wilson has just announced her daughter was born via surrogate. She’s one of a growing number of people having their children this way. In her ...
The Artemis program: NASA wants to form a colony on the moon
12 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NASA is heading back to the moon in the hopes of setting up a colony there. But this endeavour – called Artemis - has been plagued by delays and...
Brooke Blurton is more than The Bachelorette
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brooke Blurton was Australia's first ever Indigenous and bisexual Bachelorette. There is so more to this impressive young woman than reality TV fam...
Wil Anderson: I am NOT fine, thanks
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wil Anderson’s new book is called I am NOT fine, thanks. It's all about how the pandemic impacted us: we worked from home, or maybe lost our jobs,...
Why 2022 was a bad year for billionaires
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all watched in amazement as the world’s super-rich went gangbusters during the pandemic. Some of the increases in wealth were next level. If 2020...
Scientists talk to people in their sleep
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We dive into some mindblowing research scientists have been doing in the field of lucid dreaming. They’ve actually spoken to people in their sleep, ...
Why these US midterms could be a game changer
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US midterm elections are happening this week, with major implications for President Joe Biden. A third of the seats in the US senate are on the ba...
Are we witnessing the worst housing market crash in Australian history?
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian housing market is experiencing strange times. In this episode we’ll look at previous downturns, and how they’ve panned out to disco...
Teela Reid and the Statement From the Heart.
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Teela Reid is a proud Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman, lawyer, and story-teller. Teela was also involved in the Constitutional dialogue process that culmi...
Mental health responses that are gut led
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our first two episodes of the gut instinct series, we’ve explored the growing evidence that suggests how so much of what happens in the gut impac...
Putting Kombucha and Probiotics under the Microscope
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Globally the kombucha and probiotics market is worth billions and it’s rapidly growing as people spend big on wellness and gut health. In part two o...
Is the gut really our second brain?
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This series will examine the growing body of evidence between gut health and gut microbiomes to mental health, sleep disorders and in some cases even ...
Why our wages aren’t going up
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australian workers have been getting a raw deal on wages. Wages actually being stolen, that is, unlawful underpayment, and then there’s the terrib...
Kanye’s antisemitic unravelling
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was a dramatic week last week in the story of Ye-formerly known as Kayne West. The list of companies that have walked away from Kanye is huge, he s...
Ryan Shelton gets honest about ambition
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Shelton is a hugely successful comedian, actor, writer, radio and television presenter. In this conversation Jamila Rizvi and Ryan Shelton dis...
Turning the tattoos of a dead family member into art
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Trends in funerary practices and how the recently departed are remembered are nothing new. From face moulds of the dead to making the rear window of y...
Australia’s most ‘boring city’ decriminalises drugs
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Canberra might cop it a lot for being one of the most boring cities in Australia but it’s always been pretty progressive when it comes to social iss...
The Budget Explained
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Labor’s first budget in a decade has been handed down. It’s being touted as a cost of living budget that’s friendly for families. The government...
Young, rich, Indian: Meet the UK’s new Prime Minister
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The UK's political saga continues with Rishi Sunak named the UK's new Prime Minister overnight. He replaces Liz Truss who was forced to resign just 45...
Simon Holmes à Court: how school bullying inspired a political revolution
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On election day, a record number of independents seized previously "safe" seats and helped spell the end of the near decade-long Liberal government. I...
Allegra Spender on why teal is the new black.
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you tuned in to watch this year’s federal election night coverage, even for a few moments, you would have seen a sea of teal. All the political c...
The Aussie metal band going green
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why has an Aussie heavy metal band gone green? In Hearts Wake have used their passion for ecological advocacy, to push the boundaries of the music ind...
“Never seen anything like it”: Victoria’s flood disaster
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Parts of NSW and Victoria are again under water as another big weather system heads for already sodden regions. Flood warnings are in place in NSW, Vi...
Will Alex Jones pay the Sandy Hook families?
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Jones is an American radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist who was last week ordered to pay almost a billion dollars US to the famili...
Amber Heard's lawyer speaks to The Briefing
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s Briefing we look at a perverse twist of Me Too. The wave of abuse stories has come with a wave of defamation lawsuits. London-based barri...
Grace Tame's brutal joke
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest on the Briefing today is Grace Tame – former Australian of the Year and author of a new memoir: The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner. In her ...