The Briefing

COVID deep cleaners are on the forefront of the fight against the virus spread. We take a deep dive into deep COVID cleaning and how it works. How does it differ to a regular clean? How long does a germ last? And what is turbo fogging? More importantly, we look at how deep we need to go to properly stop contamination.   To answer these questions we’re joined by Associate Profe...

Year 12 is looking a bit different this year. Formals have been cancelled in Victoria and severely restricted in other states and territories. The official Schoolies on the Gold Coast has been canned and travel restrictions mean overseas gap years aren't possible.     On top of the social aspects of high school, academics have been hugely disrupted affecting students’ futures after...

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announced on Sunday harsh measures for the state’s pathway out of lockdown. Resentment to the strict approach is growing beyond protesters and is beginning to be questioned by those who accept the science, including our epidemiologists.   We talk to Federal Liberal MP and medical researcher Dr. Katie Allen about the lockdown roadmap and Victoria’s con...

Last financial quarter, Australia experienced its biggest economic drop since the Great Depression, officially plunging the country into a recession. But what exactly does a recession mean and what impact does it have on our lives?   Economist writer Jessica Irvine joins The Briefing to explain the ins-and-outs of a recession and whether we should be worried.   In today's news headlines:...

12 per cent of people in their 20s have lost their jobs in the COVID crisis, and many more are reassessing their career choices. So how do you turn a career low point or a complete job loss into a positive? What can you do to get a competitive edge in the current job market?   Businesswoman and author of You’ve Got This , Bec Brown, educates The Briefing on how to successfully navigate...

During the pandemic we’ve been more hungry for information than ever before. So how different are the questions you’re asking to the rest of the country? Are your google searches weirder than everyone else’s? Are you responding differently to this moment than most people? What is the most googled question in this pandemic?   On today's episode we take a look at the most goog...

Welcome to a special weekend edition of The Briefing with Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. In today's episode we catch up with Kevin Rudd, the 26th Prime Minister of Australia serving from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013.     What would his approach to be managing the tension between Australia and China? Does he think Australia should have led the inquiry into the origins of Coronavius?...

In a bombshell this week Facebook threatened to block the sharing of Australian news content. It means media companies and everyday users won't be able to share news on Facebook or Instagram. This threat from Facebook is in response to a new code developed by the ACCC that would require Facebook and Google, which also owns Youtube, to share a portion of their ad revenue with Australian media organ...

Music festivals in 2021. What will they look like, if they can even go ahead at all?   COVID has decimated the festival scene around the world. So is there any way festivals can happen in cities where there’s still high community transmission? Can you have thousands of people in one place, sharing a drink, dancing and listening to the bands they love but also keep them socially distance...

As bushfire season approaches, hazard reduction burning is happening in parts of Australia, and hopefully making us safer.   But the smell of smoke is also bringing back memories of the horror Black Summer many of us faced.   Recent findings from a NSW inquiry and some interim observations from the Royal Commission have come through this week. So what did we learn from these findings? An...

On todays episode we look at twists of fate, and the survivor’s guilt of avoiding a tragedy. We hear the of real life sliding doors stories of people who’ve narrowly avoided death by chance or intuition and then lived with the survivors guilt that comes from it.   Tyla Harrison-Hunt was meant to be in the Christchurch mosque where the deadly shooting happened last year, he prayed...

What is it like being the person at the top in times of crisis? Is there a breaking point? How do you sleep? Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has lived the answers to those questions as the person that led Australia through the Global Financial Crisis, the Black Saturday Bushfires and the threat of Swine Flu.   Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, we are in unprecedented times - which me...

Are we doing enough to protect our healthcare workers from getting Covid at work? To look after those who look after us? Nurses, doctors and allied health professionals are ending up in intensive care because of what they say is inadequate infection control.     2700 workers have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic with more than 100 hospitalised and sadly one death....

In recent headlines you might have seen the Aboriginal Flag caught up in a copyright controversy. On today’s episode we get you up to speed, looking at why the flag is copyrighted, who can use the flag and for what purpose, and who should own the Aboriginal flag? For example, did you know that if you get a tattoo of the Aboriginal flag you're technically breaking copyright laws?   We sp...

To celebrate our 100th episode we’ve assembled the whole team for the very first time to thank you for being with us on this journey in this Ask Me Anything special.   To mark the occasion we’ve turned the tables, so you get to ask the hard hitting and burning questions you’ve always wanted to ask Tom, Jamila, Annika and Jan.     If you could do a long form deep 2-...

In 2019 year the single largest massacre in New Zealand was perpetrated by a 28-year-old man from Grafton NSW. His sentencing is currently underway, with Christchurch’s High Court hearing from surviving victims and their families. The man has plead guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.    Our guest, Hisham Al...

Recessions, depressions, wars and pandemics change what we value, the way we relate to one another and how we express ourselves. They also change our day-to-day lives including what we eat, how we work and what we wear.    Will this economic downturn keep up in bleak, darker colours? What will happen when this is all over? Will there ever be corporate attire if we all work from home? To...

The disappearance of 3 year old William Tyrrell is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in Australian history. If you’re someone who’s followed that case, you’ll probably know the name Gary Jubelin.    Earlier this year NSW detective Gary was found guilty of unlawfully recording conversations with a suspect and was fined $10,000. An appeal is underway, but it ended his...

Welcome to The Weekend Briefing. In this bonus episode, Australians experienced a horrific summer with devastating bushfires, drought and floods – all which have been intensified due to climate change.   At the peak of fires, Australia rallied for our government to acknowledge climate change and to take action.   Since COVID-19, the national discussion on climate change has taken a...

If you think Coronavirus is just an old person’s disease then think again. Older people might be more likely to die from COVID 19 but it’s actually people in their 20s who are the most likely to contract and spread the virus.   Today we hear the harrowing story of Marcus Tomoff, a 28-year-old from Florida who contracted Covid-19 in June and is still dealing with really seriou...

Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, you’ll need to know about the new player on the block that could take him down in November’s election. Last week Kamala Harris was announced as the Democrats' Vice Presidential candidate, who will stand with presidential candidate Joe Biden to try and defeat Trump.    So given Harris will be critical to taking on Trump, on todays episode...

You’ve heard of anti-vaxxers, the people who straight up refuse to vaccinate. But have you heard of ‘vaccine hesitancy’? The World Health organisation defines vaccine hesitancy as people who might be sitting on the fence, delaying acceptance that vaccines work, or those who refuse to get it when its freely available. Vaccine hesitaters are considered one of the top ten risks to g...

New Zealand has postponed their national election because of a COVID-19 cluster which highlights their different approach to the pandemic. They are going for elimination, while Australia is pursuing suppression.     Their elimination strategy had been working well. After a national stage four six week lock down, restrictions were lifted and life seemed to return to normal until last...

There appears to be a new kind of celebrity take down story emerging. One that could only exist in the current social media and cultural climate. Is it fair enough that people are finally calling out celebrities for their bad behaviour or do we just like seeing a really successful person brought down?    For decades Ellen has been one the most popular talk show hosts in the world, her br...

Last week’s deadly explosion in Beirut was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history. It also sent a massive political shockwave through the already struggling country with protestors calling on the government to resign.   We're going to brief you on why this explosion of ammonium nitrate has brought down the government, and what are the deeper problems causing so much despai...