Background Briefing

You may have heard the strange story about the man who cheated death. Diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given just months to live, he moved home to die in peace on the idyllic Greek island of Ikaria. But he didn't die. He lived for decades, and his miraculous recovery became one of the most shared stories of the Blue Zones movement, a prime example of the island's rare power to keep death at...

You've heard there are these enchanted places around the world where people often live past 100, thanks to lifestyles the rest of us envy. They're called Blue Zones, and over two decades the idea has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry that sells you their secrets of longevity. But then an Australian scientist started digging into the data behind the legend, and decided something didn't add...

It’s been billed “the Netflix of AI.” A little-known Australian startup running an online service, boasting more than 20 million users worldwide. It promises to bring your fantasies to life with realistic AI companions you design and control. What reporter Josh Robertson discovered was something more disturbing: characters that appear as young as 14 and 15 years old, presented for adult role-play,...

For a while, Tammy's death looks like a one-off. Then an email lands in Kirstie Wellauer's inbox that changes everything. 

Tammy Shipley walked into a police station and asked to be locked up. She just wanted to be safe. 

Tammy's under 24-hour surveillance. Her family can't reach her. Then she starts drinking water from a red cup — and nobody understands what they're watching until it's too late.

Tammy Shipley asked to be arrested so she could feel safe. After she was placed under 24-hour surveillance, something terrible took place.  A new three-part series by Kirstie Wellauer and Joanna McCarthy investigates how it unfolded. A loving mother of five, Tammy could really make her kids laugh.   But she'd started to believe she was in danger — that someone was out to get her.   A couple of wee...

Jean Paul Mangin is a nom de plume, an alias, a fake name. But no one seems to know that.  So why would a commercial gallery – a family-run business – go to such extreme lengths to protect the identity of its artist?  

The only clue to Jean Paul Mangin's true identity is hiding in his art. Unlike everything else about the elusive French sculptor, the material he works with is right there for anyone to see — giant, flat sheets of plastic, in vivid colours and glossy finishes.  Perhaps if reporter Julia Bergin can find out where they're coming from, she can find him too. And it’s that trail that leads her to a noi...

The sales pitch goes that Jean Paul Mangin is a reclusive Parisian sculptor whose works are internationally acclaimed. His pieces sell quickly through one particular Australian gallery, sought after by trendy interior designers. But gallery staff are starting to ask questions. Why is Jean Paul Mangin uncontactable? Why can’t they find any evidence of his international credentials? And why do his w...

For years, art buyers have been told that this man is an internationally acclaimed, intensely private Parisian sculptor. His bold, brightly coloured plastic works are available through one Melbourne gallery, and they're selling fast. But there's a problem. The artist, Jean Paul Mangin, has no website, no social media, and no discernible presence in France. His sculptures arrive in Melbourne wrappe...

How did a wounded Bondi survivor become the face of a global deepfake conspiracy in less than 24 hours? Arsen Ostrovsky was celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach when the first shots rang out. A bullet grazed his head, and as he lay bleeding on the ground, his first thought was his wife and children. Not knowing whether the danger had passed, he took selfies to show them he was alive. Within hours,...

This man fled Iran after being imprisoned and tortured for protesting the regime. Known only as AB, he came to Australia hoping to start again — and, in many ways, he did. He found love and started a family. But he also made poor choices, fell into drugs and became violent towards his partner. Now his future in Australia is in jeopardy. He was living with those consequences when the Bondi terror a...

You think you know the story. You know how it ended. But you don’t know how it began. In the first episode of The Road to Bondi, reporter Josh Robertson traces the decades-long path that led a father and son to carry out their plan. He takes us from the narrow streets of old Hyderabad in India, where a young man grew up in a respectable family, to the western Sydney suburbs, where he begins to unr...

In an ordinary Australian suburb, a father and son are secretly planning something terrible. One fateful summer evening, their path brings them crashing into the lives of strangers from around the world whose own stories haven’t yet been told. You might think you know the story, but there's so much more to tell. In a new three-part series, Background Briefing investigates how the road to Bondi beg...

Insiders from the Harrow-Balmoral football club decide to break the code of silence. For Elise, it’s time to rebuild her life. But her story inspires other women to emerge with their own troubling accounts of the town’s club culture. When the convicted men were freed, Balmoral threw them a hero’s welcome; after everything, what was actually learned? 

A key witness submits a startling new statement that topples the guilty verdict and forces a retrial. This time, the men accused will not give evidence. But Lisa Hutchins, the trusted bush nurse will take the stand again — now for the defence.

As the criminal trial unfolds, witnesses from Balmoral waver on the stand, and the judge is "taken aback". The courtroom is heaving with supporters of the accused but the verdict is not what they're expecting.

A respected bush nurse with close ties to the accused becomes a key police witness. As the investigation quietly gathers pace, locals start to choose sides and the family of the victim feels ostracised. 

A 21st birthday party becomes a crime scene, but some locals carry on like nothing’s happened. 

In this one-street town of 280 residents, there’s an unspoken code: don’t rock the boat, or risk being cast out. Balmoral is a small Victorian town built on tradition, loyalty and knowing your place. For newcomers, the fastest way in is the football club. It’s where friendships are forged and status is earned.

When a young woman accuses a talented local footballer and his friend of rape, the town reveals where its true loyalties lie. The beating heart of Balmoral, a tiny Victorian town in Australia, is the football club. It’s where children grow up, where families belong and where people learn the cost of rocking the boat. Background Briefing investigates what happens when town pride, sports club cultur...

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.

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 take long before he realises the problem is far bigger than he first thought.

The injectable industry is booming, but behind the glossy ads and plump looks, some patients are discovering filler that doesn’t dissolve. This week reporter Gina McKeon reveals the hidden risks of chasing an Instagrammable face.