Background Briefing

As foreign troops withdraw, will foreign miners move in? They’ve known of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth for a century but it hasn’t been safe or easy enough to extract it. Now Western companies, including Australian miners, are behind the geopolitical eight-ball as China and India lock up mining rights. Reporter, Stan Correy (Originally broadcast on the 18th December 2011)

Warlpiri woman Bess Nungarrayi Price gives a personal account of the way violence has ripped apart her family, and others, in Aboriginal communities of Central Australia. Bess and her white husband, Dave, argue passionately for the right of people in these communities to live without the fear of violence, and for children in remote areas to have access to a good quality education. Photo: Ann Arnol...

Gun clubs report lots of new members, hunting is cool, and handguns are gangland chic. The hundreds of thousands of guns destroyed in buybacks since Port Arthur have been more than replaced by new ones. But guns are highly political and the national system for monitoring gun ownership is a mess. Reporter, Ian Townsend.

'Zyzz' was a ladies man and a puny boy's dream realised. From skinny teenager to rippling Adonis he epitomised a growing obsession with male body culture. His death had an unexpected impact and has re-opened concerns about steroid use. Reporter, Brendan King. Photo source: Facebook

The internet is awash with misinformation, manipulated identities, fake reviews, and dishonest comments. Politicians use astroturfing. So do businesses and marketing firms. Beware—it's infecting everyone. Reporter Hagar Cohen

As foreign troops withdraw, will foreign miners move in? They’ve known of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth for a century but it hasn’t been safe or easy enough to extract it. Now Western companies, including Australian miners, are behind the geopolitical eight-ball as China and India lock up mining rights. Reporter, Stan Correy

It started with a bang in Wall Street and spread to over a hundred cities worldwide. But, as the novelty wears off, the tent city occupations are facing their own crunch time with the weather, the police and internal disagreements threatening their survival. Reporter, Hagar Cohen.

Rural and remote Australia relies heavily on overseas trained doctors if it can attract a GP at all.  Background Briefing looks at how a town can survive when its medical services start shutting down, how to support what remains, and whether Australia needs to overhaul its policy on overseas trained doctors. Reporter: Di Martin

Freedom to advertise and the rise of the mobile app has led to a tripling of sports betting in Australia. The winning odds are now front and centre in the coverage of major sports and you can bet on all kinds of 'exotic' options. So what are the odds on a big corruption scandal or a new generation of problem gamblers? Reporter, Brendan King.

University of Sydney research shows that Australia has replaced the number of guns destroyed after the Port Arthur massacre. Background Briefing researched this trend in 2011.

NSW Police and Customs officials have arrested four people in relation to a gun importation syndicate that they believe has illegally imported between 160 and 200 Glock pistols since this program by Ian Townsend went air in November last year. The program looks at the increasing number of guns in the community and how and why they are getting there.

Qantas has opened a new industrial relations battlefront. The Labor government's Fair Work laws are being put to the test but there are bigger political implications for the Opposition, which is split over whether to re-embrace Workchoices, the IR policy that many believe brought an end to the Howard government. Reporter, Stan Correy Photo: AAP, Miles Godfrey

The Australian government wants to smash the people smugglers' business model and courts around the country are now dealing with hundreds of the accused. But how many of them are just children from Indonesian fishing villages whose families think they're lost at sea? Reporters, Hagar Cohen and Rebecca Henschke.

Is the world's population out of control? There will be 7 billion people this year and 9 billion by 2050. With demographers, environmentalists and others fearing unsustainable pressure on resources, historian Matthew Connelly goes to India to examine past and present attempts at population control. From the BBC World Service.

Producing new medicines to extend lives and reduce suffering is a noble cause. The marketing of those drugs is often ignoble, with the wining and dining of doctors and the use of specialists to spruik the company line. A former industry insider gives a unique insight into the selling techniques of big pharma. Reporter, Ray Moynihan.

In its 50 years Amnesty International has revolutionised human rights campaigning and saved lives. It has also been dogged by quarrels, scandals and allegations of political bias. Reporter Matthew Bannister, from the BBC World Service

'Zyzz' was a ladies man and a puny boy's dream realised. From skinny teenager to rippling Adonis he epitomised a growing obsession with male body culture. His death had an unexpected impact and has re-opened concerns about steroid use. Reporter, Brendan King. Photo source: Facebook

Get ready for the next big app attack, urging you to chop up your credit cards and use your mobile phone. You won't have to go to a shop, just point the phone at a handily-placed barcode, and you've paid! It's not a phone, it's a 'smart wallet', and your mobile banker skims off a bit of every transaction. Security? It's a work in progress. Reporter, Stan Correy.

The internet is awash with misinformation, manipulated identities, fake reviews, and dishonest comments. Politicians use astroturfing. So do businesses and marketing firms. Beware—it's infecting everyone. Reporter Hagar Cohen

Container deposit schemes operate in many parts of the world, in SA, and soon in the NT. Why will some firms go to great lengths to prevent them? Politicians often fear the financial and strategic might of big business - even when it's about who picks up the drink can or the beer bottles. Reporter Di Martin.

Container deposit schemes operate in many parts of the world, in SA, and soon in the NT. Why will some firms go to great lengths to prevent them? Politicians often fear the financial and strategic might of big business - even when it's about who picks up the drink can or the beer bottles. Reporter Di Martin.

Rents are rising even in country towns, and more people are forced into caravan parks, the back rooms of old pubs - or the river bank - even with young children. It can happen to anyone. It will get worse. Various attempts to create more places for people to live at cheap rent are not meeting the need. Reporter Anita Barraud.

Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and an enormous business. Millions can be lost through a wrong call made by a person with a whistle. Why won't FIFA allow the technology now common in other sports? The controversy is raging over line ball technology. From the UK, sports reporter Tim Long.

Renowned Israeli writer, poet, activist, and historian Amos Oz talks about the most urgent topic of our time—fanatics on all sides of politics and religion. If the UN agrees to recognise Palestine he hopes Israel will be the first to embrace the decision—and move on from there. The Ervin Graf Memorial Oration at the Shalom Institute.

Where does the buck stop when big banks and corporations, even nations collapse. Who signs off on the books? The auditors or the directors of the board? And who should tell investors when there's something shifty going on? Who are the auditors answerable to? Reporter, Stan Correy.