Background Briefing

Police and politicians labelled the Wieambilla killers evil terrorists.  But what really went on inside their heads?

Scam baiter Jim Browning recently helped bring down a multinational scam syndicate in Dubai. His next target is a scam with potential links to the Russian mafia.

Ani Valatava went to see her sister’s body at a funeral home in suburban Sydney. She could never have prepared for what she saw next. Reporter Gina McKeon investigates what goes on behind the scenes of Australia’s funeral industry, revealing ‘horror stories’ and the families left to pick up the pieces. 

When a couple are quoted $13,000 to access a sperm donor through a clinic, they decide to take matters into their own hands. On Facebook, they find a thriving sperm exchange, where they hope they'll have more control over the process. But as reporter Annika Blau discovers, there are pitfalls they didn’t foresee.

When Becc and Nathan decided to get married, they wanted something intimate — a small ceremony at home with just their closest friends and family. There was just one problem — the celebrant wasn't who he appeared to be. 

Michelle went to hospital on three occasions, complaining of searing chest pains. She was told to go home and seek therapy for her "anxiety issues". It would not be until months later that she was diagnosed with pericarditis — doctors believe it was caused by the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. She's now one of nearly two thousand people fighting a class action against senior government figures, claiming...

After a police squad stages a tense siege against a dangerous fugitive, a phone is recovered from the crime scene, carrying vital information. But the detective in charge soon finds himself accused of a serious crime and loses his career over it. For years, he's tried to clear his name. In an exclusive interview with BB, he finally speaks out. His story raises serious concerns about what can go wr...

Will Lachlan Murdoch succeed in brushing his rival siblings aside to command control over the future of his family’s media empire? Or could we be looking at the end of the century-old family dynasty that runs the world's most powerful conservative news organisation?

For much of his youth, Lachlan Murdoch seemed ambivalent about being next in line to control the family’s global media empire. So why is his father Rupert now fighting a high stakes battle against three of his other children to ensure Lachlan becomes his successor?

Are we looking at the end of the Murdoch family's global media empire? That's the question journalists Paddy Manning and Alex Mann investigate in this special three-part series. This week, they take you inside the family's inner sanctum and examine why Lachlan, Rupert's chosen successor, may not have always been an obvious choice.

The Murdoch family is locked in a secret court battle. 

Dots are so strongly associated with traditional Aboriginal visual language that Shane gets asked why he doesn’t paint them. 

In a caravan park in central NSW, a group of grey nomads were sold a Utopia - a  “home base” to hang up the keys and enjoy “real estate security”. They sunk their life savings into houses in the park, with the ads promising it “couldn’t be sold out from underneath” them. But then, it was. 

There are only two witnesses to Brad Balzan's final moments: the two officers who chased him into his backyard. But their accounts of what happened don't match up.

As the investigation into Bradley Balzan's death continues, serious questions are raised about how the country’s largest police force uses its search powers.

Brad Balzan is shot dead in his own backyard after a police encounter goes wrong. In episode two of Stop and Search, a new mini-series by Background Briefing, reporter Paul Farrell asks why was he running away, and why did the officers chase him down?

A 20-year-old is chased by four plain-clothes police officers into his western Sydney backyard. But he hasn't committed a crime. He hasn't even done anything wrong. He's shot twice, and then dies. In a special miniseries by Background Briefing, the final moments that led to this tragic incident are pieced together. The reporter is Paul Farrell. 

Ruby's barely a teenager, and already she's become a champion bull rider. She's also had eight concussions and multiple brain bleeds. Reporter Tynan King investigates how this extreme sport became her obsession — even as it threatens her life.

He left a trail of defect-riddled apartment buildings across Sydney and debts exceeding $600m to his creditors. Police have issued a warrant for his arrest. The NSW Premier has even offered to pay for his flight back to Australia. This week, Background Briefing tracks down the notorious and elusive Jean Nassif, who gives his first exclusive sit-down interview since he left Australia more than a ye...

Testosterone is often marketed as a silver bullet that can help you build muscle mass, improve your energy levels and fix your sex life. But as reporters Tynan King and Maddison Connaughton discover, the reality doesn’t always live up to the hype, and the people running testosterone replacement therapy clinics don’t always have their clients' best interests at heart

Anna grew up believing she was an orphan. But she later discovered she’d been lied to. And that she's one of many Australian adoptees who has been misled.

Nathaniel Train was renowned as a distinguished principal who could deliver impressive results for disadvantaged schools. His childhood friend, reporter Josh Robertson, investigates what fateful events led to Nathaniel's transformation into a cold-blooded killer.

One morning reporter Josh Robertson woke up, read the headlines, and made a terrible realisation.

He is shut off from the outside world. Locked inside a makeshift jail in north Syria for the past five years, Hamza doesn’t even know who the Prime Minister is. This Australian citizen is one of thousands of suspected ISIS members imprisoned with no charges. 

Sometimes they’re armed with a chainsaw, sometimes a bottle of poison, and often they’re operating in broad daylight. So why is it so hard to catch Sydney’s tree killers?