The Briefing

Tuesday Headlines: Trump says he ‘would love’ to run for a third term, pre-sentence hearing for Hannah McGuire’s killer resumes today, neo-Nazi leader Tom Sewell faces court in Victoria, Aussies can claim share of $50m Cambridge Analytica payout and the BOM’s new website bombs.    Deep Dive: From athlete doping to criminal syndicate match fixing, for as long as th...

Shock allegations of sexual abuse within Australia’s childcare system have been uncovered by a new ABC Four Corners investigation. In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by investigative journalist Adele Ferguson, who admits she was shocked by the level of abuse and the dangerous loopholes that allow childcare centres to be a hunting ground for alleged pedophiles. This e...

Monday Headlines: Two Louvre heist suspects arrested, Albanese and Trump in Malaysia for ASEAN Summit, wild weather lashes east coast, no big tech exemptions to train AI, and Microsoft Teams set to dob on Aussies that WFH.  Deep Dive: Alligator Alcatraz has existed for less than four months and has already become one of America's most notorious immigration detention centres.  With detain...

In the mid-1980s, Australia was forced to confront an uncomfortable truth - hundreds of suspected Nazi war criminals had quietly made this country their home. They’d slipped in after World War II, living unremarkable lives in the suburbs, hiding in plain sight. Leading the effort to uncover them was the Special Investigations Unit, a team tasked with tracking down those who th...

Matthew Reilly is one of Australia’s most prolific authors, selling more than 8 million books worldwide and even directing a Netflix film starring Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth. The Sydney-born author’s has written over 30 action thriller books that dominate airport bookshelves, with his latest novel, The Detective, continuing the streak. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Matthew...

Dating in your 40s isn’t anything like dating in your 20s, the baggage is heavier, the stakes are higher, and the apps are brutal. In this episode, writer Kerri Sackville joins Natarsha Belling to share the realities of finding love later in life, from red flags and emotional readiness to why some men just aren’t doing the work. Headlines : Thousands of female ADF members are set to jo...

Friday Headlines:  Around 44,000 Aussies overpaid their Centrelink debt, Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes US sanctions on Russian oil, King Charles and Pope Leo XIV become first British monarch and pontiff to pray together in 500 years, eSafety Commission issues legal notices to four chatbot creators over sexual and suicidal content, and the annual migration of crabs has begun on Christmas Island...

A fierce internal battle for the highly-coveted number one driver status at McLaren has intensified rivalry between Formula One teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. With both young guns contracted long-term, this dramatic feud is spilling onto the track and could even jeapordize McLaren's bid to become F1 champions. In today's episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks how healthy competitio...

Sanae Takaichi has become Japan’s first female Prime Minister, but many experts say it’s not a win for women. The former TV host is a conservative with hardline views on marriage and family, and has promised to turn around a tanking economy and a cost-of-living crisis. In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by ABC’s North Asia Correspondent, James Oaten, to u...

Thursday Headlines: ADF official to join Trump’s Gaza peace team, two dead in Melbourne waters during wild weather, Telstra warns some Samsung phones can’t call 000, grocery delivery via apps costs up to 39% more, and what's the weirdest fine you've copped?  Deep Dive: A multi-agency investigation is underway after a suspected piece of space junk crash-landed in remote Wester...

Pressure is mounting on the Royal family as the fallout from Virginia Giuffre's bombshell new memoir continues, which was released this week. The book has more damaging allegations about Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew, with some Royal experts saying this latest scandal may even force King Charles to abdicate.  In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by journalist Angela...

Wednesday Headlines: Extreme weather lashing Australia, woman accused of brazen daylight stabbing remains behind bars, Aussie mum’s landmark work from home win, tougher penalties for companies breaking environmental laws, and over a third of you support the government ‘stealing’ from us.  Deep Dive: AI cheating is rife at universities across the country, with educators strug...

Rudd’s the strategist and Gillard’s the negotiator - two Labor leaders, two Prime Ministers and one political party locked in a cycle of self-destruction. What began as a dream team that swept the Howard Government from power in a historic landslide soon descended into one of the most bitter rivalries in Australian political history. In this episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks...

It was almost 12 months in the making, but finally Anthony Albanese has met with Donald Trump for their long-awaited sit down. While there was a little distraction with US Ambassador Kevin Rudd, most experts say the meeting was a major success and the US Australia alliance is firmly back on track.  In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is jo...

Tuesday Headlines: Albanese and Trump sign critical minerals deal worth billions, Amazon struggling to fix an outage that’s affected millions of users, authorities working to trace source of rat poisonings in Queensland, Victoria’s set to ban masks and chains at protests, and the AFL’s warning to Bailey Smith over controversial social media posts.  Deep Dive: Former Deputy P...

It’s straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster like Oceans 11. Robbers breaking into the Louvre Museum in Paris and stealing priceless Royal jewels. Well, overnight, that happened in real life with experts investigating how these thieves carried out the daring heist in just four minutes.  In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Art crime expert Judge Arthur Tomkins,...

Monday Headlines: Albo en route to Washington for face-to-face meeting with Trump, thousands attended March for Australia and counter protests over the weekend, hunt continues for thieves after seven-minute Louvre heist, witnesses of Melbourne rollercoaster accident file lawsuit and crocodile discovered in luxury Queensland resort pool.  Deep Dive: When someone like Kamala Harris or Hillary C...

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to go undercover and expose a booming, yet highly secretive global market?     In this bonus episode of The Briefing, we revisit LiSTNR investigative journalist Claudianna Blanco’s story, now nominated for a Walkley Award, as she travels to Colombia to uncover the dark side of international surrogacy.   Listen to Claudianna on Secret...

Cam Wilson has spent years deep in the corners of the internet most of us would rather avoid. As an investigative reporter covering technology and extremism, he’s seen firsthand how conspiracy theories spread and the real-world damage they can cause. In his new book, Conspiracy Nation, Cam unpacks how these ideas take hold, drawing on insights from psychologists, church leaders, journalists...

She is one of Australia’s most loved and successful TV stars, but MasterChef winner Julie Goodwin was keeping a dark secret. This Mental Health Month, Julie is sharing her own personal struggles with depression, how two strangers saved her life and how she turned her life around.  In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Julie Goodwin with her important advice abou...

Friday Headlines: Trump says he had ‘good and productive’ call with Putin, alleged offender of Melbourne daylight stabbing out on bail at the time, Indigenous leaders meet with King Charles to mark 40th anniversary of Uluru handover, Containers for Change has been accused of corruption, and the Aussie brands going viral overseas have been revealed.  Deep Dive: Gold fever is back a...

Sex and the City defined a generation - its fashion, friendships, and frank talk about love, sex, and ambition changed pop culture forever. But while Carrie and Samantha were inseparable on-screen, behind the scenes the dynamic between their real-life counterparts was anything but friendly. For years, rumours swirled about tension between the show's stars, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall. Th...

In the latest concerning escalation of the attack on freedom of speech in the US, a number of top journalists have been kicked out of the Pentagon. The correspondents from the major networks walked, after refusing to sign a new policy that restricted their reporting on information without government approval.   In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by International and S...

Thursday Headlines: Israel says one of four bodies handed over by Hamas is not a hostage, three Australian men accused of Bali villa shooting could face the death penalty, the world’s carbon dioxide levels have reached record highs, NRL players now face 10-year ban for joining rival competition, and Virgin Australia’s pets on flights trial is underway!  Deep Dive: New research has...

NSW has now recorded its highest-ever yearly rate of Indigenous deaths in custody. The shocking statistic has sparked the State Coroner to call out the “profoundly distressing milestone”, saying these deaths demand respect and accountability.  In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by CEO of the Redfern Legal Centre, Camilla Pandolfini, who says these horrific...