News Club

The US is on edge following the fatal shooting of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk - we'll explain who Kirk was, why he was significant, and what the political fallout has been as the search for his killer continues. We'll also cover Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and Qatar's importance in the Middle East, the ongoing Jacinta Nampijinpa Price drama in the Liberal Party, and the res...

Having spent six weeks travelling to the US, UK, Finland, France and Estonia meeting international experts fighting the scourge of mis- and disinformation, Bryce returns to Australia to take stock of the situation at home. He sits down with the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn AC, former Labor leader Bill Shorten, the University of Canberra’s Professor Sora Park and McKinnon’s Exec Director of Democra...

China's President Xi Jinping has hosted a major summit and put on the biggest military parade during peacetime. We’ll get you across the significance - and former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ attendance. We'll also cover the anti-immigration protests and simmering debate that went into this week, and we’ll intro you to  Chloe Malle, American Vogue’s new editor. In what's coming up, Erin Patte...

On the last leg of his international fact-finding mission, Bryce travels to London - where an academic’s calls for media literacy to be taught at school might finally be being answered. He also visits The Guardian newspaper to learn how they’re fighting fake news - and meets with a Cambridge professor who’s an expert on the psychology of misinformation and worries COVID may have changed everything...

As we’re recording, the manhunt continues for sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman, who is suspected of killing 2 police officers and injuring a third. We’ll get you up to speed with the details of the incident, the search, and what exactly a sovereign citizen is. We’ll also get you across why the Iranian Ambassador was expelled this week, our Deputy PM Richard Marles’ meetings in Washington (or was it...

In Paris, Bryce discovers how the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror attacks focused the minds of French people to the importance of media literacy - such that lessons are now mandated in all French schools. He visits a high school classroom where teens are being taught to tell online fact from fiction, meets the Agence France Presse team of fact-checkers and sits down with a former journalist turned digit...

It's been a rough week for the Australia-Israel relationship… Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is furious about the Albanese Government's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, and took aim at our PM this week. We also cover where we've landed with Russia-Ukraine after a week of talks about ending the war. And we’ll get you across the key takeaways from the Economic Reform Roundtable, along wit...

Bryce visits Estonia and Finland where he discovers a shared border with Russia has made universal media literacy not just a nice to have, but existential. Interviewing the Estonian education minister, Kristina Kallas and Finnish government officials - he learns that digital literacy is now a priority at all levels of government - including the Ministries of Defence. Links: EU DisinfoLab’s Doppelg...

It's a big week for economic news - the Reserve Bank cut interest rates, and next week’s Economic Reform Roundtable has been a big talking point. Westpac CEO Anthony Miller also made waves with his unrelenting work schedule… Then we bundle up 2 big international stories - the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, and the response to Australia’s move to recognise Palestinian statehood. And Taylor Swift has...

Still in New York, Bryce meets with the News Literacy Project’s Darragh Worland, and compares media literacy education notes with the Poynter Institute’s Brittani Kollar. And against a backdrop of government cuts to public broadcasting and media companies buckling to political pressure, he sits down with Michelle Lipkin who’s built a nationwide community of digital literacy educators, inspired by...

This week, the Productivity Commission released an interim report that's thrown fuel on the fire of the debate around AI and copyright law. We'll get into what's being proposed and why it's got creatives and media companies up in arms. We also cover off where a Putin-Trump meeting is up to, Tassie's new (and maybe temporary) government, and Tourism Australia's new ad campaign. In what's coming up,...

On the eve of a Presidential inauguration, Bryce travels to Washington and New York to meet media literacy advocates and fact-checking organisations nervously assessing their futures. As the FT Correspondent Andrew Jack provides a sobering take on the new US administration and its implications for democracy, a visit to a Manhattan elementary school provides a glimmer of hope.  Links: FT for School...

It’s been a big week for discussion about recognising Palestine as a state. We'll explain what it means and Australia's position on that complex question. Then, it’s onto the Albanese Government’s announcement that YouTube will be included in the under-16s social media ban. The deadline for Trump's tariffs has passed, so we'll cover where Australia's landed. We also dive into Triple J's Hottest 10...

Against the backdrop of the devastating LA fires, with a new President in the White House and as Meta announces its retreat from fact checking, Bryce visits San Francisco where public broadcaster KQED is mounting a rearguard action to fight fake news, and meets with Stanford University’s Professor Sam Wineburg - an academic sounding the alarm on a looming global disinformation crisis. Links: Sam W...

Federal parliament is back, and with Labor's 51 seat majority, it was striking to see. We'll give you an around-the-grounds look at how each party is faring as they settle into this new term. Then it’s onto the infamous Epstein files, and why it’s a problem for Trump that’s not going away. We also discuss the joint statement on the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In what's coming up, the W...

First episode drops Wednesday, July 30th, on your News Club podcast feed.

PM Anthony Albanese has spent 6 days in China - his longest visit to another country since he took office. Taiwan was very much in focus while he was there, and it generated questions so we're diving into what exactly Australia's position is. Also, outback killer Bradley John Murdoch has died, new domestic abuse allegations against Mark Latham, and the miraculous rescue of German backpacker Caroli...

On Monday, Erin Patterson was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. We’ll get you across the deluge of analysis that’s flowed since that verdict. Plus, Special Envoy Jillian Segal’s recommendations to the government to combat antisemitism, the findings of the coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, and interest rates & tariffs. In what’s coming up, Talisman Sabre military exerc...

The safety of kids in childcare has been a big topic this week after a Melbourne childcare worker was accused of committing acts of abuse. We’ll get you across the policy implications. We’ll take you through the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs verdict, the Qantas data breach, and a much-anticipated movie sequel with ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. In what’s coming up - NAIDOC Week, the Dalai Lama turns 90, and it’s...

Last week, the US bombed 3 nuclear facilities in Iran. We get you across the details of those strikes, and what the major players are saying about the outcome. Plus, Sussan Ley's vision for an electable Liberal Party, a very extravagant Venice wedding, and Lake Eyre is back. Coming up next week - the jury in the trial of Erin Patterson start deliberations, the Fijian PM is in Canberra, and the NRL...

In a world where Netflix and Disney dominate, how does a platform like Stan hold its own? We put that to Dan Taylor - he’s the Managing Director of Stan and the guy leading Australia’s only locally owned streaming service. We chat about the strategy behind streaming, how the industry’s shifted (and where it's heading), and what it all means for local content. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the b...

Global news was dominated by escalating tensions between Israel and Iran this week. We get you across what’s happened so far, and how the US plays into it. Plus, the mushroom murder trial is almost done, an update on Australia’s proposed social media ban, and the Choice/Ultraviollete sunscreen controversy. Looking ahead - the NATO summit, new EU-Australia deals, and a nostalgic Glastonbury lineup....

Not many Aussie authors have made a bigger impact on the book world over the past decade than Trent Dalton. In this chat, the Brisbane-born journo-turned-novelist reflects on surviving the '90s newsroom culture, why he’s drawn to darkness in storytelling, and the incredible success he has had. He opens up about process, ambition, failure - and why he’s only ever watched Boy Swallows Universe once....

Trump has deployed the National Guard and Marines, we'll get you across what that means as the protests in LA continue. It was also a rough week for broadcast TV, with both The Project and Q+A cancelled. And there was another Monash IVF bungle. Coming up - the G7 kicks off in Canada, and State of Origin. LINKS Watch/listen to our interview with Stephanie Bendixsen on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Lis...

Gaming is a global powerhouse, pulling in more revenue than film and music combined. In this episode, we chat with Stephanie Bendixsen - or Hex - a gaming critic, author and presenter who’s carved out her place in a male-dominated industry. We talk about the evolution of gaming, from TV to Twitch, and what it says about where entertainment and culture are heading. Yes, it’s about gaming, but it’s...