Squiz Today

As of 10 December, all Aussie kids under the age of 16 will be legally banned from social media apps. In Part 2 of our series on Australia’s world-first legislation, we’re looking at the nuts and bolts of how the ban will work, including how the policy will be enforced, how the tech giants will go about identifying who is underage, and what the implications could be for kids looking for online alt...

Wednesday, 10 December: It's go time for the social media ban; Ukraine revises the peace plan; The Reserve Bank looks ahead to 2026; And an AI reality show... You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Squiz Today newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

It’s summer, it’s hot. We know we should be ‘slip, slop, slapping’ when it comes to sun protection - it’s something that’s drilled into us as Australians. But sunscreens have been under a lot of scrutiny recently after consumer group CHOICE found some problems in various products. So, in this Squiz Shortcut, we'll get you across exactly what they’ve been looking at, which sunscreens have been reca...

Tuesday, 9 December: Joyce makes it official with One Nation; Toyah Cordingley's killer is found guilty; Tim Tims go global; And the Golden Globes nominees are in... Here’s all the Golden Globes nominees. You can send us a voice memo with your question for Ask the Squiz here. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Monday, 8 December: All eyes on the social media ban; Bushfires destroy homes in NSW and Tasmania; Netflix signs a mega deal; And the new colour of the year... You can check out Pantone's Colour of the Year for 2026 (Cloud Dancer...) here. And here's Larissa's go-to Jamie Oliver brownie recipe. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Each Saturday, we wrap up the news of the week with the (imaginatively named) Weekly Wrap podcast on our News Club show. We’re putting the main story here because we want to ensure Squizers are across what we’re talking about. We're starting this week with an around-the-grounds look at international conflicts. There's a fair bit happening with the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, escalating tensions wi...

Friday, 5 December: AUKUS floats back to the surface; More charges for a Melbourne childcare worker; The Socceroos will find out their fate; And a salad to practice before Christmas If the Joshua Brown story causes any difficulties for you, here are some resources that could help Here's the extreme heat advice from the Red Cross and the Bureau of Meteorology's warning page A preview of how the Wor...

We’re just days away from 10 December, when all Aussie kids under the age of 16 will be legally banned from social media apps. In Part 2 of our series on Australia’s world-first legislation, we’re looking at the nuts and bolts of how the ban will work, including how the policy will be enforced, how the tech giants will go about identifying who is underage, and what the implications could be for ki...

Thursday, 4 December: Our national economy grows; A new search begins for MH370; The Tassie stadium gets the green light; And get ready for wrap season... You can read more about the 2025 Apple Replay here and 2025 Spotify Wrapped here. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Wednesday, 3 December: Defence ministers meet in PNG; The US boat strikes are questioned; A final vote on Tassie's AFL stadium; And some scaled-back Christmas decorations... Here's a map of the West Papua province. You can see this year's White House Christmas decorations here (and look back on some of the unusual and spooky ones from years past...). You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Tensions between Japan and China have ramped up over Taiwan - an island off the coast of southeastern China that is a de facto independent country that China wants to "reunify" with its mainland. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we'll run you through China's claim over Taiwan, why Japan has weighed in, and how it might affect us here in Australia… Squiz Recommends:  Reading: This piece in The Interprete...

Tuesday, 2 December: An electricity outage warning; Defence is set for a restructure; Piastri looks to the final race of the season; And some superstitious burials... Here's a guide to when the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starts on Sunday night/Monday morning. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Monday, 1 December: Tensions rise between the US and Venezuela; Flooding kills hundreds in Southeast Asia; An Aussie chicken chain goes global; And the PM ties the knot... Here's our Shortcut to what's happening between the US and Venezuela. You can watch the highlights from the AFLW Grand Final here. And read Surf Life Saving Australia's 2025 Coastal Safety Report here. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Each Saturday, we wrap up the news of the week with the (imaginatively named) Weekly Wrap podcast on our News Club show. We’re putting the main story here because we want to ensure Squizers are across what we’re talking about. There were 2 big stories out of the last sitting week of federal parliament for the year - the Albanese Government’s environmental law reforms passed with support from the G...

Friday, 28 November: Overhauling our environment laws; Arrests over the deadly Hong Kong blaze; The Lions face the Roos in the AFLW final; And some easy weekend noodles... Here's our Shortcut to the debate over our environmental protection laws Here's the Choice cheatsheet to the best/worst Black Friday deals. You can find the creamy coconut peanut noodles recipe here. And here's a wrap of the Wic...

On 10 December, world-first legislation will come into effect in Australia banning social media for anyone under the age of 16. And depending on who you ask, it's either a bold move to protect kids or government overreach that won't work. So, in the first of this special 3-part series on the ban, we'll look at how we got to this point, who was pushing for it, and why it became such a political no-...

Thursday, 27 November: Inflation is on the rise; Talks progress on a Ukraine-Russia peace deal; Another Optus outage; And Stranger Things is belatedly back... Here's a recap on where Stranger Things Season 4 got up to... And you can read up on the High Court challenge against the upcoming social media ban here. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Wednesday, 26 November: Trump and Xi talk it out; The Bondi Junction inquest wraps up; A political defection's on the table; And Robert Irwin's time to shine... SPONSORED: Head here to find out more about how copper powers our world and BHP. You can read more about the tensions between China and Japan here. And catch up on the US federal judge's reasons for throwing out the charges against former...

Despite winning a landslide victory just over a year ago, the Labour government in the UK is already in deep polling trouble, with plenty of speculation over the leadership of PM Keir Starmer. And at the same time, the polling for far-right party Reform UK and leader Nigel Farage has rocketed up. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at what’s behind Starmer’s fall in support and Farage’s r...

Tuesday, 25 November: Preparing for the social media ban; Progress in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks; Vale Skye Gyngell; And Piastri's plank problem... This explainer will get you up to speed on the upcoming social media ban for under 16s. Here's more info on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. And here's a guide to Oscar Piastri's Formula One chances from here......

Monday, 24 November: Our environment laws take centre stage, the biggest cyclone since Tracy hits Darwin, a chaotic couple of days in the Ashes, and Wicked goes big at the box office... Here's our Shortcut on the environmental protection laws Here's the latest movements of Cyclone Fina Here's the report into the 2023 Gold Coast helicopter crash You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

You might already know that we're on something of a crusade at the Squiz to improve the digital literacy of the next generation through our News Hounds program. It goes hand in hand with our commitment to civics education, engaging kids with the way our government works as a means of safeguarding our democracy. It's a passion we happen to have in common with Milton Dick, the federal member for Oxl...

Each Saturday, we wrap up the news of the week with the (imaginatively named) Weekly Wrap podcast on our News Club show. We’re putting the main story here because we want to ensure Squizers are across what we’re talking about. This week was a big one for federal politics, starting with Australia ceding the bid to host COP31 (the annual global UN meeting) to Türkiye, and a hospital funding brawl be...

Friday, 21 November: Australia backs out of COP31; Trump signs off on the Epstein files' release; The Ashes are coming; And we're feeling fishy... If the Epstein files story has raised any issues for you, you can find a list of support services ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. You can find the recipe for snapper and green bean curry here. You can get⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

For the past few months, the US Navy has been deploying warships to the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. Those ships have carried out several deadly strikes against what the US says are boats operated by drug cartels. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll get you across what’s led to this situation, and what could be next… Squiz Recommends:  Listening: This episode of The Daily podcast by The...