The Briefing

Headlines: NSW nurses banned from practising anywhere in Australia, Hamas says ceasefire deal back on track, Albo drops strongest hints of a March or April election, and have you woken up single this morning? Deep Dive: Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours – and he’s well past his own deadline. The US President now says he’s spoken to Russian President Vlad...

Breaking up with someone is never easy - and new research has found that the week leading up to Valentine's Day is a peak time for relationships break ups. So why does a holiday about love lead to more relationship ends? Communication styles within different generations and the way social media has warped our perception of what love should look has undoubtedly impacted how we approach break ups.&n...

Headlines: Two NSW health nurses to be charged for antisemitic comments, Antoinette Lattouf’s unfair dismissal trial hears from final witnesses, Westpac becomes second big bank to slash fixed mortgage rates, and Beavers 🦫 finish Czech damn project hit by red tape. Deep Dive: Belle Gibson was one of Australia’s first major wellness influencers, claiming to have cured her terminal brain...

Australia is in the grip of a growing medicine shortage, with pharmacists, doctors and patients all feeling the impact. There are currently more than 400 shortages listed on the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s website, with dozens more expected and hundreds of medications being discontinued. But what’s driving the shortages, and is there a fix? In this episode of The Briefing Helen...

Headlines: Sam Kerr not guilty in racially aggravated harassment case, Trump tariffs on Australia still on the cards despite PM phone call, Banks to disregard HECS debt in loan test, and Liam Neeson is helping a Melbourne couple sell their house. Deep Dive: Most of us, at one point or another, have had a terrible boss. And while we might fantasise about quitting in a blaze of glory by destroying d...

Have you ever thought about going to therapy?   Official stats show mental illness now affects about double the Australians it affected in the early 2000s. But in a cost-of-living crisis, no one wants to waste hundreds of dollars on therapy they don’t really need or spend time with a therapist that's not the right fit.  It’s a crowded market – both with people seeking t...

Popular rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar are currently embroiled in a very public spat - which has come to a triumphant head with Kendrick's knockout performance at the Super Bowl yesterday. But why are they fighting again? Last year The Briefing brought you an explainer on why there is so much bad blood and the long history behind the feud. In case you missed it, listen in to catch up on all the...

Headlines: Jury in Sam Kerr trial retires, Hamas pauses release of Israeli hostages, Nationals walk back Dutton’s threat of axing public servant jobs and Super Bowl 59 will go down as one for the ages. Deep Dive: Australia has officially entered the tariff war.   After weeks of speculation, yesterday US President Donald Trump confirmed Australia will be among the latest targets of sweep...

Have you been impacted by the recent egg shortages across Australia? The major supermarkets have been hit hard by limited supplies – and a new bird flu outbreak in Victoria this week has sparked a warning that those shortages could persist a while yet. This all comes as experts report a rise in the number of us choosing to own our own chickens – first reported during the pandemic, and...

Headlines: Labor’s major announcement for women’s health, Labor vote dives in Victorian by-elections, Sam Kerr’s lawyers to give final arguments in racial harassment trial, and more than 120 million people are expected to tune in to the Super Bowl today. Deep Dive:  Content Warning - this deep dive discusses child sexual abuse.  Australian Federal Police have issued a w...

Maddy MacRae has over 3.5 million followers across her social media accounts, but surprisingly has spent years facing rejection and chasing acting gigs. With $15k debt, multiple hospitality jobs, and a faltering passion for her acting career, she broke into the influencer space almost by accident. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Maddy explains how she turned her stomach into viral content, a...

Is Australia’s biggest reality TV show unethical? Married at First Sight – one of Australia's most popular reality TV shows, currently in its 12th season – amasses millions of viewers each year. This season it has also garnered major controversy in its airing of toxic behaviour from various members of the show.  In this episode of The Briefing, Helen Smith is joined by Alexa...

Headlines: Peter Dutton holds rare press conference calling for inquiry into PM’s knowledge of explosives caravan, Trump restates plan for Gaza, ABC staff ‘disgusted’ by broadcaster’s handling of Antoinette Lattouf’s Federal Court case and 61% of you say you'll be voting for an independent candidate. Deep Dive:  Mastercard will remove the 16-digit number from the...

Are you satisfied with the Government right now? If polls are anything to go by, Australians are increasingly getting over being led by majority governments on the left or the right. Labor and the Coalition are unsurprisingly not keen on sharing power with independents and minor parties – and have responded by pushing legislation through parliament to reform our national elections. The Gover...

Headlines: Labor agrees to minimum jail sentences for terror crimes, the world reacts to Trump’s Gaza plan, Sam Kerr’s trial continues, and 50,000 people say life feels best in the morning. Deep Dive: Are Frequent Flyer programs, and supermarket loyalty programs, a scam? If these airlines and big supermarket chains are constantly pressuring us to join up can that really be in our best...

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We'll own it.” US President Donald Trump has just announced his intention to expel all Palestinians from Gaza and claim ownership of the land for the United States. To forcefully and permanently exile more than 1.7 million people to neighbouring countries would have huge implications for global community – and pote...

Headlines: Australia to ban DeepSeek from government devices, China hits back with retaliatory tariffs on US goods, FBI enlisted in case against Melbourne’s Pam the Bird graffiti artist and Putin moves to revive Soviet-era Eurovision rival. You can catch last week's deep dive on DeepSeek on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts now. Deep Dive: How did Elon Musk become one of the m...

Learning a new language is famously very hard and usually takes years. Could all that be about to change?  While we now have apps like Duolingo to help, it’s still likely to take a long time and a lot of effort to be anything close to fluent. What usually helps is spending time in a country where everyone speaks the language you’re learning – but one group of Australian rese...

Headlines: Major parties rake in over $130 million in political donations last financial year, Sam Kerr faces UK trial over racially aggravated harassment, Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico amid possible “deal” with the country, and Beyonce finally takes home Grammy for Album of the Year. Deep Dive: Have you ever spat in a tube and sent it off for testing? In recent years it feels like ev...

Politics is about to be back on for 2025. You'd be forgiven for thinking government has already been in session this year – there’s been a bit on – but this week marks the first sitting of parliament for the year, and a major moment for the Labor government to get some legislative runs on the board before everyone starts fighting for your vote in the upcoming federal election. Wh...

Headlines: Labor imposes counter-terrorism sanctions on online neo-Nazi network for the first time, North Queensland floods update, trade war looming over Trump’s tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and The Grammys are on today. Deep Dive: In the 2010s ISIS became one of the world’s biggest terror groups, controlling almost one-third of Syria and around half of Iraq. Over the yea...

Steph Claire Smith has always been a trailblazer - and the model turned business founder and podcast host with over 1.4million followers doesn’t stop. The O.G influencer started Kic with her best friend Laura Henshaw. Since then, the pair have sky rocketed to global success, releasing product lines and joining the LiSTNR family with the KICPOD Podcast. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, S...

2024 was full of comments, complaints and promises from politicians and companies over the cost of living - and so far this year we're looking likely to see the same thing.  Lowering your weekly groceries shop, scoring a discount or filling up the tank for less is something we all want, so how can we do it? In this episode of The Briefing, we did the homework for you. Chris Spyrou is joined b...

A man diagnosed with sexsomnia has been found not guilty of having non-consensual sex with a woman in Sydney. With the disorder now appearing as a key argument in trials across the country and the world, The Briefing wanted to bring you a previous explainer the team published on sexsomnia - what it is, how it works, what behaviours it can lead to. In this bonus episode, Helen Smith is joined by Al...

In this morning’s deep dive, we spoke to consumer and money expert Joel Gibson about how Bunnings has monpolised the hardware industry. When we reached out to the hardware chain for comment, they were keen to dispute our assertion that it holds a leading stake in the market and insists big brands don’t equal bad brands. In part two of our look at Bunnings and how it’s managed to...