The Briefing

For Frances Rings dance is her first language. Since childhood Frances has always know dance would be part of her identity and in 2023 she was appointed the Artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre - making her childhood dreams a reality. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Frances unpacks her journey from a working class family that couldn't afford dance lessons to her first production as le...

It’s been an absolutely batshit crazy week in American politics. Donald Trump has accepted the Republican nomination to be president, days after surviving an attempted assassination. Then, at the Republican National Convention which has been dominating headlines this week, Trump has named J.D. Vance, a man who once described Trump as “America’s Hitler”, as his nominee for Vice President. Meanwhile...

Meet Jack Schlossberg, a self-described silly goose, John F. Kennedy’s only grandson, social media sensation and Vogues’ newly appointed political correspondent. So what does this nepo baby from one of the world's most famous political families have to say about politics. In this episode of the Briefing Helen Smith is joined by Entertainment guru and host of LiSTNR’s The Streaming Service to unpac...

There are growing calls for Australian women to receive paid menstrual, menopausal and reproductive leave – separate from sick leave. Queensland public servants will receive an extra 10 days of paid leave per year, while public and community sector workers in Victoria could also soon benefit. Now unions are campaigning for a universal paid 10 days leave, so all workers can take time off to manage...

Australia's media sector has been rocked by mass sackings over the last month. The culling started at Seven and continued a week later at Nine. Many of those redundancies were in the respective newsrooms. Even nightly news hosts were let go. Then Seven decided to shake up its flagship 6pm bulletins with a weekly Friday night comedy segment and daily horoscopes. The move had many in the industry sh...

Are you one of the 30% of Aussies who have a tattoo? The majority of those who have one - 57% - are getting their first ink aged 18-24. There's a growing trend of people having their tattoos removed - could the early age we're starting getting tatted be behind that increase? Within Australia, the world’s leading tattoo removal company Removery has experienced a growth of 30% in removal treatments...

There's drama unfolding with one of the county's most powerful organisations - the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). Dodgy contracts, bikie infiltration, compromised characters and Labor government headaches. It's one of Australia's largest and most influential unions and it could face the prospect of a Royal commission into its dealings privately and with the Government. It...

Influencers behaving badly isn’t new, but are we seeing an increase in social media star being accused of, or charged, with serious crimes of late? In the past 24 hours, wellness influencer Kat Torres, who escaped a life of poverty in Brazil to become a successful model and social media star has reportedly been sentenced to eight years in prison for the human trafficking and enslavement. So how ha...

A catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan right now. Nearly 26 million people are facing crisis levels of hunger, cholera is rampant and many trying to find safety have experienced horrific sexual violence including rape and abduction on their journeys. To conflict stems from the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir, a pro-democracy revolution against him led by young people five years ago and a power struggl...

Its a research result that has left tampon users across the globe stunned. A team of scientists from U.C. Berkeley, Columbia University and Michigan State University evaluated 30 tampons from 14 different brands and 18 product lines to measure the presence of 16 metals. The findings? All the tampons the researchers tested had all 16 metals in measurable traces, including lead and arsenic. How has...

The world is reeling from the shocking attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend.  In this episode of the Briefing, we bring you everything you need to know, including: The latest details on the attack The identity and background of the gunman What this means for the US election What happens next In the second half, we have our deep dive into the surging Australian dollar - which is...

Since leaving politics Malcolm Turnbull hasn't slowed down, or stopped sharing his opinions on politics in Australia and the world, the state of the environment, and his opinions on some of his former colleagues. The 29th Australian Prime Minister has launched the new season of his podcast, Defending Democracy, where he tackles the global democratic moment the world is watching - Donald Trump vs J...

US President Joe Biden has mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” on stage at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit, at a ceremony marking the signing of a security agreement for Ukraine. The gaffe came after what was meant to be a rousing speech from Biden on NATO’s enduring support for Ukraine in it’s war with Russia. It was a bad start...

Tibet’s highest religious leader, the Dalai Lama, has just celebrated his 89th birthday. And though he’s prophesied that he’ll live to 111, questions are being asked about what his succession plan will be. And considering Tibet’s struggle of control and independence against China, who replaces him will have large consequences for many people. But given the Buddhist belief that the Dalai Lama will...

Australia is getting its very first national prison newspaper – About Time .  It's aim is to be distributed to every prison cell in the country, and it's publishers will focus on issues that affect incarcerated people – including changes to criminal laws and the justice system, new cases that affect prisoner's rights, new policies and procedures inside prisons – alongside prisoners lives, hopes an...

The world watched as earlier this year footage of students across the world mobilised to protest against Israel’s ongoing killing of defenceless Palestinian citizens, particularly children. Longstanding encampments were established at university campuses across America and here in Australia, popping up across Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. Students at Melbourne University staged a sit-i...

Every generation thinks they have it tougher than their predecessors. But arguably, 30-year-olds in Australia right now actually do.  In this episode of The Briefing, Bension Siebert is joined by Russel Howcroft, a 59-year-old businessman you may recognise from the ABC TV show The Gruen Transfer, to explain why he thinks we need to talk about why millennials really do have it tough.   Follow The B...

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has promised to ban funding sex work services for people with disability under the national disability insurance scheme.  However, the promise has been met with backlash from advocates saying that sexual intimacy is a human right with the the federal court deeming the funding reasonable and necessary just four years ago.   Bension Siebert is joined by Oliver Morton-Evans...

French voters have stunned the world by turning their back on the country’s far-right in an election result few saw coming. France's left-wing parties formed a coalition and is projected to win the second round of a parliamentary election - beating the far-right. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc appears to have held up quite well. However, no group looks set for a majority. In this episod...

The war in the Middle East continues to impact hundreds of thousands of innocent people, with Save The Children now estimating more than 21,000 children are missing in the wake of the conflict.  Many are trapped beneath rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or lost from their families.  In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Save The Children’s Head of Humanitarian Policy and Advo...

Dupes are the new copycat trend. From cosmetics to accessories, electronics, homeware and even motor cars, for every high quality product with a big price tag on the market, there seems to be a cheap alternative ready to go.  But how are these companies making dupes get away with it? And what can the owners of the original product do to protect their intellectual property? Thomson Geer Lawyers Mar...

Artificial intelligence is seeping into every aspect of our lives, so it was only a matter of time before it coupled with the porn industry – and the result is a growing number of AI porn image generators. Sites like Clothoff and Dessi produce fake porn imagers using pictures supplied by users. Victims find themselves powerless to combat the sites, often hosted by servers in far off countries. In...

Far-right political commentator, Tucker Carlson, is known for pushing extreme views on social and political issues, conspiracy theories and a strong stance against immigration.  Recently, Clive Palmer’s mining company Mineralogy brought Carlson over to Australia as part of The Australian Freedom Conferences, visiting several major cities on a speaking tour.  While in Sydney, two LiSTNR journalists...

Poh Ling Yeow is proof that second place doesn’t always have to suck. Joining MasterChef as a contestant in 2009 now 15 years later she’s gracing the screens as a judge, with the new panel of faces joining in the wake of the tragic death of former judge Jock Zonfrillo. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Poh shares the challenges of being a woman in the public eye and her hidden phobia of eating...

The Conservative Party have ruled the UK for the past 14 years – but it hasn’t been smooth sailing with 5 different Prime Ministers occupying 10 Downing Street in just the last 8 years. At the end of May, the current leader of the Tory party, Rishi Sunak called an election. The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer had been picked to take the biggest win in nearly 200 years. So has that happened? And...