The Briefing

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...

Since Peter Dutton’s announcement on the Liberal party’s intention to go nuclear, there has been fierce debate on if it will work and if the Australian public should commit to it. But what are the plain and simple facts on nuclear? On this episode, we help you out with Sacha Barbour Gatt and Bension Siebert providing a quick explainer about nuclear energy - using fact-checked info without the poli...

“With a heavy heart but a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australian Labor Party. I have informed the Prime Minister that, effective immediately, I will sit on the crossbench to represent Western Australia”. That’s the statement from Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman, announcing today at a press conference at Parliament House that she has made the decision to leave the...

NASA have announced that the International Space Station is doomed to de-orbit by 2031, and SpaceX are going to help take it down with a contract worth $1.26 billion (AUD). It’s the end of an era – the ISS was for many years a beacon of international cooperation in the final frontier of space. So why is the ISS being decommissioned, will a new station be replacing it, and what does this mean for i...

One of the world’s biggest live entertainment companies, Live Nation, has been hit with a double whammy. It’s being sued by the US Department of Justice following its subsidiary Ticketmaster being targeted by a notorious hacker group affecting 560 million customers worldwide.   As a follow-up to our investigation into Australia’s ticket industry, Tessa Randello from the LiSTNR Newsroom joins Sacha...

This week, campaigners for animal rights won a years-long battle to ban the live export of sheep, with the practice to end by 2028 after it was passed in parliament. According to Animals Australia, three million animals have died in live export from Australia ... and that's not to mention what happens to them once they arrive at their destination. On the flipside of that though is the farming comm...

For the first time ever, the American Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents are protected from criminal prosecution for some of what they do in office. Donald Trump is currently facing three criminal cases – and will next week face sentencing for a fourth surrounding the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. What does this ruling mean for him, and for future and past presiden...

You love where you live and locals are worried the suburb’s about to be ‘gentrified’. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. Great news if you own your home, but not good news if you rent and rents are about to skyrocket. You’ll be forced to move to a suburb further away from your friends, work and social network. In this episode of the Briefing we’re joined by William Thackway, who has worked on...

Have you heard of Aussie Bro Squad? The four brothers from regional NSW have made a bit of a name for themselves on TikTok after filming and uploading themselves performing high-energy dance routines.  They’re known to “go live” multiple times a day, all filmed by their mum, Beverley, who keeps up a steady stream of commentary from viewers as her sons perform.  While it appears innocent, internet...

Today, microphones across Triple M’s 49 radio stations will switch off for the network’s annual No Talk Day, with a goal to create space for listeners to check-in with themselves and their mates. That’s because every day, nine Australians take their own life – and according to Lifeline, on average, seven of those are men. Partnering with Lifeline, Triple M’s goal is to build awareness and encourag...

Jenny Tian admits she is committed to two things in life – making comedy and sleeping.\ When she started to go virial on social media for her comedy skits and stand up shows she never looked back and is now on the big screen. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Jenny reveals some of the weirdest things she’s doing on this season of Australia’s Taskmaster and how she’s preparing for the Edinburgh...

US President Joe Biden and wannabe second term president Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate earlier today, with many expecting it to be a defining moment in the election campaign. We watched as Joe Biden appeared unsure and hesitant, while still landing blows on Trump. We saw Trump continue to attack Biden’s family and legacy. It was gloves off from the outset and at times thr...

Last year popular online platforms were also threatened with government regulation unless they improve safety for users, following a spike in reports of threats of violence and abuse. The federal government gave industry until the middle of 2024 to develop and implement a voluntary code of practice to improve standards. But has anything actually moved on the issue since? In this episode of The Bri...

The term ‘enshittification’ was coined by British-Canadian blogger Cory Doctorow at the start of 2023 to describe the decline of social media platforms.  It captures the idea that something which was once great eventually becomes crappy overtime due to excessive profit-chasing.  The term has broken into the cultural zeitgeist and is now being used to describe everything from major events to clothe...