The Briefing

This spring, up to 16 states across the US will see a natural phenomenon of spectacular proportions not seen in over 200 years, as an estimated trillion periodical cicadas emerge in the same season. While there are over 1,500 different species of cicada, only seven emerge as a brood every 7 years, 13 years or 17 years. Because these cycles are all prime numbers, it is incredibly rare that the diff...

This week lawyers in New York are trying to pick the jury for Donald Trump’s trial. On the first day more than 50 potential jurors were dismissed, with many saying they couldn’t be impartial. In this episode of The Briefing we ask Chief Justice Lucy McCallum about the future of juries. Justice McCallum presided over the trial between Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins— that case ultimately had to...

Australia was shocked as a mass stabbing event unfolded at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre at the weekend. The centre reopened today for quiet reflection. Retail outlets did not open, trade will recommence tomorrow. The 40-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi, who was responsible for the attacks was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, and spent more than 20 years trying to...

The health issues associated with long-term lead poisoning are not secret and governments around the world have been making moves since the 1970s to limit our exposure to the element. But there’s a theory floating around that the damage has already been done and its impacts are being seen clearly on an entire generation – the Baby Boomers. The ‘Boomer stare’ is a trend that’s taken off on TikTok a...

Malware, spyware and stalkerware programs give unauthorised and undetected insight into another person’s device. All too often, they are used as an insidious tool for domestic violence offenders. Installed without consent or knowledge of the victim, the software gives the perpetrator control to track the user, read their messages, or even discreetly activate the phone's microphone or camera. In th...

Iran dropped 300 missiles and drones on Israeli territory over the weekend after an air strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria last week. Most were intercepted – as many as 99% according to Israel – but it is being deemed a watershed moment in the conflict. Professor Michael Humphrey from the University of Sydney joins the Briefing to explain the significance of the strike globally. Headlines: An upd...

The National Institute of Dramatic Art has launched a new course to help teach Gen Z how to be in an office environment after they came of age during the pandemic. The course called ‘Prologue’ was created off the back of research showing younger workers have a skills gap when it comes to offline interaction, like picking up a phone instead of sending an email or text.  In this episode of The Brief...

Sex work is often referred to as the world’s oldest profession, and our attitudes to it are rapidly evolving. The language around it has changed, and public figures from politicians to influencers are being more open about it than ever. The shame and stigma around the profession seems weaker now than even a few years ago. So, what does sex work look like in Australia in 2024? In this four-part ser...

Bruce Lehrmann has lost his defamation trial against Lisa Wilkinson and Channel Ten. The court today found that, on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann did rape Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.  The former Liberal Party staffer sued Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson over an interview in 2021, in which Brittany Higgins claimed she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House.  Lehrmann...

Australia stood still on Saturday afternoon when news reports started to feature reports of a stabbing at the Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.  We now know seven people died in the attacks – including the man responsible, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi from Queensland.  In this extra episode of The Briefing, we discuss what we know so far, what Queensland Police kn...

Sex work is often referred to as the world’s oldest profession, and our attitudes to it are rapidly evolving. The language around it has changed, and public figures from politicians to influencers are being more open about it than ever. The shame and stigma around the profession seems weaker now than even a few years ago. So, what does sex work look like in Australia in 2024? In this four-part ser...

Leo Puglisi is the 16 year old anchor-man who isn’t afraid of tackling the big dogs. When Leo was 11 years old he founded 6NEWS Australia which lead him to interviewing Prime Ministers, Ministers and Opposition leaders, including his infamous interview with Scott Morrison. In this chat with Tom Tilley, Leo explains his pet hate of people saying he is controlled by his parents and what being woke l...

Is laughter the best medicine? Well comedian Michael Shafar might be able to help with that. He’s probably the only person who can make fun being Jewish, having cancer and his genitals in the same breath – and not only get away with it – but have the room in hysterics In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Michael explains why he isn’t afraid to tackle political topics in his shows and how he’s acc...

The rebranding of child stars as they transition into more mature identities is nothing new. After Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, we're now seeing JoJo Siwa struggle as she does the same. Made famous from the reality TV series Dance Moms,  she became known for a squeaky-clean aesthetic of bright colours, big hair bows and later, her pop hit 'Boomerang'. But now, she's wearing eccentric black outf...

Have you heard of the 4B movement? It’s a feminist action that’s taking hold of South Korea. The movement follows the four B’s: no marriage, no sex with men, no child-rearing and no dating. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Su-Kyoung Hwang from the University of Sydney about why Korean women are swearing off men. Headlines: OJ Simpson dies at the age of 76 School holid...

Plenty of Australians have been cutting down on their daily coffee amid the cost-of-living crisis, but new research shows that cafe coffee in Australia is actually too cheap. In many cases rents, wages, specialty beans and milk are all getting more expensive, and that’s squeezing cafe owners. In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Emma Felton from the University of South A...

QLD has introduced strict new coercive control laws. Coercive control has serious and traumatic impacts for a victim. It can be subtle and insidious, and individually targeted and tailored to a victim. Under new legislation announced in Queensland, the new standalone offence of coercive control will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. In today’s Briefing, Bension Siebert and LiSTNR j...

Tasmania’s MONA has been forced to allow men into its women’s only Ladies Lounge.   A NSW man who was upset when he was denied entry into the lounge, has taken the museum to the Tasmanian Civil Administrative Tribunal and won. This means MONA now has 28 days to stop refusing entry to men – or people who don’t identify as ladies.  In this episode, one of our producers, Helen Smith, speaks with Jaha...

A few weeks ago, chaos erupted in the heart of Alice Springs, with unrest that saw buildings trashed, the doors of the local tavern kicked in, and a car set on fire. The Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler called an 'emergency situation', which resulted in around 80 additional police officers being redeployed into Alice Springs, and a youth curfew coming into effect from 6am to 6 pm in th...

The federal government this morning announced that the AUKUS defence agreement partners (Australia, the United States and the UK) are considering expanding the group to include Japan. China has already issued a statement to say it is “gravely concerned” with news AUKUS is considering expanding.  So what does it mean for the Asia/Pacific region, and more specifically Australia?   In this episode of...

A new flu vaccine has arrived in Australia and it’s not like traditional vaccines – it's cell-based. Cell-based flu vaccines are developed differently from the traditional egg-based vaccines – and they offer advantages in production, scale and better matching viruses in our vaccines to those actually circulating in the community. In this episode of the Briefing, immunologist Dr Julianne Bayliss ex...

Hey Briefers. An apology: this interview was scheduled to be released on Saturday morning, but due to a technical glitch it didn't, so it's appearing in your feed today instead. Sincere apologies to our wonderful host Antoinette and to her fabulous guest Rhys Nicholson - we hope you enjoy catching up.  Rhys Nicholson is a judge on RuPaul’s Drag race, a much-loved comedian and believes they have a...

Sex work is often referred to as the world’s oldest profession, and our attitudes to it are rapidly evolving.   The language around it has changed, and public figures from politicians to influencers are being more open than ever. The shame and stigma around the profession seem weaker now than even a few years ago.  So, what does sex work look like in Australia in 2024? In this four-part series, Th...

Sex work is often referred to as the world's oldest profession and our attitudes to it are rapidly evolving. The language around it has changed, and public figures from politicians to influencers are being more open about it than ever. The shame and stigma around the profession seems weaker now than even a few years ago. So, what does sex work look like in Australia in 2024? In this four-part seri...

Imagine going to North Korea to get a haircut or breaking into a military base, well YouTubers Alex Apollonov and Aleksa Vulovic did just that. The guys are behind the YouTube channel Boy Boy, with content that clocks up millions of views and boasts almost a million subscribers. In this chat with Tom Tilley, Alex and Aleksa explain what it’s like working with Friendlyjordies and their close calls...