The Briefing

Run clubs are trending. They've been called the new dating app, the millennial quarter life crisis, and the cozzie livs gym membership. So if you’ve found yourself lacing up or have signed up for the next fun run in your city - what’s the best way to start running and do it safely? And is this a 2024 fad, or here for the long haul? In this episode of the Briefing Former Australian Athlete of the Y...

There’s a lot of talk about AI taking our jobs, but what if we made it find us jobs instead? That’s the premise of UK-based AutogenAI, a rapidly growing generative AI company that went to market six weeks before ChatGPT. It developed software - written by a team that includes historians, psychologists and philosophers – to enable clients to write winning bids for tenders, contracts and proposals....

Four hostages taken by Hamas during last year’s October 7 attacks were rescued safely from Gaza at the weekend. According to the Gazan health ministry, 274 Palestinians were killed, sixty-four of them children, during the brutal operation to free the hostages. In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Sarah Schwartz, a human rights lawyer and executive officer of the Australian Jewish Counc...

Robert Farquharson was convicted for murdering his three sons after driving into a dam on purpose on Father’s Day in 2005. A new campaign is trying to prove he is innocent - that he suffered a medical episode. In this episode of The Briefing we hear the other side of the story from crime journalist and author Megan Norris, who covered the original criminal trials and feels a sense of obligation to...

It seems that every few months another massive Australian business is accused of wage theft. Coles, Woolworths, the ABC, BHP, Qantas, big banks, major universities...the list of firms found to have not paid workers what they should is expansive. In response, the federal government has introduced new laws starting January 1 next year will make it a criminal offence to deliberately underpay staff, w...

Have you heard about wine mums, or seen videos on social media featuring women drinking at boozy brunches? Historically men have drunk more than women, but in recent years there has been an increase in women’s drinking. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt sits down with Maree Patsouras from La Trobe university to find out about the lives of Australian working mothers and the place a...

Nathan Paddison spent 13 years of his life in and out of prison for a range of crimes - some small and others violent. But he says art saved him. Antoinette Lattouf and Nathan went to school together in western Sydney and reconnected at his latest art exhibition. You cannot downplay some of his crimes, including a charge of domestic violence, but rarely do we hear about how criminals try to turn t...

Fiona Harvey is a Scottish lawyer who was depicted as a stalker in the Netflix hit, Baby Reindeer.  She’s denied the claims and is suing the streaming giant for $170m.  The program depicted Harvey – via a character named Martha – as a serial stalker who bombarded the British comedian Richard Gadd with tens of thousands of emails and text messages.  She says it never happened. The show said she was...

North Korea has launched a series of balloons packed with household waste over the border into South Korea. Pyongyang says it’s in response to Seoul distributing anti-North propaganda leaflets into cities and towns across the North. In this episode of the Briefing we take a deep dive with Justin Hastings, Professor of International Relations at the University of Sydney, on why the campaign was lau...

Another climbing season for those attempting to summit Mount Everest has come to a close.   This year, the Nepalese government offered fewer climbing permits in an effort to reduce congestion on the mountain and improve safety, after a record-breaking 18 climbers lost their lives in 2023.   Still, this year saw five climbers die on the climb, with three others still missing.  So what is it really...

New CoreLogic data has found rent in three quarters of Australia's biggest regional areas are now higher than ever – with WA and Queensland topping the list. The biggest increase was in Batemans Bay in NSW rising by around 6 percent in the past three months – which is about $32 extra a week. In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by CoreLogic’s Eliza Owen to find out why regional rents are...

QAnon first appeared in 2017 and quickly flooded the internet with conspiracy theories from child trafficking cannibal celebrities to suggestions JFK faked his own death and was returning to run for office. Observers say QAnon has gone strangely quiet. So what are they working on? The vast majority of QAnon supporters are Trump supporters so what can we expect as the US prepares to go to the polls...

The Albanese government will this morning introduce news laws to parliament banning the non-consensual sharing of deepfake pornography. Those caught sharing sexually explicit images that have been digitally created using artificial intelligence or other forms of technology could find themselves facing a six-year prison term - but is the government fighting a digital runaway train? Attorney-General...

History was made on Sunday when Mexicans went to the polls to elect a new president. Claudia Sheinbaum won in a landslide victory to become Mexico's first female president, and is the first woman to be picked for the Mexican presidency in 200 years of elections.  In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Luis Gomez Romero from Wollongong University to discuss how and why Ms Sheinbaum won, a...

The United Kingdom will go to the polls for a general election on Thursday July 4. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party currently holds 345 seats in the parliament to Labour’s 206 with minor parties making up the balance of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. Polls have Labour’s Keir Starmer well in front and bookies have Labour at unbackable odds. So what are the key election issues...

It's fair to say that the cost of living pressures are greatly impacting many Australians. One way in which some are surviving financially is by opting out of sports - whether that's those playing socially, or even for those playing at elite levels. Could this impact the next generation of elite athletes, as families cut back on their children's weekend and after-school sporting commitments? And w...

Researchers at the University of South Australia are developing a coating for anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs.  The pills have traditionally led to weight gain for those prescribed the drugs.  The new coating mitigates weight gain and boosts serotonin levels – combatting a major side effect of the drugs.  In this episode of The Briefing, we take a deep dive on how the researchers developed...

Eliza Hull is a musician, author and a disability advocate who’s teaching children how to have better conversations about people living with disability. On social media Eliza has been putting a spotlight on what it would be like for people with existing disability in Gaza and all of those with new acquired disabilities because of the constant bombardment. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf Eliza...

Former US President Donald Trump was this morning found guilty on 34 charges relating to paying off a porn star.  Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels in a Lake Tahoe hotel room in 2006.  The story emerged in the lead-up to the 2016 election and Trump, through his then lawyer Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to kill off the story  Prosecutors in New York brought the charges against Trump – the fi...

Former US President Donald Trump has been found guilty on 34 charges in a New York court. In this special bonus episode of The Briefing, you'll hear what Trump had to say after the verdict was handed down. Sacha Barbour-Gatt and Katrina Blowers bring you the very latest on one of the biggest news stories in decades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s 10-year-old daughter North West made her acting debut not on a school stage like other kids - but in a major 30th anniversary concert performance of the Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl. And people weren’t happy. Hollywood is full of nepo babies and it makes sense - but what about the people missing out on roles or opportunities because they weren’t born into a famou...

The inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker wrapped up this week after hearing shocking allegations of racism permeating the Nothern Territory Police Force. Walker was shot dead during an attempted arrest in 2019 by then police officer Zachary Rolfe, who was charged with murder but then acquitted following a trial. In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Melissa Mackay from...

24-year-old Laura Nuttall is the youngest ever Greens representative elected to any Australian parliament. Laura is also the first Gen Z Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly ever. Laura and her advisor Dani - who is 22 - are passionate about environmental and economic justice, and young peoples’ participation in decision-making that affects their lives. In this episode of the Briefing, Antoinett...

Traumatic vision has emerged showing the aftermath of recent Israeli airstrikes on a makeshift tent city in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, that reportedly killed 45 people, with 249 others wounded. Aid groups have said the Israeli Defence Force had designated the area a humanitarian safe zone before launching the attack – although Israel denies this.  The International Court of Justice has ordered I...

Over the next 10 years in Australia $5 trillion is expected to move down the generations, with around $2.3 trillion to be given to Boomers’ children, $1 trillion to their grandkids, and $1.7 trillion to charities. The bank of mum and dad is somewhere between the 5th and 9th biggest lender according to the Productivity Commission. In this episode of the Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Comp...