The Briefing

Dementia is the second leading cause of death of all Australians, with more than 400,000 people currently living with the disease in 2024. It can be a horrendous thing to watch a loved one go through, with the impact of the disease on both the individual and those who love them immense.  Exploring this experience forms the core element of independent movie maker Jonathan De Jong's latest project,...

The 2024 race to the White House begins today in lowa. The upper mid-west state hosts the first Caucuses of the Presidential election campaign. Donald Trump hopes to secure enough votes to force his rivals to pull out of the race. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley hope to put a dent in Trump's momentum. Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Chas Licciardello, host of the ABC's Planet America, to explain why...

The recent election in Taiwan has made headlines all over the world and has made China very, very unhappy. It's expected that the new President-elect, Lai Ching-te from the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), will be pushing further for Taiwan to remain a self-governing democracy, independent of the rule of China - a stance that has ramifications for the rest of the world, given th...

Mary Donaldson was born and raised in Tasmania, and has today become Queen of Denmark. It's a remarkable story of a girl living in a share house in Bondi Junction, who met the love of her life at a bar during the Sydney Olympics, and didn't know he was a prince. In this episode of The Briefing we're joined by Sebastian Olden-Jorgensen, Professor of Modern History specialising in court history, to...

Comedian Nazeem Hussain has done a lot of things – he created a TV show on SBS, made the Grand Finals of I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here, and he's recently added childrens book author to his accolades. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Nazeem reveals how he hid his comedy career from his mum and his most terrifying performance experience to date Weekend List:  Off Menu podcast My 21st Centu...

Chances are that if you aren’t closely approaching retirement, you might not be thinking too critically about it... but should you be?  How much exactly will you need to retire, what should you be doing now to safeguard your future, and what could you do to retire sooner rather than later?  This week, The Briefing team brings you a five-part series on how to sort out your financial life in the new...

The International Court of Justice has held its first public hearing in the genocide case against Israel, over its war in Gaza. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu denies his country is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. He declared war following the October 7 terrorist attacks – where Hamas killed around 1,200 Israeli citizens and kidnapped a further 240. Bension Siebert is joined by i...

It’s the Great Australian Dream: buying a property of your own. But in a real estate market blighted by rising prices and high interest rates, getting onto the property ladder in the first place can seem impossible. But is there hope yet? This week, The Briefing team brings you a five-part series on how to sort out your financial life in the new year.  In this episode, Bension Siebert is bringing...

Australia's housing crisis is marching on: house prices across the country went up by 8.1% last year, while rents have gone up by a whopping 8.3%. But there could be light on the horizon, with rents forecast to ease in 2024. In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Core Logic's Eliza Owen about what factors could bring our weekly rent down. HEADLINES: Woolies drops Australia...

Many of us got poorer in 2023, amidst a cost of living crisis that saw grocery prices, interest rates and rents surge. But there’s a group that still managed to get wealthier on the back of a rising market: investors.  So with conditions expected to ease up, it’s time to look at how the rest of us can get on the same trajectory.  This week, The Briefing team brings you a five-part series on how to...

After nearly nine years Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been released from prison. The now 32-year-old was convicted for her role in the murder of her mother Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. But she's being praised as a hero after surviving abuse at the hands of her mum who had a little-known syndrome called Munchausen by Proxy. Since her release Gypsy has been going viral and in this chat, Bension Siebert...

Is 2024 the year you take your next step forward in your career? Getting a promotion makes many a New Year's resolutions list - but if you're hoping for one this year, what should you be doing to best set yourself up for one? And is getting a promotion all it's cracked up to be? This week, The Briefing team brings you a five-part series on how to sort out your financial life in the new year.  In t...

A year ago the Raising Awareness and Prevention (RAP) project in the UK was inundated with phone calls from boys' schools. The reason: Andrew Tate. The schools were concerned about the number of teenagers who were idolising the right wing influencer, who came to be known for his toxic takes on masculinity and women. One year on we speak with Deana Puccio, co-founder of the RAP Project to find out...

It's a new year, you're a new you, let's get your finances sorted! Our bank accounts often take a major hit during the holiday season - so how do you quickly recover, and what should you be aiming for in 2024?  This week, The Briefing team brings you a five-part series on how to sort out your financial life in the new year.  In today's episodes, Bension Siebert is joined by Canstar Editor-at-Large...

The 4-day work week, flexible working and co-working are all going to be major buzzwords this year. There's also coworking, where we're seeing moves towards creating spaces in suburban centres so that workers don't need to commute as far. In this episode Rhianna Patrick delves into all of this with Jared Lindzon, a freelance journalist who has been published in the BBC, Time Magazine and Fast Comp...

Welcome to our summer series of the Weekend Briefing featuring some of your favourite interviews from 2023! Elise has achieved a lot! She has ghost written 12 books, was second-in-command at Goop and has now released her first book under her own name - On Our Best Behaviour: The Price Women Pay to Be Good. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Elise explains where the seven deadly sins originated from (...

Dozens of people have died, hundreds have been injured– and tens of thousands of homes destroyed after Japan’s massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake earlier this week. But as Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, it’s also best prepared to deal with a major disaster like this. In this episode of the Briefing Rhianna Patrick is joined by disaster expert Arnold Dix to find out...

For the first time, one of Disney’s marquee characters — Mickey himself — has entered the public domain 95 years after his creation. But it will only be the earliest version of the iconic character though, the one from “Steamboat Willie”. Disney has historically pushed very hard for an extension of copyright protections. In fact, the copyright extension act of 1998 was nicknamed the Mickey Mouse P...

Did you know every generation is seeing a decline in divorce stats, except for boomers? It turns out Hugh Jackman’s split from his wife Deborah Lee Furness of 27 years wasn’t just a flash in the pan and is part of a wider trend. In this episode of The Briefing Katrina Blowers finds out the why behind boomer break-ups with Elisabeth Shaw from Relationships Australia. Headlines: Five dead after Japa...

Did you know google searches for 'manifesting' soared by 669% from late March to mid-July last year? In this episode of The Briefing Katrina Blowers is joined by cognitive neuroscientist Rhiannon Jones to find out if ‘manifesting’ actually helps make our dreams come true, if it’s just another word for goal-setting or if it could actually have a negative impact on our lives. Headlines: Thousands ev...

It’s the first day of 2024, and some big trends are on the cards for this year. Democracies will be tested; AI will lead to major changes in our work and health; and we might finally move beyond the smartphone. In this episode of The Briefing we unpack what to expect in 2024 with futurist Ross Dawson.   Headlines supplied by the Listnr newsroom. Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast...

Welcome to our summer series of the Weekend Briefing featuring some of your favourite interviews from 2023! Dilruk Jayasinha is one of Australia’s most in-demand comedians. As we jump back in time to his last stand up show Heart Stopper we find out there’s more behind that name than meets the eye. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Dilruk explains how he made the switch from working as an accountant...

Britney Spears and Prince Harry’s bios took the world by storm in 2023; Taylor Swift became a billionaire; and the Barbie movie got us going to the cinema again. In this episode of The Briefing Tom Tilley and Antoinette Lattouf give us the rundown on the biggest pop culture moments of the year.   Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU Twitter: @TheBriefin...

There’s one word for Aussie sport in 2023 and that is: Matildas! But that wasn’t the only big news in sport: we also saw a massive year in cricket, beating India on their home soil in an ODI; while the Panthers won the premiership for the NRL, and Collingwood for the AFL. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt and Tom Tilley talk through the moments that had us on the edge of our seats...

Nothing has made international news more in the last few months than the conflict in Gaza, but do you remember some of the other big stories that hit our shores in 2023? Tom Tilley and Katrina Blowers dive in on the biggest moments from 2023 like the Titan submersible tragedy from June; the wildfires that gripped the northern hemisphere; and how ChatGPT suddenly came into our lives.    Follow The...