The Briefing

Have you noticed your attention waning? Texts, emails and notifications; podcasts, meetings and social media - while everyone is fighting for it, it feels increasingly like we have less attention it to spare. In this three-part feature series, The Briefing dives deep into what has happened to make us all feel so distracted, why it matters, and what you can do to fix it. In this episode, Jan Fran e...

Welcome to this special series of the Weekend Briefing, where Jamila talks to some of her favourite guests - old and new - about a single, fascinating subject. During this series you’ll hear from singers, writers, models, actors and change makers on topics as diverse as the interview subject themselves. Today you’ll hear from our final series guest Hannah Ferguson, on feminism. Hannah is the co-fo...

Going on holiday is one of life’s greatest pleasures. It’s a chance to let your hair down and blow off a bit of steam. While it usually pays to have travel insurance just in case of the unexpected, what happens when something does go wrong and you’re not covered? In this episode of The Briefing, we hear the story of a surfer in Bali who was left facing a huge medical bill after a horrific accident...

Kenny Bollwerk has built over 240,000 TikTok followers and amassed millions of views of his livestreams showing some of the most rat-infested streets of New York City. Interest has been so great, the creator of ‘RatTok’ is now running free rat tours across the city, taking tourists to “rat hotspots” seven nights a week. He joined Tom Tilley to explain where he thinks the fascination has come from....

The top blood donors in Australia are older men – but young blood and plasma are needed to keep saving lives. Data shows young people are sporadic donors at best, and most don’t turn up to appointments. However, one young donor, Sam Ryan, has become a prolific donor after his life was saved by 22 bags of donated blood after an accident when he was 17. On this extra episode of The Briefing, we hear...

Jordie van den Berg (known by his influential social media alias PurplePingers) and Lauren Michaelides (known as Toilet Paper Australia on X) have launched a free database to call out “shit rentals” across the country. With the aim to better empower renters facing sometimes shocking rental conditions, Shitrentals.org has already received over a thousand reviews from tenants since it’s launch last...

Canada and India are at loggerheads, with both nations in a diplomatic storm that looks like it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.  Canadian Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Vancouver earlier this year. But now, Canada has blamed the Indian government, saying it was a political assassination, and sparking a massive confrontation between the two powerhouse nati...

Dan Andrews, Labor’s longest reigning Premier in Victoria, has announced he will resign from the top job. What was the reasoning behind his decision, what impact will that have on the future of Victorian Labor party, and what can other leaders around the country learn from his time in power? Tom Tilley is joined by Kos Samaras, Director of polling and research company RedBridge group and former La...

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has announced he’ll retire at 5pm tomorrow. He says he has no plans, and will take time to spend with his family. He led Victoria for nine years and was Labor leader for 13 years. His legacy will be mixed, with there being many who will say he was a brilliant but divisive leader.  In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by The Age newspaper's Victorian State Par...

The state of Alabama is planning to use nitrogen gas to execute prisoners on death row, after a series of botched lethal injections. Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama have all approved nitrogen gas for execution, but none have ever used it. Katrina Blowers sits down with Dr Joel Zivot, an expert on physician participation in lethal injection, to explain why convicted murderer Kenneth Smith might...

It’s been a year since the details of nearly 10 million Aussies were compromised in the Optus data hack. Past and present customers were left confused and frustrated, asking why big companies are allowed to have all our data if they can’t protect it properly. But with what seems like a new breach every few weeks, do we even still care when our information is compromised? In this episode of The Bri...

Popular online dating platforms like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge - are being threatened with government regulation unless they improve safety for users. The federal government is giving the industry until the middle of next year to develop and implement a voluntary code of practice to improve standards. This comes after an investigation last year by the Australian Institute of Criminology that found...

Welcome to this special series of the Weekend Briefing, where Jamila talks to some of her favourite guests - old and new - about a single, fascinating subject. Over the next two months, you’ll hear from singers, writers, models, actors and change makers on topics as diverse as the interview subject themselves. Today you’ll hear from Hugh van Cuylenburg on resilience. You might recognise Hugh’s voi...

Rupert Murdoch has announced he will stand down as head of News Corp and Fox, the media behemoth he created. While his son Lachlan will take over as chair of both companies, Rupert Murdoch will still have some involvement as he takes on the role of “emeritus chairman”.  In this episode of The Briefing, we talk to Professor Rodney Tiffen whose 2014 book “A Reassessment” explored Murdoch’s empire an...

This week more than 40 child and women safety experts have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an Australian porn passport trial. Research undertaken by the eSafety Commission has found 75% of 16 to 18-year-olds have viewed online pornography, and a third of those first saw it before they were 13. In this episode of The Briefing, Tom Tilley finds out what’s going o...

Vaping is a growing problem among our youth, with widespread accessibility and a multitude of health and addiction risks facing our adolescents. But it’s not just an issue for kids - it’s also a growing burden on their teachers. So we’ve spoken to educators from around the country, to get an idea of what it’s like dealing with vaping in the classroom, and how it affects their ability to do their j...

New research has found vape residue clings to furniture, car interiors and walls and remains toxic for up to a month- even worse than cigarettes! Kids are particularly affected because they're more likely to put their hands in their mouths and it goes to their lungs. In this episode of The Briefing, Katrina Blowers gets the low-down from The Woolcock Institute’s Professor Brian Oliver about just h...

New research has found the endometriosis crisis in Australia is worsening. Endometriosis is a common, yet painful disease where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside of the womb. In 2019, it was found that around 1 in 9 women aged between 44-49 were estimated to have endometriosis. Now, that estimation has risen to 1 in 7. In this episode of The Briefing, Amelia Oberhardt is joine...

Warren Mundine is a Bungulung man and one of those leading the charge opposing the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to parliament. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party in 2006, before making the switch and becoming a member of the National Advisory Council under Prime Minister Tony Abbott. With just under four weeks to go until the referendum, he sits down with Tom Tilley...

In this extra episode of The Briefing: Comedian, actor, writer, podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand, has come under fire. While Brand has been a celebrity for more than twenty years, over the past few days shocking allegations have come to light. While Brand vehemently denies he is guilty and insists all his sexual encounters were consensual, at least four women have accused him of ra...

Noel Pearson is one of Australia's most respected Indigenous leaders - fighting for Constitutional recognition since the Howard era. With just four weeks to go until the referendum, he sits down with Tom Tilley to discuss the Yes campaign's progress so far, and his fight to win over the 'soft no' voters.   Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU Twitter: @...

In this headlines-free extra episode of the Briefing: Meet the 12,000 people on temporary protection visas who are blocked from the government’s new pathway to permanent residency. That’s because they were processed and refused under the previous Coalition Government’s controversial “fast-track” process - criticised as a rubber stamping machine for refusals. But here’s the thing: all have been in...

It’s spring, so let’s talk allergies! Australia is considered the allergy capital of the world. Allergic disease currently affects more than four million Australians and that number is expected to rise. By 2050, the number of people affected by allergic diseases in Australia is predicted to increase by 70 per cent to 7.7 million. In this episode of The Briefing, Antoinette Lattouf speaks with Prof...

2023 Australian of The Year Local Hero and founder of Turbans 4 Australia , Amar Singh, is six weeks into his roadshow around Australia to promote the Voice. Travelling around Australia, he is hoping to to promote the Voice to Parliament to multicultural, culturally diverse, religious, and ethnic groups. Why does he care, and what has the reception been like? In this bonus episode of The Briefing,...

Welcome to On Topic with the Weekend Briefing, a special series where Jamila Rizvi talks to some of her favourite guests - old and new - about a single, fascinating subject. Over the next two months, you’ll hear from singers, writers, models, actors and change makers on topics as diverse as power and influence, mindset and money, bodies and brains. Today you’ll hear from Sean Kelly, on politics. S...