The Briefing

Kathleen Folbigg has been released from prison after serving 20 years for murdering her four children. Yesterday, she received the pardon she’s been waiting for, for over two decades.  We’re joined by Matthew Agius, science reporter at Cosmos Magazine and the Science Briefing, who explains how and why the decision has been made – and what it means for other court cases with similar findings  In th...

The number of male teachers in Australia has been steadily declining for decades. In Queensland for example, in the past two decades, the number of female teachers in the state’s schools increased by a staggering 230 times the number of males.  Studies suggest if the decline continues male primary school teachers will extinct by 2050. We’re joined by Angelo Gavrielatos is the President of the NSW...

The drama of the Roy family has captured the worlds attention, been compared to Shakespeare and created it’s own fashion wave. Why has Succession created so much hype and is it deserved? In this bonus episode of the Briefing, we’re joined by Michael Lucas, screenwriter for Offspring and The Newsreader, to find out what makes Succession such a successful show.     See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Comedian Peter Helliar has done it all, from the jungle to co-hosting the Project, to even being declared dead. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here was never a reality television experience that had tempted Helliar. But after his resignation from The Project - alongside Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson - the time was right to say yes to something totally different. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi,...

Ben Roberts-Smith, former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross recipient lost his defamation case against Nine newspapers yesterday, with the judge finding Roberts-Smith committed war crimes. We sit down with LiSNTR Executive Producer Ellen Leabeater who was the Series producer for Guardian Australia’s podcast Ben Roberts-Smith v the media and followed the 100 day trial.   Headlines: New revelation in t...

Today student debts will increase by 7.1% for more than three million Australians thanks to indexation. The average national student debt is $24,770.75 and will be increased by an extra $1758.72 . We speak to the creator of the HECS-HELP system Bruce Chapman about whether he thinks the current system should remain as is, and former student Hanna who’s furious at the increase.   Headlines: RBA gove...

Elizabeth Holmes was "the world's youngest self-made female billionaire" with her company Theranos, which promised to detect conditions such as cancer and diabetes needing only a few drops of blood. In 2014 her company was valued at US $9bn, but by 2018 Theranos had collapsed. In 2022 convicted by a jury in California on four counts of fraud and was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison...

In senate estimates last week, the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw mentioned how Gen Z needs more praise in the workplace. It turns out he’d misquoted some research; we find out from organisational psychologist Amanda Ferguson how generational praise has changed and what the research really says.    Headlines: - WA Premier Mark McGowan resigns - PWC stands down nine partners over ATO scandal - Chri...

40 year old South Australian man Jason Kennison was the 10th climber to die on Mount Everest this climbing season, one of the deadliest in recent history. An area of the mountain called the death zone is the deadliest part of the climb, the term is used for altitudes over eight thousand meters. So what happens to the body when we enter higher altitudes, Dr Deirdre McCormack explains the risks of c...

Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, is a proud Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman who was taken away from her family and her country at age 11. Vanessa would live with more than a dozen different foster families, before she was old enough to return home to country at age eighteen. Since then she has completed her law and social work degrees, with first class honours and is embarking on a PHD.  In this chat wit...

At the National Press Club on Monday Julian Assange’s wife said 'we're the closest we've ever been' to securing his release and earlier this year Anthony Albanese expressed his frustrated over the detention of Assange. Gabriel Shipton believes 2023 will be the year his brother Julian will be released, as a Free Julian Assange Rally in Sydney saw over 1000 people in attendance on Wednesday. Gabriel...

If you pay tax, this story will make your blood boil. We explain how PwC, a firm that’s received hundreds of millions of tax payer funds, shared confidential information with corporations trying to pay less tax in Australia. Find out how this happened and why it took so long to hit the headlines with Carl Rhodes, Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Technology Sydney.   Headlines...

Last week Q&A presenter Stan Grant announced he was leaving the ABC after constant racial abuse, and a lack of institutional support. Torres Strait Islander Rhianna Patrick who is a Briefing host and also a former ABC journalist, speaks to The Briefing about her time and experience at the ABC and discovering what she calls ‘workplace trauma.’     Headlines: Convicted paedophile and entertainer...

China has been the world’s most populous country since 1950, but last month according to UN demographers India has now surpassed China. India is now home to nearly a fifth of humanity and is continuing to grow. How did this happen and what does it mean for geopolitics? Emeritus Professor in Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide Purnendra Jain joins us to explain the significance.    Headline...

Young men are the main victims of sextortion in Australia, according to new data to be presented by the eSafety Commissioner in parliament. Sextortion is when a person is extorted for money under threat of having nude images released to family, friends and beyond. Last year around 60% of reports received by the eSafety scheme were reports of sextortion, we go inside with an eSafety commissioner in...

Kayla Itsines went from training clients in her parents’ backyard to touring around the world hosting sold out boot camps.  But since then she’s become a mother of two and is tackling the idea of ‘bounce back’ culture.  In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Kayla explains how she is doing the high wire act of new-mum juggling and her approach to fitness since discovering her own vulnerabilities.    THE...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially dropped restrictions that prohibit gay and bisexual men from donating blood. The ban was implemented in 1983 for men who have sex with men due to the AIDS epidemic.   In today’s episode of the Briefing, we discover that since the early 80s, scientific advances and more testing has led to the ban on LGBT men and transwomen donating blood being li...

11,500 Hollywood television and screenwriters are on strike, they’re determined to get better pay and conditions and want safeguards in place against AI. The studios say they can’t hand out pay rises as investors are no longer gung-ho about streaming. We go inside the strike with writer Josh Gondelman who used to work on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to find out exactly what’s going on.   Hea...

Snapchat has introduced an AI chatbot that users can ask any question and receive an answer in extreme detail. Users can customise the chatbot’s name, design a Bitmoji avatar for it and it sits alongside conversations with real friends. Snapchat’s chatbot may feel less transactional but AI ethics expert Julian Koplin says the new technology can be misleading.   Headlines: Search for bodies resumes...

Anti-crime groups have taken to the streets going door to door targeting suspected thieves in the Queensland town of Rockhampton. The vigilante groups formed on social media despite police warning them that vigilantism is not the answer to community crime. Indigenous leaders and police are worried, Dr. Terry Goldsworthy, an associate professor in criminal justice and criminology explains why.   He...

New Netflix show Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story has hit the number one spot on the streaming service and gives the back story of the British Queen Charlotte. The show has been sparking conversation about whether or not she was the first black Queen. British historian Cindy McCreery joins Jan Fran to explain why.   Headlines: Two charged over neo-Nazi rally Road death toll climbs despite natio...

Sarah Harris is the newest host of The Project, filling the shoes of Carrie Bickmore who has been with the agenda-setting news show since its inception. Harris is no stranger to television. She previously hosted Studio 10 for nearly a decade, and before that was a reporter for Channel 9 and Channel 7.  In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Sarah explains how nothing could have prepared her for the invas...

Former NRL player Jarryd Hayne is expected to be sentenced today. The 35-year-old was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on grand final night in 2018, following a third trial last month.  Host of This Arvo in Sydney Sacha Barbour Gatt takes us through the backstory of Jarryd Hayne, his massive fall from grace and why it’s taken so long to get this conviction.    Headlines: - Opposition le...

Eurovision is back again, this year being played out in the UK. It’s a change from the norm after Ukraine won last year’s contest, but couldn’t host themselves.   We go behind the scenes with commentator Myf Warhurst to hear all the goss all the way from Liverpool.    Headlines: - Inquiry into the handling of the Brittany Higgins rape trial continues - The Opposition to deliver its budget reply to...

We’ve heard artificial intelligence could take our jobs, now a new investigation shows how it could make inequalities worse.  We speak to Tracey Spicer about her new book Man Made: How the bias of the past is being built into the future.    Headlines: Budget breakdown Donald Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse Jenny Craig Australia in voluntary administration   Follow The Briefing: Instag...