The Briefing

Linda Marigliano is an Australian radio announcer and musician, turned podcaster and storyteller. She’ll likely have kept you company during the afternoon on Triple J back in the 2010s or in lockdown with her poignant, honest podcast Tough Love. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Linda reflects on how her sense of career changed when she couldn’t control the next step whilst also being in a long dist...

As interest rates rise for a tenth consecutive time, we have a cautionary tale about Cherish Kuehlmann. One night last month the student was woken up by officers who ‘barged into the house’ and took her to a police station, where she was charged with a trespass offense. Her crime? Protesting the Reserve Bank. In this episode, Cherish tells us how she was put in a cell for protesting the cost of ho...

In Gen F'd? economist Alison Pennington writes about how the most educated generation in Australian history looks set to be the first generation worse off than their parents. Millions of young people are struggling to secure full-time work and own homes. The book gives young people the tools needed to help create change and opportunities. Headlines: - Ten and Newscorp file Lehrmann defamation defe...

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world and last month it broke its own record. The average number of expected babies per South Korean woman fell to 0.78 in 2022 down from 0.81 a year earlier. This makes South Korea the only country in the world with a fertility rate below one, which means more people are dying than being born. In this episode, we speak to professor in policy studie...

Australia's largest soft plastics recycling scheme REDcycle collapsed last November and last week the scheme was declared insolvent by the Supreme court. Soft plastics collected from supermarkets were sent to warehouses where they’ve been stockpiled for months, leaving consumers disappointed and pushing Australia even further from its national packaging target. So, how far are we from that 2025 go...

March 8 is International Women's Day.  We asked the women (and a couple of men) behind your favourite LiSTNR podcasts and radio shows to share about a time they’ve #EmbracedEquity and challenged gender stereotypes, called out discrimination, drawn attention to bias and sought out inclusion.  Hear from Carrie Bickmore, Jess Rowe, Sarah Maree Cameron,  Fifi Box, Turia Pitt, Natarsha Belling, Jamila...

Three years into the pandemic there are still people who (as far as they know) have never contracted or tested positive for Covid. They’re called ‘novids’ and right now there’s an international, first-of-its-kind study underway into why these people have dodged the rona. Is there a genetic basis for this or are they just lucky? In this episode, we speak to our social media producer Sarah Bol, who...

Dilruk Jayasinha is one of Australia’s most in-demand comedians. His new stand up show is called Heart Stopper, named as such because in Hindi, Dil means heart and Ruk means stop. But the show’s title has since become especially apt because last year, at the age of just 37, one of the critical arteries in Dilruk’s heart gave out and he suffered a heart attack. As he says himself, spoiler alert, Di...

Facebook and Instagram users can now pay for their blue verified tick. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week what’s called the Meta Verification subscription bundle.  It will enable users to increase their security and reach. The new subscription model is only available in Australia and New Zealand and Meta will monitor the take-up and popularity of the new model before rolling it out world...

Renters across Australia are being ripped off - having to pay for so-called background checks to help them secure a property. The step is causing havoc and heartache in a sector already in crisis.  Last year, journalist Bension Siebert investigated real estate agents across the country using rental application platforms that pressure renters to pay for their own background checks. Bension, now a m...

Kathleen Folbigg has been in prison for nearly 20 years, charged with murdering 3 of her children and one charge of manslaughter. While she’s been behind bars, genetics research has made exponential leaps. New evidence uncovered by two Danish researchers could prove critical to her case. In this bonus episode courtesy of the Science Briefing, Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalis...

Kathleen Folbigg is serving a minimum 25-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2003 of the murder of her three children, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura, and the manslaughter of her first child, Caleb. Each died suddenly between 1989 and 1999, aged between 19 days and 18 months. Her supporters say there's no pathological or medical basis to conclude homicide in any of the Folbigg children's deat...

Conversion therapy is banned in Qld, Victoria and the ACT, but it’s still legal in NSW. It's in the process of being banned in WA, but still looks to be legal in the NT and SA too. In NSW, Independent MP Alex Greenwich plans to introduce an omnibus Equality Bill including a ban on conversion practices. In this two-part special we find out the impact conversions therapy can have on individuals and...

Conversion therapy is banned in Qld, Victoria and the ACT, but it’s still legal in NSW. It's in the process of being banned in WA, but still looks to be legal in the NT and SA too. In NSW, Independent MP Alex Greenwich plans to introduce an omnibus Equality Bill including a ban on conversion practices. In this two-part special we find out the impact conversions therapy can have on individuals and...

Why are all the good songs written for people in their twenties? Why is it, as we get older and have partners, and children, pets and parents-in-law, mortgages and muscle aches, that music stops being written about our experiences? Claire Tonti is trying to change that. She’s a teacher turned podcaster turned musician and she’s just released her debut album Matrescence. Eleven original tracks, str...

Later this year we'll be voting in a referendum on the Voice, but how did it come about? In this bonus episode we go into the history of the Voice: the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The Uluru Statement originally called for an Aboriginal voice to parliament. It came from a convention bringing together over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders at the foot of Uluru. We speak with Thom...

Footage from last month’s Invasion Day rallies around Australia featured speakers urging those gathered to vote ‘No’ in the promised Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum expected later this year. Most Australians would think the vast majority of First Nations people would support a ‘Yes’ vote – but that’s not necessarily the case.   In this two-part special, we speak to advocates from both si...

Footage from last month’s Invasion Day rallies around Australia featured speakers urging those gathered to vote ‘No’ in the promised Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum expected later this year. Most Australians would think the vast majority of First Nations people would support a ‘Yes’ vote – but that’s not necessarily the case.   In this two-part special, we speak to advocates from both si...

Pokies are responsible for more than half of Australia’s serious gambling harm, with NSW alone holding 35% of the world's pokie machines. Now, the NSW LNP government is pledging major reform ahead of the state’s May election.  In this episode, we speak to Drew Rooke - author of One Last Spin and ask how pokies took hold of Australia and why now is the time for reform. Headlines: - Putin pulls out...

Have you ever wondered why some people instantly click and others don’t? Dr Ali Walker is an Australian human connection scientist who's just written a book called Click or Clash. It covers why you bond easily with some people but have friction with others. It also looks at how we make friends and fall in love; the four types of belonging (and how to achieve them); the three types of loneliness (a...

Have you ever wondered why some people instantly click and others don’t? Dr Ali Walker is an Australian human connection scientist who's just written a book called Click or Clash. It covers why you bond easily with some people but have friction with others. It also looks at how we make friends and fall in love; the four types of belonging (and how to achieve them); the three types of loneliness (a...

Aaron Fa’Aoso is a film producer, director, screenwriter and actor, who also in his first career played professional rugby for the Canterbury Bulldogs.   Life for Aaron has been… so far, so good. His newly released autobiography is titled exactly that, and makes Aaron the first Torres Strait Islander to ever release a commercially published memoir.   In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Aaron touches o...

The rise of online scammers has seen many Aussies losing their life savings with little to no hope of being reimbursed by their bank. In Australia, it’s estimated only 13% of scams are recorded, due to either embarrassment or the lack of confidence the victim will be reimbursed. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Consumer Action Law Centre are calling for Australia to adopt...

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, we investigate the concept that women have to somehow ‘have it all.’ It comes as a recent article in a News Corp paper suggested a string of high profile women’s marriages broke down because they ‘dared to have it all.’ The BBC also questioned New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s ability to ‘have it all.' Antoinette wrote an op-ed in the Herald t...

This is our second episode focusing on adult ADHD. Two weeks ago we spoke with Bridget Pringle, a Melbourne based advertising professional and mother of two who was diagnosed about two years ago.  Bridget told us about what it was like living with ADHD – and how it answered lots of unanswered questions for her.  In today’s Briefing, we’re joined by Mark Bellgrove, the President of the Australian A...