The Briefing

Rescue teams are continuing to frantically search for a missing Titanic tourist submersible with oxygen expected to run out today. The missing sub lost contact one hour and 45 minutes into the dive, with five people onboard. Chris White from the Australian Maritime College joins us to explain what it could be like for those onboard right now, and what might have gone wrong.   Headlines: NSW cops u...

The Federal parliament has voted on the legislation for the Voice Referendum which has to happen within six months. While this is a national Voice, Victoria has just voted in their own body quite similar to the voice called the First People’s Assembly of Victoria. Rueben Berg from the First People’s Assembly of Victoria joins us to explain the importance of state based bodies and Voice v Treaty.  ...

26 organisations across Australasia have been trialling the four day work week and the results are in. The idea is employees get 100% of the pay for working 80% of their previous hours in exchange for a commitment to maintain 100% productivity. We'll find out how you practically implement the four day work week with Wendy Green from Momentum Mental Health, a business in southern Queensland, as wel...

It's almost the end of the financial year and that means lodging a tax return. But before you do, Jan Fran takes us through five tax hacks with her accountant sister Helen- helping you minimise the tax you pay and maximise the return you get back. Headlines: David Van facing down calls to leave parliament  The Voice referendum debated in the Senate US top diplomat in China for first time in five y...

Jessica Alyssa Cerro was born and raised in the Hills District in Sydney. The child of an Argentinian, professional football-playing father and a Filipino, music loving mother, they were always going to march to the beat of their own drum. Today, you’re more likely to know them as Montaigne, the Aria award winning artist twice selected to represent Australia at Eurovision and subject of this year’...

Ezra Miller's appearance on the red carpet of The Flash has caused controversy, with everyone continuing to ask why someone with such a chequered history has been allowed to headline such a massive film. The Flash is also expected to finish off this iteration of the DC Extended Universe which has so far failed to compete with the massive success of Marvel. We speak with Listnr's Justin Hill who ho...

Drag storytime events have been targeted by far-right groups with violent threats and protests forcing over ten events in the past six months to be cancelled in Australia or move online. Drag queen Frock Hudson joins us to talk about their experience with several of their story time events being cancelled and what’s being done about it.   Headlines: Senator David Van removed from parliament Unempl...

Have you wondered how we're getting access to all these personal text messages, recordings and detail from the Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann case. The Briefing has the answer and it involves the incredible Israeli spy technology Cellebrite, that sucks all the information out of your phone and most of us have no idea our police and government are using it. Author Antony Loewenstein of The Pal...

Botox is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures on the planet, but did you know it contains the most toxic compound on earth? If it's so dangerous, why is it safe to use?  In this bonus episode courtesy of the Science Briefing, Dr Sophie Calabretto is joined by Cosmos magazine journalist Jacinta Bowler to talk about the science behind botox, the risks associated with it and the research that...

On Sunday night a horror bus crash in the Hunter Valley took the lives of ten people with 25 more being transported to hospital. The community is in shock as the coach was taking home guests from a wedding. The driver has been charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, driving in a dangerous manner and negligent driving occasioning death. Local resident Gerard McMillan and LiST...

Orcas have been sinking ships off the coast of Portugal and Spain—with at least three attacks happening in the last month. Scientists believe it could just be a game or fad, although one theory is a bit more outlandish: a female orca may have been traumatised by being hit by a rudder and is now taking ‘revenge.’ Either way, it’s believed she’s the originator of the practice and has taught the rest...

Maria Thattil has always felt like an outsider looking in, despite being very much immersed in the world of modelling, television, writing and influencing. Maria is a queer, South-Asian woman, the daughter of migrant parents and a former Miss Universe Australia - who stands a petite five foot three in a world of 6 foot something beauty pageant contestants. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Maria exp...

Since the dawn of the space age in the 1950s, we have launched thousands of rockets and sent even more satellites into orbit, with many still circling our planet. This has created an ever-increasing risk of collision as we continue to launch more, leaving us wondering if space junk could crash on earth. Dr Matt Agnew, astrophysicist and author of Dr Matt’s guide to life in space, joins us to expla...

Brad Guy fell 15,000 feet and somehow survived. As he navigated a brutal recovery, he initially shut his whole family out of his life, until he realised the hold PTSD was having on him. In this incredible interview he explains how trauma works and he overcame it to live a fulfilling life. For crisis support - Lifeline 13 11 14 Headlines: Scott White sentenced over 80s manslaughter Assange close to...

There’s been a worrying rise in police killing and injuring people in the line of duty. Including the recent tasering of 95-year-old great grandmother Clare Nowland. Hearing about such cases on the news is a nightmare for Leesa Topic, whose 22-year-old daughter was shot dead by NSW police outside a Hungry Jacks in 2015, in a response condemned as “entirely inappropriate” by a coroner. Leesa and Te...

Porn addiction isn’t a clinical diagnosis, but psychologists are seeing more and more people whose lives are dictated by when they can get their next dopamine hit from porn.   You’ll hear from a man we called “Julian” and how porn addiction took over his life. He was so desperate to get help that he turned up to an alcoholics anonymous meeting for support. We also...

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...