The Briefing

The Victorian government is moving to ban the Nazi salute after neo-Nazis made the gesture on the steps of parliament. The issue has also spilled into federal parliament: Attorney General Mark Dreyfus tried to make a point the LNP had not called out the behaviour, but opposition leader Peter Dutton called his bluff saying he would support a federal ban of Nazi symbolism.  In this episode, we find...

The recent NSW election result puts Labor in power right across the country, except for Tasmania. The last time – indeed, the only time – it has been in office in all nine of Australia's jurisdictions was for a few months between late November 2007 and early September 2008. So, why has this happened and what does it mean for Australian citizens?  In this episode we unpack how we have changed as a...

Joe Biden has just approved the Willow Project in Alaska – the biggest oil drilling project in the US for decades. During his election campaign, Biden vowed to end oil and gas drilling, but his administration has now given the $8billion project the green-light. Climate activists are outraged, with over one-million letters being sent to the White House, 4.7-million petition signatures, and a trendi...

The incredible story of Adam and Lauren Cranston, the children of a former tax commissioner, who attempted to steal $105m from the ATO. We speak to Weekend Telegraph journalist Brenden Hills for part 2 of this story. In this half, Brenden explains the way the pair abused their father’s position, the phone taps that eventually brought them undone and how their relationship with their father is look...

The incredible story of Adam and Lauren Cranston, the children of a former tax commissioner, who attempted to steal $105m from the ATO. We explain how the scam began, the way they abused their father’s position, and the phone taps that eventually brought them undone. PLUS - Jan Fran and Tom Tilley break down Labor’s NSW election win.    Headlines: Chris Minns wins NSW election Dominic Perrottet st...

Lizzy Hoo is many things, a writer, a noddle enthusiast, the child of a Hollywood-style love story, an actor, a rescue greyhound owner - and, as she’s only recently discovered - a person of colour. Lizzy grew up in a funny household with her Dad playing tricks on the family constantly, with comedy in her bones Lizzy was always destined to be funny.  In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Lizzy explains h...

The NSW election takes place this Saturday. The LNP’s Dominic Perrottet is going up against Labor’s Chris Minns. Polls are putting Labor just ahead, but the coalition is far from being counted out.  In this episode, we’ve got Sacha Barbour Gatt, host of new Listnr Sydney news podcast This Arvo in Sydney, to tell you everything you need to know about tomorrow’s election. Subscribe to This Arvo in S...

Donald Trump is back in the spotlight again, after announcing he's going to be arrested based on charges stemming from a 2016 investigation into a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Elon Musk reacted saying if Trump is arrested, then he 'will be re-elected in a landslide.’ Yet, no arrest has actually happened - but it has got the world talking about Trump again. So, are we all falling victim to...

Listnr’s investigative journalist Joey Watson spent three hours in Sydney’s Long Bay prison meeting offenders who are selling their art through Boom Gate Gallery - Australia’s only permanent prison art gallery.  In this episode of The Briefing, we go behind the scenes at one of the most dangerous and notorious prisons in the country to find out how art is helping prisoners survive behind bars.  He...

Queensland will become the second jurisdiction in Australia to implement a pill-testing regime to test for purity and contamination in recreational drugs. The Palaszczuk government will roll out pill testing services, at fixed and mobile sites, to chemically test illicit drugs to check for the presence of potentially dangerous substances and chemical compounds, with the aim of changing the behavio...

Scientists in the US have been working on developing a male contraceptive pill and new research means we could be a step closer to having it available for use. After testing it on mice, the pill has been shown to switch off the enzyme that the sperm needs to reach the egg. There is still a way to go before it is available for men, but is this something they want to use and would women trust men to...

Comedian Nikki Britton wanted to be a Shakespearean actor before somebody said her over-the-top expressions were too much for serious theater. So she transferred her talents first to children’s entertainment, working at Disneyland in LA and spending 12 years as Captain Starlight in children’s hospitals. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Nikki explains how she found stand up, how acting played a part...

It’s been all over the news: we’re buying nuclear submarines. The subs are set to be world-leading with Australia becoming only the seventh country in the world to have them, but we won’t get them for at least a decade– and they are coming at an astronomical price: $368 billion. In this episode, we speak to Australian Strategic Policy Institute Director and defence expert Bec Shrimpton, to find ou...

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last week, after being forced to cash in assets due to a slowing tech sector. The bank specialised in lending to early-stage businesses, and the company served nearly half of US venture-backed technology and healthcare companies that listed on stock markets last year. Three days later Signature Bank, a New York crypto-focused institution also fell. In this episode, we...

Journalist Elfy Scott grew up in a household where her mother's schizophrenia was rarely spoken about. For many years, this complex mental health condition was treated as an open secret, until she was told about her mother’s condition by a school counsellor. Her book ‘The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About’ explores why schizophrenia is still such a taboo topic. In this episode of the Briefing, we...

Founded by two Aussies, F45 was launched on the New York Stock Exchange back in 2021 and was immediately valued at $2 billion with endorsees among the biggest names in sport and entertainment. Less than two years later, it is a vastly different story.  At least five F45 gyms across Victoria, Queensland and South Australia - which are individually owned but franchise operated - have entered liquida...

Thousands of schoolgirls have been poisoned across Iran. The attacks have been described by some observers as part of an extremist response – perhaps with tacit state endorsement – to the protests led by women and girls that have rocked Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini in September.  Human Rights groups say the total number of victims is more than 7,000.  So why are schoolgirls being poisoned i...

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...