The Briefing

Not many people know Tom Tilley was raised in a Pentecostal Christian community....his father was a pastor.  The church expected him to live by a strict set of rules – and to one day speak in tongues.  As pressure grew on Tom to conform and commit, he started to question his faith and the community’s hold over his life.    Tom’s book Speaking in Tongues is out...

We’re halfway through the federal election campaign – and Labor is well ahead in the polls.  Anthony Albanese launched the ALP’s campaign at the weekend, outlining five key policy areas the Opposition will focus on in the lead-up to the May 21 poll.   Annika Smethurst is Victorian state political correspondent for The Age and regular politics contributor for The Briefin...

Catherine Deves is the Liberal Party candidate for the Sydney seat of Warringah, handpicked by Scott Morrison, and she's been in the spotlight for offensive comments she’s made - and since deleted - about the trans community.    Ms Deves says she’s protecting women’s sport but her critics say the sports debate is a veil for bigotry.   We're joined by Dr Ada Ch...

April Hélène-Horton is The Bodzilla . An online moniker that has won tens of thousands of social media fans thanks to April’s loud and proud revolutionising of beauty standards. April not only reveals the absence of diverse bodies in the media but she is part of the solution. She was the first plus size model to appear in a bikini as part of a major Australian advertising campa...

Shanghai, a city of 28 million people has been locked down now for five weeks... and dozens of other cities have had partial lockdowns.  But covid cases and deaths in China are way lower than ours here in Australia... and our population is less than 2% of China’s   The reason it’s so strange is that for the last two years Chinese people were living quite normally while p...

Elon Musk has done the deal to buy Twitter. The announcement was made this week……Twitter’s board has agreed to sell the social media giant to the world’s richest man for 61 billion dollars.   In a statement said “…free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humani...

The polls were wrong ahead of the 2019 Australian federal election….and spectacularly wrong back when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton at the 2016 American presidential election….and don’t mention Brexit.   Casey Briggs is a data journalist at the ABC – he rose to fame explaining Covid figures….well now he’s turned his hand to opinion polls ahead of...

Hundreds of thousands of Australians streamed through airports over the Easter and Anzac Day weekends.  There were queues out the door and onto the street in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.   “Emma” (not her real name) is a flight attendant who was thrown into the chaos over the two long weekends…and Michael Kaine is national secretary of the Transport...

In 2010, three years after Rachel Kerrigan left the RAAF, her mental health deteriorated rapidly.  At her lowest point in 2012, Rachel attempted suicide, she was diagnosed with severe post traumatic stress and depressive disorder, was put on 30 pills to manage her moods, anger and anxiety, was having two psychiatrist visits a week and she became physically unhealthy weighing in at 119 kilos.&...

Chrissie Swan has spent almost 20 years being stared at down the barrel of paparazzi cameras. In that time, the beloved radio and television host, reality star and household name has become thoroughly baffled by the interest in her self-described boring life. She has brought her good humour, warmth and generosity to breakfast radio, television panel shows, a diverse range of hosting gigs and, most...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created a massive refugee crisis. More than five million Ukranians have fled their country since the conflict began. Eleven million have been displaced from their homes.   Tetiana Sydoryshyna and her 11-year-old son are now safe in Melbourne after fleeing Kyiv… but they remain in limbo.   We’re also joined by Stefan Romaniw, Ch...

France will vote in a Presidential election this weekend that could really impact the very future of Europe.   The race is between incumbent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen.    Paul Kirby: the BBC’s European editor joins us to explain Macron is pro EU, pro Ukraine. Le Pen is not a fan of the European Union … and let’s...

Zoe Daniel is a former ABC foreign correspondent.  She’s worked as a journalist for more than 30 years.  So why on Earth would she consider running for parliament.   In this episode of The Briefing, Zoe joins us to talk about her motivation, her policies, her plans if Australia elects a hung parliament…..and what it’s like to get down and dirty in the murky world...

We’re repeatedly told this election is all about the cost of living. Basically, the cost of living is the amount of money it takes to cover basic expenses - things like food, fuel, electricity, childcare and healthcare…things you can’t do without.   Jan Fran’s joined by Cassandra Goldie, CEO of ACOSS and Adjunct Professor with UNSW Sydney; and Mellita Rose, a single m...

Craft chocolate companies in Australia have almost tripled over the last six years - from 12 to 34 manufacturers.  They are a small but growing group of Australian chocolate makers with a passion for carefully curated small-batch, sustainable, craft chocolate.   We’re joined by Brett Holmes from Two Lost pilots; and Chris Brown from Bean Bar You   It is within this emerging "b...

Jamila Rizvi would like to be Roxanne Gay when she grows up. Ignore the fact she’s “ technically” a grown up already! Roxane Gay is an American-born writer of Haitian descent and is known internationally as a New York Times best-selling author, a speaker, a podcaster, a teacher and cultural icon. In this conversation, recorded live at The Wheeler Centre, Jamila and Roxane unpack...

Could you imagine playing golf with Donald Trump...? Getting face to face with Steve Bannon or trying to make a deal with Tony Abbott about when he’d hand you the Prime Ministership... or admitting you love Nickelback... or really wanting to meet Jerry Springer.... more than any other celebrity.     This is the life of Joe Hockey, the former treasurer who went o...

The Australian Financial Review has today released research on focus groups it surveyed this week.  The paper asked average voters what they made of Prime Minister Scott Morrison...and what they made of Opposition leader Anthony Albanese.   We’re joined by Stela Todorovic – 10 News First Canberra correspondent who asked Anthony Albanese THAT question; and Phillip Coorey, the...

Part two of Jan’s interview with the award-winning Australian comedian, Hannah Gadsby.   Hannah’s new book is called “Ten steps to Nanette” and explores her journey growing up queer in Tasmania where homosexuality was illegal until 1997, her relationship with her career as a comedian, the build up to her hit show and understanding autism and ADHD.    Han...

Hannah Gadsby’s new book is called “Ten steps to Nanette” and explores her journey growing up queer in Tasmania where homosexuality was illegal until 1997, her relationship with her career as a comedian, the build up to her titular show and understanding autism and ADHD.    Hannah joins Jan Fran for a one-on-one interview to explore Hannah’s career, controversies...

The election campaign has officially begun.  What now?    Annika Smethurst is a Walkley award winning political reporter at The Age, and the author of The Accidental Prime Minister and regular contributor at The Briefing.  Annika explains what rules apply to things like campaign funding and advertising....and IF the parties obey the rules.   We also learn if incumbenc...

Darcy Vescio has been playing footy since they were five years old. Growing up when there was no such thing as the AFLW, they were forced to give the game away at age fourteen when they could no longer play with the boys. In 2017, everything changed. A women’s league was formed and Darcy was signed as a marquee player for Carlton.   In this conversation, Jamila and Darcy discuss growing...

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, people all around the world started to ask if Hollywood if finally dying out.  The world has shifted and evolved, but has Hollywood?    Maria Lewis is an author and screenwriter. She’s been a journalist for over 16 years covering film and pop culture.  Maria tells us about how Hollywood will end up changing and evolving to...

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet visited flood-ravaged northern NSW this week to announce what’s called The Back Home scheme. The state will provide up to $20,000 to residents whose homes have been declared damaged or destroyed.   Locals say the $112 million scheme is too little too late. Harper Dalton is a Lismore local whose home was wiped out in the floods: and Eddie Lloyd is a Lismore...

David Pocock was no ordinary rugby player.  He has always been a principled changemaker - he painted his rugby boots black when he made his super rugby debut because of his concerns about the sweat shops they were manufactured in and he and his partner didn’t sign their marriage certificate until gay couples had the same rights.  He’s also chained himself to a bulldozer in a...