The Briefing

Police in Western Australia have found missing four-year-old Cleo Smith.   Officers broke into a locked house in the town of Carnarvon, 900 kilometres north of Perth, about 1am local time (4am AEDT) where they found the young girl in one of the rooms. Cleo was reunited with her parents, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, shortly after.   T ODAY'S HEADLINES Cleo Smith is found alive and well F...

Gladys Berejiklian stunned the people of NSW on October 1st by announcing her resignation. The state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption had announced it was investigating Ms Berejiklian over grants provided to her then-boyfriend Daryl Maguire’s electorate. After two days of astounding testimony Ms Berejiklian will move to the next phase of her life.   The Australian&rsquo...

In today’s Briefing, we’ll learn just how much better life could be if we properly understood loneliness... because it’s connected to so many things that go wrong in our lives, like drug addiction, violence, crime Dr Michelle Lim from Swinburne University is chair of Ending Loneliness Together - a national network of organisations working through collaborative action, research &a...

When Damien Cave brought his young family to Sydney to set up the New York Times ’ Australian Bureau, they encountered the local pursuits of Nippers and surfing – and a completely different approach to risk that changed the way they lived their lives. Damien is the New York Times’ Australian correspondent.   He has always been fascinated by risk.   Having covered t...

Steph Claire Smith isn’t your average model turned fitness influencer.  Boasting over one million followers on social media, the 27-year-old uses her platform to champion how healthy doesn't need to be hard, which inspired the business empire she co-founded with her best friend Laura Henshaw,  Keep It Cleaner .   She's also navigating becoming a new mum through the pandem...

What’s behind the stoush between Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby and the US superstar Dave Chapelle?   It’s all about Chappelle’s Netflix comedy special, The Closer.    Netflix has stood by its decision to air The Closer despite Chappelle slurring members of the LGBTIQ community – particularly the trans community.  Its CEO Ted Sarandos said that c...

The film industry was in shock last week when a director of photography was shot dead on the set of a movie in New Mexico.  The shot was fired by Hollywood legend Alec Baldwin.   On today’s Briefing we ask the question everyone wants answered – how could such a thing happen?   Marc Malkin is senior editor at Variety and host of the 'Just for Variety' podcast. ...

The world’s media is comparing the saga surrounding yesterday’s marriage of Japan’s Princess Mako and commoner Kei Komuro to the Harry & Meghan story.  Japanese tabloids have long been obsessed with the country’s royals, but the fact this latest scandal is gathering international attention suggests growing interest in the family.   Dr Tom Baudinette is an expe...

The world is facing a shortage of vital semiconductor microchips.  You might not be able to find the tech gift you were planning on buying for your family this Christmas.    Tech author, Futurist and host of LiSTNR’s The Next Billion Seconds podcast Mark Pesce, tells us the problem will get a lot worse before it gets better.  It’s going to affect just abou...

Today’s Briefing is a deep dive on the politics playing out in Canberra between the Coalition partners.    The National Party has agreed to the government’s net zero targets ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow.  It means Australia will aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.   Annika Smethurst explains exactly what went on behind closed doors; and what it means...

Lawrence Leung is a Melbourne-based comedian, writer and actor who, as it turns out, has a very surprising past!     He was once a teenage goth who wore all white make-up and an origami crow on his shoulder to high school parties. There was also the time he jumped out of a plane and completed a Rubik’s cube before engaging his parachute.   Jamila Rizvi gets to know Lawrence&rs...

Stealthing is the act of removing a condom mid-sex, without the partner’s knowledge.  It’s become an issue of debate since the term was coined in the US back in 2017.   The Australian Capital Territory has become the first jurisdiction in the country to make stealthing a crime.  The ACT’s Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury joins us to talk through his motivation to...

Australian comedian Dan Ilic has started a  crowdfunding campaign to fund Times Square billboards to embarrass Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Commonwealth Government over their inaction on climate change.   The campaign has exploded!  As Dan explains, he started out wanting to raise $12,500 and has now raised more than $200,000!     Dan’s campaign reached...

Everyone’s talking about ‘net zero’.  What does it actually mean?  And …why is the Prime Minister Scott Morrison so reluctant to commit to a net zero policy?   The world’s attention will turn to Glasgow next month when the United Nations COP26 gathers to discuss plans to reduce emissions to protect the planet.  Professor  Will Steffen  i...

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was commander of the International Space Station.  He became famous when he published videos of experiments he conducted in space.   Chris has released his first novel....a murder mystery set in space, against the backdrop of the cold war.    He joins us to talk about his very first day in space, his journey of discovery as a writer and about o...

Today’s briefing investigates the world of psychics and asks the fundamental question - are they dangerous charlatans or do they actually provide some real value.       Writer Gary Nunn investigates his own testing relationship with psychics and reveals their secret and surprising influence over a range of powerful cliques, from business to l...

Dr Yves Rees (they/them) is an award-winning writer, podcaster and historian.      When Yves was 30-years-old, they came to the understanding that they’re trans. After being called Anne for their three decades on this earth, Yves had to not only grapple with their own knowledge that they were not a woman - but other people’s reactions as well.    Jamila Rizvi a...

Simone, a Briefing listener, reached out to ask us to do an episode on the plight of immunocompromised Australians.   Many have terminal illness, or are not able to mingle freely in the community because of their condition.  So what does their future hold?   We invited Simone to join the Briefing panel in talking to Dr Sarah Sasson, a Clinical Immunologist at the Kirby Institut...

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is determined to change Australia’s energy future.   He’s teamed up with mining magnate and billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, to lobby here and overseas for governments to adopt green hydrogen energy.  Mr Turnbull says it’s Australia’s future….and we can lead the way globally in reducing emissions and co...

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is determined to change Australia’s energy future.   He’s teamed up with mining magnate and billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, to lobby here and overseas for governments to adopt green hydrogen energy.  Mr Turnbull says it’s Australia’s future….and we can lead the way globally in reducing emissions and co...

Briefing listener, Laura, contacted us asking for an episode on the commercial space race….and in particular, when Australians should expect to be able to fly on rockets at an affordable price.   Professor  Alan Duffy  is an astronomer at Swinburne and Lead Scientist of the Royal Institution of Australia.  He says there are three main players – Richard Branson&rsqu...

Financial markets are jittery with at least four critical economic fault lines developing across the globe….Covid-19, the Evergrande crisis in China, the US fiscal cliff and concerns over rising inflation.    James Thompson writes the daily Chanticleer column at the Australian Financial Review.  We ask what’s driving the uncertainty…and if average Australians hav...

Harley Breen has graced some of Australia’s most important comedy stages, fronted some of the country’s flagship radio shows and appeared on our screens as a revered host.   He now embarks on a new gig as the co-host of Network Ten’s Making It Australia with Susie Youssef – a reality show that celebrates craftsmanship from pottery to crotchet and more.   Jamila Ri...

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and Facebook Messenger crashed Tuesday morning. All the Facebook-owned sites were down for six hours.   It’s been described as the company's worst outage since 2008 and Facebook lost $99.75 million in income during the downtime.  The following day a Facebook whistleblower fronted a US Senate inquiry calling on the US government to do more to re...

Brendan Cowell’s new novel is called “Plum”.  It delves deep into the life of a former NRL player who’s forced to answer questions about his masculinity, his past and his future.   After starring in Love My Way Brendan’s journey as an actor took him to London where he landed parts in Game of Thrones and Avatar 2.  He says the quintessential Australian m...