The Daily Aus

Yesterday, American rapper Macklemore revealed he'd been dropped from his slot opening for Ed Sheeran's world tour. It came less than a week after the performer made comments on stage in support of Palestine. The moment gained worldwide attention after pop star Pink weighed in on social media, with calls for Macklemore to be pulled from the lineup. Today we're getting into what actually happened,...

Todays headlines include: The youngest person jailed over the notorious Snowtown killings will be released after serving 26 years in prison.  Pauline Hanson has refused to apologise for widely condemned comments calling First Nations Australians “the most primitive race on Earth.” Rough seas are hindering rescue efforts in Indonesia, where authorities are searching for 129 people...

Does the artificial intelligence industry need to slow down? An Anthropic researcher says he’s quit his job over mounting fears his employer and its competitors are racing to build systems they won’t be able to control – systems he warns could “kill us all by the end of the decade”. Tech CEOs say they agree with him, so what does that mean for the future of AI, a...

Todays headlines include: A man has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries following a shark attack at a remote beach in Western Australia. A search in waters off the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu is continuing for more than 30 people who are missing after a passenger ferry sank.  Sweden's national election results show a dead heat, with a partial count pointing to a one-seat majori...

This week, UNSW announced it will be the first university in Australia to sign onto a deal with ChatGPT. The uni is promoting the partnership as an opportunity for students, teachers and researchers to use “AI tools on a secure platform”. On today’s podcast, TDA’s multimedia journalist Em is going to explain the context behind this announcement and what it means for any uni...

The conversation around medicinal cannabis has transformed significantly over the past decade. In Australia, cannabidiol, or ‘CBD’ is a prescription-only treatment, meaning it can only be legally accessed with authorisation from a medical practitioner. But as CBD has become more accessible to those who need it, the saturation of available products claiming to contain CBD, from skincare...

Todays headlines include: Listeners are advised this story contains distressing details. A NSW man has been sentenced to at least 20 years in prison for the murder of his ex-partner Molly Ticehurst, committed while he was out on bail on charges of stalking and raping her. Queensland’s credit rating has been downgraded from AA+ to AA by the ratings agency S&P. The Houthi rebel group has t...

Last month, after years of hearings and appeals, the man accused of planning the Sept 11 attacks got a trial date - June 2028. Two days later, the same judge said his confession can’t be used at that trial, ruling it was the product of torture. On today’s podcast, on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, we'll explain why the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has never made it to a ju...

Todays headlines include: U.S. President Donald Trump has promised Americans $5,000 each if his Republican Party wins the upcoming midterm elections. A fire has broken out on a passenger ferry in waters off the western Philippines, killing at least five people and leaving dozens missing. MPs across the political spectrum have called on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to take down a cartoon callin...

If you had the choice, would you go back to the way social media was 10 years ago? Just posts from your friends, family and creators you follow, in order of when they were uploaded?  Well if the Government gets its way, that very well could soon be an option. It’s a new proposal called the digital duty of care. Under it, online platforms will be required to protect kids from harmful con...

Todays headlines include: The White House has warned Australia against what it’s called "extortion" of the online sector, in response to the Government’s proposed digital duty of care reforms. An ISIS-linked Australian woman has been denied bail by a judge over concerns she maintains extremist views. Russia has resumed drone and missile attacks on Kyiv, killing five people and injuring...

It’s been two years since Aussie brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend, American Jack Carter Rhoad, were killed on a surfing trip in Mexico. This week, their parents sat metres from the men accused of these murders, with a trial finally underway in the city of Ensenada. It was a dramatic start to proceedings with witness intimidation claims and a judge swap, and in today’s...

Todays headlines include: Australian internet users will be given the choice to opt out of algorithms under reforms to social media. A Victoria police investigation into a former gynaecologist accused of performing unnecessary surgeries has been dropped.  Thousands of protesters have gathered across Germany to demonstrate against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. A 12-year-ol...

After many weeks, there’s finally a conclusion in the Lindsay Clancy trial. But the conclusion is that… there is no conclusion.  On Friday, local time, a mistrial was declared, after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. And with that, the whole thing was over. At least for now.  So, what happens next for Lindsay Clancy? And will she face another trial? We&rsquo...

Todays headlines include: An early spring heatwave has triggered several bushfires across Australia’s east coast.  A manhunt is continuing in Victoria’s Gippsland region after a man allegedly attacked his brother and parents with an axe. A deadly dengue fever outbreak is accelerating in Bangladesh, where ‌nearly 43,000 people have been hospitalised. And today’s good new...

Will vapes be legalised in Australia? Well, if it’s up to the Coalition, the answer is yes. Last week, the Liberal Party announced that if it wins the next election it will legalise, regulate and tax vapes and nicotine pouches. And that was just one part of a suite of policy proposals it announced to crack down on the cigarette and vape black market. So will it actually happen? We&rsquo...

There's a phrase that shapes cancer treatment more than most of us realise: “the average patient”. It's who a treatment plan is actually built for - not for the patient specifically, but a statistical composite drawn from clinical trials. And once a patient starts on the recommended drug, it is often eight to twelve weeks before a scan tells you whether it was ever going to work for yo...

Todays headlines include: Two more Australians have been found safe in the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster, but grave concerns remain for the 36 still missing. Bird flu has made its way to the shores of another major Australian city, with the first case of the deadly strain detected in Sydney. South Korea says it's looking at ways to help protect free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, inc...

Back in February, NSW police clashed with protesters at a Sydney rally that sparked national conversation. This week, new body-cam footage has surfaced, showing an officer bragging about beating a protestor. On today’s podcast we’re going to break down what's in this new video, where the police watchdog's investigation is up to, and why the legal case against the arrested protesters mi...

Todays headlines include: The family of Molly Ticehurst, whose ex-partner Daniel Billings stabbed her to death in April 2024, has made victim impact statements in court. Telstra has released the results of an independent investigation into its outage in early July, which left thousands of Australians unable to make calls or access data. A Queensland coroner has identified scurvy as a factor in the...

A Sydney teenager has pleaded guilty to plotting a mass-casualty bombing at one of Australia's most famous landmarks, the Sydney Opera House, with plans to attack on the day of the Sydney Marathon. Court proceedings have revealed just how far his online radicalisation went, right down to picking a date, a landmark and a reason. And because of the perpetrator's age and the nature of the crimes, thi...

Todays headlines include: An Australian soldier has been killed in Ukraine, Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel Phillip Thompson has confirmed.  Mass burials are underway in Kathmandu after last week’s catastrophic flooding tore through communities across the Himalayas. Hundreds of staff at Australia’s oldest university have walked off the job amid concerns over artificial intel...

Last week, catastrophic floods tore through Nepal and Tibet. The death toll has now passed 900, with thousands still missing, and dozens of Australians among them. On today’s podcast we’re going to go through what actually happened, the latest on the search for the missing people, and the question everyone's asking: was this just a freak event, or a sign of what the warming Himalayas h...

Todays headlines include: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sought to play down the fact that several leaders of Pacific nations and territories aren’t attending the annual Pacific Forum. Shares in fast-fashion online retail giant Shein lost around 10% after it began trading on Hong Kong's stock market, after a long delay in the company's plans to list its shares publicly. A jury in Las Ve...

Should smart glasses be banned? Debate about this wearable tech has intensified this week, with Attorney General Michelle Rowland unveiling reforms to privacy laws, aiming to keep pace with new technology. It comes as Australia’s online safety regulator calls on manufacturers to do more to protect the identities of people being filmed. In today’s deep dive, we’ll explore the priv...