The Briefing

Late last month, Richard Slayman became the first person in history to successfully undergo an organ transplantation of a genetically modified pig kidney. While human-to-animal transplant, or xenotransplantation, isn't new (heart valves from horses, cows and pigs having been used for over 30 years), cases of entire organ transplants are incredibly complex, while raising a host of other ethical and...

Reddit has gone public, making its debut on the New York stock exchange. Its value made it over $9b. Reddit is one of the world’s most popular websites, with 73 million unique active visitors a day—and can engage in over 100,000 forums. Going public could majorly change the platform though, with everything from ads through to how Reddit forums are moderated likely to be put under the microscope. I...

Though Beyoncé has claimed that Cowboy Carter is a 'Beyoncé album', rather than 'a country album', it's a release that definitely dips into the genre. And country music has a complex relationship with Black musicians - a few years back, Lil Nas X faced a heavy backlash from Old Town Road, which was scrapped from Billboard's country chart, triggering criticism that the reason was in part racially m...

Do you have thousands of emails in your inbox, or are you an Inbox Zero type of person? A new study is looking at personal email management, and has found only half of people are happy with how they deal with their inbox. In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt talks to Matt Balogh from the University of New England about what we should be doing with our emails.    Follow The Briefing:...

Emma Chow is one half of the 14-years strong radio duo Mike E & Emma- broadcasting live every weekday nationally for their breakfast show. Emma has achieved radio queen status with her radio husband but admits that there have TMI moments throughout her career. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Emma reminisces about having one of the most unique gender reveals on air- and then copping slack...

Tom Ballard is possibly the most political comedian in Australia, with his stand up tackling issues including asylum seekers, racism, the monarchy and capitalism. His new show, Good Point Well Made, is no different. He reflects on Australia's failed voice referendum and Donald Trump- alongside a healthy dose of toilet humour. In this chat with Tom Tilley, Ballard opens up about the process of writ...

Everyone’s hustling, everyone’s struggling with cost of living pressures, rents are rising, interest rates are rising. We’re exhausted, and it’s only March.  We’re constantly told to look after our mental health and to support those around us who need love and care – family and friends.  But how can we, when we’re at the point of burnout almost every day.  In this special episode of The Briefing b...

Once upon a time bilbies lived all over Australia; where there was desert, there was a bilby. After the introduction of cats and foxes, the bilby’s numbers plummeted, in the 80s they were only found in a couple of tiny patches in the wild. Now their numbers are up and growing, and partly that’s thanks to the idea of the easter bilby. Chocolate bilbies appeared in shops in the 90s as an environment...

Right now, Moshtix is in the process of refunding all of the tickets for the Splendour in the Grass festival, after the unexpected news that the event had been cancelled.  Though we've seen many festivals across the country postpone or cancel their events, we've also lately seen several big concerts, with a massive demand for tickets.   Often, it feels like no matter how quick you are to get onto...

Splendour in the Grass will not go ahead this year, and we are yet to learn the official reason. This isn’t the first time the event has been hit with difficulties. In 2022 the first day of Splendour was cancelled due to flooding, and last year saw the event far from selling out, with ticket sales down 30%.  In this episode of The Briefing, Bension Siebert spoke with Swinburne’s Event Management a...

About 1:30AM local time, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore collapsed after being struck by a container ship. The loaded ship reportedly suffered a power issue just prior to the incident, alerting a mayday just in time to stop traffic from crossing the bridge. Tragically, eight roadworkers were still working on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two were rescued, one bod...

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have now secured their respective parties’ presidential nomination for the November US presidential election. Biden will partner with Vice President Kamala Harris for the second election in succession. But who will be Donald Trump’s running mate? Most pundits are pointing to South Dakota governor Kristi Noam. So who is she? And why is Donald Trump keeping his cards so cl...

Noland Arbaugh was paralysed from the shoulders down after a diving accident eight years ago. But now, thanks to a brain computer interface chip, he's able to play video games like Mario Kart or virtual chess simply by concentrating his mind on the screen. The chip, which is the size of a coin, was surgically implanted back in January by Elon Musk's company, Neuralink. While the company have said...

Russia has suffered its deadliest terror attack in 20 years, after 133 people were killed and 100 were injured when gunmen opened fire at a theatre in Moscow. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, fresh from his election win has blamed Ukraine for the attack despite a terrorist group called ISIS-K claiming responsibility. In this episode of The Briefing Bension Siebert speaks to terrorism expert Gre...

The results from Tasmania's election, which took place over the weekend, are mostly in. While Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff called the election a year early in the hopes of forming a stable majority government, he hasn't been able to secure the outcome he was hoping for. It's expected that the Liberals will hold 13-15 seats, which is more than Labor... But short of the 18 required to form a majo...

Did you know Australia has been recruited by America to produce some of its weapons? The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have stretched US capabilities to make things like artillery shells and missiles, so it’s taking advantage of our munitions factories that have room to grow. On today’s episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Charles Edel from the Center for Strategic and International...

Dr Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert. With seven men across Australia dying by suicide every day- globally, an average of one man every minute- it’s his mission to create a dialogue with men, not about them, in the mental health space. In this chat with Tom Tilley, Zac opens up about how his father’s suicide shaped his career, explains why we...

Reuben Kaye is what happens when you tell your children they can be anything. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Reuben recalls the moment he discovered he was funny, opens up about finding humour in dark places- and explains why he stands by that controversial joke about Jesus he told on The Project last year. You can catch Reuben’s show Apocalipstik and his signature huge eyelashes at the Mel...

Why are politicians so desperate for the sport vote?   As Tasmania head into an election this weekend, one of the major talking points surrounds whether they really should be about to build a new AFL stadium. And this isn't the first time we've seen governments wrestle with the politics of stadia, with other states and territories similarly finding themselves similarly under fire over proposals an...

Tasmania goes to the polls this weekend, and one of the major issues people will be voting on is whether to log or not to log the state’s forests. The coalition, who have been in power for a decade say they will ramp up the logging of Tasmania's native forests, Labor has said they will extend logging contracts to 2040, while the Greens are the only party wanting to get rid of native logging altoge...

There's been a lot of attention on Boeing recently, after a spate of inflight incidents.  In January, a Boeing 737 Max on a flight from Portland to Ontario in California had its emergency door plug blow off mid-flight, while in February, pilots reported a Boeing 737 Max having jammed flight controls as the plane landed in New Jersey. And just last week, the LATAM 787 Boeing Dreamliner, flying from...

Today is Harmony Day when Australia celebrates its multiculturism and diversity, but did you know we’re the only country who does? It’s because Australia has a difficult relationship with what the day is actually for internationally, which is the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt delves into Australia’s murky past...

Last year, over half a million Australians saw their HECS debt grow faster than it was being repaid.  Teal Independent MP Dr Monique Ryan says it’s because Australia has an unfair HECS indexation system. In fact, the government got more money last year from HECS debts than it did from its main fossil fuel tax.  Dr Ryan has begun a petition calling on Education Minister Jason Clare to change the wa...

Last year, a report found that Australia offers the least amount of parental leave support to parents of multiples in the OECD. In fact, extra payments to families with multiples only account 7% of the differential costs. In this episode of The Briefing, Bension Siebert speaks with mother of triplets, Silje Andersen-Cooke who is also the director of the Australian Multiple Birth Association to fin...

Banksy is the artist behind the most famous, subversive and satirical street art on the planet. Yet despite their notoriety over the last two decades, Banksy has impressively managed to maintain their anonymity. But that could all change, due to a current court case between two art collectors and Banksy's authentication company, which could see the artist forced to reveal their identity. In this e...