The Briefing

David Shoebridge is the new leader of The Greens, defeating Sarah Hanson-Young and Mehreen Faruqi to become the person to lead the party to the next election.  

But after losing three seats in the 2025 vote and failing to make an impact against a surging One Nation, the party is facing an uphill battle to win over voters.  

In today's deep dive only episode, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Senator Shoebridge about his plans for The Greens and why he wants everyday Aussies to back his party. 

Remember today's headlines are now live too if you haven't already caught them!

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:A growing number of Australians now have solar panels, with one in three of us using them on our rooftops, but they don’t last forever. By 2035, the country is on track to throw out 50 million. 

To address the waste, the Federal Government announced a $24.7 million Solar Panel Recycling Scheme, which was paused due to a procurement complaint.  

In this episode of The Briefing Chris Spyrou is joined by James Petesic, the co-founder of a leading Solar Panel Recycling company PV Industries, who’s pushing for the government to get the pilot back on track. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Spring has well and truly sprung across the country, and for one in four Australians that means dealing with the symptoms of hay fever.  

The number of people affected is increasing nationwide, due to a number of factors including climate change.   

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Professor Janet Davies head of the Allergy Research Group at Queensland University of Technology to discuss why more people are being affected and the best way to deal with symptoms.   

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to Our Take! 

It's the time of week that we loosen our ties (except we famously don't wear ties), kick off our shoes (figuratively because WHS rules) and talk the week that was in news and pop culture.  

This week's debrief is on the question that's divided the internet this week: is it ok to rock up to a job interview with an iced coffee? Sach and producer Tessa weigh in. 

We open the Inbox to hear YOUR thoughts on some of the stories we covered this week, with condom use and interest rates really getting you listening and talking. 

Then it's time for the Weekend Quiz and we're on our best behaviour when office manager Tierney stops by to test her knowledge. Questions below, make sure you listen to get the answers!  

As always, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories we've covered, or ones you'd like us to cover! Hit us up on Instagram @thebriefingpodcast and don't forget you can comment on eps if you listen on Spotify.  

The Weekend Quiz:  

1. Who took out this year’s men’s Dally M medal? CLUE: He did it from his dad’s couch ...  

2. The Reserve Bank lifted the official cash rate this week to what? 

3. Who was named the new Greens leader? BONUS POINT: Who are they replacing and why?  

4. Something we all have to pay when we tap our card at shops was axed this week. What was it?

5. Everyone became obsessed with what flying insect this week? 
 

The Weekend List:  

To do: Make a submission to the Select Committee on Women's Health (Sacha's recommendation, link here) 

To watch: The Barbie movies on YouTube(Tessa's recommendation) 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines:

Deep Dive:Masses of bogong moths have swarmed the east coast this week, with videos of the migration going viral.  

The massive numbers are being celebrated by experts, after the insects were declared endangered back in 2021.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Zoos Victoria Senior Conservation Biologist Dr Marissa Parrott joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to talk about why there are so many this spring, and why they're so vital to Australia's ecosystems.  
 
Report a moth sighting at Zoos Victoria’s moth tracker here

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: 

One Nation has booted the ABC and The Guardian from press conferences across the country, sparking calls for better protections for journalists and media organisations.  

Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom wants to see a Media Freedom Bill introduced, forcing Parliament to protect it like any other human right.   

In this episode of The Briefing, executive director of the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom Peter Greste joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to talk about how Australian media can be better protected.

Further listening:

What falling house prices mean for you

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: The Reserve Bank has delivered another blow to struggling households by lifting the official cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6% in its ongoing bid to tame sticky inflation.   

With growing frustration over the central bank's strategy, critics are questioning whether mortgage holders should continue bearing the brunt and if government spending is playing a bigger role than politicians care to admit.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Economic Director at Compare the Market, David Koch, joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to explain the other tools that could be used and explain why households shouldn't be shouldering the burden of stubborn inflation. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: STI cases are climbing across the country, and condom use appears to be falling, despite government funding to fight sexually transmitted and blood-borne diseases.   

Cases of gonorrhea and syphilis are of the most concern, increasing by about 50 per cent in the last decade.   

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Dr Stephanie Williams, the Assistant Director General of the Communicable Disease Branch at the Australian Centre for Disease Control to discuss what is being done to curb the rise in STIs, and whether it's time for more drastic action.   

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Australians will no longer be hit with surcharge fees from this Thursday, October 1, after the Reserve Bank brought in reforms that will get rid of the extra charges for Visa, Mastercard, and EFTPOS payments.   

It means no more surprises at the checkout, but small businesses are warning it will force them to absorb more costs or jack up their prices.  

While some banks are pulling back on rewards programs typically funded by interchange fees, which are being lowered at the same time the surcharge is being axed.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by money saving expert Joel Gibson to explain the changes and how they will affect consumers, businesses and banks. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to Our Take!

It's the time of week that we loosen our ties (except we famously don't wear ties), kick off our shoes (figuratively because WHS rules) and talk the week that was in news and pop culture. 

This episode starts with The Debrief, and we take on the launch of Trump TV and the US President banning certain media outlets from White House press events. 

Then we crack open The Inbox to hear YOUR thoughts on the biggest stories of the week, with drug reform, Albo and Trump's selfie and the NRL dumping Tones and I dominating our comment sections and DMs. 

Then it's time for the Weekend Quiz and this weekend we have our very first listener joining us to test their knowledge – listener Nat, who also got some very impressive (not really) merch. Questions below, make sure you listen to get the answers! 

As always, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories we've covered, or ones you'd like us to cover! Hit us up on Instagram @thebriefingpodcast and don't forget you can comment on eps if you listen on Spotify. 

The Weekend Quiz:  

 Albo’s in the US this week, and while there he has launched a campaign for Australia to get a seat on WHAT?  In the AFL, who won this year’s Brownlow medal, on Monday night? Donald Trump wants to change the name of AI, what has he suggested it be called instead?  A new report this week found that half of Aussies in their 20s are still doing what?  We lost an Aussie rock icon this week. Who was it?

The Weekend List: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Kylie Minogue headlines the AFL grand final this weekend.   

A week later, the NRL will kick off its decider without a star act. The league says it would rather put the money into junior footy than pay a performer $90,000 a minute. Its broadcaster reportedly isn't happy, all the while plenty of fans are shrugging.  

So are these pre-game spectacles worth the millions, or just a tradition nobody has thought to question?  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Dr Hunter Fujak, senior lecturer in sport management at Deakin University. They unpack who these shows are really for, how they’ve changed over time and why the NRL’s move could completely change the game moving forward. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines:

Deep Dive: In the past week, four more women and children have been added to the national domestic violence death toll in Australia, which is currently sitting at 72. 

They were lost in suspected murders across NSW, including a shocking case involving three children in the Blue Mountains, with their mother now accused of murder and two counts of attempted murder. 

As these horrific cases continue to hit the news, it can feel like progress has stalled or completely halted. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by the NSW Women's Safety Commissioner, Dr Hannah Tonkin to discuss the ongoing fight to end domestic violence in our communities, and whether we're getting closer to that goal. 

Additional resources: 

1800 RESPECT: https://1800respect.org.au/ or call 1800 737 732 

Full Stop Australia: https://fullstop.org.au/  

eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/ 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: A patch of sea between Yemen and Saudi Arabia has become the Middle East's newest flashpoint. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have swept down Yemen's coast and now sit within reach of a shipping lane the whole world leans on.  

Saudi Arabia is bombing back.  

Missiles, drones, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to run.  

So how did a rebel group end up with its hand on a valve of the global economy, and how much worse could this get? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Jessica Genauer, Associate Professor in International Relations at UNSW, to explain who the Houthis really are, why the US is staying on the sidelines and what it all means for the price you pay at the bowser. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Migration has long been of the most fiercely debated issues in Australian politics. But it's reached a fever pitch in recent years following an explosion in migrants coming to Australia in the wake of the pandemic.  

What has followed has been a debate around what that number should be, driven by competing demands across the economy, housing, the labour market, and our shared values.   

As the major political parties roll out their platforms ahead of the next election, we're cutting through the noise to dive into what they're promising, what real-world impact these policies will have, and find out if anyone is actually getting the balance right.  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Australia is one of the world's biggest consumers of illicit drugs, and the numbers are still climbing. The country's top cop, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett, says the way forward is to talk about it louder - to convince Aussies that their weekend habit is bankrolling the gangs behind a wave of violence. But one of the nation's leading drug policy researchers doubts that will help.  

If decades of cracking down on supply hasn't dented demand, what actually works and why does so little funding go towards it?  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Professor Alison Ritter, director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW, to discuss. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oh, we are SO back - with our looser, lights off Our Take!

This weekend, Chris and Sach debrief the Sydney Sweeney drama, as the actress's latest ad - for a sports-prediction market she happens to have an equity stake in - kicks off online. 

Then we crack open the inbox for your takes on Macklemore being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour plus the Aussie HYROXer who shat herself in Beijing.  

Taking on the Weekend Quiz this week is Isobel from marketing, who (to our surprise) smashed it out of the park. 
 
Also, our insta got HACKED and Chris finally addresses how he’s been targeted by the manosphere. 

It’s a lot.  

Enjoy.  

The Weekend Quiz: 

The week got off to a rough start when an Australian athlete did what?  Pauline Hanson apologised for two things this week. What were they? AI company Anthropic signed a $32 billion deal to build its first data centre in Australia. Which state? Two STIs have climbed more than 50% in Australia over the past decade - name one. An icon returned to the stage in Paris this week. Who? 

The Weekend List:  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour is making headlines after rapper Macklemore was dropped as a support act for saying ‘Free Palestine’ on stage.  

It’s had a flow on effect, with all four of Ed’s other openers withdrawing in solidarity with the rapper.  

In this episode of the Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Catherine Strong, Associate Professor in the Music Industry program at RMIT to unpack the relationship between musicians and politics, and what that means for the rest of Ed Sheeran’s tour. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: A far-right party just came closer to running a German state than any has since the Nazi era. 

It's not a one-off. The same movement now sits in or beside government across Europe and it’s reaching Australia too, with a known neo-Nazi group fighting the government in the High Court for its right to exist. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by far-right researcher Kaz Ross to unpack how much ground the far-right is gaining worldwide, what's driving the surge, and what it all means for us here in Australia. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines:

Deep Dive: There have been renewed and urgent warnings this week from not only former staff, but also the big tech bosses themselves about the existential threat AI poses to humanity.  

We've been warned by the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and Grok that an urgent slowdown is needed in the advancement of this tech, with fears it could result in the extinction of the human race, possibly as soon as 2030.  

While most have taken them at their word, some experts are a little more skeptical, and others think it's downright fantasy. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Professor Emily M. Bender, the Director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory at the University of Washington to offer an alternative view to the narrative that AI is going to kill us all. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Rising sea levels are no longer a looming threat in the distant future, they're here right now and Australia is especially at risk.  

We know the physical impacts of this; accelerated coastal erosion, property damage and loss as well as the destruction of natural barriers like mangroves and wetlands. But there's also a dollar amount we can expect to fork out too.  

In an Australian first, the Climate Council has crunched the numbers, with a conservative estimate that we'll need to find an extra $855 billion by 2100 to cover the costs of rising sea levels.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Adjunct Professor Andrew Watkins from Monash University and the Climate Council joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to talk about the threat, who pays the bill and whether Australia is pulling its weight when it comes to climate change. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Clips from a new documentary about Silicon Valley start-up founder turned convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes have gone viral after a secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival.  

Directors of You Can See Everything Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim stayed with Holmes in the days leading up to the start of her 10-year prison stint in 2023.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by culture critic for Triple J's The Slop, Michael Sun, to talk about the extraordinary story of Holmes and why we're so obsessed with it. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spring brings with it some pretty wonderful things; blooming flowers, warmer weather and longer days. But it also means another thing that can strike fear into the heart of nearly every Australian – magpie swooping season.  

From August to October, the black and white birds are nesting, which means they’re feeling extra protective and have been known to fly at humans as they pass by their babies.  

In this episode of The Briefing, we're revisiting Sacha Barbour Gatt's chat with bird expert Sean Dooley to break down the facts and myths around these fabulous animals this swooping season. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, well, well… fancy seeing you here. 

Welcome back to The Briefing: Our Take, our weekend hang-out where we loosen our ties and kick off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was, and what you (and we) made of it. 

This week Chris and Sach get into HBO's new Harry Potter series dropping on Christmas Day. They react to the latest trailer, dig through your comments on it, and discuss whether they’re going to watch it. 

They're also joined in studio by 2DayFM's very own Emma Chow, who steps up to The Weekend Quiz but somehow manages to get them talking about Tipping Point and Sach’s days as a court reporter.
 
They also discuss Emma’s very exciting news she received this week! 

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):

The government this week proposed new laws that could give us the power to opt out of, or switch off, the algorithm on socials. What's it called? Pauline Hanson was on ABC News24 this week and got into a bit of argy-bargy with Chris Kenny. What were they arguing over?  We spoke to Greens Senator David Shoebridge on the pod this week. He was appointed the party's first-ever spokesperson for what? A Melbourne council this week announced it would be banning what from public pools and playgrounds? What subject did Chris and Sach admit on the podcast they cared the least about in school? 

The Weekend List: 

To watch: New Zealand Spy on ABC iview (thanks to listener Jay) 
To listen to: Harry Potter audiobook for free on Spotify 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twenty-five years ago, the September 11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and changed the course of history. The images of hijacked planes striking the World Trade Center, the collapse of the Twin Towers and the devastation left behind became defining images of this century. 

But the consequences of 9/11 reached far beyond the United States. The attacks triggered America’s longest war - a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan that began with the fall of the Taliban. This year also marks five years since the war came full circle: the Taliban returned to power as the US withdrew its troops. 

BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet witnessed that extraordinary arc. Drawing on almost four decades of reporting from Afghanistan, she takes LiSTNR Senior Journalist Claudianna Blanco from the aftermath of 9/11 and the hope that followed the Taliban’s fall, to the chaotic final days at Kabul Airport and the Afghanistan of today. 

This special episode of The Briefing looks back at the long shadow of 9/11, 25 years on. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Further listening from the headlines: 

Deep Dive: Australia's not really well known for skiing, but there is a dedicated ski fraternity who love getting to the slopes each winter. So, what happens if there’s no snow?  

That’s the question being put to the country’s resort operators after a dismal 2026 season plagued by warm, dry conditions and patchy snow cover.  

With most ski fields wrapping up their seasons over the weekend and just a couple still clinging on, we’re being warned winters like this will become more likely, not less.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou chats with the CEO of Snow Resorts Australia, Josh Elliott about the future of snow tourism in Australia. We also hear from Dr Lily O’Neil from Protect our Winters to talk about what climate change’s role is in all of this   

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Further listening from headlines:
How Australia funds Israeli settlements

Deep Dive: Does Australia need a Minister for AI?  

That's the call from Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who this week was appointed the party's first-ever spokesperson for Digital Rights and AI.  

It comes as the government insists it's doing whatever it can to put big tech on a leash and keep people first - while at the same time selling Australia as the perfect home for the very infrastructure driving AI's expansion: data centres.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Senator Shoebridge to discuss his new portfolio, whether Australia can pull itself back from being AI's wild west, and what it'll actually take to put people ahead of profit. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:For years, a secret formula has dictated everything we see on social media, hooking our attention spans at the expense of our mental health. 

Now, the federal government is unveiling a plan to let users opt out of the algorithm entirely and return to a chronological stream of accounts they actually follow. But with increasing pressure to protect young men from the insidious manosphere, how much will an opt-out actually change? 

In this episode of The Briefing, reporter Amber Schultz joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to detail her experiment posing as a 17-year-old boy online, where it took just 13 minutes to land on manosphere content, and what these proposed changes will mean for our feeds. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: In Sydney, a staggering six cases of mistaken identity in the city’s bloody gangland war has left innocent people dead, exposing a horrifying shift toward young, inexperienced gunmen carrying out underworld hits. 

The body count stems from a bitter turf war which ramped up six years ago with the murder of Fares Abounader, which ignited a battle between rival crime families for Sydney’s billion-dollar illicit trades. 

In this episode of The Briefing, we trace with criminologist Dr Vincent Hurley how this bloody conflict has spiralled into 24 deaths, why the criminal underworld changed, and how cheap, reckless hitmen are firing at the wrong targets. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One in 3 Australians will need blood in their lifetime, but 1 in 30 donate across the country.  

Lifeblood says recent appeals have prevented supplies falling to critical levels but have not been enough to replenish low supplies of O-positive and O-negative blood types, which are the types used in emergencies. A-positive blood stocks have also dropped in recent weeks. 

In this episode of The Briefing, we talk about why our listeners should consider donating blood and we learn the extraordinary story of Krishan Lal who is the perfect example of how donating blood can change not just the recipient’s life, but the lives of those around them.  

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite suffering through a week of technical failures, we're back for this weekend's instalment of Our Take - our looser, goosier look back at the week that was, and what you and we made of it all. 
 
We kick off by debriefing the Raygun doco on Netflix. Chris has watched it, Sach hasn't - and no spoilers, but prepare for your jaw to hit the floor. 
 
Then we dig through the Inbox, which was surprisingly dominated by your reactions to the KPMG scandal, and less surprisingly, your take on Pauline Hanson's claim that the PM was inciting political violence against her. 
 
We're also joined in studio by Angie from the tech team, who takes on the Weekend Quiz. To our shock, she walks away not holding the record for the lowest score! 

As always, we want to hear from you! Reach out to us on Instagram @thebriefingpodcast and feel free to leave a comment if you’re listening on Spotify.  

The Weekend Quiz:  

One Nation notched a major win this week. What was it?  Anthony Albanese committed $600 million at the Pacific Islands Forum to help fight what? The Coalition has promised to legalise what if it's elected in 2028? Lionel Messi made a huge announcement this week, what was it?  It was revealed Apple's new CEO will earn a whopping $81 AUD million a year. Who is he replacing? 

The Weekend List:  

To Watch: Gabriel Redback on TikTok 

Episodes mentioned:  

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Further listening from the headlines: 

Deep Dive: Dave Hughes has gone from making Australia laugh to telling Australia how to vote.  

Since the May Budget, the comedian-turned-self-described "political agitator" has waged an increasingly loud campaign against the government, despite admitting he's only recently started paying more attention to politics.  

So is Hughesy a genuine voice for the fed-up - or just the loudest bloke in a system that rewards shouting? And is this what real political engagement looks like now - or just anger dressed up as insight?  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by broadcaster and three-time independent candidate Alex Dyson, who took Hughesy on in a "spicy chat," to dig into this new era of political anger and whether we will ever see a system that prioritises people over power.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Just over a week ago, a glacier collapsed high in the Himalayas and sent a wall of water, mud and rock tearing down the Nepal–Tibet border, killing more than a thousand people and leaving thousands more missing. 

Australians have seen the footage: the torrent flattening the border crossing as people ran for their lives. But cross to the Chinese side, and that same video has been scrubbed from the internet. 

Why? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by ABC China Correspondent Allyson Horn to unpack what China is keeping from public view, and why, in one of the country's most tightly controlled regions, even a flood becomes something to censor. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Nearly a decade after #MeToo exposed systemic sexual misconduct and sparked global reform, a powerful legal backlash is threatening survivors who dare to speak out.  

Behind closed doors, the legal system is increasingly being used to muzzle victims, leaving the true extent of this intimidation hidden from the public.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by international human rights lawyer and advocate Jennifer Robinson to discuss her new documentary, Silenced, and how defamation laws are being weaponised against victims.  

Find out where to watch Silenced: https://www.silenced-film.com/where-to-watch   

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Further listening from headlines: Higgins responds to Lehrmann appeal + The fight to ditch the algorithm

Deep Dive:Macquarie Bank has recently walked away from a muti-million-dollar deal with KPMG, over concerns over its auditing practices.  

It's the latest blow to one of the "big four" consulting firms - now accused of taking confidential information from the very clients it was hired to audit, and using it to chase more lucrative work elsewhere. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by ABC business reporter Daniel Ziffer to explain what happened, the Australian companies caught up in it and why a story about auditors affects everyone. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: A group of scientists are warning the world is walking headfirst into a male fertility crisis, with crashing testosterone and sperm count levels witnessed in two major studies.  

While their research has been widely quoted, some in the scientific community feel warnings of a so-called ‘Spermageddon’ are overstated.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Dr Giselle Crawford from IVF Australia joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to discuss the research, whether male infertility is on the rise, and what can be done about it. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you be happy having your face not just surveilled, but scanned every time you walked into the supermarket?  

It's no longer a hypothetical.  

Coles and Woolworths have both now admitted to trialling facial recognition technology, while Bunnings has won the right to scan customers' faces in limited circumstances - a shift privacy experts warn could creep from spotting known troublemakers to tracking every shopper who walks through the door. 

So what do we know about facial recognition technology and just how invasive can it really be? 

To make sense of it, we're rewinding a few years to one of the most alarming case studies involving facial recognition tech company – CLEARVIEW AI.  

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, we're revisiting an episode of Secrets We Keep: Uncovered by investigative journalist Joey Watson. 

When it became known that the shadowy facial recognition company had created a massive database, capable of identifying almost anyone, anywhere, reporters around the globe picked up the trail - working to uncover how this start-up could reshape privacy and policing internationally. 

Here in Australia, tech reporter Cam Wilson spent years digging through the Australian Federal Police's own files - and what he found in them was deeply disturbing. 

Read Cam Wilson's investigations here: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to The Briefing: Our Take, the time each week that we kick off our shoes, loosen our (non-existent) ties and chat the week that was. 

This weekend we debrief the latest in the Jackie O vs ARN court battle, with court documents revealing the former KIIS host claims she is suffering from PTSD after working with Kyle Sandilands. 

Then we crack open our inbox, getting across your thoughts, feelings, concerns and praise from the week’s stories, featuring superannuation and whether Chris and Sach are too childish to host a news show. 

We also have 2DayFM’s Yaz Haddad in studio for the Weekend Quiz before finishing off with your recommendations, including a rather cheeky one for Coles shoppers. 

As always, we want to hear from you! Reach out to us on Instagram @thebriefingpodcast and feel free to leave a comment if you’re listening on Spotify. 

The Weekend Quiz:

Which social media company settled a major lawsuit this week for $23 billion?  There was a sad development in bird flu in Australia this week. What was it? What did the Swans AFLW team celebrate this week?  Harry and Meghan arrived back in the UK this week. What are they doing there?  Finish off this legendary Dolly Parton quote: “It takes a lot of money to look ...” 

The Weekend List:

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:

Deep Dive: That cheap smart TV in your lounge room might be paying for itself by spying on you.  

In this episode of The Briefing, we unpack ACR - Automated Content Recognition - the little-known tech that quietly logs everything on your screen and feeds it to advertisers.  

Swinburne digital media professor Ramon Lobato explains how your viewing habits are being used, how it got switched on without you noticing and the settings that let you shut it down. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, the country hasn't held an election due to martial law, which bans a vote while the war is on. 

Volodymyr Zelensky's term expired back in 2024, and now, for the first time, a senior figure inside his own camp is demanding a vote, with former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov breaking ranks to call for a wartime election. 

So is this a genuine democratic reckoning, or an opening for Russia to destabilise Ukraine from within? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Politico journalist Ryan Heath to unpack the turmoil and corruption in Kyiv, whether Ukrainians support the idea of a wartime election and what it could mean for the country and its fight against Russia. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: One of the biggest songs on Australian radio last month was a cover of Madonna's Like a Prayer. It’s racked up tens of millions of streams and even cracked into the top five on the ARIA charts. But what a lot of listeners didn't know was that the vocals and drums were made with artificial intelligence. 
 
From Friday, ARIA's new code shuts songs like it out of the charts, and the industry's peak body is now urging radio and music promoters to fall in behind. 

But if listeners can't tell the difference - and the streams keep climbing regardless - will a ban on the chart actually change anything? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by the boss of ARIA, Annabelle Herd to discuss the move, whether it goes fare enough and what the AI wave means for the young Australian artists trying to break through. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Pauline Hanson says Australia's superannuation system is broken. Senior Liberal Andrew Bragg has branded compulsory super a "loss of liberty." Suddenly, the four trillion dollars of retirement savings sitting in Australians' names is the subject of a political brawl - with the Treasurer vowing to defend the system all the way to the next election. 

So is super actually failing us - or quietly doing more than its critics admit? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Mary Delahunty, CEO of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia to unpack where your 12% really comes from and why it's locked away for decades. Mary also makes the case against raiding super for a house deposit - and reveals the lessons COVID taught us about who gets hurt when the rules loosen. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:The federal government is attempting to roll out its largest gun buyback in a generation in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.  
 
New South Wales is the first state to sign on - paying licensed owners from November to surrender their firearms, pulling a huge slice of the state's registered guns from circulation. But other states are dragging their feet, shooters say they're being unfairly singled out, and critics argue the very people we should fear won't hand anything over.  
 
So will it actually work - or is it a costly show of action?  
 
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by public health expert and senior advocacy advisor at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Stephen Bendle to unpack what this landmark scheme can really achieve, and where its loudest criticisms land. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Israeli military drew international criticism this week after finding it had no criminal case to answer to in the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza in 2024, including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom. 

April 2026 marked two years since the drone strikes which killed the staff from World Central Kitchen, and at the time, The Briefing sat down with Zomi’s brother Mal to discuss her family’s fight for justice. 

In this episode we’re revisiting Sacha Barbour Gatt’s chat with Mal Frankcom. 

Follow The Briefing: 

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heyo, welcome back to The Briefing: Our Take, our weekend hang-out where we loosen our ties and kick off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was, and what you (and we) made of it. 

This weekend Chris and Sach sit down for a heavier debrief than usual: the Lindsay Clancy trial, the case of the Massachusetts mother whose insanity defence has turned an unthinkable tragedy into a wider reckoning about postpartum psychosis.  
 
From there the mood lifts as they crack open the inbox – to get your reactions on arming guards in hospitals, Logies tea, and one listener’s oddly specific request for Dan's voice that we may or may not be honouring in the near future.  
 
Then, LiSTNR sport and Triple M producer, Curtis Figon joins us for The Weekend Quiz to see if he can answer:  

The government was accused of making a dog's breakfast of some big reforms this week. What were those reforms?  Who won the Gold Logie on Sunday? AI deepfakes of one person have scammed Australians out of $7.4 million in the past year. Who is that person? Jacqui Lambie made an emotional plea to the Prime Minister in the Senate this week - what was she asking for? Ten YouTubers were added to the National Sound Archive this week. Name one of them. 

Then we cap it all of with The Weekend List: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:A murder trial in the US is making global headlines and has sparked a passionate conversation about the mental health of mums. 

Lindsay Clancy is accused of murdering her three children, and while she’s admitted to the killings, her lawyers say she can’t be held responsible because she was suffering at the time from postpartum psychosis. 

In this episode of The Briefing, we speak with psychologist, author and someone who has experienced the condition, Ariarne Beeston from COPE, to unpack the case and how a lack of support for mothers can lead to the most tragic consequences. 

This episode discusses crimes against children as well as serious mental health conditions including suicide. 

PANDA’s National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline: 1300 726 306 

Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE): https://www.cope.org.au/ 

Follow The Briefing: 

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Today, the Senate is expected to pass the government's long-awaited gambling reform package, with tougher rules on advertising and inducements. 

Labor is calling the legislation the toughest gambling reforms the country's ever seen, but critics say they don't even scratch the surface of harm that is caused by betting platforms. 

In today's episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by independent senator David Pocock to discuss where the legislation falls short and why he thinks the Australian public has been betrayed by the government. 

Follow The Briefing: 

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Several Sydney Swans players are at the centre of a police investigation in Melbourne, over an alleged sexual assault at the team's hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.  
 
The club has confirmed its players were involved, notified the AFL, and says it's cooperating fully. No charges have been laid.   

But alongside the allegations sits a second question - how a story like this gets reported, and why the focus turns so quickly to a finals campaign 'in jeopardy.' 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by journalist and sports creator Lavender Baj to unpack it all - what she made of the Swans' statement, and how a trial by social media can wreck the chance of a fair one in court. 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is on her way out, marking the fifth high-profile woman gone from Donald Trump's second administration, though how they went varies.  
 
Her announcement landed days after news broke that Trump had been secretly moved off Air Force One leaving a NATO summit, fuelling an online theory that Leavitt walked after being stranded on a decoy plane.  
 
She wasn't even on the plane, or the trip - she was on maternity leave.  
 
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by David Smith, Associate Professor at the United States Studies Centre at USYD to unpack why the theory took off - what it says about how Trump really runs the place, and whether any of this churn at the top actually reaches the voters who'll decide the midterms.

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Further reading from the headlines: Andrew Thorpe's Ebola piece in the ABC

Deep Dive: The Victorian Opposition has announced a two-year trial of 70 PSOs across seven major hospitals, including emergency departments, high-risk areas and staff car parks. The proposal comes amid almost 24,000 violent incidents in Victorian hospitals in 2024–25, including 680 “code black” incidents. It’s a similar story across the country. 

In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Maddy Harradence, Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. Rather than asking “Are guns in hospitals a good idea?” We focus on what actually makes nurses and midwives safer, whether PSOs address the problem, and what should happen instead. 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia’s courts have long allowed judges to consider “good character” references during sentencing, even in child sexual abuse cases. 

For many survivors, hearing offenders described in court as “good people” or “champions of young people” can be deeply retraumatising and after years of campaigning, the laws are being changed right around the country.  
 
NSW changed its laws earlier this year, and this week Victoria announced it intends to do the same.  

In this episode of The Briefing, we're revisiting Chris Spyrou's powerful conversation with survivor advocate and Your Reference Ain't Relevant co-founder Harrison James - on why these laws had to change, and why he won't stop until the reform goes national. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're back with The Briefing: Our Take, our weekend hang-out where we loosen our ties and kick off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was, and what you (and we) made of it.

This weekend Chris is joined by Dan Mullins - LiSTNR's Acting Head of Factual, and a voice you'll already know from The Briefing - to debrief the story we couldn't stop talking about: Bension Siebert turning to sex work to fund his investigative journalism.  
 
From there Chris and Dan crack open the inbox and read your comments on Bension's story, the fuss over the PM and those Japanese melons, and whether anyone outside a newsroom actually cares about the Census.

We’re also joined by Karli from marketing who takes on this weekend’s quiz and then we of course cap it all off with The Weekend List!

The Weekend Quiz:

One of Donald Trump's key allies resigned this week. Who was it? Did the RBA increase, decrease or leave unchanged the official interest rate this week? What occurred across Australia on Tuesday night? Two planes almost collided at an airport this week. Where was it? What were school students protesting when they walked out of school?

The Weekend List:

To Watch: Ted Lasso Season 3 (Listener Georgie)  
To Watch: Dark Matter with Joel Edgerton (Listener Jane)  
To Read: Realms of Gold by A.J. Mackinnon

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod  
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: It's been 30 years since rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead in the streets of Las Vegas, his death sparking three decades of conspiracies, mysteries and an enduring question: who killed him? 

Amid disappearing witnesses and a street code that made talking to police punishable by death, the case went cold. 

But in 2023 former gang boss Duane 'Keffe D' Davis was charged with Tupac's murder ... only he's not believed to have been the one to pull the trigger. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by hip hop historian Michael Namikas to discuss the upcoming trial of Keffe D, but also Tupac's life, career and legacy. 
 
Michael’s book: The Tupac Encyclopedia - Volume 1  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:When Bension Siebert's role was made redundant, the award-winning journalist found himself staring down a shrinking media industry that no longer seemed willing to invest in the investigations he'd spent his career chasing. 

A week later, he was walking out of a stranger's apartment with $600 in his pocket, having just taken his first paid in-person sex work booking. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou and Sacha Barbour Gatt welcome their former colleague and co-host back to the mic to unpack an unlikely career move - and the essay about it that's turned his life upside down in a matter of days. 
 
Bension explains how five hours of sex work can out-earn a week of journalism, why he sees it less as a last resort than a kind of liberation, and how a media landscape squeezed by redundancies and legal risk pushed him toward telling the stories he says newsrooms won't. 
 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines:

Deep Dive: Harry Potter fans this week had a major win. They managed to have critical infrastructure worth almost a billion dollars moved to protect a memorial for Dobby the house elf. 
 
That critical infrastructure was a single undersea cable.  
 
These cables rest in the ocean and are responsible for 95% of all internet and data traffic. Cat videos, financial transactions, email – all of it would disappear if these thin cables were cut.  

In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Dean Veverka, the Chair of the International Cable Protection Committee, to learn who built this critical infrastructure, and who’s protecting the world’s undersea cables from threats and sabotage. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:How do you escape from a cult? That was one of the questions a Victorian parliamentary inquiry has been trying to answer, ever since a LiSTNR podcast exposed an abusive cult in Geelong and sparked a firestorm of advocacy from cult survivors. 

Last month, that inquiry handed down its report, “Coercion and harm in high control groups”. There are 39 recommendations in the report, with a focus on protecting children and better support for those exiting a coercive group. 

One of the advocates behind that inquiry was Laura McConnell, a survivor of the Two By Twos fundamentalist cult who speaks to Sacha Barbour Gatt in this episode of The Briefing. 

You can listen to Pray Harder – Episode 1 – Noel's War here.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Tomorrow is census night, and this year the form looks a little different.  
 
For the first time, Australians are being asked directly about their sexual orientation and gender - and for the first time, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says artificial intelligence is helping process the millions of responses that pour in. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou goes behind the questionnaire with someone who's helped shape it for the best part of thirty years. How does the ABS land on which categories make the cut? Where do your name and address actually end up? Can the online system survive the night after its infamous 2016 collapse? And in an era of shaky faith in government, does the ABS really expect all of us to tell the truth? 

Chris is joined by Jenny Telford, General Manager of the Census and Population Division at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh data shows nearly 1,500 homes purchased under the federal government's 5% deposit scheme have been flipped into investment properties.

It’s a bit of a plot twist for an initiative built on a very specific promise: helping everyday Aussies get onto the property ladder as owner-occupiers with just a fraction of the usual deposit and zero lenders mortgage insurance. 

In this episode of The Briefing we revisit Helen Smith's chat with David Koch from last year about the scheme to get you across how it all works and what you need to know about it.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're back with The Briefing: Our Take, our weekend hang-out where we loosen our ties and kick off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was, and what you (and we) made of it.  

This weekend Chris is joined by Justine Landis-Hanley and they unpack how Miles Phillips and his Eastern Rosellas went from a backyard novelty to the ARIA record books. Chris answers your questions about the Kyle Sandilands interview, before they dig into your thoughts on Kmart's knock-off Meta glasses (+ the bird flu conspiracy theory we didn't know existed). 

We’re also joined in studio by LiSTNR entertainment executive producer Elise Cooper for The Weekend Quiz, who brings more live vocals to the show than actual recording artists. Plus we cap it all off with the Weekend List.  

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):  

Which airline announced it will start charging passengers to put carry-on luggage in the overhead lockers?  Which former NRL player and viral book-tokker alleged this week that gambling company promoters would supply him with drugs and alcohol to keep him betting?  Who said this and who was he talking about? 
"What single answer does she have to any of the list of problems and challenges which I went through before? Zip is the answer to that.” What crashed into the moon this week?  Name one song Delta Goodrem performed in the Comm Games closing ceremony.  

The Weekend List:  

Follow The Briefing:  
TikTok: @thebriefingpod 
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:

Deep Dive:Discussion around Ariana Grande’s weight reached a fever pitch this week. 

Photos from her tour, press appearances, and her new music video for Petal, show her shrinking frame, prompting fans to worry over what is going on behind the scenes. 

The public discourse hasn’t gone unnoticed. Also this week, Ariana announced that she will be taking a break from public life at the end of her album tour in September. Her representative told People Magazine that this decision came after “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.  

Do we have a responsibility to raise concerns over Ariana’s weight loss? Editor of Mediaweek Natasha Lee says yes. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natasha sits down with Justine Landis-Hanley to discuss her article in Mediaweek, in which she shares her experience dealing with an eating disorder while working on Australian television, and argues that we’ve been scared into silence. 

Link to the article: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/silence-isnt-always-kindness-ariana-grande-debate 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Every year in Australia, dozens of women and children are killed in violent circumstances - and in 2026 the toll is already climbing fast.   
 
Behind those numbers is a support system that campaigners say is buckling: refuges at capacity, transitional housing waitlists stretching years, and women turned away from help at the very moment they need it most. 

Sherele Moody is one of the country's foremost researchers on femicide and child deaths, and the founder of the Red Heart Movement where she records the names and stories of women killed across the country, and pushes for a system that takes their safety seriously. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sherele Moody sits down with Chris Spyrou to unpack why billions in spending isn't stopping the deaths, why she's calling for a Royal Commission into femicide, and what a properly funded response to violence against women would actually look like. 

Help is available:
1800 Respect national helpline: 1800 737 732

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Five months into the United States' war on Iran, Donald Trump keeps insisting that a deal, or a decisive victory, is within reach. So why does neither ever arrive? 

Trita Parsi's answer is blunt: the President is chasing a knockout blow that doesn't exist.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Parsi, who is an expert on US-Iranian relations and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft - about who can really outlast whom and whether Trump has walked into a new forever war. 

Trita’s last chat with Chris from March: Why the Iran war can’t end ‘soon’ 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: For years, Australia watched from a distance as bird flu tore through wildlife on every other continent - before it finally reached our shores in June. 

What began with a few lone migratory birds is now spreading through our native populations, and while conservationists welcome the more than $113 million already invested to get us prepared - they say now that it's here, more needs to be put on the table. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Jack Gough, CEO of the Invasive Species Council, who's urging the Albanese Government to commit at least $200 million to help our wildlife survive what's coming. He explains what that money would go towards, what species are most at risk, and how the strain can move from low risk in humans to a higher one. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five months after the Kyle and Jackie O Show was pulled off air, Kyle Sandilands will be back behind the microphone with a paid subscription show that launches next week. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou sits down with the veteran broadcaster for a wide-ranging chat about what really brought down the most expensive act in Australian radio.  
 
Sandilands responds to the workplace bullying allegations at the heart of his former co-host's lawsuit against their old employer, explains why he chose to settle his own multi-million-dollar case rather than fight on, and reflects on the mistakes that have marked his 25 years on air - the moments, he says, that taught him where the line sits. 
 
Then it's over to you: we put your questions to him, and he talks up a possible reunion with Jackie, floats getting Karl Stefanovic on the payroll, and names the controversial figure he's booked for the show's first week. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines:

Chris' chat with Kyle Sandilands is out now.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victoria has a new premier this week - and within hours of being sworn in, Ben Carroll did the one thing his predecessor spent months refusing to do: call a royal commission into the CFMEU. 

Jacinta Allan's resignation was driven in large part by a corruption scandal engulfing the state's Big Build, where a landmark report earlier this year alleged the construction union had siphoned $15 billion from taxpayers while the government turned a blind eye.  

Reporters at The Age have been documenting the organised crime, intimidation and misconduct across the union's Victorian operations since 2024.  

In this episode of The Briefing, we revisit Chris Spyrou's conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Nick McKenzie from The Age, recorded back in February when that explosive report first landed. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to our new weekend format, The Briefing: Our Take. 

Every Saturday we're loosening our ties and kicking off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was; stories we loved or debated, what you, the listener, thought of a topic or conversation, the Weekend Quiz and capping it off with a Weekend Briefing favourite: The List. 

In this episode we talk about the feedback we got ahead of Chris' sit-down with Kyle Sandilands, comments on Hannah Ferguson’s run against the PM and Jacinta Allan’s resignation.  
 
We also stop by the red carpet of the new Spider-Man movie and quiz friend of the show Justin Hill on everything that happened in the news this week – make sure you play along! 

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):   

What’s this sound? (listen to hear it!) Europe is threatening to boycott what ... and for a bonus point, why?  Victorian premier Jacinta Allan resigned this week. Who was named her successor? It was revealed this week that it cost $45,000 for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to manage which loveable marine chaos agent?  Who announced this week they’d be running as an independent against Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the next federal election?  

The Weekend List:  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: A new push is starting for access to Voluntary Assisted Dying to be expanded to telehealth services, in a move that advocates say would directly benefit people living in the regions or who are too sick to travel. 

Labor this week endorsed a change in law that'd lift a ban on the practice, but the Prime Minister doesn't agree, saying allowing it would threaten the strict safeguards in place to ensure VAD is only accessed by people who genuinely want and need it. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Go Gentle spokesperson Andrew Denton to discuss why there's a debate on this issue and what's next in the fight to allow VAD via telehealth. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Australia's no stranger to famous faces trading their day jobs for politics. Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, broadcaster Derryn Hinch, Olympians Nova Peris and Zali Steggall, as well as former journalists Zoe Daniel and Maxine McKew. 

But only one of them has unseated a sitting Prime Minister. 

Hannah Ferguson is looking to become the second. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Ferguson to unpack her independent tilt at Anthony Albanese in his seat of Grayndler - why she won't be joining forces with the Greens or Teals, and some of the policy platforms and values at the heart of her campaign. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Jacinta Allan has stepped down from the Victorian Labor leadership after less than three years in the role. 

With an election just four months away, how does her decision affect the party's chances of winning? And can Labor get back on top in Victoria? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Channel 7's Political Editor, Mark Riley joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to explain. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it really take to run Australia’s most iconic airline, and oversee one of the biggest public backlashes in corporate history? 

Alan Joyce has written a tell-all memoir, pulling back the curtain on his high-stakes leadership, political access, Chairman's Lounge secrets, and the personal cost of being one of Australia's first openly gay CEOs.

In this episode of The Briefing, the former Qantas boss sits down for an unvarnished chat about his fifteen years at the helm, his new book Riding the Jet Stream, and whether he regrets any of the calls that have defined his legacy. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:For over a century, Qantas built a reputation as Australia’s most trusted airline ... until COVID forced a desperate survival strategy that triggered the biggest reputational crisis in its history. 

Former CEO Alan Joyce was the man at the helm during those three years, overseeing brutal layoffs, emergency repatriations and a response that saved the company from impending bankruptcy. 

But that also came with severe public backlash that defined his final years at the helm. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt sits down with Joyce to discuss his new memoir Riding the Jet Stream and his own reflections on what it took to save the Flying Kangaroo, and whether he regrets any of it. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:There’s a good chance your phone and millions of others will freak out this afternoon. 

If things go to plan, all compatible mobile devices in Australia will sound a loud siren at 2pm AEST and display a "CRITICAL AUSALERT", as the federal government tests a new nationwide emergency warning system. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by QUT Associate Professor Paula Dootson to unpack how the system works and who it might leave behind. They also discuss the unsolved risk for domestic violence victim-survivors who keep a hidden phone, and what some of the backlash says about our trust in government. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OpenAI admitted this week that two of its most powerful models broke out of a sealed test environment and hacked another company - on their own initiative, to steal the answers to an exam they were sitting. 
 
The AI lab says it’s unprecedented but it lands about a month after the Five Eyes spy alliance - the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia - warned that advanced AI is accelerating the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber threats, and that the shift would take months, not years. Australia's own signals directorate put its name to that warning.

So how worried should we be? And what can any of us actually do about it?  
 
In this bonus episode of The Briefing, we revisit Chris Spyrou’s conversation with cybersecurity expert Alastair MacGibbon, the founding head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, recorded in the days after the Five Eyes warning was issued.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Usually this is where you'd find The Weekend Briefing - a feature chat with a human behind the headline. This Saturday, we're launching something a little different: the week that was, and what we all made of it. 

And by "we" we don't just mean us. You're in on this one too. 

Each Saturday kicks off with a debrief on one story we couldn't stop talking about off air - this week it's the Divine Playhouse, the queer-led arts venue shut down inside a Sydney building that stopped being a church in 1932.  
 
Then it's our first ever weekend quiz, which Chris has not shut up about for a fortnight (full questions below). 
 
Then we open the inbox - your DMs, your comments, and where you landed on the big one this week: should men be working in early childcare? 
 
And of course we cap it off with the weekend list: 

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):  

Which controversial influencer faced court this week after being arrested in Miami?  After being in Europe and spotted at a luxury resort in Italy with Gina Rinehart, Pauline Hanson was back on home soil. Which state did she head to first? What is the name of the UK's new Prime Minister? An Australian woman made global headlines this week for an extremely rare "one in 15 million" event. What was it? Which member of parliament yelled “sit down” while on live television this week? 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:

Deep Dive: Why do Australia’s telcos fail so catastrophically? This month, Telstra’s network suffered a nationwide outage that shut down trains and blocked Triple Zero calls, following major outages for Optus customers in 2023 and 2025. 

Do other countries have similar telco failures, or are Australia’s uniquely bad? What has to change to make sure Aussies are always connected to the phone network? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Carol Bennett, the CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network. 

Further listening from headlines:

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines:

Deep Dive: Last week, Hamish Tait became the third man to be accused of carrying out widespread sexual abuse against children in Australian childcare centres in just two years.  

It's the latest in a string of cases that have shocked the country and prompted a fierce debate around whether men should be banned from working with babies and toddlers.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by early childhood expert Dr. Martyn Mills-Bayne to explore whether a blanket ban would truly keep children safe, or if it misses the real core of the crisis. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines:

Deep Dive:Victoria's Premier has spent the past few days taking on some of the biggest companies on the planet. 

Jacinta Allan wants to force tech giants to reveal who's behind anonymous accounts spreading hate. She wants to clear the way for families to drag those same companies into court. And she wants to stop employers using artificial intelligence to monitor staff - right down to how often they visit the toilet. 

But none of it’s been written yet, parliament is almost out of time, and some experts say the tools to fix this already exist. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou puts those questions to Jacinta Allan and asks whether one state government can actually take on Silicon Valley. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Now in its fifth year, it seems like there is no end in sight to the war between Russia and Ukraine, especially on the back of another round of deadly strikes on Kyiv over the weekend.  

But conflict in the middle east is having an impact on how this war is being fought, and there is a sense that Putin's army is slowing down.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou and Dr Malcolm David discuss the latest in the Ukraine war and try to figure out what might happen next. 

Further listening from the headlines:

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:More than half a million Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank - in settlements the UN's top court considers illegal, and which have kept expanding while the world's focus has been on the wars in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. 

Australia’s noticed. Last month, the government sanctioned three Israeli settlers over escalating violence against Palestinians.  

But our connections to the settlements may run deeper than sanctions suggest - from West Bank wines in local bottle shops to allegations Australian charities are helping finance settlement projects. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Rawan Arraf, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, to unpack life under the settlements - and whether Australia's response goes far enough. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One and a half billion sets of eyes will be on New Jersey come Monday morning, when Spain and Argentina face off to decide who takes home football's biggest prize.

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Ed Kavalee - co-host of SBS's nightly show Santo & Ed's Cup Fever - to get you across everything you need to know before kick-off.  
 
They unpack Ed's theory on how both finalists made it this far, whether the World Cup is rigged, plus:

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgie Tunny has spent more than a decade working her way through Australian newsrooms, from an ABC cadetship to Network 10's flagship desk. 

In this episode of The Weekend Briefing, Helen Smith asks Georgie what it took to carve out a place in sports journalism as a woman when the industry offered few seats at the table, the exhaustion of breakfast TV and the long road to trusting her own instincts.  
 
She also reflects on turning 35, her time on The Project, taking on The Amazing Race Australia with her fiancé Rob Mills and her debut novel set inside the cutthroat world of television, inspired by the friendships and rivalries she's lived firsthand. 

You can get your hands on Georgie’s debut novel ‘Over to You’ here. 

THE WEEKEND LIST: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Is Australia a world leader on AI? Anthony Albanese wants you to think so – he gave a speech last week in the Great Hall at The University of Sydney, where he implied that new Australian AI regulations could set a global benchmark – similar to superannuation and the social media ban. 

Today we’re looking at Labor’s AI plan, and whether it really is a world-leading attempt to curb the harms of AI and harness its potential. What’s right with the plan, and what’s missing? 

Joining The Briefing is AI expert Professor Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist of the Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of New South Wales. 

Further listening from the headlines:

Why smoking is ‘cool’ again

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:From the demolition of the White House East Wing to his push for a towering, 250-foot Triumphal Arch, Donald Trump is physically rebuilding Washington D.C. to match his personal brand.  

But aside from an obsession with the grandiose, what is motivating the president to push for these ego-driven federal megaprojects? 

In this episode of The Briefing, former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to explore why he believes this obsession with monarchical grandeur is a direct threat to democratic ideals. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Beetlejuice has cancelled its national tour; Waitress is no longer coming to Sydney. The big musicals said that production costs were too high and sales were too low. The show could not go on.  

This week, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance held an emergency meeting to discuss the future of Australia’s musical theatre industry and how to save it.  

In this episode of The Briefing, the Federal President of the MEAA, Michael Balk, joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to reveal the union's plan to save the industry, and how fans and the government can help. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Australia has been plagued by a chronic skills shortage in recent years, exacerbated by declining apprentice numbers, the pandemic and a cultural shift towards university as the preferred post-school pathway. 

Labor has this week claimed a couple of big wins in this space, talking up 814,000 TAFE enrolments in the last three years and more than 30,000 new apprentices in the past 12 months, off the back of two key policy roll outs. 

But do these numbers tell the full story? Is Australia’s tradie crisis really close to being solved? In this episode of The Briefing, Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to discuss. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Pattaya has long traded on two reputations: a tourist playground by day, and one of the world's busiest red-light hubs by night.  
 
That darker side made global headlines last month when the body of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was discovered stuffed inside a suitcase beside a railway line on the edge of the city. 
 
A 45-year-old Australian man has been accused of her murder, which he denies.  

The case has reignited scrutiny of an industry that's technically against the law in Thailand, yet thrives in full view - raising questions about corruption, worker safety, and the surprising truth about who's actually driving demand. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with emeritus professor at George Washington University and author of Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia's Premier Erotic Playground, Ronald Weitzer to unpack it. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At this week's NATO summit in Turkey, Donald Trump was once again talking about wanting to take control of Greenland.

So why does the US President keep talking about the country, could the US really try to take it, and what and what does it all mean for Australia? 

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, we revisit Tara Cassidy's chat with defence and security expert, Jennifer Parker, who explains why Greenland has become such a fixation for the US president, and why this isn’t as unprecedented as it might sound. Jen explains the strategic value of the Arctic, the role of NATO and Denmark, and why Trump’s rhetoric is alarming key allies.  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karl Stefanovic launched an independent podcast at the beginning of the year and one Sunshine Coast radio host has been paying VERY close attention. 
 
Henry Bretz has posted dozens of videos parodying Nine's former breakfast king - earning a follow from Karl himself, then an unfollow, and now a full block.  
 
In this episode of The Weekend Briefing, Chris Spyrou sits down with the comedian behind the impressions to discuss his viral posts, what Lisa Wilkinson said when she slid into his DMs, and what he really thinks is going on with Karl's "lurch to the right.”  
 
Plus, Sportsbet has Henry at $34 to replace Karl on the Today Show… so is Channel Nine actually calling?

The Weekend List: 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: Ten years ago, in 2015, the world collectively launched 221 objects into space. Last year that number was 4,510, a record by a huge margin. There’s now a record number of satellites and other space objects zooming over our heads.  

Why are we shooting so many objects into space? Most launches are coming from the United States, where a commercial space race is well and truly underway. But what are the consequences for the rest of the world?  

As mysterious space debris washes up on our shores here in Australia, we speak with Dr Matt Agnew, the scientist (and former Bachelor star) to learn about why we’re launching thousands of satellites a year. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: The tragic death of 27-year-old Melbourne footy player Nathan Fitzgerald has sparked questions over the hidden hazards of shared suburban fields and whether enough is being done to protect local athletes.  

This tragedy coincides with an alarming new report from the Australian Sports Brain Bank and Four Corners revealing high rates of the brain disease CTE in deceased players, ramping up the pressure on the AFL to establish formal CTE protocols.  

In this episode of The Briefing, neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce joins us to break down the latest brain research and ask the difficult question: as the evidence stacks up, can footy ever truly be safe again? 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:You might have heard that house prices are falling – at least in Sydney and Melbourne, which tend to set the direction for the other capital cities. Auction clearance rates were below 50% for the third weekend in a row, and experts say the slump could continue. 

Is Australia on the brink of a Labor-created societal collapse? Or are we finally having the much-needed correction of an overstimulated property bubble? What direction do we want house prices to go, anyway? 

Joining Chris Spyrou in this episode of The Briefing to look beyond the headlines is My Bui, an economist with AMP. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines: 

Deep DIve:Dodgy businesses, you’ve been warned. Last week Australia’s consumer watchdog launched a Federal Court case against Amazon for unfairly stuffing ads into its Amazon Prime streaming service; and, in the same week, the federal parliament passed laws that’ll protect consumers against unfair trading practices. 

Those ‘dark patterns’ that make it super hard to unsubscribe from a service, or the countdown timer that pressures you into a purchase? They’ll be targets under the new laws, along with surprise fees. The laws were passed last Thursday, and will be implemented from 1 July 2027. 

On The Briefing today is one of the people who campaigned loudest for the new Unfair Trading Prohibition laws, Chandni Gupta, the deputy CEO and Digital Policy Director of the Consumer Policy Research Centre. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

Deep Dive: If you believe the polls, One Nation is demolishing the political order and might become Australia’s biggest party.  

At this moment of political flux, two of the ‘teal’ independents are bidding for a piece of the action by establishing their own alternative party: Community Strong Australia. 

Joining us on The Briefing to discuss her new party, why she started it and whether it’ll have any electoral cut through is Waringah MP Zali Steggall. 

Further listening from the headlines:
Bird flu's hit Australia. What now?

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If the rumours are true, Taylor Swift has tied the knot this weekend in a stadium in New York City. 

Since Swift's August 2025 engagement to footballer Travis Kelce, there has been speculation about the venue, the guest list, the setlist... everything. Swift is, after all, one of the world’s biggest pop stars, and her success has been built on turning the details of her life into stories. This wedding is one hell of a story. 

On this bonus episode of The Briefing, we revisit Swift’s most recent batch of stories on her 2025 album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. Chris Spyrou speaks with Kate Pattison, a PhD candidate on Swift’s fandom and our in-house TS expert. 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod 

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few politicians in Australian history have quite the standing that John Howard does. 

While his time in power as Australia’s 25th Prime Minister between 1996 and 2007 was characterised by both economic wins and policy fails (think industrial relations and immigration), he is looked to now as an elder statesman and a symbol of when things in Australia were ‘good’. 

But that’s revisionist history, according to political journalist Amy Remeikis, whose new book Where It All Went Wrong: The Case Against John Howard, explores how Howard sold out the younger generations to benefit their parents, undermined the public health system and destroyed the housing market. 

In this chat with Amy Remeikis, Sacha Barbour Gatt explores these ideas with Remeikis while discussing the Canberra bubble and how a child of a conservative Lithuanian dad who voted One Nation went on to become one of the leading progressive voices in this country. 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod 

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:We’re more than a decade into the Netflix era, and every year we’ve heard the prediction that streaming will kill in-person cinema.  

In 2026, those predictions are wrong, again, with June and July set to mark, some of the biggest release months this year with films including Odyssey and Toy Story 5 expected to rake in billions. 

But it’s not only the big films that are winning with smaller franchises and female-skewing films also outperforming expectations. 

So, is the box office back, for good? In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Christian Kloukinas from Village Cinemas to find out. 

Further listening from the headlines: 

Venezuela's 'abysmal' earthquake response

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

Deep Dive:Twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela's north last week, leaving more than seventeen hundred dead and tens of thousands missing. 

The emergency response has been widely criticised, international aid has faced unexpected obstacles getting in, and the government is carefully controlling the narrative as the outside world watches. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by LiSTNR senior journalist Claudianna Blanco to examine what this disaster reveals about the state of the country and what life actually looks like for Venezuelans six months on from the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro. 

Further listening from headlines:

What a 'free' Karl Stefanovic really means

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.