Background Briefing

Background Briefing is the ABC's flagship investigative journalism podcast. Its award-winning investigations and documentaries expose cover-ups, corruption, real-life mysteries, whistleblowing, crime, fraud and miscarriages of justice — often before these stories receive mainstream attention. The Background Briefing podcast brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia. This Australian podcast makes investigative journalism bingeable. From scams and fraud to schooling and health scandals, tech and social media digs, police exposes and various unsolved cases, each episode of the Background Briefing podcast is a must-listen. Recent series include: Hometown Boys exposed how a terrible crime fractured a local community around a local football club. The Invisible Killer: a forensic investigation into unexplained deaths in aged care after a doctor makes an unusual discovery. The Favourite: how a schoolyard secret stayed hidden for years. Stop and Search, which uncovered the mechanics of power and police accountability. Before and After investigated medical hype, telehealth, body image, cosmetic procedures and consumer risk. Beef: how small feuds escalate into serious disputes.

Last refreshed: April 1st, 2026 at 6:29 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

The Whistleblower who brought down Australia's Dr Death

When patients start unexpectedly dying at a regional hospital, nurse Toni Hoffman takes a big risk to blow the whistle on a negligent surgeon.

Oct 19, 2023•39 min

The Whistleblower who captured the nation — and the man who unmasked her as a fraud

Kathy Jackson was once heralded as a revolutionary who shone a bright spotlight on union corruption but she too was later found to be a fraudster who had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in union members' money. So who was the man responsible for blowing the whistle on her? Reporter Annika Blau investigates.

Oct 12, 2023•29 min

The Whistleblower who helped catch a paedophile politican

After an electoral officer helped police arrest a popular state minister, her life began to unravel.

Oct 05, 2023•32 min

INTRODUCING — 'The Whistleblowers', a new series from Background Briefing

In this 6-part series presented by Adele Ferguson, the Background Briefing team brings you the untold stories of ordinary Australians who helped bring some of Australia’s biggest and dirtiest scandals to light.

Oct 03, 2023•2 min

Can a rape trial be a positive experience?

Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience.

Aug 10, 2023•33 min

03 | The outland or the cage

Just after midnight, Marty woke to find three young intruders in his bedroom. Then they started talking to him. He'd now become one of the hundreds of victims of crime in Mount Isa each year. This is the final episode looking at the youth justice system in Queensland — the state with the highest number of children behind bars.

Aug 03, 2023•34 min

02 | The outland or the cage

"Locked down for hours and hours": Jaxon explains what life is like inside a juvenile detention centre.

Jul 27, 2023•31 min

01 | The outland or the cage

Jaxon stole a car at age 10. Six years later, the Mount Isa teen has a decision to make.

Jul 21, 2023•33 min

'What's your p(doom)?' Why AI experts are calculating our doomsday odds

A growing number of AI industry insiders are guessing at the probability that Artificial Intelligence will lead to a catastrophic scenario for humanity, and calculating their ‘p(doom)’.

Jul 13, 2023•40 min

The little-known religious code ruling many major public hospitals

Did you know that some of Australia’s largest public hospitals are run according to a religious code of ethics?

Jul 06, 2023•39 min

Fashion victims

Kym Ellery, the founder of collapsed Australian fashion label Ellery Land, tells reporter Rachael Brown that business collapses are sometimes the price of working in the fashion industry.

Jun 29, 2023•38 min

Inside the battle to keep cocaine out of Australia

Reporters Ty King and Mayeta Clark are granted a behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous game of cat and mouse played by cops and cartels.

Jun 22, 2023•30 min

False Witness

Reporter Heidi Davoren provides an extraordinary insight into a parenting dispute, where a mother and father come together after a Family Court psychologist harmed their family.

Jun 16, 2023•37 min

Grim Prospects | 02

In part two of the investigation into the deaths of Ray and Jennie Kehlet, reporters Rebecca Trigger and Ash Davis examine the story of the last man to see the couple alive.And they speak to a police insider who raised concerns about the direction of the investigation back in 2015.

Jun 08, 2023•37 min

Grim Prospects | 01

Two campers go missing while prospecting for gold in the Western Australian outback.

Jun 01, 2023•41 min

The woman who offers one last chance for an Australian visa

Australia's migrant workers can wait for years to find out whether they can stay here, and while they do they can become targets for opportunistic operators offering a short cut.

May 25, 2023•41 min

Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer

As a teenager, Remy learnt to survive by hustling on the streets of Parramatta.

May 20, 2023•36 min

The Fine Print

The consumer genetic testing industry has become big business.

May 11, 2023•42 min

Prisoner of the State

In a nursing home lives an elderly man who is being held against his will.

Mar 23, 2023•41 min

The Psychedelic Rush

Reporters Geoff Thompson and Annika Blau investigate how Australia became the first country to give scripts for trips.

Mar 17, 2023•37 min

Dead Man's Secrets | 02

In the second and final episode of Dead Man's Secrets, reporter Josh Robertson investigates the grisly murder of the powerful Papuan executive who negotiated one of Australia’s biggest foreign assistance packages.

Mar 09, 2023•32 min

Dead Man's Secrets | 01

A shocking murder takes place in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Mar 02, 2023•33 min

How the system failed to save Darcey and Chloe | 02

When two infants die after being left inside a hot car, their family seek answers to how this could have happened.

Feb 23, 2023•32 min

How the system failed to save Darcey and Chloe | 01

Queensland authorities failed to heed multiple serious warnings that a young pair of sisters were in danger, before it was too late.

Feb 15, 2023•39 min

The psychiatrist and his star patient

Kate thought she'd finally found a psychiatrist who cared about her.

Feb 09, 2023•37 min

Under the Eye of Iran | 02

Massoud was heading to a protest outside Tehran's embassy in Canberra when a phone call confirmed his worst fears had come true.

Feb 03, 2023•38 min

Under the Eye of Iran | 01

Protesters say they're being ordered to read false confessions and their activities are under surveillance.

Jan 26, 2023•37 min

The tiny device that can cause huge pain

It's one of the most effective forms of contraception available.

Jan 19, 2023•38 min

Summer Season | Meet the teens at the frontline of organised crime

There's a violent territorial dispute between rival gangs in Sydney’s west.

Jan 12, 2023•39 min

Summer Season | Catching a Fugitive | 02

Charles Batham has been in hiding for years, and after two narrow escapes the trail goes cold. Then, reporter Erin Parke gets a tip-off that that brings the global investigation back from the brink – but will the truth ever come out about Batham’s dark past?

Jan 05, 2023•40 min

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