When a couple are quoted $13,000 to access a sperm donor through a clinic, they decide to take matters into their own hands. On Facebook, they find a thriving sperm exchange, where they hope they'll have more control over the process. But as reporter Annika Blau discovers, there are pitfalls they didn’t foresee.
Nov 29, 2024•37 min
When Becc and Nathan decided to get married, they wanted something intimate — a small ceremony at home with just their closest friends and family. There was just one problem — the celebrant wasn't who he appeared to be.
Nov 22, 2024•29 min
Michelle went to hospital on three occasions, complaining of searing chest pains. She was told to go home and seek therapy for her "anxiety issues". It would not be until months later that she was diagnosed with pericarditis — doctors believe it was caused by the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. She's now one of nearly two thousand people fighting a class action against senior government figures, claiming they were victims of negligence during Australia’s pandemic response.
Nov 15, 2024•38 min
After a police squad stages a tense siege against a dangerous fugitive, a phone is recovered from the crime scene, carrying vital information. But the detective in charge soon finds himself accused of a serious crime and loses his career over it. For years, he's tried to clear his name. In an exclusive interview with BB, he finally speaks out. His story raises serious concerns about what can go wrong when police investigate police in NSW.
Nov 08, 2024•34 min
Will Lachlan Murdoch succeed in brushing his rival siblings aside to command control over the future of his family’s media empire? Or could we be looking at the end of the century-old family dynasty that runs the world's most powerful conservative news organisation?
Oct 25, 2024•33 min
For much of his youth, Lachlan Murdoch seemed ambivalent about being next in line to control the family’s global media empire. So why is his father Rupert now fighting a high stakes battle against three of his other children to ensure Lachlan becomes his successor?
Oct 18, 2024•34 min
Are we looking at the end of the Murdoch family's global media empire? That's the question journalists Paddy Manning and Alex Mann investigate in this special three-part series. This week, they take you inside the family's inner sanctum and examine why Lachlan, Rupert's chosen successor, may not have always been an obvious choice.
Oct 11, 2024•42 min
The Murdoch family is locked in a secret court battle.
Oct 09, 2024•1 min
Dots are so strongly associated with traditional Aboriginal visual language that Shane gets asked why he doesn’t paint them.
Oct 04, 2024•37 min
In a caravan park in central NSW, a group of grey nomads were sold a Utopia - a “home base” to hang up the keys and enjoy “real estate security”. They sunk their life savings into houses in the park, with the ads promising it “couldn’t be sold out from underneath” them. But then, it was.
Sep 27, 2024•40 min
There are only two witnesses to Brad Balzan's final moments: the two officers who chased him into his backyard. But their accounts of what happened don't match up.
Sep 20, 2024•27 min
As the investigation into Bradley Balzan's death continues, serious questions are raised about how the country’s largest police force uses its search powers.
Sep 13, 2024•35 min
Brad Balzan is shot dead in his own backyard after a police encounter goes wrong. In episode two of Stop and Search, a new mini-series by Background Briefing, reporter Paul Farrell asks why was he running away, and why did the officers chase him down?
Sep 06, 2024•28 min
A 20-year-old is chased by four plain-clothes police officers into his western Sydney backyard. But he hasn't committed a crime. He hasn't even done anything wrong. He's shot twice, and then dies. In a special miniseries by Background Briefing, the final moments that led to this tragic incident are pieced together. The reporter is Paul Farrell.
Aug 30, 2024•40 min
Ruby's barely a teenager, and already she's become a champion bull rider. She's also had eight concussions and multiple brain bleeds. Reporter Tynan King investigates how this extreme sport became her obsession — even as it threatens her life.
Aug 23, 2024•35 min
He left a trail of defect-riddled apartment buildings across Sydney and debts exceeding $600m to his creditors. Police have issued a warrant for his arrest. The NSW Premier has even offered to pay for his flight back to Australia. This week, Background Briefing tracks down the notorious and elusive Jean Nassif, who gives his first exclusive sit-down interview since he left Australia more than a year ago.
Aug 16, 2024•36 min
Testosterone is often marketed as a silver bullet that can help you build muscle mass, improve your energy levels and fix your sex life. But as reporters Tynan King and Maddison Connaughton discover, the reality doesn’t always live up to the hype, and the people running testosterone replacement therapy clinics don’t always have their clients' best interests at heart
Aug 09, 2024•40 min
Anna grew up believing she was an orphan. But she later discovered she’d been lied to. And that she's one of many Australian adoptees who has been misled.
Aug 02, 2024•40 min
Nathaniel Train was renowned as a distinguished principal who could deliver impressive results for disadvantaged schools. His childhood friend, reporter Josh Robertson, investigates what fateful events led to Nathaniel's transformation into a cold-blooded killer.
Jul 26, 2024•40 min
One morning reporter Josh Robertson woke up, read the headlines, and made a terrible realisation.
Jul 19, 2024
He is shut off from the outside world. Locked inside a makeshift jail in north Syria for the past five years, Hamza doesn’t even know who the Prime Minister is. This Australian citizen is one of thousands of suspected ISIS members imprisoned with no charges.
Jul 12, 2024•37 min
Sometimes they’re armed with a chainsaw, sometimes a bottle of poison, and often they’re operating in broad daylight. So why is it so hard to catch Sydney’s tree killers?
Jul 05, 2024•36 min
Daniel Duggan’s career was spent pushing warplanes to their limits. Now the United States wants him extradited from Australia and prosecuted for conspiracy. The Australian pilot says he innocent, and believes he’s a pawn in the geopolitical contest between the US and China.
Jun 28, 2024•44 min
Olivia went on Australia’s biggest show to find love. She came out as Australia's "most hated" reality TV star and lost almost everything. Reporter Annika Blau investigates the making of a TV villain.
Jun 21, 2024•40 min
It was the infamous Royal prank call that shattered lives. One woman took her own life; another is haunted to this day. Reporter Rachael Cusick investigates - how did a joke go so wrong?
Jun 14, 2024•40 min
On the outskirts of Dubai there is a secret scam factory, where hundreds of employees smoke, eat, and pretend to be glamorous women — but one has a secret plan to shut it all down.
Jun 06, 2024•33 min
There's a saying that every good story needs a bad guy.
Jun 04, 2024•1 min
How the Commonwealth Bank tried to stop a royal commission by using dirt files, intimidation, threats and surveillance against whistleblowers and journalists. Reporter Adele Ferguson investigates.
May 31, 2024•38 min
Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.
May 24, 2024•33 min
"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporters Paul Farrell and Maddison Conaughton investigate what happened.
May 16, 2024•36 min
