Why would China want to spark World War Three over Taiwan? US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has stoked fears the island could become the flash point for World War Three. China claims the island as a renegade province, despite Taiwan functionally acting as an independent nation for 70 years. We’re joined by Jennifer Hsu, a researcher at the Lowy Institute who was born in Taiwan. In today’s Briefing, we dive into why China cares so much about Taiwan, and why Australia should too. To...
Aug 07, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 182
The Science Briefing is a brand new podcast from LiSTNR and The Royal Institution of Australia about the science of everything and your new go-to podcast for your snapshot of science news. In the first episode of The Science Briefing, host Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Evrim Yazgin about the first images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and how the race is on to make the next major space discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 06, 2022•13 min
Samuel Jonathan McMillan was editing the United Nations Youth Australia newsletter and studying law at Melbourne University when he realised that he was more interested in telling jokes than studying. Fast forward 20 years and Sammy J is a household name. He hosts ABC Melbourne’s breakfast show, and his satirical videos are a fan favourite on ABC television. He’s an award-winning stand-up comedian, who also uses video and self-composed music in his work. In this joyful conversation, Jamila Rizvi...
Aug 05, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 181
Would you accept a billion dollars to play golf? A new competition funded by Saudi Arabia called LIV Golf is turning the usually staid and boring game of on its head. Saudi money is funding a new golf tournament around the world, and it’s ruffling feathers in the established corridors of the sport like the USPGA and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. The new tournament LIV is offering hundreds of millions of dollars to secure players from other tours, and many are accepting. In this episode, we’re...
Aug 04, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 180
How do workers take advantage of the record unemployment rate? Unemployment is at its lowest level in 50 years at just 3.5%. We take a look at how you can take advantage of the jobs boom; be it a promotion, better flexibility, study leave or even a gym membership. Ruth Beran is a career advisor with Blue Sky. She says forget the Great Resignation, these days it’s all about Quiet Quitting, even LinkedIn is providing an option for career pause. So how do you make the most of the job boom – and how...
Aug 03, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 179
In a major new reform, Aussies using online betting accounts will receive a monthly statement detailing their losses. It means people with gambling issues will be able to take stock of their decisions with complete transparency. Advocates like Lauren Levin, Director of Policy and Campaigns with Financial Counselling Australia, hope the statement will also open the conversation up about what a responsible amount to bet is. Anthony, a reformed problem gambler, joins us to explain how much he lost ...
Aug 02, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 178
The cruise industry was thrust into the headlines when the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney at the peak of the pandemic. 28 deaths were linked to the ship. It looked for a while like cruising would never return to its former glory. So where is the industry now? David Jones, Corporate Communications Manager for Carnival Cruises tells us people are returning to cruising and this summer looks like it should be back to business as normal. We also speak with Shauna, a self-described ‘cruiseaholic’ who ...
Aug 01, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 177
The global wellness industry is worth more than four trillion dollars. It includes mindfulness, a type of meditation where you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment. Associate Professor Nicholas T. Van Dam from the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne has been studying the metrics and says the number of apps has skyrocketed since the pandemic. So in this episode of The Briefing: what is mindfulness, does it work, and could it p...
Jul 31, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 176
Sarah Davidson describes herself as a fun trepreneur and an overenthusiastic life lover, who is interested in too many things. Sarah was adopted as a baby from South Korea and grew up in Australia. She was a high achieving student who started her professional life as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, until she got sick. One of the things that helped her during that dark and difficult time, eventually became the business opportunity which would change the direction of her life. In this conversat...
Jul 29, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 175
Interest rate rises, fuel prices, fruit and vegetables, gas and electricity, groceries, childcare costs - that's the list of items getting more expensive every day. So, how do you ‘adult’ your way through the looming crisis? Melissa Browne is author of un-F your finances and Budgets Don’t Work. Melissa says you need to think smarter about how you manage your finances, and that small steps can make a big difference. In today’s episode of the Briefing Katrina and Rhianna bring you simple ideas to ...
Jul 28, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 174
The Manly NRL pride jersey story has blown up into a complete fiasco. The club introduced a pride jersey, with four rainbow stripes to celebrate diversity in rugby league. Seven players who say they were blindsided by the move said they didn’t want to take the field in the jersey because of culture and religious reasons. Michelle Bishop is Seven News’ sports reporter. She has the inside story on how it all went so spectacularly wrong. Our own Tom Tilley and Antoinette Lattouf bring their own per...
Jul 27, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 173
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison stunned Australians on election day by using the interception of a boatload of asylum seekers as a reason to vote for the Coalition. We all know how the election ended up – the Morrison government was booted from office. A new report has found Morrison and his government pressured public servants on election day, and blatantly politicised an issue, Morrison himself had argued for years, was not to be politicised. Sean Kelly is a columnist for the Sydney Morni...
Jul 26, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 172
The NSW Parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a plum trade commissioner post in New York, is up and running. The inquiry is trying to determine how and why Mr Barilaro ended up with the role after more qualified and credentialed people were overlooked. Why do we tolerate nepotism in politics? Danielle Wood is CEO of the Grattan Institute and co-author of Jobs for Mates, a new study on nepotism in politics. Danielle joins us to talk about why it’s ti...
Jul 25, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 171
This episode came via a message from one of our listeners, Jason on Instagram who wanted to point out the real issues the construction industry in Australia are facing. A shortage of raw materials, worker shortages, supply chain delays and interest rate hikes is threatening the construction industry. Phil Dwyer, head of the Builders Collective of Australia has warned the latest increases, are unlike anything he has seen in close to 50 years as a builder, and could force half the nation’s builder...
Jul 24, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 170
Tara Moss is a best-selling Canadian-Australian author who has written 14 books spanning multiple different genres. In addition to her books, Tara is a documentary maker, a television presenter, a journalist and most recently a disability advocate. In this episode Jamila Rizvi and Tara Moss unpack everything from body image, chronic pain, Tara’s work ethic, to the loss of her beautiful mother when she was still a very young person. THE WEEKEND LIST: EAT: Molten Choc Chunk Brownie - Donna Hay Pac...
Jul 22, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 169
Are our regulators better equipped to deal with a tech company employing the same aggressive tactics Uber did when it was expanding between 2013 - 2017? A massive data leak suggests Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governments between 20-13 and 20-17 when the company was rapidly growing. It’s been revealed extreme tactics were deployed in Europe, but the Australian arm of Uber also engaged in dodgy practices. Ben Butler from the Guardian Australia joins us with a fascinating lo...
Jul 21, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 168
The State of Environment report is out, and the news isn’t good. Australia has lost more mammal species than anywhere else on earth, along with hundreds of plant species. The losses are down to a vicious cocktail of climate change, land clearing, pollution and feral pests. We take a deeper look with Dr Ian Cresswell, one of the co-authors of the report. On today’s Briefing, a deep dive into the damning State of Environment report released this week – and what, if anything, can be done to right t...
Jul 20, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 167
Around eight million Australians are estimated to have been infected with Covid during the pandemic. Experts believe around 5% of those who catch the virus end up with long Covid, so as many as 400,000 people. So what is long Covid? How do you know you have it, and what can be done to treat it? Jess Davis is a journalist with the ABC, based in Canberra and she has long Covid. Jess describes what it’s like to live with it and how she navigates it with her employer. While Andrew Baillie is a profe...
Jul 19, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 166
The ACT has always had a liberal approach to drug use. Cannabis was decriminalised in 2020. Today it opens a pill-testing facility in Canberra’s CBD. Gino Vumbaca is president of Harm Reduction Australia. He and his team are behind the trial of the new facility which runs tests on drugs to make sure they’re safe for the user to take. He says trials at music festivals in recent years have undoubtedly saved lives. On this episode of the Briefing, the ACT’s bold move to install a pill-testing facil...
Jul 18, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 165
Tom’s super keen to dust off his Bintang t-shirt and head to Bali. It seems everyone is overseas this winter. So how is the travel industry coping, post-pandemic? Dean Long, CEO Australian Federation of Travel Agents, joins us to talk about the resurgence of tourism: why ticket prices are so high, why places like Bali might be slower than other places to recover, and the growth in an unexpected travel sector. On today’s Briefing, when will travel return to normal post-pandemic? Today's Headlines...
Jul 17, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 164
Deborah Frances-White is the original guilty feminist. Deborah is an Australian-born, London-based writer and comedian who is best known for her award-winning podcast, The Guilty Feminist. She is a force to be reckoned with. In this conversation, Jamila Rizvi and Deborah Frances-White cover everything from Roe V Wade, the age of criminality, being a modern feminist and the need for a refuelling with social justice groups. Content warning: Brief mention of sexual assault See omnystudio.com/listen...
Jul 15, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 163
Will Elon Musk be forced to buy Twitter? Twitter is suing Tesla CEO Elon Musk –after Musk said he wanted out of a deal to buy the social media platform. Musk says he hasn’t been given enough information on spam accounts, but Twitter executives believe Musk is trying to get out of the acquisition because of the downturn in tech stocks. We’re joined by Meghan Bobrowsky, reporter with the Wall Street Journal, who says the lawsuit promises to be one of the biggest legal showdowns in Wall Street hist...
Jul 14, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 162
The latest Census revealed we’re more culturally diverse as a nation than ever before. So, we’re asking the question: ‘should the next census include more questions about ethnicity?' We dive into the pros and cons, which are more complicated than you might think. Historian Dr Amrita Malhi, fellow at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU; and Mohammed Al-Khafaji, CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia join us to hash it out. Last month the federal govern...
Jul 13, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 161
Housing is the biggest living cost facing Australians. Despite the bluster, major parties aren’t offering anything to help people with the cost of rent. Anglicare Australia has released its Rental Affordability Snapshot that found less than 2% of rentals are affordable for a full-time worker on the minimum wage. For a person out of work, it’s 0%. Anglicare Australia Head of Government Relations, Aaron Malouf, wants 500,000 social and affordable homes, which would provide a home for everyone. Wit...
Jul 12, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 160
Boris Johnson has resigned as British prime minister after a series of scandals meant his party could no longer support him. Latika Bourke, the Sydney Morning Herald’s UK correspondent, tells us Johnson will be remembered most for his role in Britain leaving the European Union. He’s also known for partygate, where Johnson and his staff held parties in Downing Street while the rest of the country was under Covid lockdown. So given Johnson’s reputation and history of poor decision making, how did ...
Jul 11, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 159
14 people are in custody following the death of an 8-year-old girl in the Queensland town of Toowoomba back in January. Her parents have been detained since her death, and then last week 12 more people were charged with the child’s murder. We’re joined by David Chen from the ABC Toowoomba bureau who has been following this story since Day One. So in this episode of The Briefing, who are these people? And why are they turning their backs on legal representation? Today's Headlines: - Kyrgios loses...
Jul 10, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 158
Dr Neela Janakiramanan is a hand surgeon, based in Melbourne. The last two years have been trying for her and her colleagues, there is a significant physical and emotional toll of tending to patients during a once in a generation global pandemic. Putting patients’ needs ahead of her own is what Neela believes in most, she’s a proud advocate for patient-focused care. She believes it’s an essential part of medical training, that young surgeons see patients as people, not just bodies to be operated...
Jul 08, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 157
Western Sydney and areas in the NSW Illawarra and Hunter have been hammered by yet another round of devastating floods for the fourth time in 18 months. So, is climate change to blame? Or are we simply building in the wrong places? We’re joined by Jason Evans, Professor at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales to explore whether the science is settled. On this episode of The Briefing, is climate change to blame for the last week’s devastating floods? Today's Hea...
Jul 07, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 156
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders now have access to a new 24/7 national crisis support telephone service - 13 YARN The service is staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Suicide accounts for 40% of all deaths of Indigenous children, and the suicide death rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is double that for non-Indigenous people. So in NAIDOC Week, we’re joined by Marjorie Anderson - National Program ...
Jul 06, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 155
Everyone knows someone who’s getting Covid for a second time and epidemiologists are warning Covid is back on the agenda. Why now? And how can you avoid it? Catherine Bennett, Deakin University chair of epidemiology, joins us to talk about the new Omicron variant BA.5. It seems to be making people sicker. So why are we seeing an increase in numbers and should we be rolling up our sleeves for a fourth dose of vaccine? Today’s Briefing is an episode we didn’t want to bring you. Today's Headlines: ...
Jul 05, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 154
