Since Peter Dutton’s announcement on the Liberal party’s intention to go nuclear, there has been fierce debate on if it will work and if the Australian public should commit to it. But what are the plain and simple facts on nuclear? On this episode, we help you out with Sacha Barbour Gatt and Bension Siebert providing a quick explainer about nuclear energy - using fact-checked info without the political spin. Sources: US Energy Information Administration < here > CSIRO GenCost report < h...
Jul 04, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 307
“With a heavy heart but a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australian Labor Party. I have informed the Prime Minister that, effective immediately, I will sit on the crossbench to represent Western Australia”. That’s the statement from Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman, announcing today at a press conference at Parliament House that she has made the decision to leave the Labor Party. In this episode of The Briefing we’re joined by Kos Samaris, Director of polling group ...
Jul 04, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 306
NASA have announced that the International Space Station is doomed to de-orbit by 2031, and SpaceX are going to help take it down with a contract worth $1.26 billion (AUD). It’s the end of an era – the ISS was for many years a beacon of international cooperation in the final frontier of space. So why is the ISS being decommissioned, will a new station be replacing it, and what does this mean for international space relations in the future? Dr Rebecca Allen, Co-Director of the Space Technology an...
Jul 03, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 305
One of the world’s biggest live entertainment companies, Live Nation, has been hit with a double whammy. It’s being sued by the US Department of Justice following its subsidiary Ticketmaster being targeted by a notorious hacker group affecting 560 million customers worldwide. As a follow-up to our investigation into Australia’s ticket industry, Tessa Randello from the LiSTNR Newsroom joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to break down what is happening at Live Nation and the effect it could have worldwide. F...
Jul 03, 2024•13 min•Season 5Ep. 304
This week, campaigners for animal rights won a years-long battle to ban the live export of sheep, with the practice to end by 2028 after it was passed in parliament. According to Animals Australia, three million animals have died in live export from Australia ... and that's not to mention what happens to them once they arrive at their destination. On the flipside of that though is the farming communities who rely on the trade for their livelihoods. In today's Briefing, we speak with John Hassell...
Jul 02, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 303
For the first time ever, the American Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents are protected from criminal prosecution for some of what they do in office. Donald Trump is currently facing three criminal cases – and will next week face sentencing for a fourth surrounding the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. What does this ruling mean for him, and for future and past presidents of the United States? Journalist and host of the ABC Podcast America, If You're Listening, Matt B...
Jul 02, 2024•13 min•Season 5Ep. 302
You love where you live and locals are worried the suburb’s about to be ‘gentrified’. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. Great news if you own your home, but not good news if you rent and rents are about to skyrocket. You’ll be forced to move to a suburb further away from your friends, work and social network. In this episode of the Briefing we’re joined by William Thackway, who has worked on a machine learning model to predict gentrification with UNSW City Futures Research Centre . He’ll t...
Jul 01, 2024•20 min•Season 5Ep. 301
Have you heard of Aussie Bro Squad? The four brothers from regional NSW have made a bit of a name for themselves on TikTok after filming and uploading themselves performing high-energy dance routines. They’re known to “go live” multiple times a day, all filmed by their mum, Beverley, who keeps up a steady stream of commentary from viewers as her sons perform. While it appears innocent, internet sleuths have expressed concerns about the boys' welfare, two of whom are still in school. There are qu...
Jul 01, 2024•11 min•Season 5Ep. 300
Today, microphones across Triple M’s 49 radio stations will switch off for the network’s annual No Talk Day, with a goal to create space for listeners to check-in with themselves and their mates. That’s because every day, nine Australians take their own life – and according to Lifeline, on average, seven of those are men. Partnering with Lifeline, Triple M’s goal is to build awareness and encourage fundraising for this vital national service. Now in its sixth year, between 6am and 6pm, Triple M ...
Jun 30, 2024•24 min•Season 5Ep. 299
Jenny Tian admits she is committed to two things in life – making comedy and sleeping.\ When she started to go virial on social media for her comedy skits and stand up shows she never looked back and is now on the big screen. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Jenny reveals some of the weirdest things she’s doing on this season of Australia’s Taskmaster and how she’s preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Book here WEEKEND LIST TO EAT - Raspberry Tourte (DM us on Insta for the full reci...
Jun 28, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 298
US President Joe Biden and wannabe second term president Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate earlier today, with many expecting it to be a defining moment in the election campaign. We watched as Joe Biden appeared unsure and hesitant, while still landing blows on Trump. We saw Trump continue to attack Biden’s family and legacy. It was gloves off from the outset and at times threatened to turn nasty. In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Dave Levinthal, editor-in-ch...
Jun 28, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 297
Last year popular online platforms were also threatened with government regulation unless they improve safety for users, following a spike in reports of threats of violence and abuse. The federal government gave industry until the middle of 2024 to develop and implement a voluntary code of practice to improve standards. But has anything actually moved on the issue since? In this episode of The Briefing Antoinette Lattouf speaks with intimacy and dating app expert Lisa Portolan to see where we’re...
Jun 27, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 296
The term ‘enshittification’ was coined by British-Canadian blogger Cory Doctorow at the start of 2023 to describe the decline of social media platforms. It captures the idea that something which was once great eventually becomes crappy overtime due to excessive profit-chasing. The term has broken into the cultural zeitgeist and is now being used to describe everything from major events to clothes, coffee, housing, and everything in between. Recently, disgruntled Sydneysiders used the term to des...
Jun 27, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 295
Julian Assange is a free man after pleading guilty to one charge of espionage in a federal United States court as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, bringing to end an international saga surrounding war, access to information, freedom of speech and the role of journalism in the digital age. Facing a judge in a US federal court in the remote Northern Mariana Islands, Assange told the court that he “believes the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction” and that he was within ...
Jun 26, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 294
You might not have heard of MrBeast, but chances are the Gen Z’er you share a house, office or gym with has. The 26-year-old content creator from Wichita, Kansas has amassed hundreds of millions of followers and is the most- subscribed-to page on YouTube. He’s best known for putting on his own version of Squid Game – before Netflix did – and sharing hundreds of thousands of dollars in random giveaways. In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Justin Hill, entertainment guru and host of T...
Jun 26, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 293
Pills, powders and liquids that might be harbouring deadly substances will be able to be legally tested across Victoria, following a major policy change announced by Premier Jacinta Allan this week. Pill testing will become permanent after an 18-month trial starting this summer, with a mobile service to attend up to 10 music festivals. In Victoria, paramedics responded to more drug overdoses at festivals in the first three months of 2024 than during all of 2023. The announcement is a change from...
Jun 26, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 292
The Albanese government has announced sweeping new changes to Australia’s vaping laws, which will see the products continue to be sold – but only in pharmacies. To secure the support of the Greens in the Senate, Labor has agreed to backtrack on its prescription-only model. It means vapes will be made available at pharmacies across the country – but they will be regulated and subject to plain packaging requirements, with flavours limited to mint, menthol or tobacco. In this episode of The Briefin...
Jun 25, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 291
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count in relation to charges over disseminating national security material. The plea deal was in exchange for his release from a British prison, clearing the way for him to return to Australia, and avoiding the need to face charges in the United States. It brings to an end the 14-year ordeal that saw him spend seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and a further five years in a British prison fightin...
Jun 25, 2024•10 min•Season 5Ep. 290
Bird flu – or Avian flu – has been detected at a number of chicken farms in Victoria and NSW. The discovery comes in the wake of an outbreak in the US and tests that found humans had symptoms associated with bird flu. How safe is Australia’s poultry industry, and how safe are our chickens and eggs to eat? In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Enzo Palombo, Professor of Microbiology at Swinburne University to learn more about how badly our poultry industry will be affected and if human...
Jun 24, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 289
Weaponised incompetence is a term that's gaining some traction at the moment. It's a passive-aggressive pattern of behaviour where someone in a relationship, whether it be professional or intimate, either deliberately performs a task poorly or pretends not to know how to do a task in order to avoid responsibility. Imagine the dynamic of person A is able to iron shirts/stack dishwashers/ do spreadsheets so much better than person B - which leads to Person A doing all the work, often reinforcing t...
Jun 24, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 288
Tax time is right around the corner and this year the ATO are cracking down on working from home expenses. Last year more than 8 million Australians claimed work- related deductions in their tax return, with working from home expenses making up more than half of those claims. In this episode of the Briefing Ashley Debenham from Etax Accountants joins Katrina Blowers to unpack everything you need to know before you lodge your tax return. Headlines: Tough new penalties coming for supermarkets Firs...
Jun 23, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 287
What’s the difference between style and Fashion? Well Victoria Latu can answer that. She was born in a region now considered Ukraine, interviewed all the stars on the red carpet in LA and along the way became a fashion expert. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Victoria unpacks her Kylie Minogue like accent and how she navigated the Australian media landscape a women of colour. WEEKEND LIST TO EAT - Healthy butter chicken with Greek yogurt TO LISTEN - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess b...
Jun 21, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 286
Women’s basketball would be lucky to rate a mention in America, let alone Australia. Yet that has all changed since Caitlin Clark came along. The 22-year-old is one of the most promising female basketball players in the US, making the transition from college ball to being signed as the number one draft pick for the Indiana Fever this year. However, her popularity hasn’t been without controversy, fuelled by Clark’s entrance as a white player in a predominantly Black sport. In this episode, we’re ...
Jun 21, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 285
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years has resulted in the signing of a partnership agreement for mutual aid if either nation is attacked. Apparently encompassing a whole range of areas, including medical education and scientific pursuits, particular emphasis has been placed on military cooperation with speculation that Russia is in dire need of munitions to continue their war against Ukraine. In this episode, we’re joined by Politco’s Zoya Sheftalovich, to fin...
Jun 20, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 284
This week saw a Labor MP’s office vandalized in Victoria in protest of the party’s inaction surrounding the war in Gaza. The protest has sparked outrage from current and former members of government, who say aggressive protest action is taking things too far. Should protest action be more peaceful, to be more effective? Or is loud and aggressive protest the only way to get wider Australian society to pay attention to major issues surrounding the environment, climate and human rights? In this epi...
Jun 20, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 283
Peter Dutton has provided Australians with more detail than ever before with how he plans to make the country enter a nuclear power boom. On Wednesday, the leader of the Opposition announced his plans to build seven nuclear power stations, flagging a major election promise which he hopes will be a “referendum on nuclear energy”. In this episode of The Briefing, Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe from Griffith University breaks down what the promise would mean for Australia’s energy plan. Headlines: Gen...
Jun 19, 2024•24 min•Season 5Ep. 282
Planning on heading to the slopes this winter? A new study has found climate change could forever change Australia’s ski season, with less snow for fewer days. The traditional season, starting from the June long weekend through to the October long weekend, is 120 days or four months. New research has found due to ongoing changes in our climate the season will be reduced to just 55 days by 2050. In this episode of the Briefing, Sam Quirke from Protect Our Winters joins Katrina Blowers to learn wh...
Jun 19, 2024•11 min•Season 5Ep. 281
Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia announced that they were holding the cash rate at 4.35% - the same position since November, 2023. While this decision came as no shock to the majority of economists, it was anticipated that cash rates would be falling by the end of 2024. Is this still the case? To help unpack the details of our current economic situation, Scott Phillips from the Motley Fool joins us on The Briefing. Headlines: Thailand legalises same sex marriage Netanyahu complains about ...
Jun 18, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 280
Have you ever thought about the physical places where our most sensitive and private digital information is stored? Around Australia lie ultra-secure databases that host everything from your medical records and internet passwords to our governments' records and national secrets. Unsurprisingly, given the sensitive nature of this digital information, most of us will never even know where these data centres are, let alone see inside one. However in this episode, The Briefing will take you right in...
Jun 18, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 279
China’s long history of panda diplomacy is back in the headlines. Governments trading native animals is nothing new and can form a key part of diplomatic relations, but how did trading pandas become an integral part of China’s foreign policy? In this episode of the Briefing Senior Fellow in the Initiative for U.S-China Dialogue on Global Issues Dennis Wilder joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to explain the political strategies behind the cuddly bears. Headlines: Australia's relationship with China “renew...
Jun 17, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 278
