Background Briefing

By ABC AustraliaSociety & Culture Documentary News

Favorites
547
Followers
Typical duration
33 min
per episode
If it hooks
76%
finish an episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Background Briefing episodes

April 18, 2020 Who's profiting from the pandemic?
The coronavirus pandemic is causing pain and suffering the world over, but then there are always those who never let a good crisis go to waste.
Some are benefiting from COVID-19 for legitimate reasons: just think of companies that make video conferencing apps, ventilators, or canny investors.
But there are also more nefarious players looking to bank a win off the back of coronavirus fear and confusion: scam artists, fraudsters, counterfeiters.
This week, Geoff Thompson, Mario Christodoulou, Meghna Bali and Kat Gregory investigate who's winning in these turbulent times and how.
42 min
April 04, 2020 'People will die': Country hospital fears it won't cope with coronavirus
What does it take to prepare for a pandemic?
Many hospitals around the world are already overwhelmed by patients infected with COVID-19.
Australian doctors and nurses are bracing for something most of them have never faced before.
In our country hospitals, resources are already stretched: beds are in short supply and there’s a greater proportion of older people.
Preparation will, in many cases, be the difference between life and death. 
ABC National Regional Reporter Jess Davis takes us inside the Wimmera Base Hospital in Horsham, Victoria, as the team tries to prepare for the unimaginable.
39 min
April 04, 2020 'People will die': Country hospital fears it won't cope with coronavirus
What does it take to prepare for a pandemic?
Many hospitals around the world are already overwhelmed by patients infected with COVID-19.
Australian doctors and nurses are bracing for something most of them have never faced before.
In our country hospitals, resources are already stretched: beds are in short supply and there’s a greater proportion of older people.
Preparation will, in many cases, be the difference between life and death. 
ABC National Regional Reporter Jess Davis takes us inside the Wimmera Base Hospital in Horsham, Victoria, as the team tries to prepare for the unimaginable.
39 min
March 28, 2020 How we're getting through this
Coronavirus is changing the way the entire human race lives.
Emergency workers are scrambling together contingency plans, fearing hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.
Scientists are racing to invent a faster, cheaper Covid-19 test kit available for us all.
Restaurants are reinventing themselves as delivery services, artists are turning to live-streaming to make a living.
This week, the entire Background Briefing team investigates how each of us are finding new ways to get by.
54 min
March 28, 2020 How we're getting through this
Coronavirus is changing the way the entire human race lives.Emergency workers are scrambling together contingency plans, fearing hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.Scientists are racing to invent a faster, cheaper Covid-19 test kit available for us all.Restaurants are reinventing themselves as delivery services, artists are turning to live-streaming to make a living.This week, the entire Background Briefing team investigates how each of us are finding new ways to get by.
54 min
March 21, 2020 He wanted an ambulance. He got a police "dog box".
Tristan was a kind and gentle 23-year-old surfer from Byron Bay.
One night he suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode.
And ended up driven to hospital in a small steel cage.
Police say it is probably the worst place he could be.
Tristan later died in hospital.
Mario Christodoulou investigates the series of tragic events that led to Tristan's death that raise questions about how emergency services treat young drug-affected people in New South Wales.
42 min
March 21, 2020 He wanted an ambulance. He got a police "dog box".
Tristan was a kind and gentle 23-year-old surfer from Byron Bay.
One night he suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode.
And ended up driven to hospital in a small steel cage.
Police say it is probably the worst place he could be.
Tristan later died in hospital.
Mario Christodoulou investigates the series of tragic events that led to Tristan's death that raise questions about how emergency services treat young drug-affected people in New South Wales.
42 min
March 14, 2020 Mutants or miracles? Australia's GM cows
37 min
March 14, 2020 Mutants or miracles? Australia's GM cows
37 min
March 07, 2020 'If I can't get my house fixed, I'm homeless'
Even after the black summer Australians have just endured, it's not bushfires that's keeping the nation's insurers awake at night.
Climate change is bringing cyclones further south - towards highly populated areas like Brisbane, the Gold Coast and northern NSW.
Insurers are warning that unless the Federal Government takes drastic action, parts of the country may even become uninsurable.
And as Geoff Thompson discovers, it's not some threat on the horizon - the conditions are already here.
39 min

About Background Briefing

From the publisher's feed

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.