In the words of the great Bon Jovi, we're halfway there (until polling day that is). In our Squiz Shortcut to Week 3 of the election campaign, we’ll get you across the big housing policies announced by the 2 major parties, why Russia has entered the chat, as well as the issues covered in the second leaders’ debate. And we have some more excellent questions from Squizers in Ask The Squiz including one on how preferential voting works. How's that for some sizzle...  

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Reading: This article from Domain goes into the details of the housing policies announced by the 2 major parties

Reading: Here’s the link to the AEC guide to costs for the 2022 federal election

Email us:  Send us your questions about the election to [email protected]. You can ask us anything about politics, how the government works, whatever’s on your mind, and we'll pick the top few to answer next week.

Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…

Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here

Thursday, 17 April: Russia dominates the debate; More drama in the US security team; A peek at Flinders' letters; And a fish pie for Easter...

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Telstra's Business Technology Centres here.

SPONSORED: For more useful tips, visit Origin Energy's podcast So Watt? here.

You can watch a replay of the leaders debate here, or read a recap here.

If the Neil Perry fish pie recipe is something you're keen on, check it out here.

And you can take a look at Line of Duty, the binge-worthy British cop show, here.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

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Wednesday, 16 April: Russia becomes a campaign issue; A US deportation dispute; Our new basketball star; And a large act of nature...

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Telstra's Business Technology Centres here.

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Adobe's Authenticity in the Age of AI study here.

SPONSORED: To find out more about At What Cost? - the new podcast series from The Parenthood and Future Women, click here.

Here are some of Georgia Amoore's highlights.

And here's the video of the elephants at San Diego Zoo.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.

Months of political upheaval in South Korea have come to a head recently with the impeachment and removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, following his attempt to invoke martial law last December. A snap election has been called, but the country’s economic and social challenges mean the crisis is far from over. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll cover what’s been happening, where things stand going into the election, and what comes next.

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Reading: If you’d like to go deeper into South Korea’s social and political challenges, this article published in The Conversation is a good explainer

Watching/Listening: Remember this? Professor Robert Kelly - aka BBC Dad - is still providing analysis on Korean politics, and he gives a little update on his daughter (who’s now 12) in this interview about Yoon’s presidency…

Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…

Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here

Tuesday, 15 April: A celebrity space mission; More deadly Russian strikes; Rory finishes the story; And some big names at Coachella...

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Telstra's Business Technology Centres here.

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Adobe's Authenticity in the Age of AI study here.

SPONSORED: To find out more about At What Cost? - the new podcast series from The Parenthood and Future Women, click here.

Find the replay of the historic Blue Origin space flight here.

Here's a good wrap of Lady Gaga's Coachella set, you can watch THE Brian May performing at Coachella here, and check out a gallery of the celebrity festival fashions here.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.

Monday, 14 April: Housing policies take centre stage; A tragedy in Goulburn; Trump's backtrack on tech; And a new use for potatoes...

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Telstra's Business Technology Centres here.

SPONSORED: You can find out more about Adobe's Authenticity in the Age of AI study here.

SPONSORED: For more information about the federal election - including where your nearest polling station is - visit aec.gov.au

You can check out some of the egg alternatives for Easter decorating here.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.

It's time for our most exciting episode of the Squiz Quiz yet! Kate Watson is back for another crack at seeing if anyone can beat our dominant champ Claire Kimball, while Quizmaster Andrew Williams just tries to hold on to some semblance of control. Can you outdo our experts in the studio?

Here's a quick scoring guide if you're playing along at home:

The quiz has 10 questions.

Each question is worth 1 point (for a total of 10).

The final round is worth a maximum of 5 points - Andrew will read 5 quotes about a news story - the faster you identify the story, the more points you get!

The final score is out of a possible 15 points.

PS: Here's the link to the tree of the year Andrew mentiones

Friday, 11 April: The US and China face off; An Australian teen faces terror charges; The Masters get underway; And some perfect pancakes...

SPONSORED: To find out more about At What Cost? - the new podcast series from The Parenthood and Future Women, click here.

You can check out the very cute videos of (future golf stars...?) Poppy McIlroy here and Sammy Spieth here.

If you've got a hankering for pancakes, these fluffy ricotta ones will hit the spot.

And if you want to look into the Jackbox party pack, we'll point you here.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.

It's Week 2 and we're into the swing of the election campaign, but it's been an unusual one with US President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement dominating the agenda. So we'll get you across how that intersects, along with the Coalition's work-from-home backflip and the focus on Labor's handling of the economy. And we have some excellent questions from Squizers in our reboot of Ask The Squiz - this week they're about the debates, how we know what the leaders say is true, and campaign gaffes. 

Squiz Recommends: 

Email us: Send us your questions about the election to [email protected]. You can ask us anything about politics, how the government works, whatever’s on your mind, and we'll pick the top few to answer next week.

Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…

Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here 

Thursday, 10 April: Investigating a tourism tragedy; Trump dumps some tariffs; Another new sprint star; And a superstar's heading our way...

SPONSORED: For useful tips about how to save on your power bill, visit Origin Energy's podcast - So Watt? - here.

You can read more about the Milnesium tardigradum (try saying that 3 times fast...) and see some close-ups here.

The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed. Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).

Other things we do:

Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!

Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.

Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball and Kate Watson - including the interview series, Newsmakers.

Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.

Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics

Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.