Witch hunts aren’t just the stuff of colonial America; they’re happening right now all around the world.

People are still being persecuted and often murdered on suspicion of being involved in witchcraft, in a trend that’s currently being driven by fundamental Christianity, poverty and civil conflict.

On today’s briefing we’re joined by Professor Miranda Forsyth to find out who is at risk, why they’re being targeted and what’s being done to address the issue.

Headlines:

Hamas accepts “softened” ceasefire deal

Tributes for Aussie brothers killed in Mexico

Judge in Trump hush money trial threatens jail as ex-President breaches gag order for a 10th time

Met Gala Monday is here

 

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Over the weekend in Perth, a sixteen-year-old boy has been shot dead by police after allegedly wounding a man who was unknown to him with a knife. WA Premier Roger Cook has said that there were indications that the teenager had been radicalised online.

The news comes just weeks after Sydney's Wakeley church attack, where another 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, in what has been labelled a terrorist act.

In this episode, Bension Siebert speaks with internationally renowned expert on terrorism and extremism, Deakin University Professor Greg Barton, to establish how big of an issue radicalisation is in Australia, and what is being done to prevent and safeguard our youth. 

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Cities in China are sinking and satellite imagery shows Beijing is among one of the fastest going under.

According to a new study in the journal Science, development and groundwater pumping are causing land subsidence and heightening the risks of sea level rise. Within 100 years, a quarter of China’s urban coastal land could sit below sea level.

In this episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by Robert Nicholls, a climate scientist and civil engineer at the University of East Anglia who reviewed the paper to find out why China’s cities are sinking and what can be done to fix the problem

Headlines:

Israel shuts down Al Jazeera

Labor to introduce weekly payment for nursing, teaching students on placements

Free Madonna concert draws crowd of 1.6 million in Rio de Janeiro

 

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Ziggy Ramo is a Wik man, powerful storyteller and rapper - but it took him fives years to release his first album because the world wasn't ready to embrace his art and perspective.

Soon after the Black Lives Matter movement Ziggy set his words into the world releasing his music and he’s now written a book – his memoir – Human?

In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Ziggy explains how racism in Australia continues to dehumanise groups of people and what lead him to rap.

Ziggy will be appearing speaking throughout the Melbourne Writers Festival and on May 10th Jan Fran will be joining Ziggy live. Event details here

WEEKEND LIST

• TO READ - Pheasants Nest by Louise Milligan
• TO EAT- Pasta salad by Emily English on TikTok
• TO WATCH - Baby Reindeer on Netflix
• TO LISTEN - I Forgot to Tell You Something podcast

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Smut used to be the kind of genre you’d find hidden away in the back corner of bookstores.

But not anymore. Now, smut series are being featured on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and a quick search of #spicybook or #smut on TikTok will find hundreds of thousands of videos.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its issues.

In this episode of The Briefing, Bension Siebert speaks with Esmé Louise James, author of “Kinky History”, to find out about the history of smut, discuss problematic characters, and get her personal smutty recommendations.

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Since the Matildas world cup frenzy we’ve seen a rise in soccer participation numbers – not just for young girls – but also boys and older women too.

The A League Women season will come to a close tomorrow with Melbourne City taking on Sydney FC in what will hopefully be a record-breaking crowd.

On today’s briefing, we chat to Moya Dodd, lawyer, sports administrator and former Matilda, to find out if these numbers are sustainable.

Headlines:

Police dismantle UCLA pro-Palestine encampment as Biden speaks out 

New ad campaign to show misogynistic social media feeds Aussie kids are seeing

Australia’s housing crisis not going anywhere

Sex scenes decline by 40% in Hollywood flicks

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Snus is a small tobacco sachet placed between your gum and upper lip. But now there’s a new form of ‘snussing’, with products that take out the tobacco and replace it with flavours like cool mint, espresso, or bellini, and leave in the nicotine. 

Advertised on TikTok as an alternative to vaping, following a federal crackdown on non-prescription vapes, are these products just another sneaky way to keep the tobacco industry alive?

In this episode, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Associate Professor Becky Freeman, from the School of Public Health at Sydney University, to learn more about nicotine pouches and their growing popularity in Australia.

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A movement is growing around the world protesting Israel’s offensive against Palestine in the Middle East. This time it feels different.

More than 100 students at Columbia University in New York were arrested last month when the college called in police to break up their protest, an encampment in the university’s quadrangle. Riot police were called in yesterday to remove students from a campus building.

The arrests at Columbia marked a defining moment in the global protest – and similar protest encampments are springing up on campuses across the globe.

In this episode of The Briefing, LiSTNR reporter Helen Smith visits an encampment at Sydney University to find out how and why the students have decided to join the global campaign.  

Headlines:

What’s come out of yesterday’s National Cabinet meeting on domestic violence?

US Uni protests escalate into violence

New AI chatbot launching on our iPhones 

 

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Experiments on driverless - or autonomous - cars began 100 years ago, but only in the last twenty years have they become a genuine reality. Elon Musk's Telsa announced last month it was launching an autonomous taxi.

How do they work? How safe are they? And how long will it be before we're all expected to share the road with autonomous vehicles?

In this episode of The Briefing, we're joined by James Ward from Drive.com.au to discuss the latest developments in autonomous vehicles.

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Over the last few weeks, our national conversation has been heavily focused on the number of lives that have been taken by men because of domestic violence.

Arman Abrahimzadeh lost his mother to domestic violence in 2010 when his father murdered her in front of 300 people.

Since then Arman has dedicated his life to trying to end family and domestic abuse - talking to perpetrators in prisons, young people and across schools.

On this episode, Arman joins us to discuss how we can stop the abuse, stop re-offenders, and protect victim-survivors.

Lifeline - 13 11 14

1800RESPECT - 1800 737 732

Headlines:

National Cabinet to discuss tracking DV offenders, online content  

Donald Trump fined $13,000 and threatened with jail time over gag order 

Bonza enters voluntary administration 

King Charles returns to public duties 

 

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