Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have been in the International Space Station (ISS) since early June – and they can’t get down.

The pair have been stranded in space for over 60 days due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – and NASA now says they'll remain there for some time yet. The American space agency says the astronauts will remain orbiting the planet till September 24th at earliest, and potentially until February next year.

What went so wildly wrong as to extend an eight-day mission out to what could be eight months? And what’s it going be like to be stuck there with no solid return date.

Dr Rebecca Allen is co-director of the Swinburne Space Technology and Industry Institute and joins Bension Siebert on The Briefing to explain what happens next.

Headlines:

Australia has added to its medal haul overnight in Paris

Man arrested over alleged terror attack plot at Taylor Swift concert 

AUKUS deal officially signed 

Donald Trump confirms he will debate Kamala Harris

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McDonald’s is an economic juggernaut.

Since its inception in the 1940s, the golden arches have dominated the fast food market globally, becoming a beacon of success. But is the seemingly never-ending fast food honeymoon with them, and other outlets around the globe, over? 

McDonalds has reported experiencing its first downturn in years, and it’s not the only one – recently US burger chain Carl’s Junior, which had ambitions to open hundreds of outlets across Australia, collapsed into voluntary administration.

So, what the hell is going on? What does this say about the immediate future of the global economy, and what does it say about us as consumers? 

Mitchell Taylor is a partner at Simon-Kucher, a global strategy consulting firm focusing on growth strategy, marketing, pricing, and sales. He joins Bension Siebert on The Briefing to shed a light on what this might mean for our global economy.  

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Artificial intelligence is colliding with elite sport and mega-events like the Olympics in ways that could soon affect our daily lives, in surprising ways.

AI is being used to identify talented future Olympians around the world, to help coaches identify minute flaws in athletic performance, and to improve training.

But it’s also seriously ramping up state surveillance of crowds, and for all its amazing uses AI also has some big fundamental problems, like reliability issues and bias.

So what should be the role of this kind of technology at a global mega-event like the Olympics? And what does its use there tell us about the future of AI in our own daily lives.

On this episode of The Briefing Bension Siebert speaks with Ari Waldman, an expert in the ethics of artificial intelligence and big data, to find out.

Headlines:

Another golden night in Paris

Childcare pay rise 

Harris and Walz tour as Trump reacts to running mate pick 

Dog perfume for $165 a bottle 

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Previously, dairy milk was viewed as an irreplaceable part of a balanced diet. But things are more complicated now, and Australians are drinking less of it.

So why the shift? Is it due to greater awareness of lactose intolerance, concerns over animal welfare, or environmental considerations? And how do dairy milk alternatives, such as soy, almond or oat milk compare for health and sustainability? 

In this episode, The Briefing’s Simon Beaton is joined by farmer and author of Milk, Matthew Evans, to find out more. 

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ASIO and the federal government announced on Monday that Australia’s terror threat level had increased from 'possible' to 'probable'. Part of the reasoning - an increase in young men being radicalised.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said “governments around the world are concerned about youth radicalisation, online radicalisation and the rise of new mixed ideologies”.

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Levi West from the ANU’s Centre for Social Policy Research to find out how and why young men in particular get radicalised, and what’s being done to stop it.

Headlines:

The youngest Aussie medal winner ever

Kamala Harris picks running mate

Global markets show signs of recovery

Judge rules Google has a monopoly on internet searches

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Are you in need of a go-to explainer on what the hell is going on with the stock market and how it could affect you?

This time last week, everything was coming up Milhouse for Australian investors.

The Australian Stock Exchange – or ASX – hit yet another record high after months of relatively consistent growth.

But since Friday markets across the globe have been tumbling, and $100 billion has been wiped off the value of Australian shares alone.

Dr Angela Jackson is Lead Economist at Impact Economics - she joins Bension Siebert on The Briefing to break down what it all means for you.

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September 11, the Iraq War and John Howard’s prime ministership were among the most pivotal news events of the early 2000’s. 

But did you know that during that same period, Australia lived through its biggest corruption scandal – where Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was paid kickbacks for lucrative Australian wheat contracts?

Today, investigative reporter Richard Baker launches a major new LiSTNR podcast, Secrets We Keep: Baghdad Nights, diving deep into the scandal, offering new revelations and focusing on the humanity of the people caught up in it.

He joins Bension Siebert on The Briefing to reflect on how Australia’s politics and media can fail to capture the nuance of a major scandal, and the lessons he’s learned getting to know the real people involved.

Headlines:

Olympics Update 

Stock market plunge over US recession fears

The national terror threat level raised from ‘possible’ to ‘probable’

Bangladeshi PM flees the country

Kamala Harris set to unveil her running mate

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Yesterday, Nine Newspapers reported the government was about to walk away from a near-total ban on gambling ads across the country, to instead focus on banning gambling ads from social media and other digital platforms. The new plan for TV would reportedly be caps on the number of gambling ads per hour and banning them an hour before and after live sport. 

The reported proposal – which goes against the plan originally designed and championed by Labor’s Peta Murphy, who died last year – has prompted outrage on both sides of the debate. 

Anti-gambling advocates say the new proposal doesn’t go nearly far enough, while the big players in this conversation, sporting bodies, say banning gambling ads threatens revenue that funds grassroots and free-to-air sport. Media companies, including NewsCorp and Nine, argue such a ban threatens jobs. 

David Pocock is in a unique position to deeply understand this issue—he's both a former Rugby Union star and an independent senator for the ACT. He joined Bension Siebert to explain why the news has made him angry and what he thinks the government should do about gambling ads going forward. 

This episode mentions suicide. If you or anyone you know needs help, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14.  

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Would you wear an ‘always-on’ AI chatbot buddy around your neck to keep you company?

Meet your newest ‘Friend’. Picture a small, white pendant – kind of like an Apple AirTag, about the size of a button large – enclosed in a necklace so it sits perfectly at your chest. It’s watching, listening, and ready to chat to you all day, every day.

A user wears their ‘Friend’, talks to it with the press of a button, and then the chatbot responds via text through the app.

The point of the ‘Friend’ is simply to keep people company, but what are the implications of technology you wear and talk to 24/7, and what does its creation say about who we are becoming as a society? 

On this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by the lead engineer of Friend, Jackson Mowatt Gok, to explain why it's been created, and what he hopes it will achieve.

Headlines:

Olympics wrap

Makarrata Commission scrapped by Albanese government

US recession fears spook stock market 

French pole vaulter talks after going viral for one ‘big’ reason 

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Daizy Maan Kaur is full of surprises and her name is one of them.

She’s the founder of Brown Women Comedy and Soul house with a mission to create more inclusive spaces for south Asian and migrant women.

 

In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Daizy reveals where her comedic side came from and why she legally changed her name when she was just thirteen.

 

Weekend List

• TO DO - Short term goal setting planners
• TO EAT - Paddle pops
• TO READ - Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children) by Megan Agnew in The Times
• TO WEAR - Hair tie for a belt
• TO WATCH - Customise your Olympics experience

Follow The Briefing:
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