The Briefing

Elon Musk has introduced Optimus, Tesla’s new humanoid robots, to the world and has made some ambitious claims about their uses in the not-too-distant future.

Viral videos of Optimus robots making drinks, dancing and chatting to attendees at the launch event have sparked questions around the humanoid's autonomy.

But this past week has been a massive one for Elon Musk, with SpaceX's successful docking of Starship rocket booster marking an engineering milestone, which many thought was impossible.

In this episode of the Briefing Bension Siebert is joined by tech journalist James Hennessy to unpack how these robots work and when they’ll be hitting the market.

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Headlines: Coalition leading in Newspoll, King Charles comments on Australia becoming a Republic ahead of visit, QLD nuclear plebiscite, Christopher Columbus was likely Spanish and Jewish.

Deep Dive: Kelly McMasters has written her own obituary every year since she was 12 years old. An obituary is usually written by a dedicated obit journalist or writer and includes key facts about a person’s life – it's essentially how they will be remembered. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Kelly reveals what she’s learnt from writing obituaries and what makes it to the page.  

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Meet the American law professor who’s visa was in question earlier this week after speaking at a Mosque in Sydney. 

Khaled Beydoun, who is of  Lebanese, Egyptian and Palestinian heritage, has a staggering 2.5 million Instagram followers and has become a major source of trusted news on war on Gaza and the broader regional conflict. 

In this exclusive interview, Khaled sits down to share his insights on the past year of violence, the powerful voices of Palestinian journalists on the ground, and the risks that come with challenging confronting western media narratives.

In chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Khaled delves into the significant impact that Muslim and Arab voters in the U.S. could have on the upcoming election.

 

FULL QUOTE FROM HIS TALK ON OCTOBER 7

"It's a good day and we've got to mark some of the good news that comes about, that we oftentimes neglect,"  

“Today is not fully a day of mourning, today is also a day that marks considerable celebration, considerable progress and in some respects, considerable privilege. The level of global literacy around what's taking place in [Palestine] has exponentially risen." 

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Scammers are calling Australians ‘easy prey’ because they are considered wealthy and trusting.

An ABC investigation found that perpetrators of these highly organised and sophisticated operations believed that unlike American law enforcement, the Australian Federal Police just won’t go after them – so is that true, and if so, why?

In this episode of the Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by cyber security expert and former AFP detective, Nigel Phair to explain what makes Australians the perfect targets.

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Headlines: Hurricane Milton death toll rises, China to lift Australian lobster restrictions, latest statistics on how we’re dying in Australia revealed, Princess Kate's first official engagement since finishing chemo and the Socceroos beat China in their World Cup qualifier clash last night.

Deep Dive: Kamala Harris has done very few media interviews since replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president – but she launched a “media blitz” this week. 

It comes at a time when the polls show Harris and former US President Donald Trump effectively tied, with less than a month to go before the election.  

On this episode of the Briefing, Bension Siebert interviews the Nine Network’s US correspondent Johnathan Kearsley to find out how it went and what to expect in the final stretch of the campaign. 

 

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Football is Australia’s most played team sport – with 1.7 million participants across all genders and ages. But professionally, it feels like we’re not making a splash.

The Matildas exited the Paris Olympics much earlier than expected and the Socceroos have had a shocking start to their world cup qualifiers that continue tonight against China in Adelaide.

In the last few months – both national teams have been found new coaches and with structural issues in the A-Leagues creating what some have branded “a talent drain,” is there any chance of it getting better?

In this episode of The Briefing Chris Spyrou is joined by sports journo and cohost of LiSTNR’s Willowtalk and Footy Talk League Adam Peacock to unpack it all.

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Headlines: Fugitive dad and three kids spotted for the first time in three years in New Zealand, amendments to Labor's international student cap, Fox proposes new Presidential debate date and a Nepalese teen breaks record by summitting world’s 14 tallest peaks.

Deep dive: Finding out your genetic history can be as easy as spitting into a test tube.

Since the mid-2000s take take-home DNA kits have become more accessible here in Australia – with participants getting results back within weeks.

But what happens when our genetic information ends up in the wrong hands?

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Dr Katie Hasson from the Centre for Genetics and Society to explain the dangers of data breaches and what happens when users have their genetic information stolen and sold on the dark web.

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Brat summer is officially coming to Australia. 

Superstar singer Charlie XCX will headline Laneway in 2025. The excitement is palpable – but the story of the last few years of music festivals in this country has not been a good one, with countless examples of big-ticket headlining artists dropping out at the last minute. 

The cost of living is hitting organizers and punters alike, and there has been a clear, industry wide slump in ticket sales. So, with today’s big announcement, there is an important question to music fans across the country – can we put our trust in music festivals anymore? And how do we know that this latest, massive headliner, is a sure thing?   

On this episode of The Briefing, Triple Js Music News Producer Courtney Fry joins Helen Smith to shine some light on the state of the industry right now, and if she thinks the promise of Charlie playing in Australia will become a reality.  

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Headlines: Anthony Albanese issues second apology over Tourette's comment, Florida is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton, the supermarket milk wars could be back and the first trailer drops for 'How to Make Gravy'.
 
Deep dive: How much is a ticket actually worth? 

Yesterday, Oasis announced Australian dates for their massive 2025 reunion tour – and in news that will likely make fans very happy, the band announced there would be no dynamic pricing for the Australian leg, following backlash from fans hoping to attend their UK dates who were made furious by the model when tickets went on sale in the region. 

But online prices that surge at times of peak demand are only getting more common – from gigs to sporting events, to booking a flight or an uber. 

Are we stuck with dynamic ticket pricing? Or is the fan backlash strong enough for event promoters to think twice? Dr Georgia Carrol is an expert in fan culture has a PhD in fan and celebrity studies from the University of Sydney. She joins Bension Siebert on this episode of The Briefing to explore the impact of dynamic ticket pricing here and overseas.  

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73% of young people are turning to TikTok, YouTube and Instagram for mental health support, according to a new report by ReachOut who surveyed over 2000 people between the ages of 16 and 25 about how they use social media to find mental health advice and information.

But how safe is this practice - especially when young people are turning increasingly to socials as a replacement for professional help? And what can be done to improve transparency when as little as 2% of medical information on TikTok is factual?

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by one of ReachOut’s youth advocates, Sina, to unpack the key findings of the report and whether or not the government’s social media ban is a tenable solution.

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