The Briefing

Monday Headlines: 

• New poll has Pauline Hanson as preferred PM
• Trump tells all sides to ‘stand down’ amid peace talks
• Nine-year-old Australian girl killed in Pakistan
• Renewed calls for a Sydney shark cull after Coogee attack
• Socceroos stun in World Cup opener against Turkiye

Deep Dive: A proposed $900 million waste-to-energy plant in Fiji sparked fierce criticism before it was ultimately rejected, with opponents warning the nation risked becoming the "Pacific's ashtray" and accusing Australia of engaging in "waste colonialism". 

The project has reignited debate around waste-to-energy technology, which supporters say can reduce landfill and generate electricity, but critics argue risks creating a dependence on burning waste rather than reducing it. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with environmental researcher Professor Ray Wills about the Fiji proposal, the future of waste-to-energy in Australia, and whether burning rubbish is a necessary part of solving the country's growing waste problem. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Terence Tao was a child prodigy, and became a mathematics professor in the United States at age 24. In his early 30s he won the Fields Medal, known as 'the Nobel Prize of Mathematics'. Tao is considered one of the greatest living mathematicians, in part because of the breadth of his contributions to the field – from finding new patterns in prime numbers to solving several of the "unsolvable" Erdős problems.

On Monday, the King's Birthday, Tao was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order of Australia.

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, Terence Tao, AC, speaks with Natarsha Belling about the pleasures of solving problems, and how maths makes the world a less scary place.

If you want more Terence Tao, one of the YouTube channels he mentions is 3Blue1Brown, and Tao is featured on an episode.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He became one of the breakout stars of Married At First Sight Australia last year, but life after it wasn't exactly what Dave Hand expected. 

The self-described "gentle giant" found himself navigating one of TV’s biggest experiments, alongside sudden fame and online scrutiny all while his dad was undergoing cancer treatment.  
 
And this year he swapped one reality TV juggernaut for another, joining Netflix's Perfect Match alongside stars from Love Is Blind, Love Island, Vanderpump Rules and Too Hot To Handle. 

In this episode of The Weekend Briefing, Dave joins Chris Spyrou to unpack the reality behind reality TV, from MAFS dinner parties to producer relationships, tattoo regrets and how he managed to avoid Bali belly while filming in ... Mexico. 
 
The Weekend List 

To Watch: Project Hail Mary (recommended by listener Rebecca)  
To Watch: Not Suitable For Work on Disney+ 
To Do: Get around Baby Bunting’s ‘Storktake’ sale 

To Listen: Anything from Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II album. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines: 

• Pauline Hanson says $2.6m donations legit after PM casts doubt
• Donald Trump calls off strikes on Iran
• El Niño returns, likely to bring extreme weather to Australia
• Government says it won’t repeat the mistakes of the resource boom with AI 
• FIFA World Cup kicks off in Mexico

Deep Dive: The world could see its first trillionaire soon, as Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, goes public. If the SpaceX public offering goes to plan, then Musk could increase his personal fortune by hundreds of billions of US dollars in just a few days. 

How did Musk get so filthy rich? And how should we think about one individual controlling a trillion US dollars, and the unique power that type of wealth confers? 

In this episode The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Tom Maloney - an editor and wealth reporter at Bloomberg in New York to unpack Musk’s path to a trillion and how he conquered capitalism. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Briefing, we continue Chris Spyrou’s chat with NSW Premier Chris Minns.  

After discussing medicinal cannabis driving reforms, abortion laws and the state of political debate in part one, the conversation turns to One Nation.  

Minns shares whether he pays attention to the polls, why he's concerned about his own seat, his reactions to the Federal Budget and his response to the political donations case heading to court next week. 

Listen to part one here

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines: 

• Trump promises to hit Iran ‘hard again today’ 
• Belfast stabbing accused faces court as victim’s family condemns unrest
• Pauline Hanson met with protests on Perth campaign trip
• TGA launches crackdown on unregulated peptides
• Bad Bunny meets the Pope

Deep Dive: There’s a lot going on in Aussie politics at the moment.  
 
One Nation is polling ahead of Labor in surveys for the first time, abortion access is being debated, and one of the country's tougher states on drugs is carving out an exemption for medicinal cannabis users who drive.  
 
NSW Premier Chris Minns is at the centre of a lot of it.  
 
In part one of this two-part chat with Chris Spyrou, the Premier walks us through the state’s cannabis driving reforms, the push to outlaw sex-selective abortions and his reaction to the “ditch the witch” campaign targeting Jacinta Allan. 

Listen to part two here.

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines: 

• High Court: Australian government may have to compensate people who were illegally detained 
• One Nation’s anti-Labor fundraising drive brings in hundreds of thousands
• Neale Daniher farewelled at MCG state funeral
• Alleged Bondi shooter charged with 19 more offences
• Oyster farmer elected to run for U.S. Senate
• New research links iPhone to declining birth rate 

Deep Dive: 

The Iran war has escalated again, and the ceasefire has never looked more fragile. In the last 24 hours a U.S. helicopter was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, leading to further rounds of strikes between the nations. Iran and Israel have also been exchanging fire, and Israel is still conducting an offensive against Lebanon. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by defence and maritime expert Jennifer Parker. Is the Middle East heading back into all-out war? 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod 

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: 

• Trump promises to ‘respond’ after US helicopter shot down by Iran
• Elon Musk calls for anti-immigration protests after brutal stabbing in Ireland
• Apple ‘inspired’ by Australia’s world-first social media ban
• Opening date announced for new Western Sydney Airport
• Matildas win friendly against Mexico in Caitlin Foord’s 150th game

Deep Dive: Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital has taken a 15-year-old girl to the Supreme Court after she refused treatment for her leukaemia – and won.  
 
Backed by her mother, who believed God could heal her daughter, the teenager rejected a bone marrow transplant despite doctors warning her chances of survival without it were just five per cent. The court sided with the hospital, authorising treatment against her wishes last month. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with University of Sydney law professor Cameron Stewart about the legal doctrine that allowed the court to intervene and what happens when medicine, parental authority and religious belief collide. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines: 

• Angus Taylor isn't ruling out One Nation preference deal 

• Trump's $US100,000 H-1B skilled worker visa fee struck down by Judge 

• New research calls for urgent Jobseeker boost with Aussies skipping meals and healthcare 

• Survey finds 57% of Netflix subscribers spend $119 a year without watching a thing 

Deep Dive: 

The FIFA world cup kicks off in a few days, but the tournament has already been rocked by a number of controversies including visa denials - with the US, a host nation, denying a top referee entry into the country citing vetting concerns.  

Then there’s also the interesting bromance between Donald Trump and the controversial FIFA president who recently gifted Trump a peace prize.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society from Western Sydney University to unpack how politics and sport collide. 

Follow The Briefing:  

TikTok: @thebriefingpod 

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast  

YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines:

• Iran and Israel promise to halt strikes
• 35 people dead after 7.8 earthquake strikes the Philippines
• PM condemns ‘ditch the witch’ campaign against Victorian premier as Hanson tells her to ‘suck it up’
• Every Australian generation thinks things are worse than they were ten years ago
• Couple donates $40 million to Fight MND at this year’s Big Freeze

Deep Dive: Every time there is a major sporting event, be it State of Origin or the AFL grand final, we hear how they coincide with an increase in domestic violence reports. 

It’s a trend that advocates call “predictable and preventable” with calls growing for changes to liqour laws to help combat the scourge. 

In this episode of The Briefing, advocate and investigative journalist Jess Hill sits down with Sacha Barbour Gatt to discuss how simple regulatory changes could be a gamechanger when it comes to the prevention of DV. 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.