The Briefing

Headlines: 

• Minimum wages rise across Australia by 4.75%
• New Australian sanctions against West Bank settlers
• AI company Anthropic, worth $900bn, is going public
• Tennis legend Serena Williams is returning to the game
• 1,037 Marilyn Monroes celebrate her 100th birthday 

Deep Dive: 

“Nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak,” a Médecins Sans Frontières spokesman said about the current Ebola emergency in the Congo. Officially, at least 43 people have died with 263 cases confirmed. Doctors suspect the numbers are much higher. 

As the disease spreads the race for a vaccine is on. In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Ebola expert and epidemiologist, Professor Paul Griffin. 

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Tuesday Headlines:

• Iran reportedly halts peace talks with US over Israeli strikes on Lebanon
• Peter Garrett to head independent probe into Aukus
• Australia hits record number of billionaires
• UNSW ranked best Australian uni
• Jill Biden reveals her reaction to Joe Biden’s disastrous presidential debate against Donald Trump

Deep Dive: They may be five months away, but chatter is already ramping up ahead of the US midterm elections. 

The vote – which helps decide who controls Congress – will be the first major verdict on Donald Trump’s second presidency, but factors other than his performance in the White House will be at play. 

In this deep dive, Planet America’s Chas Licciardello joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to break it all down and explain how this election could signal be end of democracy. 

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Headlines: 

• Jim Chalmers brushes off One Nation polling 
• Israel expands ground offensive in Lebanon, seizes 900-year-old castle 
• Police investigate Melbourne house fire that killed child 
• Harvard speaker urges grads to “kill AI” 

Deep Dive: 

Complaints against NSW Police have risen by almost 70% in the last decade, and last year police paid $40 million in legal costs and settlements over alleged misconduct. Today the ABC’s Four Corners is airing an explosive report with videos of police bashing civilians, and calls for greater scrutiny. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Four Corners reporter Dylan Welch. 

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Monday Headlines: 

• One Nation becomes most popular political party in Australia
• Defence Minister reveals changes to AUKUS pact
• Searches continue in flooded Laos cave for missing miners
• Australian house prices fall
• Socceroos lose friendly as countdown to the World Cup hits two weeks

Deep Dive: The government last week launched its biggest lawsuit ever: Australia is suing the US corporate giant 3M for $2 billion, alleging that 3M concealed the fact that its firefighting foam was harmful.  

3M's firefighting foam was made from PFAS chemicals, which scientists now say are environmental contaminants, and the government is seeking damages for the contamination of 28 military bases around Australia. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Ian Wright, Associate Professor in Water Science at Western Sydney University, to unpack what we know about PFAS and whether the Commonwealth's case goes far enough. 

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Elon Musk has sparked fresh space-race chatter after revealing SpaceX is shifting its focus from Mars to the Moon, with ambitions to build a “self-growing” lunar city within the next decade.  

With multiple countries and private companies rolling out lunar missions, the push to develop Earth’s only natural satellite is heating up fast.  

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, astrophysicist Brad Tucker from ANU joins us to break down who the major players are, what a self-growing city actually means, and why inflatable moon hotels might not be as sci-fi as they sound. 

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John Safran is a cult Australian documentarian and professional bear-poker whose career has included everything from trying to join the Ku Klux Klan to getting crucified in the Philippines - and he says he’d probably still do it all again. 

The filmmaker first gained fame in Race Around the World in 1997 and since then has always inserted himself into the centre of uncomfortable stories, including squatting inside Kanye West’s abandoned mansion while trying to understand the psychology behind Ye’s antisemitic spiral.  

In this chat with Sacha Barbour Gatt, John shares his take on free speech in 2026, why censorship means something completely different in the internet age and how Australians are smarter than we give them credit for.  

Weekend list with Helen Smith

• Listener Daniel TO READ: Griefdogg by Michael Winkler
  
• TO WATCH: Prime Minister (Jacinda Ardern) on Netflix
• TO TRY: Uber pool 
  
• TO DO: Check out Broadsheet

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Headlines: 

• Aussie Rents could increase
• Opposition Leader withdraws his comments
• Amazon Backpack in trouble with ACCC
• Tribute show to John Farnham announced

Deep Dive: 

Sports journalist Emma Lawrence made history this year as the first woman to call an NRL game, with her achievement being hailed as a win for all women in broadcasting and the industry. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Emma who reveals why she wanted to smash the glass ceiling and how her young daughter inspired her to take on one of the toughest jobs in a male dominated industry.

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Friday Headlines: 

• 90% of young Aussies will be better off under tax overhaul 
• US and Iran agree on 60-day ceasefire extension
• Australian joins rescue mission for Laos villagers trapped in a cave
• AFP commissioner defends Ben Roberts Smith airport arrest
• Blues women win clean sweep of Origin

Deep Dive: The way Australians think about their money has shifted amid years of uncertainty and global impacts outside their control, according to a new report. 

One of the big ways we’re seeing this is in Aussies focusing on the things they can control, from joining loyalty programs and rentvesting, to splurging on things that bring them joy and prioritising travel. 

In this episode of The Briefing, ING’s CEO Melanie Evans sits down with Sacha Barbour Gatt to reveal why we’re seeing this, and whether the great ‘Australian dream’ has permanently shifted from full time work and houses to side hustles and investing.

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Headlines: 

• Govt. launches $2bn lawsuits against 3M over “forever chemicals” 

• Fourth ‘ISIS bride’ arrested and charged with terrorism offences 

• Trump rape accuser targeted by criminal investigation 

• More US strikes in Iran, alongside peace negotiations 

• Germany’s “most wanted” woman, 67, found guilty of armed robbery 

Deep Dive: 

Teenagers are having worse sex and getting more STIs. New research shows that one in five teenagers (aged 14-18) have experienced unwanted sex, and that condom use is falling. What’s happening to Australia’s teenagers? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Professor Jennifer Power, Deputy Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, and the lead researcher of the new study into teenage sexual health. 

Follow The Briefing:  

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YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast 

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Thursday Headlines: 

• Appeal date set for Erin Patterson
• Five people found alive after week trapped in Laos cave
• 240,000 people to be cut from NDIS over four years
• Labor’s controversial tax changes to be introduced to parliament today
• Blues win Origin 1 in stunning comeback 

Deep Dive: Australia’s courts have long allowed judges to consider “good character” references during sentencing, even in child sexual abuse cases. 

For many survivors, hearing offenders described in court as “good people” or “champions of young people” can be deeply retraumatising and after years of campaigning, one Australian state has now changed its laws. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with survivor advocate and co founder of Your Reference Ain’t Relevant, Harrison James, about the new laws and why advocates believe this should become a national standard.

Follow The Briefing: 
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YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.