Bob Brown is nothing short of a trailblazer. A pioneering environmentalist, he became a defining force in Australia’s conservation movement and made history as the first openly gay leader of an Australian political party.

Before entering politics, Bob trained as a doctor more than 50 years ago shaping his understanding of life and fragility. In his latest book, Defiance, he shares why he’s entering a new era of being at peace with death.

In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Bob explains why he still refuses to give up on humanity and how people like Trump find themselves in such powerful positions.

Weekend list with Helen Smith

• TO WATCH: Bugonia
• TO WATCH: Kevin Hart: Acting My Age on Netflix
• TO DO: Watch out for scams
• TO WATCH: Yurlu Country

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A special plea for more Australians to donate blood, plasma and platelets, with supplies at dangerous levels in the lead up to Christmas. Australia needs a new donor every 5 minutes, but only one in 30 donates.

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by 11-year-old Rosie, who has been diagnosed with a rare blood disease and needs donations to stay alive. The 11-year-old and her mum Ann share their heartbreaking story, and their important message for Australians to help others in need. 

https://www.lifeblood.com.au/

Headlines: Two people have been arrested after a man was shot dead in Sydney’s west, one of the National Guards shot near the White House in the US yesterday has died, and shoppers are being warned it may cost more to buy prawns this Christmas because of low stock. 

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Friday Headlines: Anger grows in Hong Kong as death toll rises from horror apartment fires, Labor strikes deal with Greens on environment laws, FBI launches terror probe into National Guard shooting, Pollies react to Barnaby Joyce’s Nationals defection and Sydney train station forced to remove AI art 

Deep Dive: Would you sit on your bed for an hour with no phone, no music, no book - literally nothing to distract you? 

Well, that’s a trend that’s been sweeping socials called ‘rawdogging boredom,’ where users film themselves doing absolutely nothing for a set amount of time, in the hopes it’ll improve their dwindling attention spans.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou and Sacha Barbour Gatt give it a go before unpacking the neuroscience behind it with author, podcaster and neuroscience expert, Alexis Fernandez-Preiksa. 

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Colin Kaepernick was a star quarterback in the NFL, but his decision to kneel during the national anthem in 2016, in protest against racial inequality and police brutality, ended up costing him his career.   

His silent gesture exposed deep power imbalances between players and team owners, sparking a league-wide reckoning - with his beef resulting in athletes being able to protest the national anthem without facing the same consequences he did.  

In this episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks how Kaepernick was quietly side-lined by all 32 teams, why it took the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement for the NFL to shift its stance and what prompted Donald Trump to label him a ‘son of a bitch.’ 

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The latest gender pay gap report has been released, and while there is some good news, there is still a long way to go, especially when it comes to inequity at the CEO level. The pay gap still stands at just over 20 per cent, with overall numbers showing men still earn almost $30,000 more per year compared to women. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Mary Woolridge, the CEO of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, to unpack all the latest data and what to do if you think you’re being paid unfairly. 

Headlines: Barnaby Joyce has officially announced his resignation from The Nationals, The United States has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan Nationals effective immediately, three men have been arrested over the horrific inferno in Hong Kong, and investigations are continuing after a woman was killed in a shark attack on the NSW Mid North Coast. 

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Thursday Headlines: AUKUS submarine deal to be examined by secret government committee, at least 36 people killed in high-rise apartment fire in Hong Kong, teens launch High Court challenge to social media ban, Trump’s final criminal charge abandoned, and the TikTok awards were on in Sydney last night.

Deep Dive: Black Friday is no longer a single day, rather a month-long retail marathon that’s become the centrepiece of what feels like Australia’s never-ending sales season. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with QUT Professor Gary Mortimer about when this shift began, how it reshaped business, and whether it’s still worth chasing a bargain tomorrow. 

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The federal government has introduced a major change to social security payments, which allows financial support to be cut off if recipients with outstanding warrants, even before they’re found guilty. The government says the new powers will only be used in exceptional circumstances based on expert advice from law enforcement.

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Kristin O’Connell from the Anti-Poverty Centre who raises serious concerns that some of our most vulnerable will be unfairly targeted in these changes that have just passed the Senate. 

Statement from a Spokesperson for Minister Tanya Plibersek: 

The social safety net is a pillar of this country, and we are deeply committed to upholding its integrity.

If someone is charged with a serious offence like murder or child sexual abuse and is on the run, they should not continue receiving a payment from the Government. 

Continuing to provide support in these circumstances is not appropriate, but there is currently no legal authority to cancel a payment. 

These powers will only be used in exceptional circumstances, based on expert advice from law enforcement agencies. 

Any impact on dependents must be considered by the Minister for Home Affairs before issuing a notice. 

It is a serious power, for the most serious of circumstances. 

Headlines: South Australian police have announced they’ve concluded a new search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has admitted inflation is higher than the federal government would like, and Robert Irwin has won Dancing with the Stars in the US. 

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Wednesday Headlines: Experts warn food delivery could become more expensive’ after ‘world first’ deal, Sea World employee breaks down at inquest into deadly helicopter crash, Labor to squeeze public service, new research finds our brains have ‘five eras’, and Trump pardons two turkeys, rambles about ‘fat slob’ governor. 

Deep Dive: AI-generated child sexual abuse material is seeing a horrifying increase in Australia, but detectives are working on something that could soon be hitting abusers with a dose of digital poison. 

That’s the hope of the AFP, which is behind a new tool that will look to disrupt the production of these heinous images by corrupting data in the backend. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with Elizabeth Perry from the AI for Law Enforcement and Community Safety (AiLECS) Lab. She’s the research lead behind this new tool to find out how it will work and put a major dent in the production of CSAM. 

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Former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans once was one of the highest rating Australian celebrity chefs, but after rebranding himself as an outspoken wellness crusader, he found himself in a series of public feuds with the TGA, medical experts, and health professionals. 

Dubbed ‘Paleo Pete’, he's been back in the headlines, this time sporting a MAGA hat and releasing a new cookbook, The MAHA Cookbook: Real Food, Real Change, Real Health, Real Health, inspired by the MAHA Commission report and championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  

In this episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks why the TGA issued Evans thousands of dollars in infringement notices and what ultimately led Meta to pull down his social media accounts. 

 

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What happened to Gus Lamont? The 4-year-old has been missing for almost 8 weeks after vanishing from his family’s property in outback South Australia. Now, authorities say they are searching disused mine shafts in the area, as they desperately search for any new clues. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by forensic anthropologist Xanthe Mallet, who explains what investigators may be looking for and why she believes Gus’s disappearance is one of Australia’s most baffling cases. 

Headlines: Pauline Hanson has hit back after being suspended from the Senate for 7 days, a 15-year-old boy who’s been charged with the alleged stabbing murder of a 17-year-old near a school in Sydney’s northwest has faced court, and the Macquarie Dictionary is the latest to unveil its word of the year.

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