The Briefing

Thursday Headlines: Almost 50,000 people isolated by one in 500 year flood, Donald Trump ambushes the President of South Africa, AFL great Joel Selwood has made his first public comments following the death of his brother Adam, groundbreaking new Alzheimer's treatment now available, and EV sales drop to lowest level in two years. 

Deep Dive: Victoria’s construction industry has been rocked by a recent spate of violent attacks, from fire-bombed family homes to torched government-backed sites.  

Allegations are now mounting that the CFMEU is trying to claw back control, just nine months after its construction arm was placed into administration.  

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with award-winning investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, who broke the story for The Age and 60 Minutes, to unpack what’s really going on inside one of Australia's most powerful and influential unions.

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Erin Patterson has been charged with the murders of three relatives and the attempted murder of another; after allegedly serving up a beef Wellington dish laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms at a lunch at her home in 2023.  

She’s pled not guilty to all charges.  

In this special series of The Briefing Helen Smith unpacks day sixteen of the trial in under two minutes.  

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Afternoon headlines: Thousands isolated from recording breaking floods, NSW Premier urged hundreds of thousands of commuters to leave work early with Sydney’s train chaos and former AFL umpire on the run accused of $9 million fraud scheme

Deep Dive: NRL superstar Reece Walsh has gone viral from a video he posted showing him punching a friend to the ground.

The latest sporting controversy has sparked a bigger controversy about role models, normalizing violence and providing a safe space for all men to have honest conversations.

In this episode of The Briefing Natarsha Belling is joined by Dr Zac Seidler the Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movemeber who says we need urgent action to better support these role models and stop normalising violence.  

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Artificial intelligence is transforming how we work, streamlining everyday tasks and enhancing productivity across industries.

Platforms like Smartsheet are using AI to automate the repetitive parts of our jobs, giving us more time to focus on things like creativity and strategy. 

In this sponsored episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Helen Masters, Managing Director for Asia Pacific Japan at Smartsheet, to explore how Australians are working smarter with AI.

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Wednesday Headlines: John Howard calls Coalition split a ‘stupid move’, Sydney trains still investigating cause of incident that shut down services last night, Ben Roberts Smith has been labelled “reckless and brazen” by judges, Sydney men sentenced over using Grindr to rob gay men, 1 in 2 Aussies needing help are skipping meals, and the world’s best chess player has finally met his match.

Deep Dive: 
One of the states with the strongest police pursuit rules in the country is reviewing them this month, after a staggering spate of car related crimes, but the policy was first brought in to combat a growing number of deaths. 
  
In 2024 there were at least ten fatalities from police pursuits in Australia, with deaths recorded in every state and territory. 
 
In this episode of The Briefing, Tara Cassidy is joined by former police officer and Bond University's Associate Professor of Criminology, Terry Goldsworthy to discuss what needs to change. 

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Patterson has been charged with the murders of three relatives and the attempted murder of another; after allegedly serving up a beef Wellington dish laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms at a lunch at her home in 2023.  

She’s pled not guilty to all charges.  

In this special series of The Briefing Helen Smith unpacks day fifteen of the trial in under two minutes.  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @listnrnewsroom 
Instagram: @listnrnewsroom @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @LiSTNRnewsroom 
Facebook: @LiSTNR Newsroom

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Afternoon headlines: National Party to split from Liberals abandoning Coalition, Australia has joined 23 other countries condemning Israel’s plan to “take control” of Gaza blocking aid and Sesame Street saved by Netflix

Deep Dive: The Reserve Bank of Australia has slashed the official cash rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.85 per cent.

While it’s a big win for millions of mortgage holders, the RBA’s Governer has warned there is an uncertain and unpredictable road ahead.

In this episode of The Briefing Natarsha Belling is joined by Sally Tindall who unpacks what this latest cut means for means for our housing market, jobs and the economy. 

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Tuesday Headlines: Residents in parts of NSW are evacuating due to severe weather and flooding, Bondi Junction attack inquest’s expected to hear from more expert witnesses today, Israel issues fresh warnings as aid starts to flow, RBA tipped to cut cash rate today, and Telstra continues denying allegations it’s misled Australians.

Deep Dive: A huge amount of what we engage with online is fake, from profiles to the comments, likes and views, much of it comes from ‘bots’. 
 
While we know bots have been used in the past to spread disinformation, astroturf, spruik the next big brand or boost a follower count, who’s behind them, and what happens when they’re used to do harm instead of good? 
 
In this episode of The Briefing, Tara Cassidy speaks with Digital Media Researcher Professor Timothy Graham about the world of bots, and the issues and ethics behind media manipulation.

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Cover image credit: Copacabana Rural Fire Brigade - NSW RFS

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Patterson has been charged with the murders of three relatives and the attempted murder of another; after allegedly serving up a beef Wellington dish laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms at a lunch at her home in 2023.  

She’s pled not guilty to all charges.  

In this special series of The Briefing Helen Smith unpacks day fourteen of the trial in under two minutes.  

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @listnrnewsroom 
Instagram: @listnrnewsroom @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @LiSTNRnewsroom 
Facebook: @LiSTNR Newsroom

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Afternoon Headlines: Qantas faces more than $120 million in penalties over illegally outsourcing staff, Vietnamese drug cartel allegedly involved in the murder of Sydney women and Joe Biden reviewing cancer treatment. 

Deep Dive: After the tragic death of footy star Adam Selwood, mental health has been put back in the spotlight with calls for an AFL mental health round.

Adam passed away just months after his twin brother died by suicide, leaving the Selwood family and the entire AFL community devastated.

In this episode of The Briefing Natarsha Belling is joined by the chair of Lifeline Australia, Professor Steve Moylan to explain how we can prevent suicide and the crucial role we all play in connecting with others.   

If you or anyone you know needs help: 

• Lifeline on 13 11 14 
• MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 

Follow The Briefing: 
TikTok: @listnrnewsroom 
Instagram: @listnrnewsroom @thebriefingpodcast 
YouTube: @LiSTNRnewsroom 
Facebook: @LiSTNR Newsroom

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.