The Briefing

Usually this is where you'd find The Weekend Briefing - a feature chat with a human behind the headline. This Saturday, we're launching something a little different: the week that was, and what we all made of it.
And by "we" we don't just mean us. You're in on this one too.
Each Saturday kicks off with a debrief on one story we couldn't stop talking about off air - this week it's the Divine Playhouse, the queer-led arts venue shut down inside a Sydney building that stopped being a church in 1932.

Then it's our first ever weekend quiz, which Chris has not shut up about for a fortnight (full questions below).

Then we open the inbox - your DMs, your comments, and where you landed on the big one this week: should men be working in early childcare?

And of course we cap it off with the weekend list:
Revenge – unsure if the TV series or the act (listener Claire)
The Boys on Amazon Prime (listener Chris)
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi – NYT bestselling novel (listener Suzanne)
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey – in cinemas now, or 6.15am at IMAX if you’re producer Alex.

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):
Which controversial influencer faced court this week after being arrested in Miami?
After being in Europe and spotted at a luxury resort in Italy with Gina Rinehart, Pauline Hanson was back on home soil. Which state did she head to first?
What is the name of the UK's new Prime Minister?
An Australian woman made global headlines this week for an extremely rare "one in 15 million" event. What was it?
Which member of parliament yelled “sit down” while on live television this week?
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:
Billions more invested in AUKUS as Labor looks to keep a lid on debate at national conference
Pauline Hanson lashes DV payments, child support, in newly surfaced interview
Global oil price back up above $100 for the first time in two months
Warnings after Open AI model breaks out of cage and hacks another company
Aussies have already won gold as slimmed down Comm Games get underway
Deep Dive: Why do Australia’s telcos fail so catastrophically? This month, Telstra’s network suffered a nationwide outage that shut down trains and blocked Triple Zero calls, following major outages for Optus customers in 2023 and 2025.
Do other countries have similar telco failures, or are Australia’s uniquely bad? What has to change to make sure Aussies are always connected to the phone network?
In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Carol Bennett, the CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.
Further listening from headlines:
Gambling chat with Kate Chaney: What the govt buried on budget day
The world’s spies are worried about AI
Follow The Briefing:
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines:
Pauline Hanson under fire after claiming domestic violence is a ‘two-way street’
Labor's national conference begins today
Libs call for guarantee Australian ISIS doctor won't be able to return
Victorian teachers strike
Prince George turns 13
Deep Dive: Last week, Hamish Tait became the third man to be accused of carrying out widespread sexual abuse against children in Australian childcare centres in just two years.
It's the latest in a string of cases that have shocked the country and prompted a fierce debate around whether men should be banned from working with babies and toddlers.
In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by early childhood expert Dr. Martyn Mills-Bayne to explore whether a blanket ban would truly keep children safe, or if it misses the real core of the crisis.
Follow The Briefing:
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines:
Another interest rate hike now twice as likely as tensions flare in the middle east
Pauline Hanson hits back at White Australia claims
Interim report into Kumanjayi Little Baby's death finds child protection failings
Victorian teachers to strike after rejected pay offer
Aussie mum of 1 in 15 million quadruplets shares social media update
Deep Dive: Victoria's Premier has spent the past few days taking on some of the biggest companies on the planet.
Jacinta Allan wants to force tech giants to reveal who's behind anonymous accounts spreading hate. She wants to clear the way for families to drag those same companies into court. And she wants to stop employers using artificial intelligence to monitor staff - right down to how often they visit the toilet.
But none of it’s been written yet, parliament is almost out of time, and some experts say the tools to fix this already exist.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou puts those questions to Jacinta Allan and asks whether one state government can actually take on Silicon Valley.
Follow The Briefing:
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines:
Israel criticises proposed Labor policy on even of national conference
Melbourne ‘ISIS bride’ granted bail
Andy Burnham sworn in as the new UK Prime Minister
Australia's ski resorts set new winter heat record
Aussie mum's 1 in 15 million birth sees her deliver identical quadruplets
Barnaby Joyce with the top contender for TV blooper of the year
Deep Dive: Now in its fifth year, it seems like there is no end in sight to the war between Russia and Ukraine, especially on the back of another round of deadly strikes on Kyiv over the weekend.
But conflict in the middle east is having an impact on how this war is being fought, and there is a sense that Putin's army is slowing down.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou and Dr Malcolm David discuss the latest in the Ukraine war and try to figure out what might happen next.
Further listening from the headlines:
How Australia funds Israeli settlements
Who is Andy Burnham, the man who could lead the UK next?
Follow The Briefing:
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.