The Briefing

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