The Briefing

Wednesday Headlines:
Labor to pass contentious tax reforms
Angus Taylor grilled on multiculturalism
Urgent testing underway but no new cases of bird flu yet
40 die in France amid record heat
Legal win for Sydney nurses after viral video struck out
Daryl Braithwaite announces retirement from live gigs
Deep Dive: The Australian political narrative has been completely hijacked by the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation, as the party and its leader continue to surge ahead in the polls.
But after the Prime Minister publicly challenged her claim that she is the ultimate champion of the "Aussie battler" this week, a critical question remains: who does her party actually stand for?
In this episode of The Briefing, Big Small Talk host Hannah Ferguson joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to break down the reality behind the rhetoric.
Further listening from headlines:
Bird flu's hit Australia. What now?
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Tuesday Headlines:
UK PM Sir Keir Starmer resigns
Vance says Iran will allow nuclear inspectors
Aussie support for multiculturalism plunges in historic survey shift
Rare warning from Five Eyes urges leaders to ‘act now’ on powerful new AI models
Messi breaks World Cup goal-scoring record
Deep Dive:
For years, Australia managed to avoid a strain of bird flu that has devastated wildlife populations and agricultural industries across much of the world.
That changed over the weekend, after authorities confirmed an infected migratory bird was discovered with H5N1 in Western Australia.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Professor Paul Griffin, Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health, about what we know about the virus, the risks it poses to both humans and animals, and why authorities are urging us to roll up our sleeves for this year’s flu shot to help reduce its impact.
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Monday Headlines:
National Cabinet to meet today to lock in fuel excise cut extension
JD Vance says ‘great progress’ made as Iran talks kicks off in Switzerland
UK Prime Minister could resign in next 24 hours
Auction clearance rates hit lowest levels since the pandemic
Socceroos 90% likely to reach next stage of World Cup
Deep Dive:
Last month, Australian neo-Nazi group White Australia, also known as the National Socialist Network, became a prohibited hate group. That means it is now illegal: it’s a crime to join, fund, or support the group. The NSN is challenging the government’s declaration, with a showdown scheduled in the High Court for September.
In the meantime, it’s been revealed a $2.5m Victorian property the neo-Nazi group is currently using as their headquarters has been paid for by a millionaire backer. And it’s not just one millionaire, but a network of rich and influential sympathisers.
In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with journalist Sherryn Groch from The Age, who has followed the money to find the neo-Nazis' mansion and the millionaire-backers supporting them.
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In April, a company called Anthropic claimed they had a new AI model that was too powerful to release. They called it ‘Mythos’, and said it could find new ways to hack computers which humans had overlooked for decades. Mythos, they said, was too dangerous for public consumption. Instead, Anthropic released Mythos to trusted partners in government and businesses, including in Australia.
Then, in mid-June, a public version of Mythos was made available. Anthropic said this version was safe for anyone to use; the U.S. government strongly disagreed. After only a few days the U.S. government banned foreigners from accessing the new AI model. Australians were cut off, and we don’t know when access will be resumed.
Today, we’re bringing back an interview from April with cybersecurity expert Dr. Suelette Dreyfus. What dangers does Mythos pose, and are we ready for a tsunami of AI-enabled hacking?
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It was meant to bring us all together, to cross the divides of land and sea and become a virtual town square. A place for people to connect and share their thoughts, ideas and dreams.
The vision was there, but the reality of social media has become something much different.
It’s a place driven by outrage, hate, and controversy. And it’s ruining public debate and possibly us as a society.
Ed Coper is one of the founding strategists behind GetUp! and he’s written a new book Angertainment about how social media has birthed an entire outrage industry that is harvesting and monetising our worst impulses.
In this chat with Sacha Barbour Gatt, Ed tells us how we got here and why understanding it is the first step to defeating it.
Ed Coper appears at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on Wednesday 24 June. Angertainment is available now.
The Weekend List:
To do: Get to a Jazz bar (recommended by listener Timmy)
To do: Get around the SBS
To Watch: John Safran’s new doco Shut Your Big Fat Mouth John Safran (on SBS)
To Watch: The Socceroos (beat?) the US at the World Cup
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