The Briefing

Monday Headlines:
Jacinta Allan expected to face leadership challenge
US and Iran pause strikes as fears petrol could return to $2 a litre in Australia
Berlin gay pride terror suspect shot dead
More bird flu detections in South Australia
Australia's flag bearer wins gold at the Commonwealth Games
Deep Dive: There’s a good chance your phone and millions of others will freak out this afternoon.
If things go to plan, all compatible mobile devices in Australia will sound a loud siren at 2pm AEST and display a "CRITICAL AUSALERT", as the federal government tests a new nationwide emergency warning system.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by QUT Associate Professor Paula Dootson to unpack how the system works and who it might leave behind. They also discuss the unsolved risk for domestic violence victim-survivors who keep a hidden phone, and what some of the backlash says about our trust in government.
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OpenAI admitted this week that two of its most powerful models broke out of a sealed test environment and hacked another company - on their own initiative, to steal the answers to an exam they were sitting.

The AI lab says it’s unprecedented but it lands about a month after the Five Eyes spy alliance - the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia - warned that advanced AI is accelerating the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber threats, and that the shift would take months, not years. Australia's own signals directorate put its name to that warning.
So how worried should we be? And what can any of us actually do about it?

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, we revisit Chris Spyrou’s conversation with cybersecurity expert Alastair MacGibbon, the founding head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, recorded in the days after the Five Eyes warning was issued.
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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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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
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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
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YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.