The Briefing

Australians will be heading to the polls to vote in a federal election in 2025, and nuclear power is shaping up to be a key battleground.Labor is pushing ahead with renewables as the key source of green energy for Australia, but the Coalition thinks building reactors is the way to go. In fact, the Liberals and Nationals have already started polling community sentiment around nuclear energy in electorates where future reactors could be built.Nationals leader David Littleproud explains the Coalition's strategy to Sacha Barbour-Gatt - and why they believe it's the way to get to zero emissions. Headlines: One dead after Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence Australia to ban replica Ozempic drugs Government rejects claims it should condemn ICC Forget Melbourne or Sydney, Canberra offers the best quality of life    Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trans men, women, and nonbinary young people are twice as likely to experience homelessness compared to cis-queer men and women.  Australian research found that one in five young trans people have experienced homelessness and data from the Trans Justice Project saw an increase in anti-trans hate in the year leading up to April 2023  Activists say we are not doing enough to support the transgender community in their moment of need, Laura Pettigrew from the LiSTNR Newsroom joins Simon Beaton to talk us through details.  Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sexsomnia is a sleep disorder that causes people to engage in sexual behaviors in their sleep, such as dirty talk, masturbating and even intercourse. The disorder occurs in the deepest stages of sleep and unsurprisingly it raises many questions around consent. How can consent be maintained when a partner is unconscious? And can sexsomnia be used as a defence in cases of sexual assault? Aleks Trkulja from the Pleasure Centre and specialist sleep physician Dr David Cunnington joins Helen Smith to explain how common sexsomnia is. Headlines: ICC issues arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders  Julian Assange granted leave to appeal extradition to the US Sam Kerr trial date set Sussan Ley calls for Diddy boycott   Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new drug has been detected in Australia that can be up to 25 times stronger than fentanyl – which is already stronger than heroin. Introducing nitazene, an incredibly dangerous synthetic opioid that was linked to over 20 overdoses in western Sydney and was found in Canberra’s pill testing service for the first time over the weekend. Professor Suzanne Nielsen, the Deputy Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre, joins Simon Beaton to explain the dangers of nitazene which could be lacing your party drugs. Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The search for a missing person can capture the attention of the entire nation.  Currently, we’re waiting to hear the outcome of an appeal of Chris Dawson, who was convicted of killing his wife Lynette Joy Simms in December of 1982, despite her body never being found. So what happens behind the scenes of one of these investigations? And how is someone charged with murder when a body is never located?  Journalist Tessa Randello from the LiSTNR Newsroom has spoken with former New South Wales Detective Anthony Macklin about this topic. On this episode, she unpacks what she’s found out with Sacha Barbour Gatt.  Headlines: Iran’s President missing after helicopter crash Charges laid in Sydney police stabbing Sean 'Diddy' Combs admits to DV 700 ‘Kyles’ not enough to break world record Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf interviews Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison about his controversial moments, spirituality, and impact on Australians. Topics include leadership challenges, faith, support for women, national crisis, global security, and ethical dilemmas in politics.

Social media has gone into meltdown after a video from a US college commencement speech went viral. The footage shows NFL player and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker addressing the female graduates in the crowd, telling them that ultimately, their main and most valuable vocation in life is being a wife and mother. Butker has sparked a storm of criticism, the NFL even coming out to distance itself from his comments. In the post #MeToo world and amidst a spike in violence against women in Australia, we’re breaking down and debunking Butker’s comments and why they are so dangerous.'' Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Chat GPT revealed the next steps in the way their AI interacts with humans. Now the interface can recognise emotions and have more nuanced conversations with the user. Meanwhile Google has revealed its new AI assistant “Astra” and their plans to scrabble back searches previously lost to Chat GPT by integrating more AI into Google search. But what is the cost of greater humanising of AI? And is it safe? Tech entrepreneur Ashi Bhat joins The Briefing to unpack the AI rat race. Headlines: Peter Dutton wants to slash immigration  Company at the centre of major data hack revealed  ANU and Deakin University move to shut down pro-Palestine encampments Namatjira responds to Rinehart portrait controversy    Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is in the grip of a teacher shortage that is a decade in the making.   New research by McCrindle has revealed more than half of educators are considering leaving the profession. On top of that, teaching is increasingly becoming an aging profession, with 20% of the workforce to reach retirement age over the next decade. On today’s briefing, we speak with social researcher and demographer, Mark McCrindle, to explore why this is happening and what’s being done to attract more people to study teaching. Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For over half a century, the US and Australia have operated Pine Gap - a joint top-secret spy base at Alice Springs in the heart of outback Australia Today, concern is mounting that spies at Pine Gap may be eavesdropping on the Middle East and passing critical information on to the Israeli Defence Force. This would mean Australia is playing a role in the conflict, raising serious questions about the public’s right to know how our land, resources and geographical advantage is being deployed, especially when it makes us a nuclear target for foreign powers. Today we’re joined by Alice Springs journalist Alexandra Barwick, host of new ABC podcast Spies in the Outback, to assess the evidence and get a local perspective. Headlines: Sydney council reverses same sex parent book ban Slovakia PM shot in assassination attempt  Labor senator breaks ranks to label Israel’s war in Gaza genocide Gina Rinehart has demanded the National Gallery of Australia remove a portrait of her   Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.