Squiz Today
Squiz Media
A daily news podcast, getting you across the latest Australian and international news in under 10 minutes. Agenda-free, independent, and delivered by hosts that'll come to feel like mates. It's the news without the noise, cutting through with a touch of analysis and an eye on what's coming next. And there's always a quirky news story or two to give a touch of balance to the news of the day. News for busy people, out 6am weekday, perfect for your morning routine.The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed.Top tip - check out The Squiz Today newsletter. It's the daily news stories, in your inbox each weekday at 6am, with links and more info to all the stories covered in The Squiz Today podcast. Sign up at www.thesquiz.com.au - it's free.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 30, 2025 • 15min
Squiz Shortcuts: The fight over our environmental laws
The Albanese Government is pushing for big changes to our environmental laws. It says the reforms are needed to speed up the approval process for new projects and better protect the environment. But the Coalition and Greens have a lot of questions… So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at what’s wrong with the current laws, what the new ones will look like, and why they’re so tricky to fix.
SPONSORED: For one machine that does cafe-quality coffee, head to Ninja Luxe Cafe to check it out.
Squiz Recommends:
Reading: This wrap-up of the new laws by SBS is a handy summary of where things are up to and the big issues at play…
Email us: Got a topic you want us to tackle? Send us your Shortcut suggestions to hello@thesquiz.com.au.
Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…
Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
Oct 29, 2025 • 11min
Some surprising inflation numbers, and a gift for the future
Thursday, 30 October: Some surprising inflation numbers; Albanese meets Trump again, The Diamonds bring home the cup; And a gift for the future...
SPONSORED: For one machine that does cafe-quality coffee, head to Ninja Luxe Cafe to check it out.
You can get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).
Other things we do:
Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!
Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.
Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball, Kate Watson and Jodie Speers - including the interview series, Newsmakers.
Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics
Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.
Oct 28, 2025 • 11min
Hurricane Melissa makes landfall, and a truly remote job
Wednesday, 29 October: Hurricane Melissa makes landfall; The Gaza ceasefire is at risk; Kerr makes a comeback; And a truly remote job...
Hurricane Melissa coverage is here, if you want to check on updates today.
Here's the live blog for the Matildas v Lionesses game - featuring Sam Kerr's long-awaited comeback as captain...
You can read the story about the Camerons moving to the Low Isles here, and learn more about the Low Isles Preservation Society here.
You can get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).
Other things we do:
Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!
Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.
Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball, Kate Watson and Jodie Speers - including the interview series, Newsmakers.
Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics
Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.
Oct 28, 2025 • 13min
Squiz Shortcuts: What gold’s got to do with the Louvre heist
French officials are facing some big questions following the theft of priceless treasures from one of the world’s most famous art museums, the Louvre in Paris. The thieves stole 8 pieces from the remaining collection of French Crown Jewels, and police suspect the high value of gold could be a factor… So, in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll cover the significance of what was stolen, where the investigation is up to, and what’s driving a rise in these types of crimes…
Squiz Recommends:
Reading: This article in The Conversation which explores a couple of theories as to what might happen to the stolen jewels.
Scrolling: As serious as this crime is, the internet has been having a field day… We've found some roundups of memes here and here including a cheeky ad by the German company who made the basket lift, featuring the tagline: “If you’re in a hurry”.
Watching: This footage of the thieves escaping via the basket lift and scooters.
Email us: Got a topic you want us to tackle? Send us your Shortcut suggestions to hello@thesquiz.com.au.
Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…
Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
Oct 27, 2025 • 11min
The US and China patch things up, and a long-lost message
Tuesday, 28 October: The US and China patch things up; Our consumer watchdog takes on Microsoft; Piastri loses his lead; And a long-lost message...
Here's the Shortcut to the Oz-US rare earths/critical minerals deal.
You can find those 2 message-in-a-bottle stories here and here.
You can get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).
Other things we do:
Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!
Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.
Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball, Kate Watson and Jodie Speers - including the interview series, Newsmakers.
Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics
Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.
Oct 26, 2025 • 11min
A big week of international meetings, and an annual sight to see
Monday, 27 October: A big week of international meetings; Environment protections are in focus; The ADF faces a landmark lawsuit; And an annual sight to see...
If the story about the class action against the ADF has raised any issues for you, you can find support here.
You can get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).
Other things we do:
Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!
Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.
Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball, Kate Watson and Jodie Speers - including the interview series, Newsmakers.
Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics
Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.
Oct 25, 2025 • 7min
What’s Coming Up: Sam Kerr in the green and gold and a couple of big AGMs
We get a lot of feedback from Squizers that one of the most helpful things we do is to get you across what’s going on in the day/week ahead. So we decided to create a bit more space for it. This is a segment of our new podcast What’s Coming Up, taking you through some big-ticket items news items. Head to News Club to hear the full episode.
And while you’re there catch up on our roundup of the week in news with the Weekly Wrap podcast.
Want more News Club in your life? We've got you…
Sign up for our News Club newsletter
Watch all our episodes on YouTube
Follow us on Instagram: @TheSquiz
PS: If you love what we do, the best way to support us is by clicking ‘follow’ on Apple or Spotify. A huge thanks to those who drop us a 5-star review, or even better - spread the word about News Club with your friends, family, colleagues... even your barista.
Hosts: Larissa Moore & Jodie Speers
Producer & Editor: Ryan Pemberton
Video editor: Charlie Devenport
Researcher: Nicoletta Hay
Oct 24, 2025 • 10min
Weekly Wrap Preview: Unpacking the Albanese-Trump meeting
Each Saturday, we wrap up the news of the week with the (imaginatively named) Weekly Wrap podcast on our News Club show. We’re putting the main story here because we want to ensure Squizers are across what we’re talking about. This week, it’s PM Anthony Albanese’s meeting with US President Donald Trump - how it went diplomatically, the critical minerals/rare earth minerals deal, and China’s response.
Listen to the full episode on the News Club show feed.
Watch all our episodes on YouTube
Follow us on Instagram: @TheSquiz
PS: If you love what we do, the best way to support us is by clicking ‘follow’ on Apple or Spotify. A huge thanks to those who drop us a 5-star review, or even better - spread the word about Squiz Today and News Club with your friends, family, colleagues... even your barista.
Hosts: Larissa Moore & Jodie Speers
Producer & Editor: Ryan Pemberton
Video editor: Charlie Devenport
Researcher: Nicoletta Hay
Oct 23, 2025 • 12min
Looking back at the Handback, and a surprising literary collaboration
Friday, 24 October: Looking back at the Handback; Trump tackles a reno; Ireland heads to the polls; And a surprising literary collaboration...
You can find out more about celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Uluru Handback here.
Take a look at one of the mock-ups of US President Donald Trump's White House ballroom here.
Here's the recipe for brekky burritos - potato included, obviously...
And here's a link to the UK quiz show Only Connect - and, for an extra challenge, Drew's Clues...
You can get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to all today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news).
Other things we do:
Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties!
Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it.
Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news hosted by Claire Kimball, Kate Watson and Jodie Speers - including the interview series, Newsmakers.
Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
Sign up for The Squiz Shortcuts newsletter here - a weekly explainer on big news topics
Support The Squiz by sharing our newsletters and podcasts with your friends.
Oct 23, 2025 • 15min
Squiz Shortcuts: Digging into the Oz-US minerals deal
The first face-to-face meeting between PM Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump took a while to happen, but a trade war between America and China over rare earth minerals was some fortuitous timing for Australia. The headline item from the meeting was a deal worth billions to harness our critical and rare earth mineral deposits - So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll look at what’s in the deal, how it’ll work, and what it means for our relationship with the US.
Squiz Recommends:
Reading: This ABC explainer which is specifically about rare earth minerals and their uses.
Reading: Annabel Crabb’s piece about that awkward exchange between Trump and Rudd. She’s captured it as only she can…
Listening: To our Shortcut on critical minerals for some extra info on what they are and how they're used.
Email us: Got a topic you want us to tackle? Send us your Shortcut suggestions to hello@thesquiz.com.au.
Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…
Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
Prefer to watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube here
