

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

Aug 8, 2025 • 11min
Weekly Wrap Preview: Should AI companies be exempt from copyright laws?
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 our Squiz Today audience is across what we’re talking about. And today it’s on the Productivity Commission’s interim report released this week that suggests hitting pause on tough regulations, and giving AI companies a copyright exemption.
Listen to the full episode on the News Club show feed. And while you’re there, listen to episode 1 of our new series ‘The Big Threat’ that looks at how other democracies are equipping their populations to recognise and resist mis- and disinformation, and what Australia can learn from them.
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: Claire Kimball & Jodie Speers
Producer & Editor: Ryan Pemberton
Researcher: Nicoletta Hay

Aug 7, 2025 • 13min
Trump floats a meeting with Putin; and a cracking quiche...
Friday, 8 August: Trump floats a meeting with Putin; Compensation for Kathleen Folbigg; Some new Aussie sporting legends, and a cracking quiche...
Here are some maps on the current state of the war between Russia and Ukraine
Here's the full Sport Australia Hall of Fame if you'd like to have a look
Here's the article from researchers at Charles Sturt University on the dancing cockatoos
Here's the Spring quiche Alice recommends (just a bit early)
Here's the article on Artbank
Check out our new series, The Big Threat, here, on the News Club channel.
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 and Kate Watson - 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.

Aug 7, 2025 • 21min
Ask the Squiz: Free trade, toxic algae and flying pets
It's time for another episode of Ask The Squiz, and as always, we’ve got a great cross-section of topics, including how the US tariffs and the free trade deal interact, South Australia’s toxic algal bloom, and what the deal is with pets on planes…
SPONSORED: To help mark 100 years of Woolworths, they're showcasing the great work of their community partners. To listen to the full episode with the Clontarf Foundation's Troy Gordon, search for the 'From Grassroots' show in your podcast app.
Squiz Recommends:
Reading: This article in The Conversation is a good explanation of the science behind South Australia’s algal bloom
Reading: And this story is about Daniel the well-travelled duck
Email us: Keep your questions coming… We’ll be back with another Ask the Squiz in the first week of September - so if you’ve got a question you’d like answered about the news, send it through to hello@thesquiz.com.au and we’ll answer it then. Stay tuned…
Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories…
Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here

Aug 6, 2025 • 12min
Reflecting on the atomic bombings, and a win for library lovers
Thursday, 7 August: Reflecting on the atomic bombings; Trump's deadline for Putin nears; Tasmania's stuck in a loop; And a win for library lovers...
You can read more about the 12yo Hiroshima resident who's sharing the stories of atomic bomb victims and survivors here.
Here's our Shortcut to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (or you can listen in your favourite podcasting app by searching 'Shortcut to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty').
And last but not least, take a digital meander through some of the world's most beautiful libraries here.
Check out our new series, The Big Threat, here, on the News Club channel.
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 and Kate Watson - 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.

Aug 5, 2025 • 12min
The US and Brazil are at odds, and a Danish zoo causes a stir
Wednesday, 6 August: The US and Brazil are at odds; Israel discusses an expansion in Gaza; A report on the OceanGate disaster; And a Danish zoo causes a stir...
You can see the Danish zoo's social post here.
Check out our new series, The Big Threat, here, on the News Club channel.
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 and Kate Watson - 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.

Aug 5, 2025 • 13min
Squiz Shortcuts: Australia's Closing the Gap plan
The 25th Garma Festival - Australia’s largest Indigenous gathering - has just wrapped up in the Northern Territory. PM Anthony Albanese was there, and he promised to fund training and economic opportunities for Indigenous Australians. But, as the latest Closing the Gap report shows, there’s still a long way to go when it comes to improving the lives and life expectancy of First Nations people across the country. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll cover what the Closing the Gap agreement involves, what the latest figures show, and what’s being done to address the issues…
Squiz Recommends:
Looking: At this gallery/report in The Guardian from this year’s Garma Festival...
Reading: The Productivity Commission’s latest Closing the Gap data is a good place to start if you’d like to take a closer look at the numbers....
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.

Aug 4, 2025 • 11min
Albanese reaches out to Netanyahu, and a fake tan fashion trend
Tuesday, 5 August: Albanese reaches out to Netanyahu; A Chinese spy is charged; Our first female AFP boss is named; And fake tans take over...
Here's the link to the ash plume from the Russian volcano.
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 and Kate Watson - 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.

Aug 3, 2025 • 12min
Leaders go back and forth over Gaza, and a big night at the Logies
Monday, 4 August: Leaders go back and forth over Gaza; Global markets take a hit; The Garma Festival wraps up; And a big night at the Logies...
Watch Lani Pallister's thrilling swim against US champ Katie Ledecky here.
Here's a red carpet gallery from last night's Logie Awards, if you want something to scroll through...
And you can find out more about Landcare Week 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 and Kate Watson - 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.

Aug 2, 2025 • 26min
The Squiz Quiz of the Month
On this episode of the Squiz Quiz. we're testing your knowledge of everything that happened in June with Squiz Founder Claire kimball and Morning Editor Larissa Huntington. Can you best our in-studio guests?
Here's a quick scoring guide if you're playing along at home:
The quiz has 10 questions.
Each question is worth 1 point (for a total of 10).
The final round is worth a maximum of 5 points - Andrew will read 5 quotes about a news story - the faster you identify the story, the more points you get!
The final score is out of a possible 15 points.

Aug 1, 2025 • 11min
Weekly Wrap Preview: Where are we on Palestinian statehood?
Each Saturday, we publish the Weekly Wrap on our News Club show, and we want to ensure our Squiz Today audience is across what we’re talking about. So here’s our lead story - It’s been a big week for discussion about recognising Palestine as a state. We'll explain what it means and Australia's position on that complex question.
Listen to the full episode on the News Club show feed. And while you’re there, listen to episode 1 of our new series ‘The Big Threat’ that looks at how other democracies are equipping their populations to recognise and resist mis- and disinformation, and what Australia can learn from them.
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: Claire Kimball & Jodie Speers
Producer & Editor: Ryan Pemberton