US hits out at Aus opt-out laws + The Houthis vs Saudi Arabia explained

Wednesday Headlines:  Donald Trump addresses UN General Assembly on Iran, AI and domestic record NSW mother charged after fatally stabbing her son Beau Lamarre-Condon claims self defence in double murder case Coroner says Hayden Panettiere died from accidental overdose Brisbane Lions dealt major blow ahead of grand final NRL finals to go ahead without pre-match entertainment  Deep Dive: A patch of sea between Yemen and Saudi Arabia has become the Middle East's newest flashpoint. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have swept down Yemen's coast and now sit within reach of a shipping lane the whole world leans on.   Saudi Arabia is bombing back.   Missiles, drones, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to run.   So how did a rebel group end up with its hand on a valve of the global economy, and how much worse could this get?  In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Jessica Genauer, Associate Professor in International Relations at UNSW, to explain who the Houthis really are, why the US is staying on the sidelines and what it all means for the price you pay at the bowser.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines:  Albanese signs AI warning alongside world leaders Trial of accused killer of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies gets underway Calls for Telstra to be stripped of Triple Zero responsibilities  Fox News among outlets refusing to cover Trump after CNN banned from White House Nick Daicoss wins Brownlow in record-breaking vote Deep Dive: Migration has long been of the most fiercely debated issues in Australian politics. But it's reached a fever pitch in recent years following an explosion in migrants coming to Australia in the wake of the pandemic.   What has followed has been a debate around what that number should be, driven by competing demands across the economy, housing, the labour market, and our shared values.    As the major political parties roll out their platforms ahead of the next election, we're cutting through the noise to dive into what they're promising, what real-world impact these policies will have, and find out if anyone is actually getting the balance right.   Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines:  Australia launches UN seat campaign while Albanese in the US Child and three women dead after horror weekend of domestic violence in NSW Coalition unveils cheaper fuel plan Vic police working to ban AFL fans who threw bottles at umpires Ed Sheeran takes to the stage alone in first show since Macklemore axing Deep Dive: Australia is one of the world's biggest consumers of illicit drugs, and the numbers are still climbing. The country's top cop, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett, says the way forward is to talk about it louder - to convince Aussies that their weekend habit is bankrolling the gangs behind a wave of violence. But one of the nation's leading drug policy researchers doubts that will help.   If decades of cracking down on supply hasn't dented demand, what actually works and why does so little funding go towards it?   In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Professor Alison Ritter, director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW, to discuss.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oh, we are SO back - with our looser, lights off Our Take! This weekend, Chris and Sach debrief the Sydney Sweeney drama, as the actress's latest ad - for a sports-prediction market she happens to have an equity stake in - kicks off online.  Then we crack open the inbox for your takes on Macklemore being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour plus the Aussie HYROXer who shat herself in Beijing.   Taking on the Weekend Quiz this week is Isobel from marketing, who (to our surprise) smashed it out of the park.  Also, our insta got HACKED and Chris finally addresses how he’s been targeted by the manosphere.  It’s a lot.   Enjoy.   The Weekend Quiz:   The week got off to a rough start when an Australian athlete did what?  Pauline Hanson apologised for two things this week. What were they? AI company Anthropic signed a $32 billion deal to build its first data centre in Australia. Which state? Two STIs have climbed more than 50% in Australia over the past decade - name one. An icon returned to the stage in Paris this week. Who?  The Weekend List:   Listener Julie: go on an adventurous picnic!  Sach: Watch season 3 of The Traitors AU on Paramount+   Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:  Labor faces criticism over new migration laws Australian accused of murdering Thai teen faces court Federal Government considers AI glasses ban  Gov scraps planned veteran allied health cap  Australian HYROX athlete apologises for poo incident  Deep Dive: Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour is making headlines after rapper Macklemore was dropped as a support act for saying ‘Free Palestine’ on stage.   It’s had a flow on effect, with all four of Ed’s other openers withdrawing in solidarity with the rapper.   In this episode of the Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Catherine Strong, Associate Professor in the Music Industry program at RMIT to unpack the relationship between musicians and politics, and what that means for the rest of Ed Sheeran’s tour.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines:  Labor to unveil migration plan today More details emerge about Bali double murder suicide More than 100,000 displaced as Yemen conflict intensifies  Anthropic signs agreement for the country’s biggest data centre Kim Kardashian awarded €1 in damages for Paris robbery Deep Dive: A far-right party just came closer to running a German state than any has since the Nazi era.  It's not a one-off. The same movement now sits in or beside government across Europe and it’s reaching Australia too, with a known neo-Nazi group fighting the government in the High Court for its right to exist.  In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by far-right researcher Kaz Ross to unpack how much ground the far-right is gaining worldwide, what's driving the surge, and what it all means for us here in Australia.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines: Pauline Hanson apologises for comments about Indigenous Australians, PM's mum Gov accused of wanting to protect AI companies over Australians  Ed Sheeran responds to Macklemore backlash  One of Sydney’s biggest councils bans smart glasses at local swimming pools Karl Stefanovic and podcast partner in Supreme Court   Deep Dive: There have been renewed and urgent warnings this week from not only former staff, but also the big tech bosses themselves about the existential threat AI poses to humanity.   We've been warned by the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and Grok that an urgent slowdown is needed in the advancement of this tech, with fears it could result in the extinction of the human race, possibly as soon as 2030.   While most have taken them at their word, some experts are a little more skeptical, and others think it's downright fantasy.  In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Professor Emily M. Bender, the Director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory at the University of Washington to offer an alternative view to the narrative that AI is going to kill us all.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines:  One Nation's migration fight Pauline Hanson slammed for racist comments Indonesian police investigating death of Australian man and children in Bali as suspected murder-suicide Donald Trump claims there’s a 'sick conspiracy' against AI, that’s helping China Rates of Gonorrhea and syphilis up by more than 50% in Australia HYROX issues apology over Australian woman pooing during comp Deep Dive: Rising sea levels are no longer a looming threat in the distant future, they're here right now and Australia is especially at risk.   We know the physical impacts of this; accelerated coastal erosion, property damage and loss as well as the destruction of natural barriers like mangroves and wetlands. But there's also a dollar amount we can expect to fork out too.   In an Australian first, the Climate Council has crunched the numbers, with a conservative estimate that we'll need to find an extra $855 billion by 2100 to cover the costs of rising sea levels.   In this episode of The Briefing, Adjunct Professor Andrew Watkins from Monash University and the Climate Council joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to talk about the threat, who pays the bill and whether Australia is pulling its weight when it comes to climate change.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines:  Pressure mounts, again, on Pauline Hanson to apologise Albo's approval slides as comms minister flags concessions to digital duty of care laws Australian woman identified after falling to her death from a poplar beach near Bali South Australia records first bird flu case in a sea lion  New screen time limits for NSW public school students Celine Dion makes an emotional return to the stage in Paris Deep Dive: Clips from a new documentary about Silicon Valley start-up founder turned convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes have gone viral after a secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival.   Directors of You Can See Everything Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim stayed with Holmes in the days leading up to the start of her 10-year prison stint in 2023.   In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by culture critic for Triple J's The Slop, Michael Sun, to talk about the extraordinary story of Holmes and why we're so obsessed with it.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spring brings with it some pretty wonderful things; blooming flowers, warmer weather and longer days. But it also means another thing that can strike fear into the heart of nearly every Australian – magpie swooping season.   From August to October, the black and white birds are nesting, which means they’re feeling extra protective and have been known to fly at humans as they pass by their babies.   In this episode of The Briefing, we're revisiting Sacha Barbour Gatt's chat with bird expert Sean Dooley to break down the facts and myths around these fabulous animals this swooping season. Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.