Is Trump buying votes? + Insta warns killing the algo will 'overwhelm' you

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.

Well, well, well… fancy seeing you here.  Welcome back to The Briefing: Our Take, our weekend hang-out where we loosen our ties and kick off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was, and what you (and we) made of it.  This week Chris and Sach get into HBO's new Harry Potter series dropping on Christmas Day. They react to the latest trailer, dig through your comments on it, and discuss whether they’re going to watch it.  They're also joined in studio by 2DayFM's very own Emma Chow, who steps up to The Weekend Quiz but somehow manages to get them talking about Tipping Point and Sach’s days as a court reporter. They also discuss Emma’s very exciting news she received this week!  The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers): The government this week proposed new laws that could give us the power to opt out of, or switch off, the algorithm on socials. What's it called? Pauline Hanson was on ABC News24 this week and got into a bit of argy-bargy with Chris Kenny. What were they arguing over?  We spoke to Greens Senator David Shoebridge on the pod this week. He was appointed the party's first-ever spokesperson for what? A Melbourne council this week announced it would be banning what from public pools and playgrounds? What subject did Chris and Sach admit on the podcast they cared the least about in school?  The Weekend List:  To watch: New Zealand Spy on ABC iview (thanks to listener Jay) To listen to: Harry Potter audiobook for free on Spotify  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twenty-five years ago, the September 11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and changed the course of history. The images of hijacked planes striking the World Trade Center, the collapse of the Twin Towers and the devastation left behind became defining images of this century.  But the consequences of 9/11 reached far beyond the United States. The attacks triggered America’s longest war - a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan that began with the fall of the Taliban. This year also marks five years since the war came full circle: the Taliban returned to power as the US withdrew its troops.  BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet witnessed that extraordinary arc. Drawing on almost four decades of reporting from Afghanistan, she takes LiSTNR Senior Journalist Claudianna Blanco from the aftermath of 9/11 and the hope that followed the Taliban’s fall, to the chaotic final days at Kabul Airport and the Afghanistan of today.  This special episode of The Briefing looks back at the long shadow of 9/11, 25 years on.  Lyse's debut book Lyse on The Weekend Briefing Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Headlines:  Head of Instagram warns against turning off algorithm Barnaby Joyce apologises to Andrew Hastie over 'traitor' video Donald Trump accused of bribery over 5k election promise August declared hottest month on record Historic NFL game takes over Melbourne  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday Headlines:  Pauline Hanson defends Victorian One Nation leader, Andrew Hastie cartoon  Anthony Albanese defends pork barreling allegations Another man killed in Sydney's escalating gangland war Melbourne council bans smart glasses from public pools and playgrounds Apple unveils new folding iPhone Further listening from the headlines:  Sach's deep dive on Sydney's gangland war Chris' chat with David Shoebridge Deep Dive: Australia's not really well known for skiing, but there is a dedicated ski fraternity who love getting to the slopes each winter. So, what happens if there’s no snow?   That’s the question being put to the country’s resort operators after a dismal 2026 season plagued by warm, dry conditions and patchy snow cover.   With most ski fields wrapping up their seasons over the weekend and just a couple still clinging on, we’re being warned winters like this will become more likely, not less.   In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou chats with the CEO of Snow Resorts Australia, Josh Elliott about the future of snow tourism in Australia. We also hear from Dr Lily O’Neil from Protect our Winters to talk about what climate change’s role is in all of this    Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday Headlines:  Labor unveils new laws to govern social media giants Missing Australian found alive in Nepal Penny Wong prepares new sanctions against Israeli settlements One Nation Victorian leader says he's no angel, admits to previous drug use  Aussie kids record their worst reading and maths results Further listening from headlines:How Australia funds Israeli settlements Deep Dive: Does Australia need a Minister for AI?   That's the call from Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who this week was appointed the party's first-ever spokesperson for Digital Rights and AI.   It comes as the government insists it's doing whatever it can to put big tech on a leash and keep people first - while at the same time selling Australia as the perfect home for the very infrastructure driving AI's expansion: data centres.   In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Senator Shoebridge to discuss his new portfolio, whether Australia can pull itself back from being AI's wild west, and what it'll actually take to put people ahead of profit.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday Headlines:  One Nation has been forced into a quick defence of its plan for superannuation Australian bureaucrats want to ban videos from parliamentary hearings being shared on social media  Trial of alleged killers of Australian brothers in Mexico gets underway Food prices could be pushed higher by record strength El Niño King Charles issues clarification on Harry and Meghan Deep Dive: For years, a secret formula has dictated everything we see on social media, hooking our attention spans at the expense of our mental health.  Now, the federal government is unveiling a plan to let users opt out of the algorithm entirely and return to a chronological stream of accounts they actually follow. But with increasing pressure to protect young men from the insidious manosphere, how much will an opt-out actually change?  In this episode of The Briefing, reporter Amber Schultz joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to detail her experiment posing as a 17-year-old boy online, where it took just 13 minutes to land on manosphere content, and what these proposed changes will mean for our feeds.  Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.