Background Briefing
ABC Australia
Background Briefing is the ABC's flagship investigative journalism podcast. Its award-winning investigations and documentaries expose cover-ups, corruption, real-life mysteries, whistleblowing, crime, fraud and miscarriages of justice — often before these stories receive mainstream attention.
The Background Briefing podcast brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia.
This Australian podcast makes investigative journalism bingeable. From scams and fraud to schooling and health scandals, tech and social media digs, police exposes and various unsolved cases, each episode of the Background Briefing podcast is a must-listen.
Recent series include:
Hometown Boys exposed how a terrible crime fractured a local community around a local football club.
The Invisible Killer: a forensic investigation into unexplained deaths in aged care after a doctor makes an unusual discovery.
The Favourite: how a schoolyard secret stayed hidden for years.
Stop and Search, which uncovered the mechanics of power and police accountability.
Before and After investigated medical hype, telehealth, body image, cosmetic procedures and consumer risk.
Beef: how small feuds escalate into serious disputes.
The Background Briefing podcast brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia.
This Australian podcast makes investigative journalism bingeable. From scams and fraud to schooling and health scandals, tech and social media digs, police exposes and various unsolved cases, each episode of the Background Briefing podcast is a must-listen.
Recent series include:
Hometown Boys exposed how a terrible crime fractured a local community around a local football club.
The Invisible Killer: a forensic investigation into unexplained deaths in aged care after a doctor makes an unusual discovery.
The Favourite: how a schoolyard secret stayed hidden for years.
Stop and Search, which uncovered the mechanics of power and police accountability.
Before and After investigated medical hype, telehealth, body image, cosmetic procedures and consumer risk.
Beef: how small feuds escalate into serious disputes.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 3, 2025 • 42min
Dr Mo: The Beast from the Middle East
An Australian doctor sells his car and writes a will — unsure if he’ll ever make it back home. He crosses the concrete walls that surround the Gaza Strip and begins work inside the last functioning hospital in the north. But in the chaos of war, something unfolded that no one, including him, could have predicted. This week, reporter Marty Smiley brings us the story of Dr Mo's impossible mission.
Jul 18, 2025 • 39min
04 Beef | YouTube detectives uncover PlayStation guru’s shocking secret
It started with a bizarre customer-service experience and soon transformed into something darker. Outrage rippled across Youtube, spurring an army of online vigilantes into action. But as reporter Maddison Connaughton discovered, the stakes were higher than anyone anticipated.
Jul 4, 2025 • 38min
02 Beef | Who would shoot a wombat?
Most Aussies see wombats as an iconic native. But reporter Tynan King discovered one regional NSW town where farmers see them through a scope.
Jun 27, 2025 • 43min
01 Beef | Big Rob versus just about everyone in town
Big Rob has gone from online vigilante to censured politician, starting little fights that have become big problems for his divided city.
Jun 24, 2025 • 37sec
INTRODUCING — Beef
A new series by Background Briefing investigates when small feuds take on a life of their own. First episode coming June 28.
Jun 13, 2025 • 19min
Long Read | The hunt for the next pandemic is on our shores
This week, reporter Catherine Taylor investigates a new strain of avian flu virus that's running rampant across Europe, Asia, South America and the US. How long can we keep it from reaching us?
Jun 6, 2025 • 25min
Long Read | Can Wikipedia survive the rise of AI and Trump?
Rhiannon Stevens, a Features reporter at the ABC, dives into the precarious future of Wikipedia. She discusses how AI technologies threaten the platform’s integrity and the impact of political dynamics, particularly under Trump's influence. The conversation highlights the fight against misinformation and the crucial role of individual contributors in maintaining the site's reliability. Stevens paints a vivid picture of Wikipedia at a crucial crossroads, raising essential questions about truth in the digital age.
May 30, 2025 • 21min
Long Read | Australia: burnout capital, or how to get a career break right
This week, Annie Louey discovers what happens when your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing means your career is no longer worth the money.
May 24, 2025 • 37min
05 Agents of Influence | The letters journalists fear
There’s something shaping what appears in your newsfeed that you might not be aware of. Reporter Gina McKeon investigates.
May 16, 2025 • 37min
04 Agents of Influence | The powerbroker unseated by ‘traitors’
This week, reporter Annika Blau gets the inside story of a union powerbroker’s rise, and the people who risked it all to stop her
