The Daily Aus

This week marks 20 years since the Cronulla Riots, when hundreds of angry young white Australian men descended on Cronulla train station and beach in Sydney’s south, attacking anyone of Middle Eastern appearance. In today’s episode, we explain the context surrounding the riots, including the role of broadcaster Alan Jones, the day itself, and explore how Australia has changed since then.

Hosts: Lucy Tassell and Sam Kosl...

Today's headlines include:

• Travellers from Australia and 41 other countries could be forced to hand over five years' worth of social media data when entering the United States, under plans put forward by the Trump administration.
• More than 1,000 corrections officers across South Australia’s public prison network have voted to extend an existing strike to 96 hours, calling on the Government to increase pay rates, lift sta...

Last week, a jury in Victoria found a man guilty of raping a woman twice in 2024. Despite this guilty verdict, a suppression order remains in place, meaning media outlets have been unable to publish his name. The case comes amid growing criticism of the widespread use of suppression orders in Victoria’s court system. In today’s episode we’re going to break down what happened in this case, what exactly a suppressio...

This morning, Australia’s world-first social media ban for under 16s has come into effect.

This means that anyone under the age of 16 is banned from popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

Today, TDA interviews the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, about why this law has come into effect and how it will be enforced.

Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Sam Koslowski
Guest: Julie Inman Grant, eSafety C...

Today's headlines include:

• A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison with a 25-year non-parole period for the 2018 murder of Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to keep the cash rate unchanged at 3.6% at its last meeting of the year today.
• The Northern Territory’s Corrections Minister Gerard Maley has defended not allowing a United Nations team to inspect prison...

Over the weekend, Netflix announced it was acquiring Warner bros for over 100 billion Australian dollars in a deal that has significant ramifications for the media landscape in Hollywood and beyond. In today’s podcast, we’re going to explain what we know about the deal itself, why everyone is talking about it and what is means for all of us Netflix watchers.

Hosts: Zara Seidler and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Mah...

Today's headlines include:

• A former childcare worker who raped and abused dozens of children should have been caught long before his eventual arrest, a new review has found.
• Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced federal energy bill rebates will end this year.
• The South Australian Liberals have elected a new leader, 34-year-old Ashton Hurn.
• And today’s good news: A new Australian marathon record was set over the weekend, w...

Last month, they announced they would be dropping Australia’s legislated goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We had Liberal Party Leader Sussan Ley on to explain that decision, and the day that interview went live, the Leader of the National Party, David Littleproud, asked if he could come on to share his perspective. We agreed, and today you’ll hear that conversation.

Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Sam Koslowski

Today's headlines include:

• Several heatwave warnings and fire bans are in place as extreme weather continues to impact large parts of eastern Australia.
• Victoria Police have shifted focus in their search for Dezi Freeman, with investigators now working to locate the alleged police killer’s body. 
• The death...

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Yesterday, Spotify released its annual Wrapped feature for 2025. It's a yearly tradition where millions of users get to see their most listened to songs and artists from the year, among plenty of other interesting stats.  

Alongside these personalised data drops, Spotify also released stats telling us about national listening trends. And there's been a lot of discussion about one th...

Today's headlines include:

• Four more children have been identified as alleged victims of a former childcare worker accused of more than 150 counts of sexual abuse. 
• Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded guilty to a charge of taking a car and driving it without consent in Tasmania, a day after an appeal of his failed defamation case was rejected. 

Yesterday, former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann lost the appeal of his failed defamation case against Network Ten and its journalist Lisa Wilkinson. It comes after the Federal Court ruled last year that it was more likely than not that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019. In today’s podcast, we’ll explain the latest judgment and what it means for this long-running case.

Hosts: Zara Seidler and E...

Today's headlines include:

• Australia’s economy grew by 0.4% over the September quarter, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
• A junior doctor in Melbourne who was recently charged with over 130 offences is facing 775 additional charges, after police accused him of filmi...

Listen to our three-part series, Investigating Ozempic.

Australia’s medicines regulator has issued a safety alert for Ozempic and similar drugs over a potential risk of suicidal thoughts. The updated warning follows a spike in reports of suicidal ideation linked to weight-loss medications to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Today, we’ll explore what led to this moment and what it means for patients. 

Hos...

Today's headlines include:

• Google has been ordered to pay a $55 million fine over anti-competitive deals with the nation’s two largest telcos.
• A man and a teenager have been killed in separate workplace incidents in South East Queensland.
• Abusers are incre...

On Sunday, NSW Police arrested 141 people associated with a climate protest in Newcastle. It came after thousands of people took out kayaks and inflatable rafts in an attempt to block coal ships entering the world’s biggest coal port. In today’s podcast, we’ll break down what the protesters were aiming to do, how NSW Police responded and what comes next.

Listen: Do we have a right to protest?

Hosts: Zara Seidler a...

Today's headlines include:

• More than 800 people have died in tropical storms across Asia in recent days.
• Misinformation, anti-science sentiment and vaccine hesitancy is being blamed for a drop in Australia's immunisation rates.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne...

It has been more than two and a half years since war broke out in Sudan between rival militias. Since then, 12 million people have fled their homes, thousands have been killed, and international authorities have made accusations of war crimes and genocide. Last week, one side said it had implemented a humanitarian truce, while the other rejected a U.S. and UAE-led proposal. In today’s episode, we explain the progress of cease...

We are on the brink of summer – quite literally, it starts tomorrow – and so we are here to discuss all things sun safety. A couple of weeks ago, we asked the audience over on our Instagram: What do you want to know about the effect of the sun on your skin? We were inundated. Billi spoke to dermatologist Dr Ritu Gupta to answer all those questions, and today we're here to share all of her wisdom!

Hosts: Billi ...