Background Briefing is daring narrative journalism: Australian investigations with impact. Our award-winning reporters forensically uncover the hidden stories at the heart of the country’s biggest issues.

Latest Programs

Sunday 2 Jun 2019

  • Reveal: Farm wars

    American soybean farmers call pigweed “Satan’s weed” because it’s so hard to get rid of. Many of them are excited about the herbicide dicamba, which is good at killing off pigweed.

    There’s just one problem, and it’s igniting a civil war in farm country.

    For copyright reasons there will be no podcast or streaming of this program.

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Sunday 26 May 2019

  • "Slaughter" house — the scandal inside ANZ

    Porsches and $5 million bonuses, drinking and late night strip clubbing — we go deep into one of Australia’s biggest ever corporate investigations.

    This is an alleged rate-rigging scandal that engulfed our third largest bank, dragging in some of the most senior people in the industry. But has everyone involved been held accountable?

    Mario Christodoulou investigates.

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Sunday 19 May 2019

  • When Tasers fail

    Tasers are on the belts of many of our police officers. Their manufacturer, Axon Enterprise Inc., has long promoted the device as extremely effective at helping police resolve dangerous situations without using their guns.

    But this year-long investigation shows Tasers are often less effective than the company has claimed.

    And just as Tasers can save lives when they subdue suspects, when they don’t, the outcome can be deadly.

    For copyright reasons there will be no podcast or streaming of this program.

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Sunday 12 May 2019

  • Proxy war: The outsiders campaigning for the major parties

    This election campaign has involved more than political candidates and parties on the hustings.

    We’ve seen grassroots community groups, political activist organisations and social media players getting involved too.

    But, just how influential are they? And is there enough scrutiny on them? Katherine Gregory investigates.

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Sunday 5 May 2019

  • From bias to brutality: How Australia is failing minority groups

    They’ve been spat on, punched in the face, and told to go back to where they came from.

    Minority groups in Australia insist hate crimes are on the rise since the Christchurch massacre.

    There have been thousands of reports of property damage as well as verbal and physical abuse arising from racial discrimination.

    So why have so few people been convicted? Hagar Cohen investigates.

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Sunday 28 Apr 2019

  • Reveal: Trans-national migration

    In this episode of Reveal, Patrick Michels examines the record of one of the toughest immigration judges in the United States.

    He discovers the surprising way her decisions benefited transgender asylum-seekers.

    The program also tells the harrowing story of one transgender woman who tries to claim asylum in the US after fleeing El Salvador.

    For copyright reasons there will be no podcast or streaming of this program.

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Sunday 21 Apr 2019

  • Shitposting to the Senate: How the alt-right infiltrated Parliament

    The global rise of the alt-right movement has caught the attention of politicians and police in Australia.

    But few could have predicted its followers would have already found a home in our federal parliament.

    Background Briefing has obtained leaked messages revealing Senator Fraser Anning has employed staff with connections to fascist groups.

    The messages also detail a secret plan to disrupt the current election campaign with racist stunts in order to help re-elect him.

    Alex Mann investigates.

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