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4.6

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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.

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03 'This Bloody Machine' | The Empty Chapel

2026/09/10

It would be a game changer if it happened. But the challenges facing a proposed proton cancer treatment centre in Sydney are stacking up. It begs the question: why are an unpaid volunteer and private developer stepping in to provide a life-saving cancer treatment that Australian families have been demanding for years?

02 'This Bloody Machine' | The Other Plan

2026/09/03

The public plans for a half-a-billion-dollar Sydney development have proton therapy all over them. But they're not the only set. As Australian families continue to fly overseas to get the life-saving treatment their children need, new questions arise about whether it's going to be possible for Sue Bleasel to pull off her plan. And now, they're coming from people inside the bigger project. When an insider speaks out for the first time, it becomes clear Sue isn't being kept in the loop on all the developer's plans.

01 'This Bloody Machine' | Jewel in the Crown

2026/08/27

Sue Bleasel is running out of time. Her life's work has been to bring a life-saving proton therapy machine to Australia. But with construction about to start, big questions remain.

TRAILER – Introducing 'This Bloody Machine'

2026/08/13

It's a plan so good that everyone wants to believe it. Bring a life-saving cancer machine to Australia so desperate families don't have to travel overseas for treatment. But the plan keeps failing. The latest idea is to build a half-billion-dollar health science precinct in the heart of Sydney to house Australia's first proton therapy machine. It's got some big names backing it, support from a federal politician, and the green light from state government and local council. So why, when reporters Julia Bergin and Loretta Florance take a closer look, is it so hard to get a clear answer about what's going on? Is it happening? And what will it take to bring this machine to Australia? This Bloody Machine is a three-part Background Briefing investigation that follows a trail of money, egos, secret plans and changing stories to find out if the proton therapy dream is too good to be true.

Long Read | The Girl Who Vanished From Her Bed: Part Two

2026/07/23

A missing child, the botched police investigation case, and the aunt who never stopped asking why — this is part two of Maddison Connaughton's long read investigation into the disappearance of schoolgirl Eloise Worledge.

Long Read | The Girl Who Vanished From Her Bed: Part One

2026/07/16

Could new leads solve one of Australia’s most haunting cold cases, the disappearance of Eloise Worledge? This is part one of Maddison Connaughton's investigation, a collaboration with ABC Long Read.

Beef | Battle for the Blue Zones 2

2026/07/02

You may have heard the strange story about the man who cheated death. Diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given just months to live, he moved home to die in peace on the idyllic Greek island of Ikaria. But he didn't die. He lived for decades, and his miraculous recovery became one of the most shared stories of the Blue Zones movement, a prime example of the island's rare power to keep death at bay. There's just one problem. How much is actually known about this mysterious death-defying man?

Beef | Battle for the Blue Zones

2026/06/25

You've heard there are these enchanted places around the world where people often live past 100, thanks to lifestyles the rest of us envy. They're called Blue Zones, and over two decades the idea has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry that sells you their secrets of longevity. But then an Australian scientist started digging into the data behind the legend, and decided something didn't add up.

The dark reality of Australia's AI dream factory

2026/06/18

It’s been billed “the Netflix of AI.” A little-known Australian startup running an online service, boasting more than 20 million users worldwide. It promises to bring your fantasies to life with realistic AI companions you design and control. What reporter Josh Robertson discovered was something more disturbing: characters that appear as young as 14 and 15 years old, presented for adult role-play, and a company unable to stop them appearing.

03 Tammy's Story | New Asylums

2026/06/11

For a while, Tammy's death looks like a one-off. Then an email lands in Kirstie Wellauer's inbox that changes everything.

02 Tammy's Story | Searching for Safety

2026/06/03

Tammy Shipley walked into a police station and asked to be locked up. She just wanted to be safe.

01 Tammy's Story | The Red Cup

2026/05/27

Tammy's under 24-hour surveillance. Her family can't reach her. Then she starts drinking water from a red cup — and nobody understands what they're watching until it's too late.

Introducing | Tammy's Story

2026/05/14

Tammy Shipley asked to be arrested so she could feel safe. After she was placed under 24-hour surveillance, something terrible took place. A new three-part series by Kirstie Wellauer and Joanna McCarthy investigates how it unfolded. A loving mother of five, Tammy could really make her kids laugh. But she'd started to believe she was in danger — that someone was out to get her. A couple of weeks before Christmas, she walked into a Sydney police station looking for protection. She asked to be arrested and just wanted to feel safe. She was put under 24-hour surveillance. Then, over the course of several hours, something terrible took place. Something no one noticed. Tammy's Story is a three-part investigation into how this could have happened.

03 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Name

2026/04/24

Jean Paul Mangin is a nom de plume, an alias, a fake name. But no one seems to know that. So why would a commercial gallery – a family-run business – go to such extreme lengths to protect the identity of its artist?

02 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Plastic

2026/04/17

The only clue to Jean Paul Mangin's true identity is hiding in his art. Unlike everything else about the elusive French sculptor, the material he works with is right there for anyone to see — giant, flat sheets of plastic, in vivid colours and glossy finishes. Perhaps if reporter Julia Bergin can find out where they're coming from, she can find him too. And it’s that trail that leads her to a noisy factory floor, where another artist has been making strikingly similar work for years.

Podcast reviews

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4.6 out of 5

34 reviews

★★★★★

Bilas Peles 2024/11/23

Good listening

Intelligent investigative reporting on interesting topics, usually, but not always, Australia-based

★★★★★

The Dodg 2020/10/30

A joy

This is just a great great show.

★★★★★

Cinavaphotos 2020/09/04

A must Listen!!

I’ve been listening to this show for almost a year now, and I love it. This show is the definition of real investigative Journalism. The episodes are ...

★★★★★

Boutie 2020/04/24

A Window on Australia

As a listener in America, the mix of topics and the depth of journalism devoted to each are a welcome window on Australia’s diverse communities, circu...

★★★★★

Jack_McCoy 2019/09/17

Investigative Journalism Radio

I wasn’t aware investigative journalism on the radio could be as compelling as this. Really good sound design and editing. Topics are as diverse as se...

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