Background Briefing podcast artwork
News

Background Briefing

by ABC Australia
NewsSociety & CultureDocumentary

Chart positions today · United States

Not on the United States charts we track today.

If you like Background Briefing, try…

Latest episodes

  • 01 The Unbreakable Cult | Hands on

    October 22, 2026 · 36 min

    When Serge Benhayon had a spiritual epiphany sitting on the toilet nearly 30 years ago, he says he became possessed with all the knowledge of the universe.

  • INTRODUCING... The Unbreakable Cult

    October 19, 2026 · 3 min

    Serge Benhayon has been leading a cult out of the Byron Bay hinterland — just south of the Queensland border — for more than a decade. He was found by a jury to be a charlatan who swindles cancer patients. Yet every time he comes under…

  • 03 Dark Menace | Operation Queenstown

    October 15, 2026 · 39 min

    Before police raided Mark Dennis’s Sydney terrace, two tradies saw something inside that left them rattled. At the front door, a doormat told visitors to “come back with a warrant”. But it was what covered the interior walls that stayed…

  • 02 Dark Menace | What Happened At Sunrise

    October 8, 2026 · 38 min

    As the founder of a famous Cambodian orphanage rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars, like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, a Sydney barrister was quietly becoming one of the charity's most powerful backers. To staff, Mark Dennis SC was “the…

  • 01 Dark Menace | The Chairman's Secrets

    October 1, 2026 · 42 min

    He was a silk at Sydney's most prestigious criminal defence chambers. And the former chairman of a celebrated charity protecting vulnerable children, where some called him "godfather". But he went by the alias of "Dark Menace" — and was…

Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes
  • INTRODUCING — Dark Menace

    September 29, 2026 · 1 min

    When police raided a terrace in Sydney's inner west, they found an iPad with a note: if this device connects to the internet, its contents will delete. That house belonged to one of Sydney's top criminal barristers.  A driven man who moved…

  • 03 'This Bloody Machine' | The Empty Chapel

    September 10, 2026 · 32 min

    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…

  • 02 'This Bloody Machine' | The Other Plan

    September 3, 2026 · 32 min

    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…

  • 01 'This Bloody Machine' | Jewel in the Crown

    August 27, 2026 · 31 min

    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'

    August 13, 2026 · 1 min

    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…

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

    July 23, 2026 · 15 min

    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

    July 16, 2026 · 21 min

    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.

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

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.