Background Briefing by ABC Australia | Podcast Rankings & Episodes

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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.

Latest episodes

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…
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.