Background Briefing
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. The podcast brings true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia. Recent series include Hometown Boys, The Invisible Killer, The Favourite, Stop and Search, and Before and After.
Episodes
02 The Unbreakable Cult | The recruiter
Helen doesn't know her psychologist is devoted to the cult of Universal Medicine. So when she finally seeks help for her childhood trauma, she thinks she can trust this registered health professional. Soon, she's been referred to spiritual healers, sent to a masseuse for "esoteric breast massage" and put on the path to meeting cult leader Serge Benhayon.
01 The Unbreakable Cult | Hands on
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. With these secrets at his fingertips, Serge invented four "esoteric" healing therapies and began to train up followers devoted to his way of life. That’s how the cult of Universal Medicine was born.
INTRODUCING... The Unbreakable Cult
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 attack, his followers close ranks around him.
03 Dark Menace | Operation Queenstown
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 with them for years.
02 Dark Menace | What Happened At Sunrise
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 big boss”. Few dared to question him. Even when he made them feel afraid.
01 Dark Menace | The Chairman's Secrets
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 allegedly hiding a sinister double life. Within weeks of that becoming known, he was dead.
INTRODUCING — Dark Menace
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 through courtrooms and corridors of power with ease. But the man had dark secrets too. And so, when the truth about him surfaces, it sets of
03 'This Bloody Machine' | The Empty Chapel
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
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
01 'This Bloody Machine' | Jewel in the Crown
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'
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,
Long Read | The Girl Who Vanished From Her Bed: Part Two
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
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
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 powe
Beef | Battle for the Blue Zones
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 som
The dark reality of Australia's AI dream factory
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 fo
03 Tammy's Story | New Asylums
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
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
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
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
03 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Name
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
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
01 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Sculptor
The sales pitch goes that Jean Paul Mangin is a reclusive Parisian sculptor whose works are internationally acclaimed. His pieces sell quickly through one particular Australian gallery, sought after by trendy interior designers. But gallery staff are starting to ask questions. Why is Jean Paul Mangin uncontactable? Why can’t they find any evidence of his international credentials
Introducing | In Search of the Missing Artist
For years, art buyers have been told that this man is an internationally acclaimed, intensely private Parisian sculptor. His bold, brightly coloured plastic works are available through one Melbourne gallery, and they're selling fast. But there's a problem. The artist, Jean Paul Mangin, has no website, no social media, and no discernible presence in France. His sculptures arrive i
03 The Road to Bondi | Deepfake
How did a wounded Bondi survivor become the face of a global deepfake conspiracy in less than 24 hours? Arsen Ostrovsky was celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach when the first shots rang out. A bullet grazed his head, and as he lay bleeding on the ground, his first thought was his wife and children. Not knowing whether the danger had passed, he took selfies to show them he was ali
02 The Road to Bondi | A Test of Character
This man fled Iran after being imprisoned and tortured for protesting the regime. Known only as AB, he came to Australia hoping to start again — and, in many ways, he did. He found love and started a family. But he also made poor choices, fell into drugs and became violent towards his partner. Now his future in Australia is in jeopardy. He was living with those consequences when
01 The Road to Bondi | Father and Son
You think you know the story. You know how it ended. But you don’t know how it began. In the first episode of The Road to Bondi, reporter Josh Robertson traces the decades-long path that led a father and son to carry out their plan. He takes us from the narrow streets of old Hyderabad in India, where a young man grew up in a respectable family, to the western Sydney suburbs, wher
TRAILER — Introducing The Road to Bondi
In an ordinary Australian suburb, a father and son are secretly planning something terrible. One fateful summer evening, their path brings them crashing into the lives of strangers from around the world whose own stories haven’t yet been told. You might think you know the story, but there's so much more to tell. In a new three-part series, Background Briefing investigates how the
06 Hometown Boys | Not the only one
Insiders from the Harrow-Balmoral football club decide to break the code of silence. For Elise, it’s time to rebuild her life. But her story inspires other women to emerge with their own troubling accounts of the town’s club culture. When the convicted men were freed, Balmoral threw them a hero’s welcome; after everything, what was actually learned?
05 Hometown Boys | 'Luke, Maybe'
A key witness submits a startling new statement that topples the guilty verdict and forces a retrial. This time, the men accused will not give evidence. But Lisa Hutchins, the trusted bush nurse will take the stand again — now for the defence.
04 Hometown Boys | The Trial
As the criminal trial unfolds, witnesses from Balmoral waver on the stand, and the judge is "taken aback". The courtroom is heaving with supporters of the accused but the verdict is not what they're expecting.
03 Hometown Boys | The 'Mayoress of Balmoral'
A respected bush nurse with close ties to the accused becomes a key police witness. As the investigation quietly gathers pace, locals start to choose sides and the family of the victim feels ostracised.
02 Hometown Boys | In the caravan
A 21st birthday party becomes a crime scene, but some locals carry on like nothing’s happened.
01 Hometown Boys | Welcome to Balmoral
In this one-street town of 280 residents, there’s an unspoken code: don’t rock the boat, or risk being cast out. Balmoral is a small Victorian town built on tradition, loyalty and knowing your place. For newcomers, the fastest way in is the football club. It’s where friendships are forged and status is earned.
TRAILER — Introducing Hometown Boys
When a young woman accuses a talented local footballer and his friend of rape, the town reveals where its true loyalties lie. The beating heart of Balmoral, a tiny Victorian town in Australia, is the football club. It’s where children grow up, where families belong and where people learn the cost of rocking the boat. Background Briefing investigates what happens when town pride,
Long Read | How social media algorithms decide who you are
This week, Prianka Srinivasan arms herself with a burner phone and a fake name, and sets out to learn how Instagram’s algorithm really works.
04 Before and After | Behind the sunscreen
When the founder of a skincare company discovers his zinc sunscreen product potentially isn't achieving the protection it's supposed to, it doesn't take long before he realises the problem is far bigger than he first thought.
03 Before and After | Under your skin
The injectable industry is booming, but behind the glossy ads and plump looks, some patients are discovering filler that doesn’t dissolve. This week reporter Gina McKeon reveals the hidden risks of chasing an Instagrammable face.
02 Before and After | For a couple extra inches
For young men struggling with body image, social media offers a radical solution: get taller by breaking your legs. As the cosmetic limb-lengthening industry booms worldwide, Emilia Terzon explores the secretive online communities obsessed with undergoing the procedure, and meets the doctors left to deal with what happens when it goes wrong.
01 Before and After | The cost of keeping your hair
Hair loss ads are everywhere. Telehealth clinics with thousands of five-star reviews promise fast consults and discreet delivery to your doorstep. But what happens when the treatment messes with your brain chemistry?
Introducing... Before and After
Before and After is a new series by Background Briefing that exposes how medical hype spreads online, who profits, and who pays.
The secret teacher blacklist
Kim saw a teacher’s aide laughing at a video of a vulnerable student and reported it to the principal. She had no idea it would come to define the next seven years of her life.
05 The Favourite - A Day in Court
After years of manipulation, Alliyah is determined to see justice done. When Kellie appears in the dock, what will she say? And how will the judge respond?
04 The Favourite | Full Disclosure
Alliyah steps into a police station on the outskirts of Brisbane, and says: “I want to report a crime.” After keeping the so-called relationship with Kellie secret for almost a decade, Alliyah is finally ready to tell their story.
03 The Favourite | Alliyah's choice
A new job and a surprise encounter show Alliyah that another way is possible. Will they manage to slip out of Kellie's control?
02 The Favourite | A marriage proposal
When the principal discovers Alliyah and their teacher Kellie are exchanging secret messages outside class, Kellie is warned — but not fired. Then, on the last day of Alliyah’s graduation, another message arrives: “Secret squirrel… you can’t tell anyone.” As suspicion mounts at home, Alliyah's connection with Kellie grows stronger and more dangerous by the day.
01 The Favourite | Secrets after school
12-year-old Alliyah’s clowning around in science class, testing the waters to see how the new teacher will respond. An unusual bond grows between them — and what starts with a death stare and a smirk, soon slips into a world of secrets.
Introducing... The Favourite
She's every student’s favourite teacher — warm, funny, the kind who bends the rules. But for one 12-year-old, Alliyah, her attention goes far beyond the classroom. The Favourite is a five-part series by Background Briefing about how a secret remained hidden in plain sight for nearly a decade.
The invisible stuff on your blueberries
When a marine scientist starts picking up traces of pesticides in oysters, she follows a trail that leads inland — to NSW blueberries carrying a poison not permitted for use in Australia.
Long Read | The smart kids who can’t afford to succeed
Catherine Taylor investigates how money, disadvantage and resources risk holding back our brightest students.
Long Read | The fight over your backyard
The Yes In My Backyard movement is lobbying for denser cities and more housing in places people want to work and live. The YIMBYs want these homes built yesterday, but as Gina Rushton explains, the NIMBYs haven’t given up yet.
PRESENTS — Criminal Psychology from All in the Mind
Fascinated by true crime? Or intrigued by what drives people to break the law?Criminal Psychology, a gripping series from All in the Mind, takes you deep inside the minds of those who cross the line into extreme behaviour.In this four-episode series, they explore the psychological drivers behind arson, kleptomania, serial killers and Munchausen by Proxy, with people who work clos
Long Read | The Summer of Trump
This week, Nick Bryant returns to the US for the first time in four years, finding a country that doesn't want to talk about politics, despite being in the eye of the Trump storm.
Dr Mo: The Beast from the Middle East
An Australian doctor sells his car and writes a will — unsure if he’ll ever make it back home. He crosses the concrete walls that surround the Gaza Strip and begins work inside the last functioning hospital in the north. But in the chaos of war, something unfolded that no one, including him, could have predicted. This week, reporter Marty Smiley brings us the story of Dr Mo's im
04 Beef | YouTube detectives uncover PlayStation guru’s shocking secret
It started with a bizarre customer-service experience and soon transformed into something darker. Outrage rippled across Youtube, spurring an army of online vigilantes into action. But as reporter Maddison Connaughton discovered, the stakes were higher than anyone anticipated.
02 Beef | Who would shoot a wombat?
Most Aussies see wombats as an iconic native. But reporter Tynan King discovered one regional NSW town where farmers see them through a scope.
01 Beef | Big Rob versus just about everyone in town
Big Rob has gone from online vigilante to censured politician, starting little fights that have become big problems for his divided city.
INTRODUCING — Beef
A new series by Background Briefing investigates when small feuds take on a life of their own. First episode coming June 28.
Long Read | The hunt for the next pandemic is on our shores
This week, reporter Catherine Taylor investigates a new strain of avian flu virus that's running rampant across Europe, Asia, South America and the US. How long can we keep it from reaching us?
Long Read | Can Wikipedia survive the rise of AI and Trump?
Rhiannon Stevens investigates the existential threats facing Wikipedia from artificial intelligence and Trump’s America.
Long Read | Australia: burnout capital, or how to get a career break right
This week, Annie Louey discovers what happens when your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing means your career is no longer worth the money.
05 Agents of Influence | The letters journalists fear
There’s something shaping what appears in your newsfeed that you might not be aware of. Reporter Gina McKeon investigates.
04 Agents of Influence | The powerbroker unseated by ‘traitors’
This week, reporter Annika Blau gets the inside story of a union powerbroker’s rise, and the people who risked it all to stop her
03 Agents of Influence | The man whose name is all over Sydney
Take a stroll around Sydney and you'll find his name on many venerated buildings. But this man, a 101-year-old billionaire, has also created machines that risk ruining their users' lives.
02 Agents of Influence | The Billionaire's New Sport
A former oil tycoon has just bought the streaming rights to Australia’s great homegrown sports, the AFL and NRL. This week, reporter Marty Smiley investigates one of the richest men in the world - who is Len Blavatnik?
01 Agents of Influence | The PM's secret strategists
Millennial content makers can influence election outcomes from their home studios. After witnessing the power of podcasts in the US election, our political leaders are lining up to get a piece of the action.
Introducing... Agents of Influence
They're not household names. But they wield serious power under the radar.
Long Read | How deepfakes, nudes and teen misogyny have changed growing up
This week, Bri Lee investigates tech-assisted gendered abuse by schoolboys against their peers and teachers.
Long Read | The church’s disappearing women
Three decades after the first ordinations of women to the Anglican priesthood, women are still struggling to reach leadership — and now the congregation is changing too.
05 The Invisible Killer | Did police miss a murder?
A court found that Garry Davis injected three victims with lethal doses of insulin during a 48 hour period. But what if there was another victim? Is it possible police failed to collect crucial evidence to prove someone else had also been killed?
04 The Invisible Killer | Under the bed
When reporter Anne Connolly discovers that Garry Davis had a collection of strange items under his bed, it changes the course of her investigation, and raises new fears about the true scale of his crimes.
03 The Invisible Killer | Reasonable Doubt
Garry Davis has now been convicted of murdering two residents at SummitCare and attempting to murder a third. But all the evidence against him is circumstantial. Is it possible someone else could have been responsible for the insulin injections?
02 The Invisible Killer | 'Who did this?'
Someone injected three residents with lethal doses of insulin at an aged care facility in Newcastle. Now, the race is on to catch the killer. Will the police find the clues they need to catch the culprit before any more deaths occur?
01 The Invisible Killer | Doctor’s discovery
When residents start falling ill at a nursing home in Newcastle, the workers don't think much of it. After all, people die in aged care all the time. But then, one eagle-eyed doctor finds something that makes him suspect a killer is on the loose.
More to the story... Kathy Jackson’s missing millions
It looked like the Health Services Union might finally be returned millions of dollars owed by the whistleblower turned convicted fraudster, Kathy Jackson. Then, the money went missing again.
More to the story... Who controls the Murdoch empire?
Lachlan Murdoch is caught in an ongoing court battle with his siblings to maintain control of the family empire when Rupert Murdoch dies. Now there’s been a judgement.
More to the story... Meeting your mum as an adult
After Background Briefing's investigation, Anna was flooded with messages from Korean adoptees all over the world. The overwhelming response prompted her to embark on an emotional journey to South Korea, where she arranged to meet her birth mother for the first time. However, more surprises lay ahead.
More to the story... Sex, lies and 'big coconut balls'
When Background Briefing last investigated testosterone salesman Michael Farrelly, he was nowhere to be found. Then, a few weeks ago, came a surprising phone call.
More to the Story... My friend, the cop killer
Police and politicians labelled the Wieambilla killers evil terrorists. But what really went on inside their heads?
More to the story... Inside a scam factory
Scam baiter Jim Browning recently helped bring down a multinational scam syndicate in Dubai. His next target is a scam with potential links to the Russian mafia.
