Background Briefing

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 alive. Within hours, one of the images was circulating across social media. Arsen was then swept up in a wave of disinformation that recast him not as a victim, but as a performer: a “crisis actor” faking his wounds to manufacture sympathy for Israel. The deepfake conspiracy spread with startling speed. In less than 24 hours, Arsen had gone from shooting survivor to accused hoaxer. In this episode, reporter Josh Robertson trace how that happened. They follow the lie from its point of origin through the networks that amplified it: far-right Telegram channels, fringe conspiracy theorists on Reddit and Instagram, Russian propaganda outlets, and beyond. It is a story about surviving something catastrophic, then being told by strangers that it never happened.

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 the Bondi terror attack unfolded around him. He ran towards the gunfire, and risked his life to help others. Now the country that once gave him refuge wants to deport him.

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, where he begins to unravel.

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 road to Bondi began long before the first shots rang out.

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?

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.

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.

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.

A 21st birthday party becomes a crime scene, but some locals carry on like nothing’s happened.

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.

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, sports club culture, and the reputation of a promising young player get in the way of a young woman seeking justice over a terrible crime.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Before and After is a new series by Background Briefing that exposes how medical hype spreads online, who profits, and who pays.

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.

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?

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.

A new job and a surprise encounter show Alliyah that another way is possible. Will they manage to slip out of Kellie's control?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Catherine Taylor investigates how money, disadvantage and resources risk holding back our brightest students.

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.

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 closely on these cases.And find out how understanding the human mind can help us to prevent harm.If you're curious about the corners of criminal human behaviour, this is unmissable listening.Find Criminal Psychology from All in the Mind here.

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.

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 impossible mission.

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.

Most Aussies see wombats as an iconic native. But reporter Tynan King discovered one regional NSW town where farmers see them through a scope.

Big Rob has gone from online vigilante to censured politician, starting little fights that have become big problems for his divided city.

A new series by Background Briefing investigates when small feuds take on a life of their own. First episode coming June 28.

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?

Rhiannon Stevens investigates the existential threats facing Wikipedia from artificial intelligence and Trump’s America.

This week, Annie Louey discovers what happens when your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing means your career is no longer worth the money.

There’s something shaping what appears in your newsfeed that you might not be aware of. Reporter Gina McKeon investigates.

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

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.

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?

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.

They're not household names. But they wield serious power under the radar.

This week, Bri Lee investigates tech-assisted gendered abuse by schoolboys against their peers and teachers.

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.

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?