Podcast
Squiz Today
Hosted by Squiz Media · EN
A daily news podcast presented by Andrew Williams, Alice Dempster, Anna Pykett and Larissa Huntington, getting you across the latest Australian and international news in under 10 minutes. Agenda-free, independent, and delivered by hosts that'll come to feel like mates. It's the news without the noise, cutting through with a touch of analysis and an eye on what's coming next. And there's always a quirky news story or two to give some balance to the news of the day. News for busy people, out 6am weekday, perfect for your morning routine.
The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed.
Top tip - check out The Squiz Today newsletter. It's the daily news stories, in your inbox each weekday at 6am, with links and more info to all the stories covered in The Squiz Today podcast. Sign up at www.thesquiz.com.au - it's free.
127episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Squiz Shortcuts: What's the construction crisis in Victoria?
Yesterday00:20:11Tap to summarizeWhen Victoria's new Premier Ben Carroll took the reins last week, one of the first things he did was announce a Royal Commission into the state's construction sector. It follows months of pressure to investigate alleged corruption inside state government infrastructure projects - the ones paid for with public money. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at what the allegations are, why there’s been pressure for an inquiry, and what the Victorian Government hopes a Royal Commission will achieve… SPONSORED: CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. This podcast is presented by Anna Pykett and Larissa Huntington It was researched by Anna Pykett Reading: This article (paywall) from the SMH and The Age journalist Nick McKenzie, who’s spent years investigating all of these allegations of corruption - it explains all the findings from the independent report from Geoffrey Watson SC that we mentioned earlier… Reading: And I’ve got an explainer from The Guardian that breaks down some of the key questions surrounding this whole saga - things like how much did the government know and what comes after a Royal Commission… Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories… Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
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The immigration speech that wasn't, and it's Alice's last episode
Yesterday00:12:57Tap to summarizeThursday, 6 August: The government's migration plan gets delayed; An inquiry after Telstra's outage; The Miles Franklin winner is named; And it's farewell from me... SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Hosted by Alice Dempster and Andrew Williams Researched by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Alice Dempster Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Questions for our gambling agencies, and a tiny country embraces its heritage
2d ago00:10:15Tap to summarizeWednesday, 5 August: Questions for Australia's gambling agencies; Authorities investigate a Melbourne terror incident; A restructure at Qantas; And a tiny country embraces its heritage... SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Hosted by Alice Dempster and Anna Pykett Researched by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Alice Dempster Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Squiz Shortcuts: Making sense of the Census
3d ago00:18:01Tap to summarizeIn a week’s time, we’re all going to be sitting down and filling out our Census - the snapshot of Aussie life that the Australian Bureau of Statistics takes every 5 years. But while we’ll all have to figure out how to do it, exactly why we do it is a question we don’t think about as much. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll unpack why we count everyone every 5 years, what we’re counting, and what the data is used for. SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Squiz Recommends: Reading: This article from The Conversation, which talks about how the Census data is used - and it’s in many more ways than we were able to cover here… Reading: And for the data nerds, here’s the QuickStats tool on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website - where you can find out all sorts of info about Aussies during the last Census in 2021. Have a play, go on… Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories… Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
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The trial of Alan Jones begins, and reading Fight Club in a nightclub
3d ago00:10:57Tap to summarizeTuesday, 4 August: The trial of Alan Jones gets underway, an update on the leader of Myanmar, bird flu cases rise and how to read Fight Club in a nightclub SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. And here are some resources if today's stories have raised any concerns for you Hosted by Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Researched by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Alice Dempster Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Fuel prices are set to rise, and Spidey breaks records at the box office
4d ago00:11:26Tap to summarizeMonday, 3 August: Fuel prices are set to rise, a slow start for our social media ban, Australia finishes on top at the Commonwealth Games and Spiderman breaks records at the box office It's the last day for our Squiz audience survey! You can fill it out here - we hugely appreciate it. SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Hosted by Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Researched by Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Optus heads to court, and a really, really late library book...
1w ago00:15:11Tap to summarizeFriday, 31 July: Optus heads to court over last year's outage, a federal MP is charged with assault, a football civil war breaks out, and a really, really late library book... SPONSORED: For more information about Uber's partnership with Vision Australia here. Here's the shortbread recipe for biscuits with the boss You can watch Treasure & Dirt on ABC iView You can fill out our Squiz audience survey here - we hugely appreciate it. Hosted by Andrew Williams and Larissa Huntington Researched by Larissa Huntington, Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Squiz Shortcuts: What's India's cockroach movement?
1w ago00:16:19Tap to summarizeOver the past few months, you might have seen a few stories about a cockroach movement in India. What started as a parody political movement has - over time - turned into a genuine one - and this week, it successfully forced the resignation of the country’s Education Minister. It’s a story of economic inequality, social media and youth vs establishment - and it’s become a major deal in the most populous country in the world. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll explain how it started, how it grew - and what it means for India and the world. SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Presented and researched by Andrew Williams and Larissa Huntington Squiz Recommends: Reading: This piece from The Conversation which gives some context for the movement and what could be next... Reading: This article from BBC online which talks about how the language of Gen Z, so terms like FOMO and delulu, have been used in India’s parliament for the first time in the past week - it’s a bit of a sign of the changing of the guard. And one more thing: Special shout out to Aphra who emailed us requesting this shortcut - and a reminder that if you’d also like us to cover a particular topic, you can send it to us at hello@thesquiz.com.au… Squiz Shortcuts is your back story to the big news stories… Want the email version? Sign up for the Shortcuts newsletter here
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An end to fuel relief, and a record-breaking flight
1w ago00:14:48Tap to summarizeThursday, 30 July: An end to fuel relief, a tragic search in South Australia, the CommGames gold rush continues and a record breaking flight SPONSORED - CommBank Next Chapter program offers free and confidential help, even if you don’t bank with them. Here's a link to our Squiz Shortcut on Closing the Gap You can fill out our Squiz audience survey here - we hugely appreciate it. Here are some resources if you need assistance Hosted by Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Researched by Anna Pykett, Andrew Williams and Larissa Huntington Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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Victoria has a new premier, and an Aussie classic heads for the stage
1w ago00:14:54Tap to summarizeWednesday, 29 July: Victoria has a new premier, an earthquake in Japan, male eating disorders are on the rise, and an Aussie classic heads for the stage SPONSORED: For more information about Uber's partnership with Vision Australia here:https://visionaustralia.org/community/news/2026-07-17/vision-australia-welcomes-ubers-decision-review-disability-support You can fill out our Squiz audience survey here - we hugely appreciate it. Here are some resources if you need assistance Hosted by Andrew Williams and Anna Pykett Researched by Anna Pykett, Andrew Williams and Larissa Huntington Get The Squiz Today newsletter in your inbox each weekday morning (links to today’s stories, plus a dose of quirky news). Other things we do: Squiz Kids - a news podcast for curious kids. Age-appropriate news without the nasties! Newshounds, by Squiz Kids - a free media literacy program designed to teach primary-school students how to recognise misinformation and disinformation when they come across it. Check out News Club - the place for conversations about the news. Sign up for the Saturday Squiz newsletter here - it's the news, weekend style.
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