Today's headlines include:

• A senate inquiry into proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has wrapped after three days of hearings in Canberra.
• Principals in Victoria will be given stronger powers to ban abusive parents from school grounds.
• U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States and Iran could sign ‌a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as this weekend.
• And today’s good news: An 11-year-old in the U.S. state of Kansas discovered an 85 million-year-old fossil during a school excursion.

Hosts: Lucy Tassell and Elliot Lawry
Producer: Orla Maher

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup has officially kicked off! It marks the biggest football tournament in history, with 48 teams playing across three countries. But before a single ball has been kicked, this might already be the most controversial World Cup ever.

One of the teams competing is at war with the host country. A referee was turned away at the border. And fans are being blocked from watching their own team play.

On today’s podcast we’re going to break down everything you need to know about this year’s edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Sign up to the TDA Sports Newsletter here.

Hosts: Elliot Lawry and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher
Video Editor: Rosa Bowden

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Today's headlines include: 

• A wide-ranging review has found a culture of sexual harassment in the NSW police force.
• The U.S. has launched further strikes on Iran, with an Islamic Republic Guard Corps (IRGC) chief vowing to “turn the region into hell” for the U.S.
• Anti-immigration riots in Northern Ireland’s capital Belfast have continued for a second night.
• And today’s good news: English Premier League side Arsenal has donated players’ old socks to a donkey and horse sanctuary.

Hosts: Lucy Tassell and Elliot Lawry
Producer: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent.

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Listen to The Mirror on Spotify - episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4
Listen to The Mirror on Apple Podcasts - episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4

A billboard truck has been spotted driving around Melbourne with the slogan "Ditch the Witch" next to an image of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

The campaign has been condemned across the political spectrum, reviving a slogan that was used against Australia's first female prime minister more than fifteen years ago.

On today's podcast, we're breaking down who's behind it, what it means for Victorian politics, and what Julia Gillard had to say about the return of “Ditch the Witch”.

Hosts: Elliot Lawry and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher
Video Editor: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Today's headlines include: 

• The accused Bondi terrorist has been charged with 19 further offences, adding to his 15 existing murder charges and 40 counts of attempted murder.
• Thousands of people have turned out to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to farewell AFL legend and MND advocate Neale Daniher. 
• Iran has confirmed it carried out attacks against a U.S. base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf, in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.
• And today’s good news: An orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey has been released into the wild in north Queensland after a 2,000km round-trip rehabilitation journey.

Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Lucy Tassell
Producer: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Australia is one of the most expensive countries in the world to buy cigarettes. A standard pack now costs around $60, and it's a price most smokers aren’t willing to pay. But that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped buying them altogether. New data estimates around 80% of cigarettes and nicotine products consumed last year were purchased on the black market, with organised crime undercutting the government by $30 a pack. And despite decades of taxes and education campaigns, overall nicotine consumption has surged. So what's actually going on? Today we unpack Australia's rapidly growing illegal tobacco industry.

Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Emma Gillespie
Producer: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Today's headlines include: 

• The Coalition has left the door open to working with Pauline Hanson to oust Labor from power, as One Nation rises in the polls.
• NSW Police have charged two people over a shooting at the wrong funeral site for a murdered gangland figure.
• The ‌International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor ‌has been suspended following sexual harassment allegations.
• And today’s good news: Australian researchers have discovered a new way to brew espresso using ultrasonic sound waves, a method they say could make coffee cheaper.

Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Is U.S. President Donald Trump interfering with journalism in the U.S.?

That is the question at the core of the controversy surrounding the U.S. version of 60 Minutes - the most watched television news program in the country. 

It’s a show that for decades has demonstrated journalism at its best - holding the political and corporate powers to account. 

Now, new owners, and a suite of firings, has led many to question the motivations behind its latest decision. But is this actually political interference? That is what we will explore on today’s podcast.

Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Elliot Lawry
Producer: Orla Maher

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent.

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Today's headlines include:

• Fresh polling has once again suggested that Pauline Hanson's One Nation is the most popular party in Australia. 
• Former Australian of the Year and pioneering melanoma researcher Professor Richard Scolyer has died, aged 59.
• Israel has struck military targets in western ‌and central Iran, despite reports that U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.
• And today’s good news: Aussie pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall has pulled off a remarkable victory, beating Olympic champion and world record holder Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis at a Diamond League event in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday.

You can watch our 2024 interview with Professor Richard Scolyer here.

Hosts: Elliot Lawry and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Elliot Lawry

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Australia’s online safety regulator received more than 3,300 reports of sexual extortion last year, with young men the most targeted group.

‘Sextortion’ is a form of online blackmail and sexual abuse, which experts warn is growing rapidly in scale and sophistication, partly due to generative AI. eSafety is now “turning the tables” on scammers by using AI itself for a new campaign.

To talk us through the latest data and it’s new education campaign, TDA sits down with eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in today’s deep dive.

Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Sam Koslowski
Guest: Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner 
Producer: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

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Today's headlines include:

• A Melbourne teenager who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane may become the first child in Victoria to face trial on terror charges.
• Australians lost almost a quarter of a billion dollars to scams in the first three months of 2026, according to new data released by the ACCC's National Anti-Scam Centre. 
• Chinese President ‌Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong-un for his first visit in six years.
• And today’s good news: An Australian-Tamil footballer has made history as the first Tamil athlete to make a FIFA World Cup squad. 

Hosts: Zara Seidler and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Rosa Bowden

Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.

The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent.

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