Insight on SBS – Australia’s favourite discussion show with powerful first-person stories, Insight,and award-winning international documentary series Dateline will return to SBS and SBS On Demand on Tuesday 5 March from 8:30pm AEDT.
In 2024, Insight will delve into nuanced discussions around taboo topics, while Dateline will spotlight fascinating characters and daring stories, investigate captivating international issues and events, and reveal new insights into key issues across Australia.
Fearlessly delving into contentious subjects facing Australians today, this year Insight will explore what’s behind Australia’s current baby drought, meet trailblazing boomers who paved the way for bold social change, investigate why guilt can have such a powerful hold on us and how it can be harnessed for good, explore why people become super fans – and what happens when it goes too far – amongst much more.
Insight will also launch a brand-new podcast, Insightful, on Tuesday 5 March. Hosted by Kumi Taguchi, the podcast will feature popular guests with intriguing backstories who have previously appeared on Insight, including male escort Samuel Hunter, long-time Dolly Doctor Melissa Kang, former professional big-wave surfer and convicted drug trafficker Wayne Cleveland, and Charlotte Charles, who’s 19-year-old son Harry was killed while riding his motorcycle by a driver who claimed diplomatic immunity and fled the jurisdiction. Publishing weekly on Tuesdays, the first season of Insightful will feature eight unique episodes.
In its established timeslot at 9:30pm, Australia’s longest-running international current affairs show Dateline will celebrate its historic 40th year on air in 2024.
The landmark season will explore global issues that expand our understanding of the world around us, with this year’s line-up featuring stories from Venezuela, Romania, Syria, Netherlands, Germany, the U.S., and beyond.
The 2024 season premiere will see Australian performer, playwright, and Coda (children of deaf adults) Jodee Mundy travel to Pennsylvania to join the first Asian-American Coda camp for Deaf parents and their kids. Exploring multiple layers of identity, the episode is a moving look into how an immersive experience in sign language and Asian family-values can help these pre-teens connect with their Deaf parents.
SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Mandi Wicks, said:
“SBS’s current affairs line-up is renowned for reflecting diverse, multi-faceted issues that impact all Australians. There is nothing like Insight – a program where taboo topics are discussed in a respectful and inclusive way. We are thrilled to be launching Insightful: The Podcast, diving deeper into some of the most extraordinary and surprising first-person stories. Dateline will celebrate its 40th year as Australia’s longest-running international current affairs program. The program continues to explore and reflect the issues and events of our time as we all seek to understand and navigate an increasingly complex world.”
Insight on SBS and SBS on Demand – Returns Tuesdays from 5 March at 8:30pm
Australia’s favourite show for nuanced discussions around taboo topics, Insight delves boldly into challenging subjects impacting Australians around the country, with host Kumi Taguchi providing a safe space for ordinary people to talk to each other without judgement. Following 2023’s wide-ranging and topical episodes, including Mid-life Sexual Awakenings, Seeking Justice, Boomers vs Millennials and Your Voice. Your Vote., 2024’s topics will continue to captivate and address the hot topics Australians are talking about.
Episode 1 Synopsis
Baby Drought – Tuesday 5 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia’s birth rate is plummeting with more of us choosing to have one child, or none.i Insight host Kumi Taguchi speaks to singles, couples and fertility and population experts to find out what’s behind the baby drought, and what will society look like in forty years as a result?
i Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Births, Australia. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/births-australia/latest-release.
Episode 2 Synopsis
Thanks Boomers – Tuesday 12 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Baby Boomers are much maligned, but what Millennials mightn’t know is how much their parents’ generation pushed boundaries for social change. Insight meets single mothers who kept their babies despite pressure to abort or adopt, one of the first Matildas who played in the national soccer team before it even had a name and other trailblazing Boomers who broke taboos – from religion to gender, to sex, asking how much have things changed?
Episode 3 Synopsis
Fateful Decisions – Tuesday 19 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Samia was a carefree 19-year-old when an older, charismatic stranger asked her to sail the world with him. Samia tells host Kumi Taguchi how her decision, and the real identity of the man who seduced her, would change her life forever. Insight hears from guests who’ve made fateful decisions – for better or worse.
Episode 4 Synopsis
Guilt – Tuesday 26 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
A police sniper from the Lindt Café Siege explains the overwhelming guilt he felt for the deaths of two hostages, while a woman admits feeling guilty for having an affair with a married man, resulting in the break-up of his marriage. Host Kumi Taguchi explores why guilt can have such a powerful hold on us, and also why it can be a positive emotion, harnessed for good.
Episode 5 Synopsis
Super Fans – Tuesday 2 April at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia’s biggest Kylie Minogue fan meets a woman whose marriage ended because of her husband’s obsession with Liza Minnelli. Host Kumi Taguchi also hears from a woman who stalked Justin Bieber, as well as super fans of sports teams and TV shows. Why do people become super fans and what happens when it goes too far?
Dateline on SBS and SBS on Demand – Returns Tuesdays from 5 March at 9:30pm
Episode 1 Synopsis
Camp Coda: Children of Deaf Adults – Tuesday 5 March at 9:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Dateline reporter Jodee Mundy travels to Pennsylvania to join the first Asian-American Coda camp for Deaf parents and their kids. Can an immersive experience in sign language and Asian family-values help these pre-teens connect with their Deaf parents?
Jodee Mundy OAM is an Australian theatre performer and a proud Coda (child of deaf adult). Her parents and older brothers are Deaf, and she was raised with Auslan as her first language.
Also airing this season
Romania’s Webcam Girls – will be available on SBS and SBS On Demand
Dateline investigates the state of Romania’s booming adult camgirl industry. Webcam studio owners say the business is perfectly legal and are fighting to prove their legitimacy. But following the arrest of US-born influencer Andrew Tate, who ran a webcam company in Romania, the industry is facing new scrutiny for sex trafficking. Dateline reporter Calliste Weitenberg explores the experiences of women working for the industry and uncovers a wild west of “ghost studios” with few rules and even less oversight.
Born Big – will be available on SBS and SBS On Demand
Nearly one in five children in America are obese and after decades of encouraging diet and exercise as treatment, parents are now being urged to look at more radical options: including bariatric surgery for 13-year-olds, and controversial weight loss drugs such as Ozempic.
Kumi Taguchi meets the American families turning to radical medical interventions to help their children with obesity.
Insight and Dateline will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
Insightful: The Podcast will be available on the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LiSTNR.
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