13 December 2025 - Saturday Squiz

A quick shoutout to Nicoletta Hay, who has been coordinating/writing the Saturday Squiz for most of this year - she finished up with us yesterday to start her diplomatic career. Sucks for us, but we’re excited for her… This weekend, if you’ve got an ugly Christmas sweater ready to revive, have had a hairdo that hair-shouldn’t, or anything else you’d like to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

🎧 Listen to the Weekly Wrap with Larissa Moore and Jodie Speers

This week’s top 5 news stories

The week’s most mentioned news stories in Australia across TV, radio and print, according to media analytics firm Streem…

1. All eyes on Oz - Unless you’ve been living under a rock (fair play), you would’ve seen the Albanese Government’s social media ban kicked off this week. It’s a “grand social experiment” that PM Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Anika Wells conceded would have “teething issues” as some affected tech companies turn to the courts…

2. Can the English rise from the Ashes? - That’s the question for cricket fans as the tourists took another beating from Australia in the second Test of the series. Another thing Aussies are happy about is that our captain Pat Cummins is set to return for the Adelaide Test that starts on Wednesday. Giddyup…

3. On the road with the Wells family - Communications Minister Anika Wells has had a time of it over her taxpayer-funded travel ministerial and family expenses costing a pretty penny. She’s referred it to an umpire for review. It’s reopened the conversation around parliamentary perks, so watch this space…

4. One dream, one team, One Nation - Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce has officially joined Pauline Hanson’s party, less than 2 weeks after leaving the Nats. ‘Nuff said…

5. To the victor the spoils… - A ‘tight race’ is an understatement this F1 season, as Lando Norris clinched the championship by 2 points in the final race, beating out Dutchman Max Verstappen and his Aussie McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Reports say he partied until 6am - and why wouldn’t he…

It’s you against the news…

Reckon you know which iconic Aussie bikkie got a government boost to go big overseas? Test your knowledge with this week’s Squiz Quiz.

And if you aced that, try this…

Claire is getting comfy in the hosting chair, as she put her Weekly Wrap co-host Jodie Speers and our outgoing content manager Nicoletta Hay to the test in this week’s quiz.

The Weekly Squiz Quiz is out each Wednesday - listen here and/or watch on our YouTube channel.

‘Do of the Week

From grubby to vintage, there’s a mullet style for everyone. We enjoyed flicking through this post and this gallery for the best pics of last Saturday’s Mulletfest in Kurri Kurri. And don’t be surprised if you feel inspired to get a trim…

Say cheese…

Guilty of hoarding thousands of photos on your phone that you never look at? You can turn them into real pics with the Instax mini Link 2 Print Kit - it connects wirelessly to your phone to print credit-card-sized snaps in the blink of an eye. You can even add a personal touch by using the app to doodle on your images before printing - fancy… The bundle includes a case and film, so you have everything you need to get started.

In the Kitchen

Holiday celebrations call for some festive bikkies, and a go-to recipe is Ottolenghi’s spiced Brunsli chocolate cookies. They make a lovely addition to any Christmas table or for gifting to coworkers/family/teachers. Warning: good luck with the self-restraint…

What we Shortcut for you this week

Is my sunscreen safe? - It’s summer, it’s sunburn time. We know we should be ‘slip, slop, slapping’, but with the scrutiny on sunscreens, we thought it was a good time to break down where things are up to, and give you some tips on what a good sunscreen looks like… Read here or listen here.

All about the social media ban - With so many questions about how the ban will work, we’ve got a special series unpacking the nuts and bolts (with one more episode to come next week). Read parts 1 and 2 are here or listen here.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - Cricket fans will be all over the final of the Women’s Big Bash League at 7.15pm in Hobart, with the Hobart Hurricanes up against the Perth Scorchers - watch on 7+. And Chile will vote in the second round of the presidential election, with far-right reformer José Antonio Kast expected to win.

Sunday - Hannukkah begins for 8 days 🕎 - pass the latkes. And warm up those pipes, it’s World Choral Day.

Monday - Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook - MYEFO for the cool kids... It’s like a half-year economic report card from the federal government, and it could be out Monday or another day next week, so we’re putting that here. And it’s 10 days ‘til Christmas…

Tuesday - PSA: Australia Post says to get your Christmas cards in the mail by today so they arrive by Christmas Day. And it’s Victory Day in Bangladesh.

Wednesday - It’s Test 3 of the Ashes in Adelaide, with the first ball at 10.30am local time - watch that on 7+. And submissions close for the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ inquiry into the new Pukpuk Treaty with PNG.

Thursday - The ABS will release the latest population numbers on a national, state and territory level - that always generates some news chatter. And season 5 of Emily in Paris is out on Netflix - or should we say, Emily in Rome?

Friday - Paul Sultana will be sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court after he was found guilty of the murder of his former partner Dayna Isaac in January 2023. We’ll get ABS data on overseas migration - good timing after the population stats the day before. And it’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.