SBS’s acclaimed current affairs programs Insight and Dateline are back, diving into Australia’s most pressing conversations and uncovering compelling international stories.
Hosted by Kumi Taguchi, Insight explores deeply personal and often divisive topics, kicking off with ‘Your Body, Your Choice.’
Meanwhile, Dateline opens its season with a groundbreaking look inside Singapore’s Changi Prison, led by Adam Liaw.
From SBS:
Australia’s esteemed discussion forum for taboo topics, Insight, and its stablemate, the award-winning international current affairs series Dateline, will return to SBS and SBS On Demand on Tuesday 4 March from 8:30pm AEDT.
In the wake of SBS being named the most trusted news brand in Australia last year[1], 2025 will see Insight continue to deliver captivating and leading-edge conversations around deeply personal, sensitive, and often divisive topics, while Dateline will explore the global trends, people and stories shaping our increasingly connected world.
In an era of outrage, Insight provides a unique space for people to share opposing views on the toughest and most sensitive issues facing Australians. Hosted by Kumi Taguchi, Insight returns on Tuesday 4 March at 8:30pm, and will continue to investigate a variety of bold topics this season,
Insight’s 2025 season premiere, Your Body, Your Choice, will take a deep dive into how much autonomy we have over our bodies. Often the issues are highly emotive, with some states pushing to repeal abortion rights, mandatory vaccinations continuing to vex, and the continued drive to make Voluntary Assisted Dying more inclusive, So where is the middle ground?
Insightful, Insight’s weekly podcast, also hosted by Kumi Taguchi, returns in April for a second season. Featuring eight new episodes, Insightful sees Kumi in conversation with previous Insight guests as they unpack their compelling and deeply personal backstories.
Australia’s longest-running international current affairs show Dateline returns on Tuesday 4 March at 9:30pm. Building on its Walkley Award-winning 40th season, viewers can look forward to a series of compelling new investigations into global issues. This year’s dynamic lineup features powerful stories from Egypt, El Salvador, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, the U.S. and beyond, offering fresh perspectives on the forces shaping our world.
In an Australian first, Dateline’s 2025 season premiere will see celebrated chef, presenter, and former lawyer Adam Liaw (The Cook Up with Adam Liaw) take an unprecedented look inside Singapore’s Changi Prison – one of the world’s most notorious correctional facilities.
Gaining rare access to a maximum-security wing, Liaw examines how the facility’s harsh conditions and strict disciplinary measures contribute to its remarkably low 22% recidivism rate. Featuring interviews with Changi inmates, prison staff and activists, the episode delves into the ethics of Singapore’s criminal justice system and the implementation of the death penalty for non-violent crimes, like drug possession.
SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Mandi Wicks, said:
“Named the most trusted news brand in Australia last year, SBS is committed to the highest standards when it comes to integrity, inclusivity, and quality journalism that resonates with audiences nationwide.“
“Insight is a unique program which provides a forum to navigate layered and nuanced topics with respect and inclusivity. Building on its success in 2024, SBS is proud to see the return of Insightful: The Podcast, for a second season, delving deeper into some of the most extraordinary and surprising first-person stories.
“Dateline is an award-winning international documentary series. In 2024, Dateline marked its 40th year on air as Australia’s longest-running international current affairs program. Each week Dateline scours the globe to bring viewers special characters and a world of daring stories.”
Insight
Returns Tuesdays from 4 March at 8:30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia’s favourite show for nuanced discussion and debate 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 2024’s wide-ranging and topical episodes, including Baby Drought, Thanks Boomers, Fateful Decisions and Guilt, 2025’s topics will continue to captivate and address the hot issues Australians are talking about in this election year.
Episode 1 Synopsis
Your Body, Your Choice – Tuesday 4 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Last year there was a push in some states to roll back hard-won abortion rights. While Voluntary Assisted Dying is now legal across Australia there is a move to make the process accessible to people with dementia, which is predicted to become Australia’s leading cause of death.
The issue of mandatory vaccinations continues to vex. We don’t seem to be able to reach a middle ground with emotions high on both sides of each of these issues. Insight delves into how much autonomy we have over our own bodies and looks at why politicians and others are so comfortable restricting an individual’s freedom of choice.
Episode 2 Synopsis
Tough Time$ – Tuesday 11 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Cost of living has spiked in the past few years and our living standards have gone down.[2] With an election looming, will there be a price to pay at the polls?[3] Consistently ranked the number one concern for people across Australia, the cost of living isn’t just increasing our bills, it’s also changing our relationships. Insight talks to ordinary Australians about the struggle to balance their budgets in these tough times.
Episode 3 Synopsis
Losing Trust – Tuesday 18 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
In the last decade, trust in institutions is down sharply across the globe, and Australia is no exception. The list is long. Voters are more suspicious now of politicians, supermarkets, airlines, religious leaders, and police, to name a few. Inequality, a lack of transparency and COVID lockdowns have all played a part in our social malaise. What will it take for institutions to rebuild trust and engage meaningfully with the public?
Episode 4 Synopsis
Healthcare’s Silver Squeeze – Tuesday 25 March at 8:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia’s population is older and sicker than ever before. Can Medicare and our health system keep up? The Productivity Commission says there is a crisis in primary care: a huge drop in bulk-billing rates, a steep rise in out-of-pocket medical costs for patients and a doubling in the number of people who did not see, or delayed seeing, a doctor due to gap fees at a record average. With costs and an ageing population, our health system is facing a perfect storm. Insight unpacks potential solutions to make our healthcare world class.
Dateline
Returns Tuesdays from 5 March at 9:30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand
Episode 1 Synopsis
Singapore’s Toughest Prison – Tuesday 4 March at 9:30pm AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand*
Dateline kicks off its 2025 season with an unprecedented look inside Changi Prison – one of the world’s most notorious correctional facilities. In Singapore’s Toughest Prison, Adam Liaw gains rare access to a maximum-security wing reserved for those convicted of the most serious and violent crimes. No Australian TV crew has ever filmed inside Chang – until now.
Has Singapore’s tough stance on crime gone too far, or is its strict system the key to success?
Also airing this season
Britain’s Woke History Wars – will be available on SBS and SBS On Demand
Britain’s grand country estates were once celebrated as symbols of national pride. Now, they are at the centre of a heated cultural battle. Institutions like the National Trust are reevaluating the stories they tell, reframing history through the lens of colonialism and slavery. Britain’s Woke History Wars exposes this ongoing debate and asks: Is this a long-overdue reckoning, or is Britain’s heritage under attack? Reporter Karla Grant (Living Black) takes viewers inside Britain’s historic homes and investigates whether Britain is finally ready to confront the darker chapters of its past – and what impact this culture war is having on the nation’s pride and identity.
Sweden’s Flatpack Homes – will be available on SBS and SBS On Demand
In Sweden’s Flatpack Homes, journalist Abbie O’Brien travels to Scandinavia to investigate how Sweden is tackling its housing shortage with an innovative approach: prefabricated, factory-built homes that are affordable, sustainable, and quick to assemble. As Australia’s housing crisis reaches breaking point, could we learn from Sweden’s groundbreaking model?
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.
