Annika Blau
Annika is a Sydney-based ABC journalist and editor specialising in longform storytelling. She has worked as digital editor for ABC Radio National and pushed the boundaries of digital storytelling with the ABC Story Lab. Her original reporting has been recognised by the international Online Journalism Awards and Society for News Design Awards, and she was co-awarded Walkley Young Journalist of the Year in Visual Storytelling. With production experience spanning film, TV, audio and digital, Annika is passionate about creative approaches to narrative journalism. She is presently a multi-platform journalist with ABC RN's flagship investigative program, Background Briefing. Twitter: @annika_blau
Latest by Annika Blau
A Russian-backed 'city' is emerging over the back fence of Bali's Eat Pray Love house
This patch of dirt was once a lush jungle that locals say was home to ancient spirits. Now, luxury villas, bars and restaurants are being built here instead to bring in foreign investors.
The man who blew the whistle on whistleblower Kathy Jackson and revealed her as a fraud
There was a time when the name of one whistleblower was on everyone's lips. Kathy Jackson was lauded as a "revolutionary" — but in the shadows was another person waiting to blow the whistle on her.
‘Dark little secret’: An inside look behind the closed doors of a rape trial
An email with a challenge sent us on a two-year journey to uncover what it's really like behind the closed doors of a rape trial.
Cocaine is everywhere in Australia. Here's why
Follow the path cocaine takes from Colombian bush labs to your local suburbs — and the battle to intercept it.
A killer's on the loose and Britney thinks the clues are in this desert
Three people went prospecting in the West Australian outback — only one came home. Now the family are taking the investigation into their own hands.
Psychedelics may have cured Andrew, but TGA's decision making on drugs raises 'serious concerns' for some
How an intensive lobbying campaign penetrated the TGA ahead of its world-first ruling to label MDMA and psilocybin as medicines.
Health workers sound the alarm about the Church's influence on some public hospitals
There are 21 Catholic public hospitals across Australia. These women say they were deprived healthcare on religious grounds.
When we asked about the Saudi sisters found dead in bed, nobody wanted to speak
Two women are found mysteriously dead, with the crime scene offering more questions than answers. Some say their deaths reflect a "silent crisis".
I spent four months investigating where Australia's Khmer antiquities came from, and what I found shocked me
For four months, I've been investigating Australia's vast collection of South-East Asian antiquities, and what I've found is alarming: a story of dodgy dealers, looted temples, and some of the world's most exclusive collections, writes Mario Christodoulou.
New artworks by a long-dead artist are appearing on Hong Kong's streets. I finally cracked the mystery
He was a man so famous everybody knew him, yet such an enigma that nobody seemed to know anything about him. I was on a journalistic road to nowhere, but once I started, I couldn't stop, writes Louisa Lim.
The waters have gone down and now this whole town is wrestling with one question
After two major floods in little more than a month, Lismore is facing an existential crisis. Should residents stay or go — and where?
Analysis
analysis:I'm in isolation for the second Christmas in a row — but this time I likely have COVID
I'm spending Christmas in bed for the second year in a row. It's becoming tradition, but it's no protest. Last year, I was in bedroom jail as a close contact. This year, I have suspected COVID.
How dung beetles, a tiny molecule and a giant extension cord could help solve our climate mess
Here's how Australia could become a renewable superpower by 2030. Sounds too good to be true? You tell us.
Alex came to Australia to study abroad. Instead, he says he 'accidentally joined a cult'
Alex's Bible study classes started taking over his life. Then, he found out who was pulling the strings.
'A prisoner in my own body': The catastrophic outbreak that started with one patient in Tennessee
Dawn was in the best shape of her life. Months later, she was having fungus cleaned out of her spine.
Do you know whose Country you're on? See how your neighbours fare
We asked Australians if they could identify the traditional owners of their area. The answers varied wildly. See how your area's awareness compares.
'It was horrendous': The deadly disease outbreak that saw Brisbane streets run with blood
A gruesome outbreak in a Brisbane suburb in 1994 sparked a hunt that might help us uncover the origins of COVID-19.
Khaled says the pandemic brought people 'closer to God'. But it pushed others away
Trust in religious leaders is dropping, but some Australians say they've never been 'closer to God'. So what's going on?
How a six-word text became the latest call to arms in a raging online debate
Over the weekend, a six-word text went viral on Instagram, becoming the latest call to arms in a months-long debate that's now spilling onto our streets.
Who does the most around your home? Now you can calculate it
Each week, you perform hundreds of dollars worth of work "off the clock". See what it's really worth.
Why you shouldn't 'wait and see' when it comes to the COVID vaccines
Since August, we've been collecting your queries and concerns about the COVID vaccines. Here are the answers.
These four countries rolled out vaccines faster than us — here's how that went
As Australia prepares to roll out its COVID vaccination program, many are looking to countries that are several weeks ahead. Here's what they tell us about what's worked, and what hasn't.
Australia ranks 8th in its coronavirus response — what can the top 7 teach us?
Australia is managing the coronavirus crisis well, but seven countries are considered to have done a better job. These are the lessons each can teach us about how they got on top of COVID-19.
Biden's inauguration gift is a pandemic, but he has a plan
Forget Biden vs Trump — it's Biden vs coronavirus from here on in. The new US President has a plan for tackling the pandemic, but there are many obstacles still standing in the way.
Why I spent Christmas in bed — like thousands of Sydneysiders
If you'd asked me a few weeks ago what my Christmas looked like, I wouldn't have said eating an entire panettone in bed on my own, writes Annika Blau.