Dateline returns for a landmark 40th season with an intimate look at life for children of Deaf adults

Dateline returns with a new season on Tuesday 5 March at 9.30pm to SBS and

The landmark 40th season will explore global issues that expand our understanding of the world around us, with this year’s line-up featuring stories from Gaza, Syria, Romania, Venezuela, Germany, Japan, the United States, and beyond.

We’ll investigate stories ranging from a first-of-its-kind camp for deaf parents and their kids, to tracking down missing Australian Yusuf Zahab, to peering inside the murky world of the booming adult camgirl industry.

Camp Coda: Children of Deaf Adults

Australian performer, playwright, and Coda (child of Deaf adults) Jodee Mundy travels to Pennsylvania to join the first Asian-American camp for Deaf parents and their hearing 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 children connect with their Deaf parents.

Nine-year-old Elaf reveals what life is like during the war in Gaza. When an airstrike hits her street, the family relocates. Then a brief ceasefire brings respite and reconnection with friends.

The documentary follows 9-year-old Elaf in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas. Source: SBS / Dateline

Finding Yusuf

In this two-part investigation, Dateline travels to Syria to search

, who was taken there by his family at age 12 to live under the self-proclaimed Islamic State group. Reporter Colin Cosier gains exclusive access to Yusuf and reveals what has happened to him in the five years since he was separated from his family.

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. Now, bariatric surgery for 13-year-olds and controversial weight loss drugs such as Ozempic are on the rise. Kumi Taguchi meets the American families turning to extreme medical interventions to help their children lose weight.

Dateline investigates the new and controversial weight loss treatments for teens in the US. Source: SBS / Dateline

Romania’s Webcam Girls

Following the arrest of US-born influencer Andrew Tate, who ran a webcam company in Romania, the country’s booming adult camgirl industry is facing new scrutiny for sex trafficking. Dateline reporter Calliste Weitenberg explores the experiences of women working in the industry and uncovers a wild west of ‘ghost studios’ with few rules and even less oversight. 

Dateline investigates Romania’s booming adult camgirl industry. Source: SBS / Dateline

Germany’s Climate Crackdown

Dateline reporter Darren Mara investigates an unprecedented police crackdown in Germany, where radical ‘direct action’ climate protesters have become public enemy number one. Darren hits the streets alongside the activists who say their rights are being trampled, and meets Germany’s resurgent far-right, which stands accused of fuelling public threats and violence against climate crusaders.