Life Matters - Full program podcast

ABC

٠٫٠ (٠)
علاقات
يتم التحديث يوميًا

Helping you figure out all the big stuff in life: relationships, health, money, work and the world. Let's talk! With trusted experts and your stories, Life Matters is all about what matters to you.

قبل ٣ أيام

Hitting the reset button on everyday overwhelm and navigating neighbourly disputes

Many of us feel overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life — hustling to make ends meet, managing never-ending life admin, staying fit and healthy, caring for the people around us, and worrying about the state of the world. So if you're feeling stuck, how do you regain a sense of hopefulness? Writers Jodi Wilson and Andrew Sloane share the practical changes you can make to your daily life to bring things back into balance. And for Ask Aunty, Fiona Harris and Joe Sullivan help navigate a neighbourly dispute over street trees on the nature strip.

٥٣ من الدقائق
قبل ٤ أيام

Saving your local pool and how to embrace friction in your life

After the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Australia built thousands of public pools, which are now reaching the end of their lives. Royal Surf Life Saving Australia estimates about 40 per cent of public pools will be obsolete by 2030. So what do we lose if our pools start closing, and why are they so important that locals are lobbying to save them? In an age where people are writing entire novels using ChatGPT, author Bri Lee chose to write her latest work completely by hand. It's a small act of resistance pushing back against the relentless quest for convenience, but Bri's not alone. Columnist for New York magazine The Cut, Kathryn Jezer-Morton, coined the term 'friction-maxxing' while investigating this trend, pushing back against the mindless optimisation of all facets of modern life. Do you ever catch up with your grandkids for a good old-fashioned yap, only to find you're barely speaking the same language? Don't worry, that won't last. The American Dialect Society has named its words of the year for 2025 and it appears that old-school gems like 'yap', 'skedaddle', even 'diabolical' are making a comeback.

٥٥ من الدقائق
قبل ٥ أيام

The libraries that shaped us and withering takes on Wuthering Heights

One of the oldest libraries in Australia, the State Library of New South Wales, is marking its 200th anniversary this year, and as part of the celebrations it's collated a collection of stories about how libraries have changed us. Editor Phillipa McGuinness and teacher-librarian Megan Daley discuss their favourite stories from the library. Research shows our average focus time on one task has dropped from about 2.5 minutes in the early 2000s to around 40 seconds today. So what would happen if you took away all the distractions? No screens. No notifications. No artificial light. No outside world. Scientist Kiana Aran reflects on spending five days in a cave-like sensory deprivation chamber, hooked up to sensors to measure what total isolation does to the body and mind. Wuthering Heights has inspired dozens of screen adaptations, but it feels like no-one can agree on whether this latest version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi is the best or the worst ever. We love to argue over authenticity and the limits of creative licence, so why do we get caught up when characters from a book jump off the page and onto the screen?

٥٤ من الدقائق
قبل ٦ أيام

Escaping the supermarket duopoly and turning your hobby into a serious leisure pursuit

Coles is in federal court this week, accused by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of misleading shoppers with fake discounts — a claim Coles has denied. With trust in Australia's supermarket giants once again under the microscope, how easy is it to shop elsewhere? Hobbies are good for us, but it turns out that investing serious time and effort into our leisure activities can bring long-term benefits. Researcher Emily Messina and amateur sword fighter Kiara Bruggeman discuss the connection, community and serious skills that can come from going deeper. If you're out in a busy public place and take a moment to look around, chances are you'll spot a CCTV camera. But would you feel differently if those cameras were actively scanning and identifying you? Digital wellbeing expert Joanne Orlando explains how to identify the risks of digital surveillance.

٥٤ من الدقائق
١٥ فبراير

Beyond the health star rating and Ben Crowe's nine lessons to live by

Food ministers from across Australia and New Zealand have green-lit the process to make the health stars you see in the supermarket mandatory for all food products. It's a step in the right direction, but what else do we need to do to create a healthy environment for everyone? Ben Crowe is one of the most in-demand professional mentors and leadership coaches in the world, and after years working with the likes of Ash Barty and Daniel Ricciardo, he's distilled his wisdom into a book. So what can we learn from sporting legends that could actually help us in our everyday lives? And in this instalment of The Book That Changed My Life, #BookTok creator Luke Bateman opens up about the first novel in a 30-plus-volume fantasy series that helped him rebuild his life after a stint in rehabilitation.

٥٤ من الدقائق
١٢ فبراير

What it's like coming out in 2026 and advice for a struggling grandparent

Nearly 50 years after the first Mardi Gras march lit up the streets of Sydney, demanding an end to discrimination, so much has changed. But for many LGBTQIA+ Australians, conversations about their identity are still filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Headspace's Vicki Ryall and Lay Laupama discuss what coming out means in 2026, and how we can make it easier. And Ask Aunty tackles how to navigate delicate family dynamics after divorce — Jane Caro and ethicist Simon Kennedy-Jewell weigh in on whether you can ever be truly honest with your grandkids about what you really think of their parents.

٥٤ من الدقائق
١١ فبراير

Why hair is such a big deal and advice from an Olympian on sharing your wins

We talk about good hair days — and bad ones — as if they're small things. But for people who are losing their hair, it can feel like losing a part of yourself. Michelle Law and Julian Morgans share their own experiences with hair loss, while researcher Hannah McCann helps untangle why hair is so deeply linked with our sense of identity. Two Winter Olympic events ended in a tie this week, with competitors stepping up to stand on the podium side by side. So what can we learn from athletes about the satisfaction that comes from sharing our successes? Australian pole vaulter Nina Kennedy revisits her own dual medal win and Hugh Van Cuylenburg shares how teamwork can make success even sweeter than a solo pursuit. William Golding's seminal novel Lord of the Flies is being adapted for the screen, more than 70 years after its debut. So what do these stories reveal about us, and why do we keep returning to them?

٥٤ من الدقائق
١٠ فبراير

Our love-hate relationship with running and the reality of tiny home living

Running rarely feels easy, even for people who love it. Your legs ache, lungs burn, and then there's the nagging voice in your head telling you to walk the rest of the way. And yet, despite that discomfort, run clubs are booming and marathons are selling out. Author Konrad Marshall and Parkrun Australia founder Tim Oberg discuss our love-hate relationship with running and why we keep coming back to it. Tiny homes are booming, and some in the sector argue they could be part of the solution to our housing shortfalls. Travel writer and tiny house advocate Louise Southerden explains what it's like to live in a tiny home for the long haul, while Paul Burton, an emeritus professor of planning, explores whether they could really help to address Australia's housing crisis. Scientists are turning to optical atomic clocks to measure time with unprecedented precision. Though, that still won’t explain what “be there in a sec” really means. Hinze Hogendoorn, a professor of visual time perception, unpacks how our sense of time is deeply personal, why it shifts as we age and whether there’s any way to slow it down.

٥٣ من الدقائق

مشاهدة الكل (١٫٥ ألف)

Hilary Harper

مضيف(ة)
Michael Mackenzie

مضيف(ة)
Tegan Taylor

مضيف(ة)
Scott McKinnon

ضيف(ة)
Tim Brown

ضيف(ة)
Bruce Billson

ضيف(ة)
Christine Bagley-Jones

ضيف(ة)
Darcy Vescio

ضيف(ة)
Chris Cheers

ضيف(ة)
Denise Eriksen

ضيف(ة)

Helping you figure out all the big stuff in life: relationships, health, money, work and the world. Let's talk! With trusted experts and your stories, Life Matters is all about what matters to you.