Life Matters - Full program podcast

The complex steps needed to protect koalas and why men with eating disorders face an added challenge

Koalas are cuddly, world-famous, and deeply woven into our national identity. But behind the cute image is a species in crisis. Last week the NSW state government announced a major move: a Great Koala National Park on the Mid North Coast. A nationwide chlamydia vaccine rollout is also coming. Dr Christine Hosking, Conservation Planner & Researcher at The University of Queensland, and  Dr Stuart Blanch, Conservation scientist with the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia, debate whether these steps will help our national treasures.

Eating disorders can affect anyone, and anyone can have body image concerns... but the stereotype remains that it's an illness that mostly affects women. This is despite the fact that an estimated one third of people with eating disorders are male... a number that's rising, according to eating disorder charity the Butterfly Foundation. Because of this stereotype, men often face an added challenge...  treatment is typically focused on women. Dr Richard Knight is a social worker and researcher who has lived with an eating disorder and Richard Newton, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University, has worked with people with eating disorders for more than 40 years.

ABC Radio National has launched its Top 100 Books of the 21st Century. Over the next few weeks, you can vote for the books that you believe belong on the list. We're asking some notable readers to tell us about the book that changed their life. This week, we spoke to Take 5 host Zan Rowe. 

Indoor farming, where rows of fresh produce are stacked in vertical towers, could be a viable way to insulate homegrown food from our rapidly changing climate. Australia's biggest fully automated vertical farm is looking to expand next year. So, what role could farming up - instead of out - play in our food futures? Paul Gauthier is a Professor of Protected Cropping at the University Queensland and leading researcher in vertical farming.