Life Matters - Full Program Podcast

When children go missing the impact on family and community can be profound, Majak Daw reflects back on his career as the first African born player to play professional AFL, and how to separate real sustainability from what's becoming rampant 'greenwashing'.

Almost 200,000 people have contracted COVID-19 in Australia, and many of them haven't been treated in hospital. So what kind of monitoring and care will you get if you catch COVID? Plus your experiences of living a single life, and what you enjoy about it.

As worker shortages bite across Australia, is a boost to immigration the answer? Kaz Cooke on the history of bad and bonkers advice to women, and we meet the creator of the world's biggest plant compendium.

Overseas, there has been a spike in people changing jobs, in a movement that has been called the 'Great Resignation'. While there are some signs that Australia could go the same way, experts remain undecided about whether this same trend will occur here. Listeners join Life Matters to discuss the role that work plays in their lives and whether they have been considering resigning from their job.

Forget what you've heard — you can put a price on happiness, and a new study says it's becoming more expensive in Australia. Plus, join proud sistergirl and celebrated icon Crystal Love as she returns to the stage in Darwin. And after a PTSD diagnosis, Renee considers a late career change.

Australia's big banks continue to close branches in regional communities, and we take your calls on how you've adapted. Plus author Frances Prince describes the power of memory recall with her aging father, due to eight months of reading to him daily during lockdown.

Will international students return, what’s the state of our live music scene, and what’s behind author Susan Orlean’s fascination with animal-human relationships?  

A lot of people obtained a mental health plan during the pandemic, but advocates say that seeking out that help could mean being penalised later on, if you try to get insurance. Is this discriminatory? Also, when the pandemic began, most travellers were desperate to get home, we meet one writer who kept travelling.

Birth order is often said to affect the way we all behave. But how much scientific evidence is there to support the claims that first, middle and youngest children will act in certain ways? Life Matters speaks to experts who grapple with the impact of birth order and relationships, and we hear from listeners about whether they feel this issue has moulded their personality or shaped their lives.

More than 40 per cent of Aboriginal adults in Australia are estimated to have low literacy, so what's being done to help? Plus, neuroscientist Steven Laureys on what prompted him to examine the benefits of meditation. And what should you do when your relationship with your partner lacks emotional intimacy?

As Australia opens up why are COVID vulnerable people with disabilities still not being vaccinated? Author and broadcaster Clementine Ford reflects on how love, and power dressing - it's fascinating history and what it looks like now.

Why the AMA says elective surgery wait times are a sign that the health system is in crisis. Why a small town in regional WA is hoping to take control of its own power supply. And why finding her tribe saved transgender model and advocate AJ Clementine.

Renowned Australian author Helen Garner steps back in time to the mid-90s in the latest instalment of her personal diaries. Biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake goes on a literally mind-bending journey into the magical world of fungi. And listener Bill Boyd shares his true confession.

As world leaders gather for the all-important COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, Life Matters takes your calls on what real leadership looks like when it comes to climate change. Are politicians the ones you look to for leadership on climate action? Or are there others in your community leading the charge?

Helping children with learning difficulties, changing the way we think about insomnia and cooking with Jewish grandparents. NB: This episode is a repeat as the live program was disrupted by power outages.

In the wake of the findings against Crown Casino, what is our nation's cultural attitude to gambling? The Ladies We Need To Talk podcast now has a book tackling female taboos, Australian pianist and composer Heather Shannon challenges her own perfectionism deep within an Icelandic fjord

What’s the Federal Government’s roadmap for reducing transport emissions by 2050, and how will electric cars and other new technology contribute to this? And your questions answered about how to create an estate plan.

Since the start of the pandemic, due to border closures and lockdowns, restaurants and tourism operators were forced to let their workers go, but as life opens up again, many are facing unprecedented labour shortages. Will they be able to cope with the busy summer ahead? Also, how did one man's dive into the unknown ocean bring emotions hidden deep within him up to the surface?

Australia is opening up. Victoria is out of lockdown, and soon mask restrictions will ease there, and people will be able to travel more. With NSW at 80 per cent vaccination rates for those aged over 16, many more freedoms will be available. But living with the virus will be no picnic as we know from overseas experiences. Life Matters takes your calls on we learn from other countries, booster shots and the way forward through the pandemic.

One in four Australian homes now have solar systems, making it a booming industry. But how can you avoid paying too much, or being sold a faulty product? Listeners share their experiences. Plus, you've put cladding on your driveway gate, but your neighbour has taken offence – what should you do?