Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

AI is increasingly becoming part of our working lives. Even for the AI-sceptic, it's pretty hard to avoid. But it takes time and effort to teach these tools how to fit in with workplace culture, policies and systems.  Research shows there's a capability gap among Australian workers, with some burnt out on "botsitting", and those who aren't quite fluent in AI falling behind. 

For many Australians with a mortgage, kids and rising living costs, earning a six-figure salary is no longer the guarantee of comfort it once seemed to be. Results from the last HILDA data shows the income Australians say they need to feel satisfied is climbing higher and higher. So in 2026, what's a "good" salary? 

It's an expectation that at some stage you will have to take care of your parents. But how do you manage this if your parents weren't really there for you? It can take a toll on every aspect of your life, so how can you best protect yourself as you navigate this stage of life?

Long before the film Crackerjack popularised the flipper, the venerated sport of lawn bowls has been a staple of Australian life.  But for the oldest bowls club in New South Wales, that gentle sound of knocking bowls on the green has come to an end. After almost 150 years, Balmain Bowling Club in Sydney called last drinks over the weekend. Despite their best efforts, the board explained to patrons...

The digital world is well and truly here, but for some people it can be very isolating. Many essential services have a digital first approach and for older generations it can require a lot of navigating and upskilling. This feeling of unease has been called "technostress" and there are organisations aiming to close the digital divide.

After major flooding in 2022, hundreds of homes in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales were bought by the state government so people could move out of danger zones and into new areas. Some of these houses were re-located, but many were torn down. It got people thinking what would happen if we could deconstruct instead of destroy the homes that are no longer fit for purpose, and give those mater...

Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps The Score has sold millions of copies worldwide since its release in 2014, firmly establishing itself as one of the most successful non-fiction titles of its time. The book explores how trauma can affect the body years after an inciting event, and looks at alternative therapies to help people heal their bodies and brains. But some argue that this core idea has...

In just a few short years, AI has gone from being a novelty to becoming embedded in our lives. According to a 2026 report from Stanford University, Australians are among the heaviest intentional users of AI in the world — and yet, many of us don't trust AI. It's a complicated relationship. So how are you feeling about the way AI is showing up in your relationships, your work, your daily life?

Is it OK to fib about your faith to get your child into a good school?  This week the Aunties share advice with a listener who's weighing up whether or not they should tell a little white lie to help their kid's chances at the local Catholic school. 

When you look at the things in your life, what really makes you happy?  Recent ABS data reveals that people are less happy now than they were in 2020. When did we start to consider our happiness and how has life satisfaction changed over time?

According to a Play Australia survey from 2025, more than 70 per cent of children play in their homes — or at their friends' houses  — and a quarter of kids said they needed better opportunities to play outside.  Today is the UNICEF International Day of Play, recognising the United Nations-backed right of every child to play. Which is all well and good — but are we actually building communities wh...

After hanging up the Olympic swimming goggles, growing and birthing five beautiful children, Libby Trickett was ready to make her 40s the decade of health and fitness.  But last June she had what she thought was a bad panic attack. Eight months later, she found out it was actually a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) heart attack. SCAD mostly affects otherwise healthy women in their 40s...

For many book lovers, the local store is their happy place. Even if you're not an avid reader, bookstores can carry cultural significance, giving people the opportunity to gather and be a part of their community. Research reveals that in a decade, nearly half of Australia's bookstores have shut down. So what is the future of bookstores and what does it mean for the book industry?

When you've got a difficult choice to make, what's your go-to system to reach an answer? Do you pull out the magic eight ball, or do you reach for a mathematical formula? The late physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman encountered this dilemma in the 1970s, struggling to decide if he and his friend should try something new off the menu at their favourite Thai restaurant. Feynman came up with...

When you think about the critical infrastructure that makes up a city, what comes to mind? Roads, bridges, power lines, public hospitals — what about trees? The gentle giants that shelter our footpaths, filter our air and cool our cities provide a lot for the communities where they grow. And in many places, people have a deep attachment to those trees. So when one gets cut down, sometimes the peop...

As many as one in five Australians have dyslexia. The condition makes the basics of literacy, reading and writing, a huge hurdle, and if not managed properly can have major snowball effects on confidence and self esteem — especially if it goes undetected. But plenty of high profile people with successful careers have learned to live with dyslexia, like British actor Tom Holland, who last week reve...

How many loyalty programs are you a part of? There are many different programs out there each with their own set of incentives which get you to take part. But are you getting any real benefits from them in exchange for your purchasing data?

Australia uses 1.3 million tonnes of plastic packaging every year. And while most of us do our best to recycle, the majority of that packaging still ends up in landfill. Exemptions that allow some companies to export certain types of plastic waste are being wound back, but trust in our recycling system has taken a real hit in recent years.  So is Australia equipped to deal with our own plastic?

Bringing a pet into your family is supposed to be a love-at-first-sight moment signalling a life ahead with your new best friend, but often the day-to-day reality can be a lot harder. So what happens when that initial excitement wears off, and the stress of pet ownership sets in? How do you build a relationship with your four-legged friend, and make it through the hard days?

Every parent wants their child to grow into a kind, capable adult. But many who are raising young boys right now are worried about their future.  Childhood development expert Billy Garvey has worked with thousands of families over the last two decades, helping anxious, angry, withdrawn boys and supporting the parents who don't know where to begin.  He joins Life Matters to talk about his new book,...

Richard Scolyer, the leading melanoma pathologist and former Australian of the Year who revolutionised cancer research, has died at age 59. He leaves behind an incredible legacy, having volunteered himself as "patient zero" in a radical approach to treat an aggressive brain tumour. In an open letter published after his death, Scolyer described his life as one "filled with happiness, optimism, oppo...

In an era where we have access to the technology, surgery and drugs to modify every aspect of our appearance, how can we build a relationship with our selves based on compassion and acceptance?

After years of training and patience, listener Simone's reactive dog and excitable toddler are living happily together, but the stress of constant supervision — and an extremely restricted social life — has taken its toll. So how do you know when loyalty to a beloved pet is no longer enough? And what do you do when every option feels heartbreaking?

When something happens that you think crosses a moral line, do you call it out? And if you have, what was the moral cost?  The bravery of whistleblowers has touched every corridor of power  — politics, the military, banking, policing — whistleblowers are behind some of the most significant moments in history. But what are the ethical considerations?

According to Beyond Blue, 1 in 2 Australian are facing burnout in the workplace. Burnout almost seems like an inevitable condition of the modern age. And we're so used to it, we kind of just accept this as a natural state of feeling awful all the time, feeling like there's never enough time to rest. But what if you could change that, without totally changing your life?