Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

Smart glasses — like dumb glasses with added computing power — have been around for well over a decade, without ever reaching broad commercial success in Australia. But this time the tech's had an AI injection, and can not only snap pictures of what's around you, but synthesise what you're looking at and explain it back to you. It's not only the technical capacity that's advancing, companies like...

This month Life Matters is bringing you The Grandparent Trap series, charting the rewards and responsibilities of modern grandparenting.  Throughout the series you'll meet a side of prominent Australians you don't always get to see, like Ray Martin, or simply "Mondo" to his grandchildren. Ray's grandparenting style is hands on and he wouldn't have it any other way, in fact when he transforms into...

Grandparents are more enmeshed in their grandchildren's lives than ever, but close to three in five say their grandparenting style doesn't always match what's expected of them.  The reality is grandparenting in 2026 can be intense. And while the rewards are rich there are responsibilities you maybe never saw coming.  So every week in July, Life Matters is exploring what it is to be a modern grandp...

Financial pressure is the leading stressor affecting mental health for almost half of Australians, according to new data from Beyond Blue.  It can affect every facet of our lives, and can be particularly hard on relationships So if this you're someone who's struggling to stay on top of things, what can you do about it?

When a loved one dies, everyone around them grieves differently. For some, it means getting back into the swing of regular life as soon as possible. This week, the Aunties offer their wisdom to a listener who's feeling sensitive about how quickly their dad has moved on after losing the love of his life. 

When you're asked to speak at a friend's wedding, do you seize up with panic, or embrace your moment on the microphone? Confidence can help us in a whole range of ways — and the lack of it can be really challenging.  It can show up in your career, your relationships, the way you parent, and help you through the curveballs of daily life. So is confidence something you can cultivate? Does faking it...

On Saturday morning thousands of people will wake up at 4am to watch the Socceroos and for many it may be the only game they watch this year. If you get swept up in the height of a competition and only support a team once every four years, is that really support?  How do you balance loyalty in barracking for your team as a virtue against being carried away with tribalism?

Neil is an internet sensation. He's a 1,000-kilogram juvenile elephant seal who's been charming Tasmanian locals and online fans around the world for years. His regular midwinter haul-outs have brought him onto land and in close contact with humans and our built environment. But as Neil grows bigger, so too do the risks. So how can humans better manage the situation so that Neil's pilgrimages don'...

If you go by the calendar, we're about three weeks into Australia's ski season. But if you look outside at most of the country's alpine resorts you'll see that the snow didn't get the memo. Australia's snowfall has been in long term decline for decades now, and it's something that the towns, people and businesses on the frontline of Australia's winter economy have been grappling with for years. So...

Remember when paying for TV meant skipping ads? That was the big promise of subscription television, and later, streaming. But these days, if you avoid the ads, increasingly you have to pay even more. It's a practice that's landed Amazon in court, with the ACCC alleging the company relied on unfair contract terms to introduce ads to Prime Video after customers had already signed up.  Amazon is rev...

As the old saying goes, nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes. Whether it be a long time from now, or sooner than we think, it's a fact of life that we're all going to die. But what happens between now and then is up to you.  So how might embracing that fact change the way you spend the rest of your days?

Most of us have a stand-out moment from a family holiday that is one of our most cherished memories. You also probably remember a trip that turned into a complete disaster with the whole family screaming at each other.  So what are the benefits of a family holiday and how do you make the most out of the time away?

There's growing evidence that autism presents differently in girls and women, which means it often goes unrecognised until significantly later in life. For many women, the realisation lands when they're parenting a child through neurodivergence and starting to notice similar traits in themselves. So how does it feel to spend decades thinking you're just the odd one out, struggling with things that...

In June alone, two major Australian theatre productions, Beetlejuice and Waitress, closed early. So what's really going on in Australian theatre, and why are big productions struggling — are we, the audience, part of the problem?

On July 5, the world will celebrate the 30th birthday of Dolly the sheep — the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell. It was a landmark moment in the world of science that triggered international discussions about the ethics of cloning. Thirty years on, what are our perceptions of cloning and the legacy of Dolly the sheep?

In 2025 alone Australians lost almost $18 million to scams delivered via text messages.  Come July 1, scammers face an extra hurdle to reaching your mobile — but that doesn't mean it's time to let your guard down.

The evidence around how much birth order affects personality traits or behaviour has been debated for decades, but one thing is fairly clear from the data: middle children are disappearing. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.48 babies per woman in 2024. We're flat out having second babies, let alone a third. So if middle children are no m...

If you look back at your life, what's the biggest swing you ever took? Was it publishing a novel, changing careers, or running a marathon? What about running 150 marathons, back to back, down the east coast of Australia, or the "tip to toe" as Erchana Murrary-Bartlett calls it. The competitive distance runner set herself this herculean challenge in 2022, and she's releasing a documentary about her...

Family gatherings can be barrels of fun, but it often requires layers of planning and logistics to coordinate schedules. So when everyone else is putting in the effort, is it fair to feel a little miffed with the one who can't make it? What if they're juggling life with a new baby? This week, the Aunties make a ruling on the relatives who go MIA.

We all have our own habitual behaviours that help us get through tricky moments or avoid stressful situations. But sometimes, what feels easier or more comfortable in the moment can hurt us long-term.  Freeing yourself from self-sabotage isn't easy, but identifying those behaviours and understanding what's behind them is a good place to start. 

Play School, Australia's longest-running children's television program, is celebrating a milestone birthday this year. It's Big Ted's diamond jubilee.  For decades, the show's beloved presenters have been singing, playing, telling stories and teaching generations of Australian children. So what's the secret to its success? 

Does seeing a couple on a bench sharing a kiss make your heart warm or does it make you blush and avert your eyes? Attitudes to public displays of affection — PDA — has changed fairly rapidly over the last century and could be in for another shift. Culturally it seems that Gen Z have some harsh opinions on PDA calling it 'cringe'.What does it mean going forward and how do these attitudes change ov...

A focus on regimented eating, rapid body changes and tracking weight are all signs of a potential eating disorder but also what you do during pregnancy. Research shows it is more common than you might think with 1 in 20 people experience an eating disorder during pregnancy. The signs can easily be missed by practitioners and experts are saying more should be done to bring awareness to the issue. I...

Dee Salmin has spent years as host of The Hook Up on triple j talking to people about their love lives and interviewing experts to understand the dynamics of modern dating. She's distilled all of that wisdom into a modern dating guide, It's Not Love Actually: How To Find The Life And Love You Deserve. But she says there was one stand-out writer on sexuality and feminism that totally blew her mind.

There are more than 250 Indigenous languages across Australia, carrying culture, history and knowledge through generations.  The vital work of preserving those languages is being carried out in communities around the country, and one major project has reached an important milestone.  The 50 Words Project began in 2019 with the aim of collecting audio recordings of 50 specific words in each languag...