Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

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  Why younger generations are lonelier than ever 29.09.2026 17Min.

  The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be brutal.  One day, your friends are just there, your routines are familiar and you know where you fit. Then suddenly, you leave school and everything changes.  This phase of life has always been hard, but something has changed. Recent research shows rates of social isolation have nearly doubled over the past two decades, with younger generations experiencing some of the biggest increases in loneliness. They're more digitally connected than any generation before them and yet many are persistently lonely. So how did we get here?
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  Buyer Beware: How streaming platforms combated piracy 29.09.2026 11Min.

  It was only a few years ago that piracy was one of the main concerns for the media industry.  But since the rise of streaming platforms, rates of piracy have dropped. No longer resorting to illegal downloads, Australians are now paying an average of $42 a month on streaming services. So how did the industry manage to convince people that paying for a service was better than getting the same content for free?
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  AI is listening in on your doctor's appointment. Can you trust it? 29.09.2026 21Min.

  More and more GPs are embracing the use of AI during patient consults. They use AI scribes to record, transcribe, and summarise everything we say. But in the wake of a rogue AI agent hacking into a Medicare website, public trust in AI has been shaken. So what happens to the data AI scribes collect, and can they be trusted with our most personal information?
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  Can an AI robot replace a human tutor? 28.09.2026 12Min.

  Tutors are often the people who step up when your kids are struggling in their education. But AI is shaking up the industry, with two tutoring companies recently announcing they have been forced to close.  One of the owners said while AI might not offer a higher quality tutor, it is hard to beat on value for money.  So what does the future of tutoring look like, and can an AI really replace a human in this space? 
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  Lost for words: Why we're talking less than we used to 28.09.2026 16Min.

  There's no question that technology is changing the way we interact with the people around us. Gone are the days of calling up a restaurant to book a table for dinner — there's an app for that.  And it may be affecting our speech, too.  Over the last couple of decades, the average number of words we say out loud each day has dropped year on year. Between 2005 and 2019, researchers in the US found a 28 per cent decline in the number of spoken words.  So what do we have to lose if our daily lives are getting quieter? 
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  Are couples without kids the happiest of all? 28.09.2026 17Min.

  How would you rate your relationship, if you had to give it a score out of five? According to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, most of us are pretty satisfied, giving an average response of 4.3. The data suggests relationships are even better if you earn roughly the same amount of money, share the household chores evenly... and don't have kids. So why are the DINKs (double-income-no-kids) the happiest of all?
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  Ask Aunty: new neighbours vs precious pooch 25.09.2026 10Min.

  When new neighbours threaten the harmony of a quiet cul-de-sac by persecuting a precious pooch, it's time to ask aunty.
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  Why you love your unhinged best friend 25.09.2026 41Min.

  When you really think about it, friendships are a strange kind of relationship. You're never going to marry them, but they'll be front row at your wedding. They're not family. But somehow, our closest friends show up for us the way family is supposed to. A good friend can change your life. A bad one can ruin it.  Sure we all want friends who are funny, smart, loyal and kind, but we also want them to have our back. And now award-winning research has proved that we really do value our vicious friends. So what other qualities do we want in a bestie? Two friendship scientists, who are also BFFs, walk you through it. 
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  Ask Aristotle: Is it ever ok to track your kids? 24.09.2026 11Min.

  Where are your kids right now? If you're one of the 80% of parents using a child locating app weekly, you know their exact coordinates every minute of the day.  Which can be extremely handy and provide peace of mind, but it's a far cry from your own childhood where you roamed through the world without being surveilled.  So what are the ethics of these apps and can it hinder a child making their own moral code?
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  Is holidaying with your pets worth it? 24.09.2026 17Min.

  It's becoming easier to holiday with your pets in Australia, with at least one major airline now allowing small animals on planes and accommodation booking sites offering "pet-friendly" filters. But even if you find a motel or campground your pet can come to, what about the hikes, museums, cafes and restaurants, can they actually enjoy the holiday like you can? 
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  'Repetitive' and 'stubbornly generic'. How might we redesign suburbia? 24.09.2026 21Min.

  Our suburbs are home to an incredibly diverse population.  But when you look at Australia's urban sprawl, it can feel like someone simply hit copy and paste. The upcoming Future Suburb Symposium, hosted by the University of Melbourne, wants explore how to transform our suburbs from 'stubbornly generic, repetitive, and under-serviced', to places that are inclusive, exciting, and better reflect the needs of those who live there. So what would the ideal suburb of the future look like? And what needs to change to make it possible?
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  It's not just a headache, so why don't we take migraines seriously? 23.09.2026 15Min.

  If you're one of the 3.9 million Australians living with migraines, you know exactly how debilitating they can be. But even though you know this, you probably have to do some convincing of the people around you. The condition is not just misunderstood, it's also under-estimated. Just this week the Australian Health and Welfare Institute estimated two in three people with migraine don't even have a diagnosis. How would better understanding and treatment for migraine change the lives of almost 4 million Australians?
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  Why 'open goals' could help you get fitter 23.09.2026 10Min.

  New research shows that 3 in 4 people fail to achieve their physical activity goals, so is it time to ditch the step counts? Researchers are suggesting that having 'open goals' with no set specific target is a good alternative which can build to longer more sustainable changes. 
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  The lifelong significance of your childhood home 23.09.2026 24Min.

  Picture your childhood home for a moment.  What details can you still remember? The colour of the kitchen cupboards? The view from your bedroom window? Your secret hiding spot? Lifelong memories are shaped by the daggy laminate benches and cracked vinyl couches of our childhood homes. Why does the home you grew up in stay lodged in your heart for life?
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  What Olympian Libby Trickett learned from a kids' chapter book about a boring old day 22.09.2026 4Min.

  As part of Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown, Life Matters has invited prominent Australians to share their favourite Australian children's book.  Libby Trickett was just seven years old when her mum first read her a classic Australian chapter book about a little girl having a very boring day. Years later, she's held onto the message about finding creativity in quiet moments, and passed those lessons onto her own five kids.
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  Australians are living longer. What's the secret to living those extra years well? 22.09.2026 20Min.

  They say life's short, but it's actually getting longer.  By 2066, life expectancy for Australian women will have jumped from 86 years to nearly 90. And from 82 to 86 years for men.  The number of Australians aged 85 and over will triple in the next 40 years. So how do we make sure those extra years of life are lived well?
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  Hungry for a good book? Meet the Cookbook Club 22.09.2026 14Min.

  This is a book club with a delicious difference. Instead of reading the same book and then coming together to discuss it, members of Cookbook Club Naarm cook dishes from the same cookbook, then come together to enjoy the meals together. With millions of recipes just a click away online, what is it that makes a cookbook worth reaching for time and again? 
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  Head and Heart: Adjusting to life as an empty-nester 22.09.2026 9Min.

  The kids are out of the house and finally you have time for yourself to do what you want. But suddenly the home where all those memories are kept feels empty and a bit too quiet. How can you adjust to life as an empty-nester and prepare for when that time comes?
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  Can you train yourself to be tidy? 21.09.2026 12Min.

  You either have a messy friend, or you ARE the messy friend.  Papers all over the desk, shelves bursting with knick-knacks, a car interior that requires pulling on a HAZMAT suit before entering. It can be a chaotic dynamic. So is messiness something that's just part of your personality, or is it a habit we can control - or at least try to improve? And why is it something we strive for anyway? Is tidiness really the sign of a virtuous, good person?
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  Why are some words given dictionary status, and what gets left behind? 21.09.2026 19Min.

  If I asked you to define the words "copium" or "promposal", would you need to reach for a dictionary? Lucky for you, the largest dictionary in the United States has you covered for this particular slang.They're just two of more than 1400 words added to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary last week. Even though this may as well be French to you, these words are important to someone, somewhere. Because the thing is you can't just add any old word to a dictionary. They act as records of more than just language, but of culture, the way we think about and assign value the world around us. So how and who gets to decide what words are important enough to be recorded, elevated to dictionary status? You can vote now in Radio National's Top 100 books countdown here.