Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

Episode

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  Rhyme and verse! The youth resurgence of poetry 16.09.2026 7mnt

  Poetry has always been a pure, earnest and powerful way for humans to express themselves. And in 2026, as our lives are increasingly filled with generative responses, it may offer the ultimate form of AI resistance.  A recent UK study revealed that 24 per cent of people aged eight to 18 read poetry at least once a month, with 18 per cent writing their own prose in their free time.  So what's behind this surge of young people turning to this timeless form of expression?
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  The case for DNF — an ultramarathon runner on what she learned by not finishing a race 16.09.2026 22mnt

  Among readers, there are two main camps: the completionists, who'll battle through every boring chapter even if they're absolutely hating it, and those who DNF (do not finish). The DNFers argue life is just too short to waste time on a book that doesn't spark joy.  But it can be much harder to walk away from a goal that's taken years of effort, or feels intrinsically tied to your identity. Endurance runner Jane Davies recently wrote about her DNF experience, pulling out of a 100km race more than halfway through.  When you've embarked on a huge challenge that requires immense preparation and hard work, how do you make the decision that it's time to quit?
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  Buyer Beware: Does the celebrity rebrand ever work? 15.09.2026 9mnt

  Madonna. Martha Stewart. Miley Cyrus. What do they all have in common? They've all attempted a celebrity rebrand.  Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, AKA Raygun has recently launched a rebrand of her own.  After her kangaroo-hopping routine at the Tokyo Olympics was widely criticised online, she's sharing her side of the story in a tell-all Netflix doco — a tactic out of the celebrity playbook. So do these attempts to rewrite the public narrative change public perception? Or are our minds already made up?
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  How we define heart attacks puts women at risk. That's about to change 15.09.2026 17mnt

  Every day at least 150 people are hospitalised experiencing a heart attack. And research suggests that if you're a woman in one of those hospital beds, you're likely to experience roadblocks getting timely treatment. Thanks to a complex web of cultural and clinical blind spots, there's a gender gap in heart attack health care — researchers estimate that 20 per cent of heart attack deaths in women could be avoided. Last week peak heart health bodies from around the world endorsed a new definition of heart attack that could help tackle this.
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  Do we need to return to pen and paper in the classroom? 15.09.2026 22mnt

  The NSW government recently announced it will be implementing screen time caps in public school classrooms from 2028.  It follows weeks of conversations in which federal education minister Jason Clare suggested students might need a "digital detox". But in the digital world we live in, what is the balance of screens and pen and paper learning?
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  Why the humble 'hello' is dying out as a greeting 14.09.2026 10mnt

  When the phone is buzzing in your pocket and you answer it, what do you say? There are reports that the humble "hello" is dying, with a UK study showing that 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds agree answering the phone without any greeting is acceptable. How does language change over time and what could be the future of greetings be?
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  What Misery Guts taught Hugh Van Cuylenburg about true happiness 14.09.2026 5mnt

  Can you ever truly make someone else happy? You could spend years searching for the answer to this existential question, but perhaps all it takes is some perspective from a fictional 12-year-old. 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.  For Hugh Van Cuylenburg, the first book he can remember reading on his own has stuck with him forever, and the parallels to his own life have been profound. Like Morris Gleitzman's Keith Shipley, he had to learn the hard way that true happiness comes from within.
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  From laptops to loos, why are schools fundraising to cover essentials? 14.09.2026 17mnt

  When Cate Gilpin discovered her school's Parents & Citizens Association (P&C) was fundraising thousands of dollars for classroom literacy resources, she couldn't understand why it wasn't coming out of government funds. Research shows her school is not an isolated case. P&Cs are being forced to scale up their revenue-raising activities to cover what many consider to be essentials — like laptops, classroom resources, and toilet repairs. Education experts say that relying on communities to fill the public education funding gap is creating greater inequity in an already broken system.
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  Graeme Base on the accidental success of Animalia, 40 years later 14.09.2026 13mnt

  When Graeme Base set out to create his second children's picture book, an English language illustrated alphabet didn't sound like a winning idea. But the three-year labour of love went on to sell more than 5 million copies worldwide, and set him up for a successful career as an illustrator and author that has spanned decades.  As Animalia celebrates its 40th anniversary, Graeme Base reflects on the books that built him, and the secret to telling a compelling story that truly stands the test of time.
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  How to make peace with your existential dread 11.09.2026 39mnt

  If you've gone to see a counsellor or psychologist, you might be wrestling with tough questions: am I in the right relationship? Is my work right for me? How do I cope with my dysfunctional family?  We don't usually ask more abstract questions like: what's the meaning of life? Can I ever truly know another person? Or, how do I make peace with the fact that everyone I love will die?  But for father-daughter psychologist duo Ross Menzies and Rachel Menzies, the big, unanswerable questions are their specialty. They argue treating anxiety about these more existential issues may be greatly beneficial when it comes to treating more generalised anxiety and other mental health concerns.
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  Ask Aunty: How to tell a friend they're slowing you down — literally 11.09.2026 13mnt

  When you've been training for a half marathon for months, but your best friend all of a sudden wants to run the race together, who wins when friendship complicates the competition?  This week the Aunties share their advice with listener Ellie, who's torn over whether to slow down her pace and run alongside her friend, or stick to her goals and leave them in the dust.
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  Ask Aristotle: Should we bring back ethics lessons at school? 10.09.2026 9mnt

  Ethics has been part of our national curriculum for over a decade, but it's not often a topic that's covered in its own dedicated classroom.  Researchers in Queensland are calling for a more structured approach, arguing that formal ethics education can make a real difference to students in the long-term. So how should we be teaching our young people about morals, critical reasoning, and judging right from wrong? 
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  Liane Moriarty on the children's book about a sickly dragon that had her in floods of tears 10.09.2026 3mnt

  Children's books are often among the most worn out and beloved volumes on our shelves — they're stories we could recite with our eyes closed, that conjure special memories from years gone by. As part of Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown, Life Matters has invited a few special guests to share their favourite Australian children's book.  For author Liane Moriarty, the secret to a great kids' book isn't that different to writing a book for any other audience. It's all about telling a story that will keep the reader turning the pages.
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  You could soon have the 'right to be forgotten' online. What will it mean? 10.09.2026 17mnt

  Australians could soon be given the right to ask large companies to destroy their personal information. The "right to be forgotten" is one of the changes being proposed by the federal government to strengthen Australia's privacy laws. A separate Children's Online Privacy Code comes into effect later this year.  For Victorian parent Niels Wouters, the changes can't come soon enough. He's spent the last 18 months trying to get his son's personal information removed from a childcare app he no longer uses, and he's had little success. So how easy will it be to erase your digital footprint if these changes go ahead?
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  Tim Jarvis on a life of exploring the most remote corners of the world 10.09.2026 20mnt

  Many kids dream of becoming an explorer when they grow up, but Tim Jarvis is one of the rare few that turned that into reality.  He has travelled to the most extreme corners of the world and is most well known for his recreation of Sir Douglas Mawson's survival journey across Antarctica and Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition of 1916. Tim has dedicated his life to exploring and protecting the environment and recently took on the role of Patron of Regenerate Australia. He reflects on a career spent adventuring and advocating to restore ecosystems and the communities connected to them.
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  How communities can brace for bushfire season 09.09.2026 12mnt

  The European summer has seen one of the worst fire seasons in modern history with over 600,000 hectares burnt. With a Super El Niño event expected, what will an Australian summer look like? Disaster preparedness is already underway across the country, and community-building can play a key role in ensuring everyone is ready for what could be a tough bushfire season.
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  Not another Cinderella: Why is it so hard to find a shoe that fits? 09.09.2026 11mnt

  Whether you're looking for a brogue, a boot, or a ballet flat, chances are that you'll have to try on a few pairs of shoes before you find the one that feels right.  A recent study from RMIT University found 72 per cent of women were wearing shoe sizes that didn't match the actual length of their feet. Researchers say inconsistent sizing systems that don't always give customers accurate measurements make it very difficult to find properly fitting footwear.  So why is it so hard to find a shoe that fits?
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  The downside of 'maxxing' every aspect of your life 09.09.2026 26mnt

  You can't go anywhere online without being pressured to optimise your life in some way. Want to improve your appearance? Try #looksmaxxing Want to boost your chance of getting pregnant? #fertilitymaxxing Or maybe your gut needs #fibremaxxing? This pressure to optimise every aspect of life is not only changing us as individuals, it's also having a flattening effect on art, culture and design.
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  What the growth of supermarket-owned brands means for your trolley 08.09.2026 21mnt

  If it feels like you're seeing more supermarket-owned brands on the shelf, you're right. In the past financial year, Coles' private label sales increased by over 6 per cent, while Woolworths increased by 5.5 per cent, and there are more own-brand expansions on the way. What does this growth in private label products mean for shoppers, and for smaller businesses vying for a spot on the shelf?
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  Head and Heart: How to get out of a September slump 08.09.2026 9mnt

  We're already nine months into the year, so you might be looking at your goals and new year's resolutions and thinking they need a spring clean.  The year started strong, you got through winter, but now you're feeling a bit tired and the end of the year seems still so far away. So if you are feeling like you've hit a bit of a September slump, how do you motivate yourself to push through?