Life Matters

Susan Delcour had been eagerly counting down the days until her treatment for breast cancer was over. But after that final appointment, she realised she actually missed the routine of regular appointments and familiar faces checking in. Nearly 1.7 million people are living with, or beyond, cancer in Australia — and that number is expected to reach 2.6 million by 2050. So how do we better support people who are adjusting to life after cancer?

Better protections have just landed for workers in some sections of the gig economy, giving delivery drivers a set of minimum standards to ensure fairer pay. But the gig economy has expanded beyond food and ridesharing. Employment relations expert Alex Veen explores how workplace protections are keeping up with the changing face of employment.

The next generation of budding STEM workers are being encouraged to enter the sciences via pen pal friendships with working scientists.STEMpals founder Jennifer Payne and researcher Zoe Xirocostas share the joy in exchanging letters with aspiring scientists.

It wasn't that long ago that buying something required you to hand over some cash, or at least use a physical card. But by last year 40 per cent of payments were coming from digital wallets on a phone or smart watch. So how would you feel about using your biometric data to make a purchase? Researcher Lauren Perry and tech journalist Kirsten Drysdale talk through the ethical implications of using facial recognition technology in commerce.

A Queensland council that came under heavy criticism for demolishing makeshift campsites has announced it will turn a local park into a dedicated space for people experiencing homelessness. Advocates Gregory Smith and Leanne Mitchell explore the role that local councils can play in supporting their communities and providing services to fill the gap.

Ever since the Duolingo owl became a TikTok sensation, it seems like every organisation — from corporate brands to your state police department — wants to act like a cool, hip person on the internet. Does this actually generate sales? And did this phenomenon exist before the internet?

Around 1 in 5 of us will experience chronic pain. If you've lived through it, you know how terribly draining it can be. But understanding how pain works and what its purpose is can help. Neuroscientist Lorimer Moseley and chronic pain advocate Lauren Richards explain what's happening in our brains when we experience pain, and why that doesn't mean it's all in your head.

When it comes time to downsize, how do you sort the family keepsakes worth holding onto from the sentimental junk? This week Aunties Janty Blair and Lawrence Leung have some advice for listener Lorraine, whose grown-up kids have no interest in storing the boxes of stuff she's held onto for all these years. 

Canberra's beloved bus shelters have just been added to the ACT Heritage Registry — but these "concrete monstrosities" weren't always adored. Architecture advocate Izzie White and public art curator Beth Jackson explore how ordinary features can influence the way we interact with our cities.

August marks Family History Month, a chance to dig through the archives and find out how your ancestors lived. So would you know where to start looking? For comedian Luke McGregor, the search took him all the way to Scotland to reconnect with his clan and himself.

We all have a set of moral principles we try to live by, but sometimes other factors get in the way. Not for a Melbourne-based pilot who recently gave up a 40-year aviation career over concerns about climate change. Patrick Stokes explores what it means to live your life entirely according to your virtues.

Sleep has played a crucial role in human evolution, and evolutionary biologist David Samson argues our ability to function on little sleep is actually a superpower. If we look back to traditional hunter-gatherer societies, we can take some insights on how modern humans could stress less about sleep and feel better rested. 

When you're sitting in the chair at the salon or the barber shop, the care you're receiving often goes deeper than beauty therapy. But we don't train hairdressers to deal with trauma. Researchers Hannah McCann and Stacey Page explore the urgent need to better equip the people who become our de facto therapists with the tools to do this heavy emotional labour.

The average person spends around 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime. That's a lot of time to spend somewhere if you're not happy. This Working Life host Lisa Leong explains the classiest way to quit your job, and what to consider before you pull the trigger.

The Australian Census is upon us. Among the questions that statisticians will be keenly poring over is a fairly simple one: what is the person's religion? But answering it isn't always straightforward. For people who grew up religious, but no longer practice, there can still be some cultural attachment to their faith. Social trends researcher Rebecca Huntley and journalist and comedian Sami Shah explore what our religious statistics really say about us. 

Emily Novo had put off seeing the dentist because she was worried about the cost — then she ended up in a hospital emergency department. She's among more than two million Australians who've skipped dental care because they can't afford it. The Australian Dental Association says it's high time we fill the gap.

What happens when your approach to managing money doesn't sync up with your partner's? Psychologist Christine Bagley-Jones talks through how to have the sensitive chats about finances without starting a huge fight. 

Helping you figure out all the big stuff in life: relationships, health, money, work and the world.

Childhood friendships are special, and formative in our adolescence. But finding, making and maintaining strong healthy connections can be tricky. Ladies We Need To Talk host Yumi Stynes and clinical psychologist Jacinta Grimes explore how to support the young people in your life through the ups and downs of friendship. 

This week, aunties Nelly Thomas and James Colley help out a listener who's feeling weird about their son being taken to church while on a sleepover. Is it worth bringing up the discomfort with the other parents? And should they let their kid go for another sleepover?

When you think about your golden years, what do you picture? For most of us, the ideal scenario means growing old in the place we've set down roots. While the idea of "ageing in place" has obvious benefits, it's not always feasible. Joan White shares how her regional Queensland town wants to fill the gap by building a community-owned aged care facility. 

Every year 50,000 people go missing in Australia, leaving their loved ones in a state of ambiguous loss. Researcher Sarah Wayland joins Loren O'Keeffe, whose brother went missing in 2011, to discuss how to navigate this state of unknowing, and how our communities can better support people going through this.

Paid social clubs are bringing strangers together for shared dinners, drinks and social activities, offering connection at a time when we know one in six Australians experience severe loneliness. But can you really buy friendship?

If you’ve ever moved cities, you know the struggle of building your friendship group and daily routines from the ground up. From scoping out the best cafes to figuring out the local public transport network, how do you learn to fall in love with the city you’ve just moved to? Travel guide Chris Zeiher and author Nicole Webb share their tips.

New research shows screen time may not be as damaging for children's development as we thought. A 10-year study of almost 4,000 children found that, after accounting for family functioning, there were no significant links between screen use and psychosocial harms. Researcher Lelia Green and tech journalist Alice Clarke explore how parents can support children to safely explore the digital media landscape.

As part of Life Matters' special series The Grandparent Trap, veteran broadcaster Ray Martin offers a peek behind the curtain of his private life as a grandfather, and why transforming into "Mondo" gives him special superpowers.

Major players in the diamond industry are closing their mines or starting to downsize, largely due to the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds. So does a diamond have to come out of the dirt for it to be "authentic"? And if retailers are closing up shop, does that mean your family heirloom ring is suddenly more or less valuable?