Your siblings have gone AWOL so it’s all on you — all the appointments, decisions and physical care. And if you’re a woman, it seems everyone thinks this is a responsibility that’s yours and yours alone. How do you navigate the emotional strain when other family members aren’t stepping up to help?   

Featuring: 

Dr Jenny Brown, family systems therapist and mental health social worker   

Rohini Balram, researcher at Western Sydney University and contributor to the research for Carers NSW   

Shevonne Hunt, member of the sandwich generation   

One in three of Australia's four million children are struggling to read proficiently, according to the Grattan Institute. That's a shocking figure, and one that understandably worries many parents, grandparents and guardians. 

Anne McLeish and Amy Haywood discuss how adults can play a role in supporting kids' education in the home, and what are the best evidence-based ways to teach kids to read.

During the early days of the pandemic, there was a surge in home baking as sourdough starters were swapped from home to home.

But what does it take to make the perfect loaf of bread? To produce the kind of loaf that has top-end restaurants lining up for a slice?

So you’ve decided to care for your parent at home, we'll dive into the sorts of honest conversations you must have with your partner and kids to avoid it all imploding. Plus, how do you protect yourself, and your sanity, as you fall deeper into the world of the Sandwich Generation?      

Featuring:   

Dr Rebecca Ray, psychologist and author Setting Boundaries Dr Kaylene Henderson, a medically trained child health specialist and parenting expert Professor Ruth Phillips, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Sydney Shevonne Hunt, member of the sandwich generation

Dementia is a diagnosis that touches many of our lives, with more than four hundred thousands Australians living with dementia, and more than one and a half million of us are in carer roles.

And, like any illness, with the right support and care, it is possible to continue to live a fulfilling life.

Heather Cooper and Dr Kaele Stokes talk about what that support and care should look like, and what it's like, to get such a life-altering diagnosis.

Imagine you are swept up in a great big love. You marry on an ocean liner, and all seems like a fairytale until the honeymoon takes a serious turn. 

Kerstin Pilz's memoir is called Loving My Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband. 

If you’ve hit midlife with kids at home and ageing parents, welcome to The Sandwich Generation. Stuff’s about to get real and you are going to need help because it will be the trickiest time of your life, and nobody talks about it. But we see you and listen up ‘cause we’ve got some answers.   

Featuring:

Dr Michelle O’Shea, Senior lecturer in the School of Business at Western Sydney University

Dr Megan Godwin, PhD Australian Women’s Wellbeing expert  (QUT)

Mark McCrindle, social researcher  

Shevonne Hunt, member of the sandwich generation   

Looking for love can be a challenge, especially if you haven't been on the "market" for a while. Life Matters Hilary Harper has been documenting and sharing her own foray into the world of online dating after 50 in the audio series — Dated.

If you've tried online dating in mid life, particularly if you found yourself newly single after a long time — how was it for you?

We also meet Hilary's new beau, Gene.

You know when you go to the checkout to pay for your petrol and the cashier asks if you want to buy something from the counter as well? 

That "light" sales pressure can get much more intense when you're at the salon and your hairdresser suggests extra products and treatments while you're in the chair.

So how do you handle it?

In 2014, Matty Hannon set out on the adventure of a lifetime. He planned to ride his motorbike solo from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Patagonia, surfing all the way.

But, near the start of the trip, he met Heather Hillier.

After a few months of letter writing as he traveled south, she agreed to join him and his tale of adventure became a love story.

They're telling their story in a new documentary, The Road to Patagonia.