Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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? 

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

You can't go anywhere online without being pressured to optimise your life in some way.Want to improve your appearance? Try #looksmaxxingWant to boost your chance of getting pregnant? #fertilitymaxxingOr 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.

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?

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?

In years gone by, psychedelics like MDMA and psylocibin were seen as experimental party drugs. But that narrative has shifted. Now, there are all sorts of claims about the potential uses of psychedelic drug treatments for conditions like depression and PTSD.Investigative journalist Rich Haridy has been watching this previously taboo field come out of the shadows and into mainstream culture in recent years.His new book explores whether these truly are the wonder drugs that we ignored for too long, or if it's all just a bit of hype. 

Is there a beach, river, lake or farm dam that you love taking a dip in — rain, hail or shine? Wild swimming has been growing in popularity since the pandemic, especially amongst older women.UK data shows the number of people open water swimming has doubled since 2016. Women make up three quarters of wild swimmers, and the majority of those are over 40.So, what is it about swimming, surfing and paddling in the great outdoors that is so appealing, particularly for women in midlife and beyond?

Have you ever walked through the doors of a venue and immediately felt at home?New research indicates that the identity of a venue can play just a big a part of getting you there as transport, safety and cost considerations.Having a sense of belonging associated with a venue can create return visitors and more expenditure from punters.So, how do you create the identity of a place, and what part should it play in the way we design our suburbs?

Second-hand stores specialising in high-end products are popping up all over Australia, along with an explosion in the populariuty of online re-selling platforms like Depop and Vinted. At the same time, the standard op-shopping experience is becoming supersized too, with the US giant Savers expanding its footprint in Australia.So where does this leave the small charity shops that rely on donations to raise funds?

If your mum raised you in the thick of diet culture, you’ve probably had some body image lessons to unpick from that era. And when you have to play more of an active role in helping mum manage her health as she ages, you know you can always ask aunty to help navigate this tricky terrain. 

Australian author Alice Pung penned her seminal memoir Unpolished Gem two decades ago, which she started writing age 19.Even as a teenager Alice had lived a full life, and the story of how her parents, grandmother and aunt travelled by foot through three countries to seek resettlement as refugees in Melbourne, has become a modern Australian classic. It’s now taught in high schools across Australia and overseas, and it’s also taught plenty of readers to see and understand their own story in a new light. Such is the power of memoir, and in this episode we unpack the memoirs that have helped people better understand themselves and the world around them through another person’s story.

Last week we heard the news the great Dolly Parton had passed at the age of 80.There was a global outpouring of grief from fans,  politicians and musicians alike — it seemed the whole world was in collective mourning for a beloved icon.Dolly achieved fame in an era where celebrity was built through mass media, but that landscape doesn't exist in the same way anymore. Our hyper-personalised digital lives mean one person's Dolly is another's nobody. So could our culture ever produce another figure so universally loved?

As you're whittling down your shortlist for Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown, you might be digging deep into the memory box for inspiration. Children's books often stick with us for years after we first discover them. They often have special memories attached, whether from our own childhood, or from years spent reading to our own little ones. For parenting educator Maggie Dent, there's one Australian classic that stands out from the rest: Possum Magic, written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Julie Vivas. 

Have you been dazzled by the bright headlights of other vehicles when driving at night?A recent inquest into the death of veteran BBC broadcaster, Jenni Murray, was told that she died following a car crash in which she was dazzled by headlights.The Royal Automobile Club in Britain is actively campaigning on this issue. Its member surveys found 94 per cent of respondents had experienced dazzle from oncoming vehicles, and a quarter who found headlights too bright were either driving less at night or had given up altogether.Here in Australia, there have been several petitions to federal parliament on the issue, and motoring bodies say it's a constant cause of complaint. What, if anything, should be done?

Everyone has a book in them, so the saying goes. But only a dedicated few manage to write their stories down, and most would never dream to see the characters they've created eventually portrayed on screen by Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep. But that's the reality for Liane Moriarty. Her runaway success with Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Last Anniversary and Apples Never Fall (among others) saw her become the first Australian author to debut in the top position on the New York Times Bestseller list. She shares what it was like growing up in a family of writers, and the lifetime of work it takes to one day become an "overnight success". 

Recent research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology has found that reading about the impacts of climate change increases our negative emotions and decreases hope.

When a crisis emerges at work people can hit the panic stations pretty quickly. In a time when everything is unclear it can often lead to rushed decisions, which ultimately make things worse in the long run.How can we better prepare for moments of crisis and make sure we don't make the same common mistakes?

Many workplaces have mentoring programs where senior staff provide guidance and wisdom to younger team members.But have you heard of reverse mentoring, where a younger team member mentors a senior colleague?Reserve Bank Australia governor Michelle Bullock recently mentioned that she has a reverse mentor who is helping her learn more about AI at work.In fact, there are quite a few workplaces in Australia where reverse mentoring is being encouraged, from universities to the big banks.From passing on digital skills to bridging the generational divide, what are the benefits to employees and their workplaces when the traditional mentoring role is flipped?

A new research project from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has been considering the ways housing affects children's health and development. Researchers found that around 1 in 8 kids growing up in rentals have moved at least 10 times by the time they reach the age of 14, which could have long-term implications over their lifespan.So is moving house inherently bad for kids, or are there ways to inoculate them from the disruption?

For your next overseas trip you would have the essential sights you have to see, but is a grocery store on that list?Grocery tourism has been identified as one of the top trends of 2026, with people looking to trawl the aisles of a local store while abroad.What is it that we find fascinating about shopping overseas compared to what is a fairly regular experience at home?

What would you do if you thought you'd been treated unfairly, but couldn't afford a lawyer?Increasingly, Australians are turning to AI tools to understand their rights, draft complaints, or even prepare a case for court.There's no doubt it's making the justice system more accessible, but it also means courts, tribunals and complaints bodies are dealing with more submissions — including some that shouldn't be there.The Fair Work Commission, for example, says AI-assisted submissions are contributing to a 40 per cent increase in its workload. It recently criticised a former supermarket worker for bringing a "doomed" case based on "plain wrong" AI advice.So how do we make legal help more accessible without exposing people to poor advice or overwhelming the system with AI slop?

When you're reading picture books to your little ones, what keeps you (and them) engaged? It might be the words that tell the stories, or the illustrations that bring them to life. But the best kids' books are those that strike the magical combination and get both exactly right.So what does it take to collaborate and craft a story that stays with its readers forever?

You probably have thousands of photos in your phone's camera roll, but do you look at them as fondly as you did photo albums?Flipping through the pages of a family album is a beautiful tradition that can help us make sense of our ourselves through history.It's never been easier to take a photo, but in a digital age, how do we display them and what happens if we don't pass on these photos to future generations?

Last Thursday, the Northern Territory became the final Australian jurisdiction to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD).But there are still nationwide barriers to access that families and advocates say cause unnecessary stress and suffering for people who are terminally ill.One of those barriers is the requirement to have been a resident in your state for at least 12 months before applying for VAD.It was a rule Anita Rumore and her father, who had terminal brain cancer, were unaware of when he moved from New South Wales to Western Australia to be closer to Anita at the end of his life.Now Anita, and organisations including Go Gentle Australia, are calling for change.

Unachievable job demands, low job control and inadequate reward and recognition are just three of the psychosocial hazards in the workplace now considered a breach of workplace safety laws. As of December 2025, all Australian states and territories have workplace health obligations in place that require employers to protect your psychosocial safety. We all experience some of these things to an extent in the workplace, but where is the line? And what does it look like when a workplace handles these risks well?

When you’re gifted a bag of clothes, what is the acceptable course of action for the items you don’t want to keep? Should you donate them, leave them sitting at the back of your cupboard? Is it ever OK to resell a gift and use the money to buy something you actually want? This week, the Aunties weigh in on the rules of engagement when it comes to unwanted gifts.

In Australia we have some of the most beautiful landscapes and nature in the world.Access to green space is widely recognised as an important factor in supporting mental wellbeing. A new study from Scotland found people who lived close to revived woodland areas were 10 per cent less likely to be prescribed antidepressants, and if people moved closer to a woodland, that need for medication was reduced. But access to green space is not guaranteed. So how do we design our cities and suburbs with this in mind?

More Australians are living alone than ever before, in a society still geared towards couples and families — including at mealtimes.In The Spinster Cookbook, Eli Davies explores what it means to cook for yourself, by yourself (with no-one else to do the washing up).What are the challenges and joys of cooking for one?

Europe is nearing the end of what has been an extremely hot summer, with one of the worst fire seasons in modern history. For locals, it's a frightening new reality. But research suggests it's also affecting tourism, with travellers cancelling or delaying trips due to heat concerns. The study revealed 20 per cent of participants had rejigged their recent holidays over weather concerns, so what does that mean for tourism at home and abroad?

Is there a bird feeder hanging in your backyard? Maybe you have some feathered friends who will eat right out of your hand?Up to 50 per cent of Australian households feed wild birds, but it might be time to stop — or at least change the way you do it — because experts are warning that backyard bird feeders can be a hotspot for bird flu transmission.We find out what else we can do to have a positive impact against this deadly virus.

As the world reflects on the legacy of Dolly Parton, who died overnight aged 80, millions of children will remember her simply as "the book lady". 

When the devastating news of Dolly Parton’s passing reached the world, it was delivered by someone very dear to her – her nephew Bryan Seaver.That the man who knew her as Aunty Dolly was trusted with carrying this message highlights the important, but under-recognised role of aunts and uncles in a child's life.We celebrate mother's day, father's day, and even invite the grandparents along to kindy once a year to partake in special craft activities, but are we overlooking the role of our beloved aunties and uncles? 

New research from the University of Melbourne has found that young people are now significantly more likely than older generations to hold hostile attitudes towards women. 

The 70s, 80s and 90s were the decades that built Australian rock music, and launched the careers of our nation's rock and roll royalty. But behind the scenes, working hard to make sure you didn't even know they were there, were the roadies. They started early, worked late, and spent life on the road for months at a stretch.It was an all-encompassing career that left little time to build a life outside of it. And as those roadies reach retirement, the decades of hard work and isolation on the road are taking a toll physically, emotionally and socially.Adelaide University researchers are now working with former roadies to understand the particular challenges they face as they age — and what other industries can learn from our original gig workers.

You think the world of your loved ones and could write pages and pages about what is so wonderful about them.But people don't see themselves in the same light and can often put themselves down.So what should you do when someone you love is stuck in a spiral of negative self-talk?

Children's Book Week is upon us, that magical time of year where parents across the land are up late pulling together last-minute costumes fashioned after their children's favourite characters from the page.Some favourites come and go. But others stay with you. So what are the children's books that keep you coming back decades after you outgrew them?For Annabel Crabb, there's one that's stayed with her since the first time she read it, nestled in amongst the haystacks on the family sheep farm.

According to a new report from Screen Australia, 78 per cent of Australians have played a video game in the past six months. Around half of them say games play a significant role in their lives, whether they're playing just to have fun, to pass the time, or to connect with others and explore stories on a deeper level. Games development is one of the fastest-growing industries of Australia's screen sector, yet unlike film and television, we don't often talk about the cultural value of games.So what's missing from these conversations?

It's not too long ago that you probably watched your first video on YouTube.The platform is only 21 years old but has made a huge impact on our cultural landscape and Australian creators are being recognised for their contribution.Last week the National Film and Sound Archive announced 10 Australian creators were being inducted into the archive as a part of a Creator Capsule.But with so much content on the internet how will we archive and preserve culture in a digital age?

Romance fiction is often dismissed as a guilty pleasure, and if you're not an avid reader of the genre, you might assume it doesn't get much deeper than Mills and Boon or Twilight.

This week, the Aunties weigh in on matters of the heart, advising a listener who's been harbouring a secret crush on a close friend. After a platonic weekend away, Mikey realised he'd left behind a notebook where he'd been scribing private thoughts about his true feelings. Is it time to 'fess up to his friend, or can he retrieve the diary before they discover what's inside?