Life Matters - Full program podcast

Since, COVID, there's been a 39 per cent increase in the number of people sleeping rough. When housed residents see this in their local parks, they call council to report it. But of all the levels of government, it's this local layer that it is least equipped to respond. Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli and researcher Andrew Clarke explain how local councils are addressing the issue.
There are more than 6,300 cemeteries across the country, but space is at a premium, with many already at capacity. In some cases, the mourners visiting these sacred places are dying out too. So could we find a better way to use these public spaces dedicated to grief, giving them back to the living, while maintaining respect for the dead?
There was a time when the word "peptide" was reserved for conversations between chemists, but now it's a wellness supplement gaining momentum. It's prompted experts to call for stronger regulation, with concerns that young people are particularly at risk.

Whether you feel self-conscious about your body, or have trouble with performance anxiety, most of us experience sexual hang-ups at some point or another. Sex and relationships therapist Georgia Grace talks through where these anxieties come from, and how normalising conversations about our hang-ups can help us work through them to prioritise pleasure.
Family photo albums can hold immense sentimental value, documenting a shared history and keeping memories of relatives long since passed alive for future generations. But when the family parts ways, who decides where those memories go?

A Grattan Institute report indicates that over one million Australians a year are delaying or skipping specialist health care because they can't afford it. Specialists do vital work, and they're highly trained. But uncapped fees means costs can keep growing and people can't keep up. What can be done to balance the scales and what is the reality for the specialists?
New research has outlined the urgent need to better equip the people who become our de facto therapists — the beauticians, hairdressers, nail techs —with the tools to do this heavy emotional labour.
If you're married, did you keep your own surname or take the name of your betrothed? It's a highly gendered and changing social norm, so what does our surname actually say about us?

The government has laid out the federal budget for the next year, and there's a theme: intergenerational fairness. We know the scales are not tipped in favour of young people, but can we re-balance the scales without pitting older people against younger people, and acknowledge that not all older people are rich? Patricial Sparrow from Council on the Ageing unpacks the budget for over 50s. 
If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice about dating, what would you tell them? When Dee Salmin sat down to write a book on everything she'd learned about love, it was her teenage self she had in mind. But it struck a chord with women who'd grown up in an era before "going boy sober" or "raising the bar" were trending topics. 
Would you be up for a sing-along session with your colleagues, in the name of collaboration? Research shows music can be a powerful tool in promoting connection and group identity. Melissa Forbes and Emma Dean share what happened when they brought together a group of carers to investigate the benefits of music in the workplace.

The school library is where so many kids first develop a love of reading and learn the skills they need to understand the world. But the very existence of those libraries is largely dependent on the discretion of the school, and some say they're under threat. The Australian Library and Information Association's Cathie Warburton, best-selling children's author Andy Griffiths and school librarian Hajnalka Molloy explain why school libraries are a vital learning resource for students.
After a player went through a serious mental health episode on the field, the AFL implemented a new rule: all clubs must have an in-house psychologist to keep an eye on players' mental fitness. So if the footy field was actually your office, could you spot the signs? Sport psychologist Courtney Walton and Mental Health First Aid Australia's Jackqui Barnfield run through how to support someone in crisis. 
What is it that motivates you to get to the gym? An investigation by the BBC has revealed a trend in companies using AI influencers to sell programs promising results that experts say are unrealistic. Consumer behaviour expert Paul Harrison explores how marketing is being used in the health industry and what role AI plays in convincing us to get fit.