Life Matters - Full program podcast

As the national skills shortage bites, the trades are attracting more people looking for a new career. Australia's jobs and skills commissioner Barney Glover AO and Melbourne carpenter Tristan Santoro discuss what it takes to make a long-term career in the trades. 
Whether it's lofi beats, hard rock or classical, research suggests that listening to music while we work can improve productivity. Professor of music Emery Schubert and AFLW footballer Darcy Vescio chat through their optimal performance-enhancing playlists.
More and more Australians are choosing cycling for their daily commute, skipping the traffic congestion and squeezing in some exercise. But the way our cities are designed shapes how we get around, and research shows there's a gender imbalance when it comes to cycling accessibility.

When you think of your home, what springs to mind? For some, home is their happy place, a sanctuary of comfort and calm. But for others, it's complicated. Psychologist Chris Cheers discusses what it means to feel at home in our space, mind and body. 
And Ask Aunty delves into pet politics — Denise Eriksen and James Colley discuss how to deal with a mate's four-legged friend if you're not that enamoured by a slobbery extra guest under the dinner table.

School is back and across the ditch there's a new subject in the New Zealand curriculum: financial education will be taught in classrooms from year 1 to 10. The Barefoot Investor author Scott Pape discusses how Australia could incorporate financial lessons into our own curriculum.
There's a turf war in Melbourne right now over who's responsible for maintaining the nature strip on either side of the road. But could there be a better way to make use of these public pockets of land?
Giving your child a name that suits them can feel like an impossible task, and we turn to our own cultural touchpoints for inspiration. So what does it say about our cultural references when Charlotte, Oliver, Amelia and Noah top the charts every year?

Australia is a world leader in cancer survival, with more than 1.6 million people now living with and beyond cancer. But survival alone doesn't tell the whole story. Cancer survivor and researcher Professor Phoebe Phillips and Professor Bogda Koczwara from the Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship discuss how to support people not just during the early stages of care, but for the long run. 
What age did you consider yourself "too old" to wear certain outfits? Playwright Peta Murray and author David Carlin share what they learned about the complexities of aging through caring for their elderly parents and reflecting on their experience in a new memoir, How to Dress for Old Age.
Around one in seven Australians lives with tinnitus, a debilitating condition that can affect our social lives, our work and even how we get to sleep. As part of Tinnitus Awareness Week, a group of researchers from around the world have joined forces to push sound-based therapies designed to help people reduce the noise.

While women's sport is booming in Australia, beneath the surface there are signs of a culture that's lagging behind. Accusations of disrespect, mistreatment and exclusion are still bubbling away — and one regional Victorian women's team has walked away from their club altogether. ABC Sport reporter Marnie Vinall, researcher Rochelle Eime and West Brunswick AFC president Lydia Holt unpack what it actually takes to turn spaces built by men, for men, into places where women truly belong.
The pandemic entrenched working from home, and these days, millions of people are logging in remotely to do everything they once did in the office. But if your boss is not so keen on the idea of you working from home, how can you make the case for it? Melissa Wheeler digs into new research looking at which flexible work requests are most effective.
An Australian designer has released a copycat version of the iconic Birkin handbag, retailing for a fraction of the price. It begs the question: how much more are we willing to pay for "authentic" products or experiences? Paul Harrison discusses whether fake can still be fashionable, and how important authenticity is to real consumers.