Life Matters - Full program podcast

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?