Life Matters - Full program podcast

In recent years, the number of Australians being diagnosed with ADHD and autism has risen. With up to 20 per cent of employees now identifying as neurodivergent, conversations about how to support this growing population are moving into the workplace. Clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and autism inclusion advocate Alex Lazarus-Priestly discuss how truly neuro-inclusive workplaces can support everyone to function better.
There's no such thing as a free lunch — or, as it turns out, a free installation to connect an outdoor shower to your hot water system. Aunties Annie Louey and Simon Kennedy-Jewell share advice for a listener who suspects they've been swindled by a fellow parent at the school fete.

At a time when Australians are grappling with the global fuel crisis, those who got in early on clean energy may be feeling a sense of relief. But it's going to take more than individual efforts to drive an energy transition that can support an entire country's needs. Sustainability researcher Peter Newman and strategist Kristen McDonald examine whether the system keeping up with consumers' efforts.
These days, it's not uncommon for children to be a little fussy about what they eat. But food historian Helen Zoe Veit argues the phenomenon of childhood pickiness is a modern problem, driven by changes in eating habits, food production and parenting trends over the last two centuries. 
In years gone by, it was generally seen as polite to take off your hat indoors, and you'd never dream of resting your elbows on the dinner table. But behaviours that were once the norm just aren't as important anymore. So who gets to decide what's deemed polite, and does it really matter?

New research from the University of Pennsylvania shows there are three key indicators of a better-than-average day. But there are also unavoidable tasks like housework that make your day worse — so how do you decide what the trade-offs are? Time use epidemiologist Dot Dumuid and journalist Emma Joyce explore the key ingredients for a perfect day.
Almost half of Australian households have a dog, and since the pandemic, many pet owners who got used to spending plenty of time with their furry companions are looking for more ways to do that outside the home. But across the country there are ongoing tussles about where you should be allowed to bring a pet along with you, and where you shouldn't. So do dogs belong in the workplace, or at the pub?
The traditional pathway for school-leavers to study and find a job might not be as realistic these days, as they enter a rapidly changing workforce. So how do you support the young people in your life to pursue a career when the world of work looks so different? This Working Life host Lisa Leong explains the art of giving career advice.

Children now have a digital footprint by the time they graduate day care, and it only explodes when they get to school. A new draft Children's Online Privacy Code could change that, giving young people more control over their online world including the ability to delete data captured before they turned 18. Privacy commissioner Carly Kind and Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O'Shea explain how this code could work and what might be in it for adults, too.
When a household appliance gives out after a couple of years, the path of least resistance is usually to replace it. For all sorts of reasons, everyday items are often impossible to repair. A growing chorus of voices is fighting for the right to repair, but tech giants in the US are pushing back against this movement, arguing that it presents privacy and security risks. 
We all know someone about to run a marathon, starting pickleball or doing CrossFit. And yes they're doing the exercise component, but it's also become their entire personality. What is it that drives us to join these sporting communities?

In an attempt to save the bees, thousands of people set up colonies of the European honeybee in their backyard. But for many, an outbreak of the parasitic varroa mite has brought this low-stakes eco-hobby to an emotionally devastating end. Backyard beekeeper Mike Allerton and Professor Sasha Mikheyev unpack the spread of varroa mite. 
We know the internet is full of slop, but what happens when the powers that be combine this deeply online phenomenon with their own propaganda? Mark Alfano is one of the people who coined the term 'slopaganda', so how do you spot it before you fall for it?
A new report has found the creation of new businesses has been steadily declining, with the proportion of business owners as a share of the workforce at an all-time low. What's behind this downward trend?