Life Matters - Full program podcast

After the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Australia built thousands of public pools, which are now reaching the end of their lives. Royal Surf Life Saving Australia estimates about 40 per cent of public pools will be obsolete by 2030. So what do we lose if our pools start closing, and why are they so important that locals are lobbying to save them?
In an age where people are writing entire novels using ChatGPT, author Bri Lee chose to write her latest work completely by hand. It's a small act of resistance pushing back against the relentless quest for convenience, but Bri's not alone. Columnist for New York magazine The Cut, Kathryn Jezer-Morton, coined the term 'friction-maxxing' while investigating this trend, pushing back against the mindless optimisation of all facets of modern life. 
Do you ever catch up with your grandkids for a good old-fashioned yap, only to find you're barely speaking the same language? Don't worry, that won't last. The American Dialect Society has named its words of the year for 2025 and it appears that old-school gems like 'yap', 'skedaddle', even 'diabolical' are making a comeback.

One of the oldest libraries in Australia, the State Library of New South Wales, is marking its 200th anniversary this year, and as part of the celebrations it's collated a collection of stories about how libraries have changed us. Editor Phillipa McGuinness and teacher-librarian Megan Daley discuss their favourite stories from the library.
Research shows our average focus time on one task has dropped from about 2.5 minutes in the early 2000s to around 40 seconds today. So what would happen if you took away all the distractions? No screens. No notifications. No artificial light. No outside world. Scientist Kiana Aran reflects on spending five days in a cave-like sensory deprivation chamber, hooked up to sensors to measure what total isolation does to the body and mind.
Wuthering Heights has inspired dozens of screen adaptations, but it feels like no-one can agree on whether this latest version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi is the best or the worst ever. We love to argue over authenticity and the limits of creative licence, so why do we get caught up when characters from a book jump off the page and onto the screen?

Coles is in federal court this week, accused by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of misleading shoppers with fake discounts — a claim Coles has denied. With trust in Australia's supermarket giants once again under the microscope, how easy is it to shop elsewhere?
Hobbies are good for us, but it turns out that investing serious time and effort into our leisure activities can bring long-term benefits. Researcher Emily Messina and amateur sword fighter Kiara Bruggeman discuss the connection, community and serious skills that can come from going deeper.
If you're out in a busy public place and take a moment to look around, chances are you'll spot a CCTV camera. But would you feel differently if those cameras were actively scanning and identifying you? Digital wellbeing expert Joanne Orlando explains how to identify the risks of digital surveillance.

Food ministers from across Australia and New Zealand have green-lit the process to make the health stars you see in the supermarket mandatory for all food products. It's a step in the right direction, but what else do we need to do to create a healthy environment for everyone? 
Ben Crowe is one of the most in-demand professional mentors and leadership coaches in the world, and after years working with the likes of Ash Barty and Daniel Ricciardo, he's distilled his wisdom into a book. So what can we learn from sporting legends that could actually help us in our everyday lives?
And in this instalment of The Book That Changed My Life, #BookTok creator Luke Bateman opens up about the first novel in a 30-plus-volume fantasy series that helped him rebuild his life after a stint in rehabilitation.

Nearly 50 years after the first Mardi Gras march lit up the streets of Sydney, demanding an end to discrimination, so much has changed. But for many LGBTQIA+ Australians, conversations about their identity are still filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Headspace's Vicki Ryall and Lay Laupama discuss what coming out means in 2026, and how we can make it easier.
And Ask Aunty tackles how to navigate delicate family dynamics after divorce — Jane Caro and ethicist Simon Kennedy-Jewell weigh in on whether you can ever be truly honest with your grandkids about what you really think of their parents.