Your brother in law has just published his first work of fiction, a novel. But he's used your name to identify one of the worst characters in the book. The author, his mother and your husband don't think this is a big deal. You've tried to express how hurt you are but no one wants to address it. What can you do with these feelings?…

Being honest can be equal parts scary and liberating. It can take a while to work up to being honest with someone, and it can feel confronting when someone is honest with you. The term 'radical honesty' has been bandied about the internet lately. Proponents claim it can reduce stress and help us feel more connected to those around us. But the art o…

Students have gathered on campuses across Australia to protest their universities' involvement with weapons manufacturers and with the state of Israel. Deakin University and the ANU have called time on the protests, but the Group of 8 released a statement of principals which includes support for "the right to peaceful, non-violent demonstrations on…

Marcia Hines is Australia's queen of disco and a long-time fixture on our TV screens judging and mentoring aspiring stars. She shares the best advice she received from her mother and how she plans to spend her kids' inheritance.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

As the youngest executive manager at one of Australia’s biggest financial service companies, Jo Wagstaff appeared to have it all: a corner office overlooking Sydney harbour, a new BMW bought outright with her latest bonus, a beautiful home, husband and son. But underneath, she was ‘barely keeping it together’. And one day the pieces of her life cam…

Have you ever turned down the wrong street on your way home and found yourself surprised by your own town? Even the most exciting city can begin to feel familiar, even a little boring, but what happens if you embrace those wrong turns or even treat your city like a tourist? Professor Stephen Dobson shares his thoughts on why we should take a fresh …

The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been at pains to call this a "responsible" budget. And it's clear that the Government is hoping to convince the Reserve Bank that an interest cut is warranted by the end of the year. But, with many Australian's still feeling the pressure of the increased cost of living, does the budget do enough to balance the chall…

Anybody hanging out in the Melbourne early 80's music scene will know Painters and Dockers, the veteran punk band fronted by Paulie Stewart. But these days you are far more likely to hear him singing with the Alma nuns in Timor Leste. Paulie's activist work is shaped by a personal tragedy and you might even say his music was too.…

The recent move by Cumberland Council in Western Sydney to ban books about same sex parenting in its libraries is not a one off. The Australian Library and Information Association says there has been an increase in so-called book challenges in Australia, where community members try to have certain books removed from library shelves. The move echoes…

Ahead of the Federal budget, SNAICC, the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, is calling for childcare and early education to be made more affordable for First Nations families, through subsidies that would provide up to 30 hours of free access to childcare. SNAICC and parts of the Aboriginal community-controlled early lear…

Watching your parents grow old can be challenging at times, but there can be some comfort in being the arm they use to steady themselves on as they age. But what happens when you don't live in the same city, or even the same country? How are first-generation immigrants tackling long-distance caregiving?…

We might be spending less on luxuries now, but perfume is the exception. Sales are surging in 2024 for big brands and independent makers alike. So, when times are tough, why are we still forking out for something sweet-smelling? And what do perfumes really do for our well-being and confidence?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Germans have a word for anticipatory happiness: vorfreude. It's the recognition that anticipating something good can be great for us. We know it has several benefits for our mental and physical health, so how can we build it into our lives, in both a big and small way daily?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

You pick up a friend to go out for lunch, and are joined by their digital nomad millennial house guest. Things are going well until the bill comes and the guest wants to calculate it down to the cent. As you're driving them back, the guest opens a big bottle of kombucha and spills it all over the back seat of your new car. You didn't ask for money …

When someone helps you out, it can really mean a lot. A load has been taken off you, both physically and mentally. We like to help each other out, and yet when it's our turn to ask for help it's not necessarily a comfortable experience. Here's some tips on how to do it well.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

From the outside, the intense, hyper-commercial culture inside financial firms seems both fascinating and appalling, leading to works like The Wolf of Wall Street. What's it like from the inside, especially if you'd already tried to step away from it, to try to find a new kind of balance? In her new memoir, Private Equity, Carrie Sun details how sh…

Playwright and author Marieke Hardy has long been cutting us up with her sharp and witty takes on life. She brings her best nuggets of wisdom to Life Matters, explaining why she always makes time for dinner with a book, and how embracing a beginner's mindset changed her life.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Renowned chef Joseph Abboud grew up steeped in the comforting, Lebanese food traditions of his parents. But his travels along the Silk Road led him to realise there was a much richer Middle-Eastern food tradition that he could bring to Australian shores. How did that epiphany lead Joseph to join other chefs ushering in a new ‘Lebanese-Australian fo…

Finding a job or career that matches your values, and even your passions, is the dream for many. But how do you begin to figure out what that means in practice? And, if you find it, how do you stop from dedicating all of your energy into your work, to the point that you risk burning out?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A Melbourne private school has expelled two of its male students, following their involvement in spreadsheet that rated female students on their attractiveness and used sexually violent terms. As Australian society contemplates its ongoing problem with gendered violence, what are the best strategies for families, schools, and wider society to use w…

Pharmacists have been offering a wide variety of basic medical services for decades, including medication reviews, wound care, and sleep apnoea support. it can also be possible for pharmacists to diagnose and refer you to a GP when required. But how has the role of the pharmacist evolved with time, and what’s on offer for no additional fee?…

In September 2020, when parts of the country were dealing with the threat of illness and death due to covid, writer Nova Weetman found herself caring for her partner of 25 years, playwright Aidan Fennessy, at home as he was dying from cancer. After Aidan's death, Nova found herself contemplating not only how we grieve when life and personal respons…

Over the weekend, the Government has proposed two important changes for tertiary students and graduates. The HECS-HELP scheme would be indexed to the lower option of the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, and that change will be backdated a year, which will save students and graduates hundreds or thousands of dollars. Additionally, stude…

Award winning Chef, author and TV personality Manu Feildel was told as a child he was descended from the Vikings. What young boy wouldn't want that to be true? Will Manu find out he has Viking heritage? And will his love of the culinary arts be reflected in his bloodline? His story is revealed in the SBS series Who Do You Think You Are.…

From "Ozempic face" to "Ozempic babies", women who are taking semaglutide for weight loss are reporting unexpected pregnancies, some even while they're taking the contraceptive pill. So, what do we know for sure about how Ozempic affects fertility, and pregnancy? While it's early days, we get some helpful advice about using semaglutide and family p…

We're used to leaving a doctor's appointment with a prescription for medication, or a referral for a specialist, but what about a prescription for a movie club? A cooking class? A craft circle? Dance Therapy? Doctor's orders! Social prescribing is a treatment system where healthcare providers connect people with social activities in their local com…

You're seeing someone and you know it's not exclusive because he's into polyamory. But on your date he played you a voicemail from another person he's seeing. You're worried he might be sharing personal information about you to other people he's seeing as well. If you don't know those people, does it really matter? Or should this be a deal breaker?…

Whether you're a fashionista or you just throw on whatever is at the top of the pile in your bedroom, you probably have views about the clothes you wear and what they communicate about you as a person. Is what you wear an expression of your emotions, your identity, your past, your future? And how do those clothes make you feel?…

Lucy Bradlow and Bronwen Bock have proposed to run for the Federal seat of Higgins as job-share representatives. It seems there are a few hurdles to overcome before job-sharing is an easy option for politicians, but what about in our own workplaces? Professor Rosalind Dixon looks at different models of job sharing, how it work for both businesses a…

David Hobson is a stalwart of Australian opera, a composer and all around entertainer in his partnership with comedian Colin Lane. He reflects on the wisdom and altruism of his late mother, how hypnosis eased his fear of flying, and why we could all afford to be a bit less self-indulgent and more 'audience first'.…

When colonial settlers arrived on the first fleet, they brought sheep with them, and sheep grazing expanded so rapidly that ‘mutton was cheaper than bread’. But it was the sheep’s wool that was of financial value and mutton seen as merely ‘the soil on which the wool could grow'. So how did this lowly ‘by-product' become what historian Barbara Santi…

For many of us, our relationship with food can become tied to our actual relationships: to the way our parents cooked, or the meals we make for a partner. But what about when that relationship changes? In his new novel, Family Meal, Bryan Washington follows 3 characters at pivotal moments of their lives, as they spiral in the aftermath of grief, an…

It's been more than four years since Covid first appeared and upended our lives, but for thousands of Australians, Long Covid has left them dealing with symptoms long after the original infection. Professor Steven Faux share what we know, and what we still need to know about the symptoms, the treatment, and the policies around Long Covid.…

Jo Peck had just had her 60th Birthday when she was greeted with the news her husband of 25 years had his business elsewhere. So Jo took a dive into the dating pool, heart first. Her Memoir is called Suddenly Single at Sixty.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Some organisations might seem beneficial, helping to link people into others of like mind. But for some, when they go in further to a group, they realise it has taken over their life. After attending a free clairvoyant reading at a Mind Body Spirit festival, Carli McConkey became trapped in a new-age cult for 13 years. She says there are tell-tale …

There's a crisis in gendered violence here in Australia, with 27 women murdered this year already, and protesters around the country demanding action. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a National Cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders on the issue. So what can be done? If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, p…

You know the saying; a man is not a financial plan? It's meant to encourage women to take the reins of their own financial futures. But young women are still much less confident and less skilled than young men in that realm. Research from ASIC's Moneysmart has found that Gen Z women are more likely than Gen Z men to be overwhelmed by finances, have…

It’s frustrating if you're working hard for a promotion at work just to see a colleague you feel is less deserving advance ahead of you. But failing upwards calls into question the idea that our workplaces are meritocracies, which is the ideal, if not the reality, that we aspire to. Can work ever be entirely based on competence? And why do some get…

Imagine you are swept up in a great big love. You marry on an ocean liner, and all seems like a fairytale until the honeymoon takes a serious turn. Kerstin Pilz's memoir is called Loving My Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

You catch up with an old school friend and her husband for lunch. When you ask the husband questions the pair talk over the top of each other and your friend's voice gets louder and louder. It's a distressing experience that is making you reconsider moving back to your home town, because you'll need to see more of them. What can you do?…

The way we are as parents can be heavily influenced by our own experiences in childhood, both good and bad. When it came to parenting your own children, how much you have stuck to or strayed from how you were parented?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

When it comes to presentation and manner, Australians are pretty casual, and more of the world is following suit. Employees are pushing back against formal dress codes in workplaces, and formal dress is necessary in fewer social settings. So are we losing anything by dropping the formalities? How does our presentation change the way we relate to ea…

Geraldine Turner is a legend of the Australian stage, and has earned a lot of wisdom through her long career. She shares her mantra for getting through stage fright, and what she's learned about figuring out a person's true character.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Angie Chong’s grandfather, Chen Wing Young, is known as the man who, in the early 1940's, popularised the dim sim in Australia. Angie’s mum, Elizabeth Chong, Australia’s 'queen of Chinese Chinese cuisine', was one of the country’s first celebrity chefs. Angie has a rich cooking legacy of her own. But now, as a grandmother, how does she bring her fa…

Our closest relationships can feel all consuming sometimes. particularly our children, but also our partners, or close friends, or parents. It can be hard to imagine ourselves apart from them; to define ourselves, outside of those relationships. And even when a relationship ends those connections still resonate, we are shaped by the people in our l…

Psychiatrist Duncan McKellar's life changed when he began looking into problems associated with the Oakden Older Persons' Mental Health Service in Adelaide. His participation in the Oakden Review was spurred on by people like Barb Spriggs who, following the death of her husband six months after being admitted to Oakden, was looking for answers. The…

In 1970 an eighteen year old, pregnant Lynda Holden took the advice of her doctor who suggested a place she could go to find support. As it happened the support came cloaked with disrespect and deception, and she was told her Aboriginality meant she couldn't keep the baby. Lynda is telling her story in a new memoir, co-written with Jo Tuscano, call…

Australian swimmer Michelle Ford competed in the 1980 Moscow Games, at a time when the Australian Government did not want their citizens to go and when the East German Olympic team was dominating the pool. Michelle went on to win gold and bronze at those games. Later it would be revealed that a state-wide campaign of doping athletes was being orche…

A shopping centre and a church were recently the scenes of two violent attacks in Sydney. The events were shocking because of what happened, but they were also shocking because of where they happened. What happens when a place that we think of as intrinsically safe sees that protection broken? And how can we process trauma when it becomes tied to a…

Stretching across hundreds of kilometres and multiple countries, the Camino de Santiago is perhaps the best known collection of pilgrims' ways in the world and a walk that is said to be like no other. But what is it like to put one foot in front of the other and set out on a path that will take you many weeks to complete? To follow in the footsteps…