Life Matters - Full program podcast

Helping you figure out all the big stuff in life: relationships, health, money, work and the world.

The looming fuel crisis is starting to bite, with service stations running out of petrol and prices soaring past $2.50 per litre. If you're in the middle of planning a trip, whether it's up the coast for Easter or hitting Greek Islands for European summer, the new reality is throwing travel plans into disarray.
In Australia, the average kitchen lifespan is about 15 to 20 years. Interior designer Caroline Cumberbatch and author Kate Legge contend that we risk losing the heart of the home in the modern bid to replace and renovate these spaces that hold our family history.
If you could delegate all the boring work-related tasks to an AI version of yourself, would you do it? This is the idea behind Identic AI, an assistant trained to mimic your tone and correspond on your behalf. This Working Life host Lisa Leong shares what she learned from chatting with researcher Don Tapscott and his AI agent, Digital Don.

A recent Senate inquiry report has found capital gains tax discounts and negative gearing have historically benefited investors over owner-occupiers — so is it time to tweak the system? Independent MP Allegra Spender and the Australian Urban and Housing Research Institute's Michael Fotheringham discuss how these changes might work and whether it would be enough to address housing affordability for the next generation.
From mood swing tea to moisture-wicking pyjamas, marketing to menopausal women has become so lucrative it's been dubbed the hot flush gold rush. But experts argue it could be preventing women from getting the health advice they actually need.
Everyone needs a break from the daily grind from time to time. The idea of a sabbatical might sound appealing — what if it wasn't your job, but your marriage, that you needed some reprieve from?

As our cities grow, there's a push to build up, not out — including in our suburbs. For more families, that means home will be an apartment rather than a house. Kate Longley, who lives in an apartment with her two children, joins architect Natalia Krysiak to discuss how to make higher density living more family-friendly.
University is a big leap for any young person. But for country students who have to move away to study, it comes with the added expense of relocating and living away from home. Wendy Mason from the Country Education Foundation says the rising cost of living is making it even harder. 
Author, columnist, and screenwriter Kathy Lette has written dozens of books — but she credits just one as the spark that set her on the path to becoming a writer.
"Leisure sickness" refers to the idea that people are more likely to get sick on the holidays than during the working week. There's little science to back it up, but there are some theories as to why it might happen — and what you can do about it.

Mother-daughter bonds are strong, but many come with heavy cultural baggage: expectation, guilt, and comparison. Psychotherapist Zoe Krupka unpacks why so many women are talking about "the mother wound". 
If you knew a secret about a new co-worker, would you share it with your colleagues? Where do you draw the line between harmless gossip and unprofessional chatter?