Life Matters - Full program podcast

Australian men are more likely to be more socially disconnected than Australian women, and are less likely to form strong connections with people beyond their partners. So what's going on? Sociologist Roger Patulny and psychologist Chris Cheers break down the male friendship recession — and how you can turn it around. 
This week, Aunties Kat Feeney and Suren Jayemanne give listener Lenny some advice on how to deal with a fibbing friend. Marcus has been telling tall tales since they were kids, but now they're middle aged, is it time for Lenny to call out his friend's white lies?

A new Everybody’s Home survey of more than 1,100 Australians has found most households could not absorb a $20-per-week rise in rent or mortgage repayments without cutting back, and one in four fear becoming homeless within the year. Everybody's Home spokesperson Maiy Azize joins researcher Shaun Bond to discuss the changes that could go some way to helping those on the brink. 
With more than 400 accredited visitor information centres around the country seeing fewer visitors through the door, councils from Sunbury to the Adelaide Hills are closing them in favour of going digital. Albury City service leader Ambrose Glass, accreditation program manager Wayne Clift and volunteer Wendy Cutting explore what’s lost when the local information booth disappears.
After the attack on MP Helen Haines reignited calls to turn down the heat of political debate, resident Life Matters ethicist Patrick Stokes explores what centuries-old philosophy can teach us about disagreeing well, without the comment-section shouting match.

Hitchhiking used to be an Australian rite of passage, until cases like the Milat backpacker murders made it feel unthinkable. But some people still swear by the spontaneous connection and adventure it brings. Aston Brown shares what he learned hitchhiking from Sydney to Perth. 
It's estimated more than 5 million Australians have grown up as the sibling of someone with a disability or chronic illness, quietly becoming the "easy kid" who doesn’t need extra attention. Churchill Fellow Sam Hellams has just returned from researching how we can better support these so-called "glass children". 
From Eastern Rosella ear-jams to NRL players revealing their inner twitcher, birds have quietly taken over the zeitgeist. Conservation biologist Chritina Zdenek and Aussie Bird Count ambassador Cesar Peuchmarin explore why our love for birds runs so deep, and what 20 minutes of counting can actually do.

Last night, independent MP Helen Haines was the victim of an attack that has left her hospitalised in a critical condition, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incident as "a deliberate act". Although we don't yet know the motivation of the attack, the Prime Minister has called for every Australian to turn down the heat of our political discourse. Today, politicians from across the aisle have echoed the same sentiment. Hannah Ferguson and Ed Coper unpack whether it's possible to put this genie back in the bottle. 
Everyday adventurer Beau Miles wants to challenge the way we view adventure — not as a huge, risky undertaking months in the making, but something you can squeeze into regular life. What advice does he have for bringing a little more adventure to your everyday life?
In Head and Heart, psychologist Christine Bagley-Jones asks when your teenagers HSC stress feels contagious, how can you guard the household from catching it?

An estimated 2.43 million Australians between the ages of 35 and 70 are caring for a parent at least once a week, while juggling the day-to-day demands of life. While the sandwich generation is a sizeable group, almost half of them don't identify as a carer themselves. Advocate Melissa Reader and researcher Michelle O'Shea explain why the way we define caring is so important in providing the right kind of support.
As year 12 students across the country prepare for their HSC exams, the number sitting to complete senior level drama is dwindling. Since 2015, senior drama enrolments have fallen by 43 per cent. Drama Australia president Jo Raphael and researcher John Nicholas Saunders explore why it matters — and not just for the creative industry.
From today, the first genetically modified whole food to be grown and sold in Australia will start hitting shelves in Victoria. The industry regulator's latest consumer survey suggests about half of us are open to the idea of genetically modified foods. So will the purple tomato shift the mood?