Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

Do you flirt? In essence, flirting is about paying someone attention. The purpose of that can be sexual but it can also be playful and witty -- as long as the other person thinks so! Sadly, flirting's image has been tarnished by the "pick-up artist" self-help books of the mid 2000s. So how do people flirt well in the age of apps?

Australia faces an ongoing housing crisis and there have been many ideas as to how to provide more much-needed affordable housing. Now, new research from the Housing and Urban Research Institute suggests another path forward. And this concept targets small-scale landlords... so-called 'mum and dad' landlords.

Nina Oyama is a comedian, writer and actor who has breathed life into some of Aussie TV's most loveable characters. She shares her hard-learned lessons about posting online, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

Anti-racism, anti-sexism and consent programs have been integrated into Australian schools across the country for a number of years. We teach kids to recognise prejudice and we ask them to stand up for what's right.   But what do kids risk when they call out behaviour in their peer group? And how can adults better support children and teens to have social courage when the stakes feel so high?

Connected cars transmit personal and vehicle data continuously to their manufacturers and by 2031 it is predicted they could make up 93% of the new car market in Australia. While connected cars have increased safety and convenience features, a new report argues these benefits come with the risk of serious privacy invasions, with these cars gathering more invasive data than mobile phones and smart speakers.

Australia's workforce is still highly gender-segregated in key industries. Men work in trade and construction while caring professions like nursing, teaching, and early childhood education are female-dominated. At the same time, Australia is suffering critical skilled worker shortages. So, how do we demolish stereotypes and remove the barriers splitting the labour market?

A nation-wide shortage of tour guides has compelled the Federal Government to include the role in its Occupation Shortage List for the first time.  Thousands of tour guide roles remain unfilled, with many operators turning to foreign workers to fill the gaps.  But what does a tour guide actually do? Our guests say the role is far more diverse than most people think, and it can be the ideal later-in-life career path.

When older children go back to babytalk, it can puzzle and even irritate parents, but the reasons are often hiding in plain sight. if your child starts the babytalk and even baby behaviour, How concerned should you be? What should you avoid, and how do you manage the sudden infantile behaviour?

The Senate has handed down its report into the Federal Government's proposed changes to Australia's privacy laws. The changes will enable individuals to sue for damages for serious invasions of privacy and provide a framework for a children's privacy code. While some changes are welcomed, critics argue the proposed changes, and the Senate's response, fall short of the privacy and data protections that consumers need in the 21st Century, leaving consumers vulnerable to data breaches and scams.

Nila Rezaei is an industrial designer who was for a long time focused on creating things from post-consumer waste, like the textile waste from Australia's fast-fashion habit. Then in 2023, she saw the news from her home country Iran, of a female-led uprising that was ignited after the death of young Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody. Nila used her despair at what was happening to fuel a new project: designing a plastic product from donated headscarves, with a mission to heal.

As the Federal Government seeks to ban under 16s from social media, the legislation is likely to introduce barriers for adults' access to these platforms.  If you've been trying to spend less time in the endless scroll, that might be a good thing.  Many people express fatigue with social media, but struggle to quit and stay away long term. So how can you practically replace social media with less addictive tools and get your life back?

Tittle-tattle, scuttlebutt, dishing the dirt, spilling the tea: Whatever you call it... there's no doubt gossip can be seductive. Gossip has long had a bad reputation and gossipers have been seen as untrustworthy. But does gossip have another function? And can it play a more positive role in our lives?

A friendship you formed twenty years ago always had an element of competitiveness to it, particularly coming from her. Whether it be making comments about weight, or comparing how successful she was to you. You would let it slide.   Reconnecting later in life, and having also both been through cancer, she continues to make life a competition but this time with who has done the illness better. How best do you handle this friendship?

Mistakes are made all over the place, everyday. After all, to err is human. So why are we in such fear of making them?  And what are the best ways to recover from a mistake after the damage is done?

When people move to regional towns for a change of lifestyle or to afford a house, what makes them stay long term?Three major Australian towns saw a boost in population, followed by a decline. A study showed the tree-changers were driven by place, but it wasn't matched by 'livability'. So how do planners and regional migrants alike, adapt?

Todd McKenney is a dancer, actor, TV host and sparkling star of Aussie stage and screen. He shares the sage advice he received from his beloved Nanna, and how he learned to let go of a childhood friendship.

A new study has revealed that frailty may be one of the key factors that contributes to dementia providing a potential way to prevent or slow these diseases. An international study, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, tracked 30,000 people over 20 years, and found increasing frailty can also increase person's risk of dementia.  And it turns out exercise, good diet, good social connections and better medicine management could help to turn frailty around and perhaps also reduce the risk of dementia.

While the average retirement age for Australians is the highest it's been since the 1970s, many workers are still hoping to retire early.  And for some people, early retirement means in their 50s, 40s, and even their 30s! But there's a shift in the way many people are approaching retirement. They want to leave the daily grind of full time work behind, but not necessarily leave the labour force forever. So, is there an ideal time to retire?  And what should people keep in mind as they look to scale down their work life?

The Australian Government's proposed social media ban for under-16s would be a world-first. Ambitious legislation, popular with both parents and the Opposition. But why are so many youth mental health experts not keen on it? Jacinta is joined by two of those experts, as well as many Life Matters listeners sharing their own experiences.

Do you say please and thank you to your smart home devices? Or make sure to word your ChatGPT prompts kindly? Every day, most of us are interacting with AI devices, so should we do so like we do with other humans? We look at the issues with humanising AI and what our approach says about how we treat the people around us.

Australia's birth rate has officially reached an all-time low, and experts have warned that our total fertility rate of 1.5 babies per woman represents a critical level.  So what would it take to boost our birth rate? What have other countries tried to encourage baby-making? And do the Australian figures really reflect a concerning demographic shift or is the situation actually more complicated than that?

Climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent, but in 2024, Australians were less prepared for fires than in the previous 12 months and fewer than one in 10 people had a written emergency plan, according to the Australian Red Cross. Meanwhile, research from Melbourne University suggests that climate-related disasters have significant long-term negative impacts, with those in insecure housing facing the greatest hardships of all. So, what can we do to prepare better and recover faster from disasters?

A Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane had an engine failure during take-off. It's the kind of incident that brings dread into the mind of many a flyer. But former airplane captain Michelle Huntington says rather than be cause for fear, incidents like this show how robust modern air travel is, and how high safety standards are maintained.

Do you collect teddy bears? Is your spare room filled with Barbie dolls? Do you spend big bucks on action figures? Adults who buy and collect toys have been dubbed 'kidults' and they're a major driving force in the toy industry. So, what's the psychology behind these fully-grown kids?

When it comes to anxiety, experts say the best way to tame it is to face it. Exposure therapy puts patients in situations that they feel anxious about to show that what they fear isn't as scary as it seems, in a safe, clinical setting. So why isn't it more common in anxiety treatment? We look at the evidence around exposure therapy, and how you can use it to build a braver, bolder approach to life.

Your 10 year old daughter's best friend monopolises your daughter's time at the exclusion of others, drops in unannounced to your place and overstays her welcome. How do you deal with it?

Boundaries are the lines we draw around ourselves, and our time, that help us feel safe and confident. Recently there was a ruling passed called 'the right to disconnect' enforcing a boundary when it comes to work and being contacted out of hours. What are healthy boundaries? And how do you create them for yourself?

As expected, US women showed up to support presidential candidate Kamala Harris, but in smaller numbers than for previous democratic candidates. While Hillary Clinton won women by 13 points in 2016 and Joe Biden by 15 in 2020, Harris secured them by just 10 points.  So does the US election result reveal something about the intersection of race and gender? And what impact might a Trump Presidency have on women's rights?

What if you signed up to a DNA ancestry website not to discover a distant family tree, but to track down your siblings?  For many who are donor-conceived, consumer DNA-testing websites and Facebook provide the most accessible way to find genetic relatives and health information.    Sociologist Dr Giselle Newton who is donor-conceived herself,  is looking at how donor-conceived people get online to sleuth, track and connect with their donors and half siblings.

In her new book 'An Honest Woman: A Memoir of Love and Sex Work,' American author Charlotte Shane explores her years as a sex worker.  Starting as a webcam girl in her 20s, she ultimately worked a high-end escort. She even formed a years-long bond with one special client. The book details her experiences with men, her curiosity about wives, and what she learned about marriage and relationships.

Australian classrooms rate poorly for discipline among OECD countries. Meanwhile in Norway, children are graded on their behaviour, and parents sit up and take notice when things aren’t going well.  Could this approach work here and what additional educational supports would students and teachers need to make it work?

About 50% of Australian couples have a partner who doesn't share their political views.  And Generation Z and Millennial couples are more likely to be politically mismatched than older generations. Living with a partner who has different ideologies than you can be challenging, so, how can you build a life together if you maintain different political beliefs?

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? Guest: Dr James Hayes, research associate and olfactory expert at the UNSW Air Quality and Odour Laboratory

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? Guest: Dr Helena Popovic, author, speaker, MD, brain researcher

Hangxiety refers to those feelings of anxiety that sometimes follow a big night of drinking. Some of this can be put down to the worries associated with not remembering all the details of the night before.

Small talk can be dull and painful. But diving into big conversation topics like hopes, dreams, worries, and fears can be a little heavy. There has to be a middle ground and there is: It's called medium talk. The concept has become a buzz term recently with discussion threads and articles arguing about the best way to master a slightly deeper conversation. So, how can you upgrade to medium talk?

Workplace surveillance technology is being used in all manner of workplaces from warehouses to offices, in the name of increasing productivity. But is it actually working? Experts point to little evidence of heightened output, but an increase in division and mistrust. So, what's the best way to use data when managing people?

It's easy to forget the drama of the US election is taking place fifteen thousand kilometres away. With social media and the 24-hour news cycle bringing international news events into our lives like never before, parents can be left to manage the fall-out of anxious or misinformed children. How can we support our kids through the US election in a way that both reduces worries whilst being educational?

While at the funeral wake of your aunt, your cousin's boyfriend proposes to your cousin out of the blue. You question the etiquette of an engagement happening at a funeral. Should you have said something? Or just be happy for the couple despite the circumstances?

When a serious illness lands in the lap of your relationship it can come as a huge shock. It might mean you don't have the autonomy you used to, or there may physical changes to adapt to, or stresses like financial pressures if one of you is unable work. How has illness, either your own, or that of your partner, changed your relationship? Has a diagnosis or health condition meant the break-down of your partnership, or did it make it stronger?

Halloween is fast-becoming a popular celebration for many Australian families. But what does our choice of costume say about our prejudices and biases?  Advocates are urging parents to think twice about the costumes they allow their kids to wear as they say many outfits unintentionally perpetuate harmful narratives about physical and mental disability.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that stalking rates in Australia have remained high, with one in five women and one in 15 men affected at some point in their lives.  Legal changes to redress this have been proposed in Victoria and explored in other jurisdictions, with concerns about lack of legal assistance, and just plain awareness, on the part of police and courts. But is cultural change needed as well? And what's the psychological drivers of this behaviour?

Did your parents turn to you for emotional support when you were still a child? Were you responsible for meditating family conflicts? And did your mum and dad frequently share their problems with you?  When a child takes on the role of mediator, friend or carer to their parents, the impact can be profound and traumatic. So, how can you heal from the role reversal of parentification? And how can parents avoid this troubling dynamic?

It used to be such a common practice in Australia but after many generations, the evidence that being "held back a year" helped students to catch up academically wasn't very strong. What do Life Matters listeners think about repeating a grade?

Some say we're a nation of swimmers. And while the iconic image of a bronzed lifesaver at Bondi Beach has endured as a symbol of national identity, Australia's contemporary relationship to swimming is far more complex and varied. While some of us devote our leisure time to water-based activities, and cold water swimming groups continue to attract huge interest, one in four adult Australians are either a weak swimmer or can't swim at all, according to Royal Life Saving Australia.    So what is our relationship to swimming? How has it changed over the years? And what benefits does swimming offer us that other leisure activities don't?

Dressing in drag has a rich history in Australia, from Dame Edna Everage to Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Counted among the pantheon is Art Simone, Melbourne's favourite drag queen of 2024, and RuPaul's Drag Race Down-Under alum.  Art's dedication to the craft of Australian drag is captured in her new book 'Drag Queens Down Under'. She spills the tea on some of our most fabulous drag artists in all their glitz and glory.

Australians have lost millions to bank scammers, but a recent decision by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority may help redress the imbalance between scammers and banking customers. AFCA recently ordered HSBC to compensate HSBC customer Mr T more than $47,000, after scammers infiltrated the bank's text message system and, posing as bank employees, tricked him into divulging his banking codes. The AFCA decision may pave the way for other affected customers to be reimbursed by the bank. While the Federal Government has released draft legislation for a new scams prevention framework, consumer groups say the move will not ensure victims are reimbursed by their banks.

You might be surprised how many people who surrender their pets to animal shelters have no desire to do so. A significant three-part study is looking at how human socio-economic factors affect companion animals -- and how we could be looking at pet relinquishment quite differently.

For many women, getting older can feel like a horror movie. That's the take of new film The Substance, in which Demi Moore plays an ageing actress tempted by the promises of a youth-making drug. The pressure for women to stay beautiful and thin as they age is a tale as old as time but the film has thrust the conversation into the spotlight in a new way.  Former Vogue editor-in-chief Kirstie Clements shares her experiences with cosmetic treatments, and looks at how the attitude towards beauty and ageing is shifting.

There's been a surge in the number of Australians who check their credit score every month, but is this necessary? Credit scores are increasingly preferred by lenders to make quick decisions about who to loan to, but have created inescapable social tiers in other countries. Could that happen here?  We look at credit score anxiety, and what you really need to know about your number.

You're interstate getting treatment for a long-term illness, so you ask an overcommitting friend to help look after your apartment and car. When she fails to return your keys immediately as you instructed, and you call her out on it, she insists she's trustworthy and accuses you of being too strict. How do you patch things up?

This week, the world fell for actor Andrew Garfield's show of vulnerability as he talked about his grief for his late mother on Sesame Street. Emotional vulnerability has been having a moment in our culture, and for good reason. Being real helps us connect with others and can free us to be ourselves.  But it's very hard to do for many people, and can be misunderstood or abused. What does it really mean to be vulnerable and how can you do it protectively?

In romantic relationships, sometimes one person may be in their happy zone while the other is overloaded and juggling multiple sources of stress Ideally, partners can help each other to calm down, but can too much regulation, or the wrong type, be a bad thing? Welcome to the world of self-regulation, co-regulation and partner regulation.

Food guru Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion is a staple in Australian homes, and her passion for food has extended to championing cooking education in schools. Good food often comes with good conversation, and Stephanie shares some wisdom learned about how to listen, even when you disagree.

Most people living in bushfire-prone areas know they should prepare their property before the bushfire season begins. But how many of us think about preparing our mind for such an event?  Experts say psychological preparedness is an important task for anyone living in high-risk areas. So what does it involve? And how can it work alongside physical preparations?

Synaesthesia has been described as having an extraordinary response to a very ordinary stimulus. You might see numbers as colours, but there are many other responses when the senses merge.  So why does it happen for some, and how can having it impact your life?

Sport is a huge part of Australian culture and identity, and physical education in schools is one of the key learning areas of the Australian curriculum. Now, a new study shows that many public schools in Australia are outsourcing health and physical education, with families are being charged extra for their kids to take part in PE. So, why is this happening, and what happens when some students can't access these classes?

Talking about your genetic condition to a wide audience through poetry turned out to be a slam dunk for Perth's Jo Giles. Jo recently won this year's National Poetry Slam with a deeply personal story of undergoing a lung transplant.  Jo talks about their process and the big slam alongside poetry slam pioneer Miles Merrill.

The Royal Flying Doctors Service has been proving life-saving care to Australians living in the bush for nearly 100 years. But as well as responding to emergencies, they're also trying to reduce the number of people in rural and remote areas dying from preventable diseases like heart disease and strokes. So how do you go about providing targeted healthcare to remote communities? And for those on the job, what does it entail?

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, has uncovered cases of doctors and nurses prescribing large quantities of cannabis via very brief telehealth appointments. In one case, a doctor was prescribing the drug to 90 patients a day.  So, how do you know if you're receiving good quality telehealth care and what are the warning signs consumers should be looking out for?

For many people who find out they're expecting a baby, speculation quickly turns to whether it'll be a boy or a girl. But for some expectant parents, learning their baby's sex is a surprise... a shock... and a huge disappointment. Gender disappointment is one of the greatest parenting taboos with many people hesitant to discuss their emotions openly. So how can people deal with these complex feelings?

Drugs such as Ozempic have transformed weight loss as we know it, but have we fully grasped yet the impact these drugs are going to have on society?  New York Times best-selling author, Johann Hari shares what he's learnt about these drugs and the issues they raise about our dysfunctional relationship with food.

If you don't feel like marriage is for you, does it mean you can't have a wedding? More couples are sitting with that question, and considering alternative ways of celebrating their commitment. And it's not just weddings that are getting a rethink. As many of our beliefs about life and the world change, people are looking for ways to mark milestones and gather that align with their values - love parties, living wakes, orphans Christmasses, are just a few 'new rituals' entering the vernacular. So what does it take to make a ritual?

Making friends at work is inevitable but it can come with complications and conflicts. We hear your stories of workmate drama and look at how to resolve conflict when there's competition involved.

You give your bridesmaids free reign to pick their own dresses (with your approval of course), but when one's mother picks something you hate, should you take back control? Or just go along with it?

Nearly two million Year 12 students will sit final exams over the next month.  But what does the research say about the validity of exams as a tool for measuring learning?  And are the skills we hone over years of sitting exams in high school and university useful as we head into diverse career pathways?

Peter Evans leads Australia's most daring company dedicated to the Bard.  Peter shares how an anxiety diagnosis helped him understand himself, why it's important to own up to your mistakes, and how writing your own obituary can bring your life into relief.

Since he was young, Melbourne man Shaun Resnik had dreamed of becoming a dad, but said as a gay man he found it hard to meet a partner who also wanted to have children. So, as he neared 40, he decided to forgo meeting "Mr Right" and pursue parenthood on his own. He welcomed his son Eli in 2022 and made history as the first single man in Victoria to be given the go-ahead by officials to become a father under the state's surrogacy laws. More than two years later, there's a village helping him raise Eli, with both Eli's egg donor and surrogate remaining in the picture.  We look at Eli's unique family patchwork and how alternative families blossom.

Almost 95% of Australians are not eating the recommended five servings of vegetables a day. And while we know that not getting enough fresh fruit and vegetables is bad for our bodies, the lack of demand for vegetables is also hurting our farmers.   How can we start to change our relationship with the humble vegetable?

When you think of flatmates, your mind typically goes to a group of 20 or 30-somethings living in a share house. But there's a new generation of people who are embracing a different type of share house. People over the age of 50 are increasingly choosing to live with housemates, as a way of combating the tough rental market and the cost of living crisis. Social media platforms like the Facebook page 'Women Wide Network for Share Accommodation' have thousands of members and many of them are mature-aged people looking for someone to share a home.

Do you remember where you used to play as a child? What you got up to? For those children living in the high rise housing commission flats in Melbourne's Fitzroy in the 1970's an adventure playground would change their lives and make history Many of us know playgrounds to be highly designed where kids are almost told how to play. The Cubbies was not that playground but one created by the children themselves.  The woman behind it all was Joan Healey. Her book is called The Cubbies, the battle for Australia's first adventure playground.

Around 1 in 10 new and expecting dads experience mental health problems. So could having more support groups for dads help prevent things like loneliness and anxiety? One new charity is helping dads make new connections through games while also encouraging them to look after their physical health.

An experimental recovery program that uses a unique combination of boxing and creative writing to process childhood trauma is the subject of a new documentary, Left Write Hook. The film follows the harrowing stories of seven survivors of childhood sexual abuse as they move through the eight-week program.

A friend of a friend invites you on their podcast – but when you realise the whole thing sounds like a shambles is it ok to ask them to not hit publish?

We all know that common saying that nobody is perfect – but somehow it's easier to say than to practice. Some say that the desire to be perfect is reaching epidemic proportions and some researchers in the field say that social media is playing significant role in perpetuating unobtainable standards of perfection. In this edition of Life Matters Beverley Wang is joined by psychologist Anushka Phal to discuss how to recognise the signs of perfectionism and what strategies we can employ to tame our perfectionist tendencies.

Neuroimaging of teenage brains is increasingly making sense of why risk-taking behaviour is a feature of this stage of life.  We take a closer look at the science behind a teen's changing brain, and ask how can parents harness their knowledge to better support their teens?

From a young age writer Lucinda Price knew that she wanted to be hot. She gravitated towards the 'pretty' girls at school and sought nose surgery in her mid-teens. By her twenties she had been through multiple cosmetic surgeries and developed an eating disorder. Now in a place of total recovery she recounts her story in her new book "All I Ever wanted was to be Hot" detailing the contributing factors that lead to her seeking physical perfection. She Joined Jacinta Parsons to share her story and reflect on what improvements could be made to the medical system to better support people experiencing disordered eating..

"Eldest daughter syndrome" is used to describe the unique pressures and responsibilities placed on the oldest woman in the family. She's the caretaker, the people-pleaser, the "responsible" one. Meanwhile, some believe there are personality traits associated with other family roles - such as the youngest or "baby" of the family, the "forgotten" middle child, and the "spoiled and selfish" only child. So, does birth order really impact your personality?

To praise or not to praise is the question we are asking when it comes to young children. "What a good boy, what a good girl!' may well be considered terms of encouragement, but is too much praise a good, or a bad thing? Dr Amanda Niland, a senior lecturer in early childhood at Sydney University and program director of the Master of teaching early childhood believes it's the way we hand out praise that can make the difference to our child's wellbeing.

When you think about passing on your wealth, what things do you consider? Do you know who you'll pass your money and possessions on to and when? According to research by AMP most people under the age of 40 haven't spoken with their parents about wealth transferral. So should we all be thinking and talking more about how and when we pass on our wealth? And do we also need to think more broadly about how we define our wealth?

A report today from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has raised concerns about an ageing GP workforce and access issues for people living in regional and rural areas.  But there is a glimmer of hope with the college saying a workforce recovery has begun. It's being supported by an incentivised training program for junior doctors working in rural areas.

Canteens have long been at the heart of school life, providing healthy and affordable food to children and helping them to learn healthy eating habits.   However, rising costs and a lack of volunteers are forcing many to close or scale back. So what needs to be done to put school canteens back at the centre of school life?

She's a writer, adventurer and survivor who wears her vulnerability on her sleeve. Last year, Gina Chick captured Australia's attention on the first series of Alone Australia. Over 67 days, her passion for nature and her ability to confound our expectations transformed her into the show's breakout star -and ultimate winner. Now Gina has written a memoir titled We Are The Stars: A misfit's story of love, connection and the glorious power of letting go.

You work in a bookshop cafe but when one of the regulars takes liberties with the Sudoku you wonder if it might be time to have words.

We talk about decisions in terms of being the things we arrive at — but often it is the way we get there that tells us a lot about who we are. The decision-making process can be complex, but understanding your motivations and values can help you choose the right path. So, as we find ourselves in the final quarter of the year, when perhaps we are weighing up some big decisions clinical psychologist Dr Charlotte Keating shares her insights on the psychology of decision making.

When it comes to marriage breakdowns, Dani Zetzer has seen it all. The Melbourne-based family lawyer has spent more than a decade working with clients at the most emotionally vulnerable time in their lives.  She says she's committed to "doing divorce differently" with her clients. So how can people navigate the end of a marriage in a healthy and sustainable manner?

Comedian, actor and writer Felicity Ward shares how she's learnt to embrace her weirdness and how friendship is like a high interest savings account that enriches her life.

People over 65 are being prescribed antidepressants as pain treatment based on studies that either exclude older adults or include only a small number of them.  Researchers from the University of Sydney say guidelines should reflect the unique needs of older adults, including the known harms of antidepressant use for this cohort.  We look at other treatments for chronic pain, and ask what's the best way to navigate discussions with your doctor if you're concerned about the current approach?

From a young age Ben Shewry was obsessed with cooking, even boiling his dad's shoes in a pot.   But it's this obsession and passion that's driven him to become one of Australia's leading chefs and owner of Melbourne restaurant Attica.  His new memoir, Uses for Obsession, reveals Ben's motivation, his self doubt and determination.

William Hanson became a viral sensation when he began posting etiquette tips on social media a few years ago, but Britain's leading etiquette coach has been teaching people around the world, protocol and good manners for the last 17 years. Those people include Royal and VIP households, diplomats, and businesses. He also holds two Guinness World Records for etiquette, one relating to curtsying and the other involving the largest cream tea party.

Virginia Trioli is best known for being a host of TV and radio, but she's also a fierce foodie. And she loves nothing more than a well-executed side dish. In her new book, A Bit on the Side, she shares her obsession with a good béarnaise sauce and a delicate dim sim, but she also gets us to think about the joy found in life's small moments.

When Storm Menzies injured her dominant hand, and with weakness in her other hand, she was confronted with how difficult it was to apply make-up and beauty products and it got her thinking about a solution. Holly Sultana too loves wearing make-up but is challenged when using regular products on the market.  With the aim of making beauty inclusive Storm has designed a range of grip aides to fit all make-up designs.

While animal assisted therapy grows in popularly for treating mental health conditions some say we need more in depth clinical research to understand its effectiveness.  Clinical psychologist and Swinburne academic Dr Kelvin Wong is seeking to understand why it has been helpful and he joined Jacinta Parsons to talk through his study.