Reigniting the spark for work, and what happens when your best friends are mates with your ex?
It’s the time of year when you can't wait for time away from your job. But, as you reset for 2026, workplace researcher Dr Michelle McQuaid says there are lots of changes you can make to how you "do work" and how you "do life" so you feel re-energised in both these domains. And when it comes to complicated relationship dynamics … what happens when your marriage ends but your best friend and his wife remain close to your ex? Today's aunties work out who gets what in this potentially very messy split. Bridie Jabour is a journalist, author and associate editor at Guardian Australia and Lachie Mackintosh is Life Matters executive producer.
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Begging in public places, and how to support the next wave of artists and performers
Across Australia, the laws around begging vary from state to state. In Victoria - where begging is illegal - its become an issue of public debate, following an inquest into the death of a Melbourne woman who was forced by her abusive partner to beg for food, cigarettes, and money. A Victorian coroner didn't criticise police, but said officers responding to complaints about her begging seemed to treat it as an individual issue rather than considering it in a broader context. And that's really the heart of it. Begging isn't just about someone asking for spare change ... it's a visible symptom of much deeper social problems. Thalia Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at University of Technology Sydney and Deborah Di Natale is CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons and a director on the board of Homelessness Australia.The federal government is pushing local content quotas, forcing big streaming platforms to invest in Australian-made shows. Yet fewer Year 12 students are choosing creative arts subjects like drama, music, dance and visual arts. Can you blame them? For years, it’s been all about STEM, with arts degrees now costing nearly $55,000 and many universities making cuts to creative programs. So, are we doing enough to support the next wave of artists and performers? And what do we lose — as a country and a culture — if we don’t? Dr John Nicholas Saunders is a Lecturer in Education at Australian Catholic University and Chair of the National Advocates for Arts Education and Madeleine Dyer is a writer-director behind Colin From Accounts, Ghosts Australia and Austin.Throughout 2025, ethicist Patrick Stokes has been unpacking the thorny topics for us in the segment Ask Aristotle. "Is it ok to lie in a memoir?", "Am I evil for not wanting to be around children?", "Is it ethical to create AI clones of people who've died?" This week, we take an opportunity to get back to basics. What sort of lessons did Aristotle actually espouse? What are some golden rules of philosophy we can apply to our lives in 2025?
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How to consume ethically, and will our coastline look very different in a decade's time?
Would you give up Christmas presents? Or are you like many of us and associate what you spend, with how much you care? There's been a backlash against over-consumption, so why do we still go wild at Christmas? And how can we untangle ourselves from the cycle of holiday spending? Steph Thompson went on a no-buy challenge, Daniel Kiely is an economist at Curtin University and Dr Paul Harrison is head of consumer behaviour at Deakin University.Picture your favourite Australian beach. Imagine a headland, the fish & chip shop, sun-worshippers, beach flags snapping in the wind ... and that surf club standing guard by the shore. That view - that classic image of the Australian coast - is in trouble. Eroding dunes. Crumbling cliffs. Clubhouses teetering on the edge. Coastal erosion is quickly reshaping Australia's iconic coastline. So what can be done? Glenn Arnold is the President of Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club, Steven Pearce is the CEO of Surf Life Saving New South Wales, and Prof. David Kennedy is a coastal geomorphologist at the University of Melbourne.You've probably seen BMX dirt jumps popping up in parks or empty lots ... built by the riders themselves, for the riders. It's creative, social, and physical… but it's also what gets them into trouble, as councils across the country crack down on these DIY tracks. New research shows that it's this activity that takes place outside of organised sport that can be really beneficial. So if we're pushing teens off their screens, don't we owe them real-world spaces where they can actually build something ... together? Julie Ritchey is a Brisbane mum who spearheaded a local protest to protect DIY BMX jumps in her neighbourhood and Dr Dave Camilleri is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Melbourne.
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Illicit tobacco's impact on smoking, and who wants to be a trillionaire?
Last week police and health inspectors shut down two illicit tobacco stores in Sydney... the first to be closed under new state laws targeting illegal tobacco. Which is big business -- organised crime is making about $10 billion a year from it, and it comprises half of the products sold to the country's 2.7 million smokers. Meanwhile, the legal sale of cigarettes has slowed. So what impact is this having on Australia's smoking rates... and your local community? And if the goal is fewer smokers and a healthier population... are we still on the right track. Anita Dessaix is the Chair of Cancer Council Australia's Public Health Committee, Dr Raglan Maddox is an Associate Professor at the Tobacco Free team at Australian National University, and Theo Foukkare is CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores.Tesla shareholders have approved a record-breaking pay package for Elon Musk, a deal that could make the world's richest man the first person in history to become a trillionaire. So how did we get to a place where one person can accumulate so much wealth? And why is the gap widening between the world's richest and the rest of us? Carl Rhodes, Professor of Business and Society at the University of Technology Sydney and author of Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire.When you're stuck in a lift ... or waiting for a meeting to start, what's your go-to "small talk" opener? "Wow, it's hot today." "How was the traffic on the way here?" "Did you find somewhere to park?" Why do we even make small talk? And what happens if you just ... stop? Psychologist Christine Bagley-Jones offers a deep-dive on small talk.
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Bringing down the house, and avoiding subscription traps
What would it take for home owners to let go of the idea of their house as a financial asset, and to re-think what owning a home means? One Australian capital city is bucking the trend of skyrocketing house prices. While investors groan, should we actually be celebrating this? How can we share the wealth around? Michael Fotheringham is CEO of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Gavin Jackman is a Homes for Homes adviser.Keeping track of your subscriptions can feel like a full-time job.From streaming services to gym memberships, toilet paper deliveries and even cars that come with in-app purchases just to turn on heated seats — it's starting to feel like we're subscribed to everything, but actually own nothing.So how do we steer clear of subscription traps? Are consumer protections keeping up? And are we heading towards a future where ownership is a thing of the past? Chandni Gupta is Deputy CEO and Digital Policy Director at the Consumer Policy Research Centre and Kirsten Drysdale is an independent journalist and host of YouTube channel The Internet, Reviewed.Many schools don't offer swimming lessons. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they were cancelled altogether - and lots of kids never went back. Now advocates say teenagers need a refresher course. They are calling for older children to get back to swimming lessons - amid a spike in downing deaths in people between 10 and 20 years of age. Dr Justin Scarr is the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Life Saving and Julie Zancanaro is a swimming instructor.
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