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?

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.

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. 

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.

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? 

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?

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?

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.

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...

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...

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.