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Life Top Stories
Marriage and religion

Our faithful love: Life as a Pentecostal couple in the modern world

What's it like to have a relationship, guided by values of faith, chastity and patience? Hillsong couple, Tristan and Renee Scifo, tell SBS how they have overcome...
Newly added
Senses that cross-over

When you can smell sounds and taste colours: This is what it’s like to live with synaesthesia

Imagine knowing how the colour purple tastes, to see what music looks like or to know how certain numbers feel? People with synaesthesia experience this sensory...
Newly added
Big wins

Meet the Chinese farmer who taught himself law in order to sue a corporation

If there was ever an underdog story, this is it.
forever young

Comment: Did adulthood die with the debutante ball?

In the west, grown-ups are reading Harry Potter, collecting Star Wars memorabilia and slipping "YOLO" into conversation. Has adulthood vanished for good?
from camp to classroom

Back to school has a different meaning for children caught in the refugee crisis

As kids throughout Australia settle into another year at school, thousands of children living in refugee camps across Europe battle for access to education.
moving mindfully

5 ways to meditate for people who hate sitting still

Get squeamish at the thought of being still and breathing deeply for hours? Give one of these alternative 'moving meditations' a try.
fighting fatigue

Tired? Here's 5 underlying reasons that could be to blame

Are you so depleted of energy that your standard response to “how are you?” is “tired”? One of these underlying conditions might be causing your fatigue.

Face Up To Racism

Face up to racism with a season of stories and programs challenging preconceptions around race and prejudice. #FU2Racism

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Culture
The good news

What can be done to reduce unconscious bias?

While most of us harbour some kind of implicit bias and make unconscious judgments about people who don't look like us, there are ways that we can begin to break our habits.
Culture
Are you racist?

Racist? There’s a test for that

Thanks to a test designed by Harvard researchers, you can measure your own racism – and make a start towards reducing it.
Culture
Fighting racial vulnerability

What to do if you witness a racial attack

Almost 40 per cent of racial attacks occur in public spaces, yet almost half of us are too unsure – or unwilling – to intervene. Dilvin Yasa explains how to react and make a difference.
Culture
Minority Muslim sect

“Never apologise for your differences”: What I’ve learnt from my father the Alawite Sheikh

Besieged by persecution in Syria and Islamophobia in the West, the minority Alawite sect, known for their secrecy, are now determined to be heard – before it’s too late. Noor Sleiman shares her fa...
Culture
Racism on stage

This Western Sydney theatre company is changing the way we think about identity and race

Urban Theatre Projects is reinventing the art of theatrical production and changing the way we think about identity and race. SBS Life talks to its artistic director, Rosie Dennis, to find out why.
Health
Indigenous health

Comment: When race gets in the way of good health

Racism mars the healthcare system for Indigenous people, who are accused of faking pain, have their Aboriginality denied, and die while in state care.
NITV
NITV Online

COMMENT: Can racism ever be casual?

In Australia, most of us have heard of the phrase ‘casual racism’. According to the Human Rights Commission it refers to 'conduct involving negative stereotypes or prejudices about people on the b...
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Stairway to Spirituality

We celebrate and explore a multiplicity of spiritual beliefs from around the world. Don't miss Shaun Micallef's  #StairwayToHeaven, airs from 18 Jan, 8.30pm.

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Culture
Marriage and religion

Our faithful love: Life as a Pentecostal couple in the modern world

What's it like to have a relationship, guided by values of faith, chastity and patience? Hillsong couple, Tristan and Renee Scifo, tell SBS how they have overcome modern-day dating challenges by first...
Culture
Circle of life

Reincarnation explained: YOLO means so much more to a Hindu

You Only Live Once is a pretty powerful phrase. But not if you're Hindu.
Culture
Faithful quirks

The world's most obscure religions

From motorcycle shrines to Prince Philip being hailed as a god of the South Pacific and alien deities, the world’s religions come in a rainbow of hues.
Culture
A state of secularity

Australia with 'no religion': In the aftermath of God

If census results are anything to go by, 'no religion' could grow to become our most popular religious identifier. SBS asks what this means for the nation.
Culture
Faith versus culture

Islam and I, we're strictly secular but extremely close

Comment: What happens when you identify as secular but are deeply attached – culturally and historically – to a religion? Here’s why one secular Muslim finds inspiration in the language, culture...
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Wellbeing

Optimism and eats to nourish the mind, body and soul. No empty calories here.

Happiness secrets

The 5 personality traits that make for a better life

Apparently, it's easy to have a happy and successful life. Just pump up the enthusiasm, practice compassion and tone down the neuroticism.
STAY COOL

Don’t let the heat sabotage your sleep

When you’re lying awake on a sweltering night, sleep can feel like worlds away. But there are ways to stop the heat from spoiling your slumber.
A drunk-free lifestyle

I quit alcohol

When does a social drink with dinner turn into a health concern? According to Jo Hartley, when one glass merges into two and television is always watched with a...
Diet psychology

Instead of overweight, say 'overfat'

A proposed linguistic change could temper a cultural obsession with body weight.
HOLIDAY HEALTH CHECK

How to keep your kids healthy over the summer break

The summer holidays have been known to increase childhood obesity levels, but parents can turn this around by taking a few simple measures.

Opinion

Meet our columnists. They've got strong views on all things. Their words may (or may not) change the world.

Timewarps and flashbacks

Why I loved being an 80s kid

Amal Awad was an 80s kid. She explains why this is a good thing.
Celebrating AFLW

Tearing down the boys’ club walls: Why AFL Women’s means so much

For women who love sport, the first AFLW game was a statement. For so long, women have been spectators, standing on the sidelines watching the blokes do their...
the wealth divide

The world's eight richest people are wealthier than half the globe

You don't need an economics degree to understand that the wealth inequality gap has dangerously widened again, writes Helen Razer.
What's wrong with this picture?

Comment: Rosie the Riveter's reimagining as a black woman is false history

Rather than celebrating intersectional feminism, the New Yorker's recent reimagining of iconic poster girl 'Rosie the Riveter' as a woman of colour is a slap in...
Flying photographers

Is nowhere sacred? Why the selfie drone is the end of silence and privacy

Comment: Selfie drones are creepy intrusive gadgets that may soon destroy our peace and privacy. Jill Stark explains why.

#WalkWithUs

Stories bringing Indigenous into Australia’s identity. Celebrating inspiring groups and individuals. #WalkWithUs

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Indigenous health

Comment: When race gets in the way of good health

Racism mars the healthcare system for Indigenous people, who are accused of faking pain, have their Aboriginality denied, and die while in state care.
2 Feb 2017 - 9:43am

Indigenous Languages at risk

Australia's Indigenous languages could be completely wiped out by 2050 according to experts. The number of traditional languages has dropped from 250 to 120 over the last two hundred years.And the ...

MARDI GRAS

Indigenous Sistagirls triumphant in crowdfunding campaign to attend Mardi Gras

"I had a hard life growing up as a Sistagirl but that was a journey that I had to take to be who I am now."
BOOZE CULTURE

Comment: January 26 has a drinking problem. We need an intervention

For many Australians, January 26 is a massive booze-fest. But at a time when alcohol is linked to so many social ills, our national sport of drinking must stop, writes Jill Stark.
19 Jan 2017 - 7:49pm

Indigenous Languages at Risk

Australia's Indigenous languages could be completely wiped out by 2050 according to experts.

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Relationships

Let's talk about sex, love, dating, marriage, coupledom.

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MR ALL RIGHT

Stop searching for your 'happily ever after' – fairy tales have no place in modern relationships

If you're searching for your one true love – or worse still, think it will find you – think again.
tough love

Dating is hard enough - try doing it with a disability

Johnny and Charlotte really hit it off on their date when all of a sudden, the love bubble burst. Was it Johnny's disability?
Off-line dating

How to ask someone out #IRL

The art of asking someone out in real life may be a dying practice, thanks to the popularity of dating apps. But why not be brave and give it a go?
secrets to success

How much ambition can a marriage sustain?

Power couples are a rarity. Instead, many high-achieving women have husbands who do their own opting out.
love lockdown

Dating culture: when dating more is actually less

Convenience dating via swipe apps like Tinder has singles no closer to finding 'the one’.
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Health check

Breaking down the latest medical news, global health issues, research and analyses.

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Controlling the 'anxiety monster'

I named my anxiety Clive and it changed my life

Carolyn Tate decided to give her anxiety a name, and in the process stumbled upon a way to feel a whole lot better.
WEALTH NOT HEALTH

Maybe moderate drinking isn’t so good for you after all

New research shows that even one drink a day can increase health risks in older adults.
I prefer to text

Psychologists explain your phone anxiety (and how to get over it)

If the thought of calling someone and actually speaking to them on the phone makes you feel all squirmy inside, you’re in good company.
Healthy living

Do vegetarians live longer? Probably, but not just because they’re vegetarian

Vegetarians might live longer, but that could be because they’re more likely to be healthy in other ways, too.
Female reproduction

The burden of financing an abortion: Study

A new study reveals that Aussie women’s abortion choices are being restricted by high cost, long distance and lack of knowledge.
SOUL SCIENCE

Is grief a disease?

A new theory is challenging the way psychologists understand mourning.
age-old wisdom

What grandmothers can teach science about autism

Women who have raised a child with autism may have the ability to spot subtle signs of the condition in their grandchildren.
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Family

Parenting for modern families: new rules for a new age.

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Early education

How do you know if your child is ready to start school?

Another school year has officially begun. But how school-ready is your child?
Six-year-old sexism

How to raise an intellectually confident young girl

Research shows that by age six, girls already think boys are smarter than them. As parents, it can be hard to accept that we are unwittingly contributing to...
Classroom check-ups

How to tell if your child’s educational needs are being met at school

With a new school year comes a new parental challenge: ensuring your child's teachers motivate, inspire and build resilience. But that's easier said than done.
fatherhood penalty

Dads are now facing a conflict between kids and career that women have had for decades

More dads are open to trading hours at work for time at home with their kids - so why aren't more workplaces supporting them?
Contraception conversations

How to teach your children about IVF - and surrogacy

Two new children's books are helping kids understand modern alternatives to the birds and the bees story.
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#HaveYourSay

Experts and passionate individuals weigh in on Life topics. Share your story at pitchtolife@sbs.com.au.

Islamophobia

What Lebanese-Australian Muslims want Peter Dutton to know

Because of the alleged actions of 22 Lebanese-Australian youths, the Minister of Immigration has said it was "a mistake" to have allowed Lebanese refugees into the...
word up

Comment: I say the wrong things all the time

Should we always say what we think and just deal with the consequences? Writer and performer Koraly Dimitriadis shares how learning to speak her mind was the best...
migrant tales

I'm a Russian immigrant with an Arabic husband: Donald Trump, your hate has no place here

Comment: Islamic terrorism and diplomatic relations with Russia have become divisive points in all three US presidential debates. But is the racially and...
Stories of belonging

"My experience is a constant longing for connection"

I am forever a tourist in my homeland and a foreigner in my birthplace.
Victory

Life lessons from winning a quiz show

Sunil Badami reveals how winning a popular game show helped him in the untrivial pursuit of leading a happy life.

More dispatches from Life

1913results
Newly added
Senses that cross-over

When you can smell sounds and taste colours: This is what it’s like to live with synaesthesia

Imagine knowing how the colour purple tastes, to see what music looks like or to know how certain numbers feel? People with synaesthesia experience this sensory cross-over every day. SBS explores the condition and asks: is synaesthesia is a...
Synaesthesia is a fascinating phenomenon in which any two of our senses cross over. Some people with this condition experience the condition by being able to taste sounds while others can hear colours. So what’s it like to live with it? Me...
Newly added
The good news

What can be done to reduce unconscious bias?

While most of us harbour some kind of implicit bias and make unconscious judgments about people who don't look like us, there are ways that we can begin to break our habits.
Scientists have repeatedly shown, using a number of different methods, that most of us have less empathy for people who don’t look like us (the ‘out-group’) compared to those that do (the ‘in-group’). It's sad news - but it's something we ...
Newly added
Big wins

Meet the Chinese farmer who taught himself law in order to sue a corporation

If there was ever an underdog story, this is it.
A Chinese farmer has triumphed over a first round legal battle against a large chemical company which he alleged pollutes his land in the Heilongjiang Province, reports People’s Daily Online. But the kicker is how he got there. Wang Enlin ...
from camp to classroom

Back to school has a different meaning for children caught in the refugee crisis

As kids throughout Australia settle into another year at school, thousands of children living in refugee camps across Europe battle for access to education.
In Australia, kids are settling into another year at school. Homework, lost sunhats, and NAPLAN tests are the biggest issues parents worry about. In the refugee camps of Europe, the situation is a lot different. In 2016, 173,450 people, fl...
Marriage and religion

Our faithful love: Life as a Pentecostal couple in the modern world

What's it like to have a relationship, guided by values of faith, chastity and patience? Hillsong couple, Tristan and Renee Scifo, tell SBS how they have overcome modern-day dating challenges by first devoting their lives to God and then to each...
Renee Scifo, originally from Germany was temporarily living in Sydney, was studying at bible college when she met her now husband, Tristan, at a church dance in 2009. “It was quite clear, probably the second time I met her, that I knew tha...
moving mindfully

5 ways to meditate for people who hate sitting still

Get squeamish at the thought of being still and breathing deeply for hours? Give one of these alternative 'moving meditations' a try.
Meditation and mindfulness are transformative for our minds and our bodies - this has been established by hundreds of studies performed all around the world. The ancient Indian practice can help lower heart rates and blood pressure and dec...
Fighting racial vulnerability

What to do if you witness a racial attack

Almost 40 per cent of racial attacks occur in public spaces, yet almost half of us are too unsure – or unwilling – to intervene. Dilvin Yasa explains how to react and make a difference.
It’s been almost 20 years since that day of my inaction, yet the guilt and shame of the experience has never left me. A sticky Sydney day, I was sweating it out on a train when a group of drunk tradies began taunting a Chinese couple seate...
forever young

Comment: Did adulthood die with the debutante ball?

In the west, grown-ups are reading Harry Potter, collecting Star Wars memorabilia and slipping "YOLO" into conversation. Has adulthood vanished for good?
Throughout my life, I have said many dull things. But I think, “The terms of this arrangement do not offer us a good Return on our Investment of time” is the most boring. This was an actual sentence produced by me in a work context last we...
free and freed

Craigslist confessional: “I was 25 years old when I went to prison, and 40 when I was released.”

"There's such a difference between free and freed. I don’t really feel free."
This story is part of a series called Craigslist Confessional. Writer Helena Bala has been meeting people via Craigslist and documenting their stories for nearly two years. Each story is written as it was told to her. Bala says that by lis...
WEALTH NOT HEALTH

Maybe moderate drinking isn’t so good for you after all

New research shows that even one drink a day can increase health risks in older adults.
We generally assume moderate drinking (two standard drinks per day) is good for our health. This idea comes from studies over the past three decades showing moderate drinkers are healthier and less likely to die prematurely than those who ...