Anthony Frosh speaks with Ronnie Semo and Tasman Swanton from National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) as well as Julie Higgs (former Wallis data analyst) about all things LSAY (Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth).

Some topics include:

· The impetus for commencing LSAY

o How it was tied to the 1973 oil shock and subsequent economic crisis.

· The evolution of survey methodology during the 1990s

· How the LSAY team managed to stay in contact with participants over the ten-year longitudinal tracking period of age 15 to 25 years old.

· Key findings and impacts of LSAY on society

· Outcomes of VET education vs University education

· Outcomes of independent vs government schools.

· Reminisce of some favourite aspects of LSAY – we vote for the socks!

This episode is edited by Shalini Sen. Marketing is the domain of Sarah Guy.

For more information about LSAY, visit https://www.lsay.edu.au/

Anthony Frosh speaks with Associate Professor Michael Livingston, one of the authors of a recently released book "Young People, Alcohol, and Risk: A Culture of Caution".

Some topics include:

· The change in youth culture from daring to risk averse

· Changes in alcohol use

· The extent that there is an impact of delaying (or expediting) introduction to alcohol

· Trends in other risk-taking behaviours with young people

· The extent to which these trends in other behaviours might be influenced by the trend in alcohol consumption

· The extent to which these changes in adolescence stick around in the mid-20s

· The impact of digital and surveillance technology, as well as social media etc

· The implications of these trends on our future

· The next areas of focus for policy and reach

· Potential unforeseen downsides of these otherwise positive developments

This episode is edited by Shalini Sen. Marketing is the domain of Sarah Guy.

Associate Professor Michael Livingston is a leading researcher at Curtin University's National Drug Research Institute, specialising in youth alcohol use, including long-term trends and policy impacts. A list of his publications can be found here: https://staffportal.curtin.edu.au/staff/profile/view/michael-livingston-39280c06/

And, as mentioned, Michael is also one two contributors to very long running (and excellent) food blog focussing on reviews of vegetarian and veg-friendly establishments. The blog is called "Where's the Beef" and can be found at https://herestheveg.blogspot.com/

Anthony Frosh speaks with Professor Lukas Parker about food waste and how date labels could be a key part of the puzzle.

Some topics include:

· The scale of the food waste problem in Australia and globally

· The need to move beyond guilt as a focus of the problem

· The food categories that are most problematic in terms of wastage

· The inspiration for seeing packaging design and date labels as a key part of the puzzle

· Key insights from the research

To find out more about the research, visit: https://endfoodwaste.com.au/national-date-labelling-and-storage-advice-phase-1/

There you will be able to find a link to other documents, including the final report for Phase 1, including label designs on page 17-18. https://endfoodwaste.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2503_EFWCRC_124_Final-Report.pdf

This episode is edited by Shalini Sen. Marketing is the domain of Sarah Guy.

Associate Professor Lukas Parker is a leading social marketing and advertising scholar whose research sits at the nexus of behaviour change, communicating health and digital advertising. Leading teams of researchers, his research addresses pressing social problems related to health and sustainability. He has over fifty peer-reviewed publications including influential co-authored books Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media (2020) and Social Marketing and Behaviour Change: Models, theory and applications (2014) which guide social marketing practitioners and scholars.

Associate Professor Parker leads 3C (Communication and Change Co-lab) that undertakes projects that create change through communication - whether that be social, behavioural, or cultural. He also co-leads Co-Lab.