Explore every episode of the podcast Quick Smart

Australia buys more clothes per person than any other country and most of it is made up of plastic. Thanks to fast fashion, even our op shops are becoming flooded with these polyester products.

So, when did we start wearing plastic? And why did it take over the fashion industry?

Guest: Anna Levy, ABC journo.

Anna Levy’s article on the rise of not-so-fantastic plastic fashion can be found here. 

And if you’re into environmental issues and solving them in small but meaningful ways, check out our episode on overtourism. 

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You’re listening to Quick Smart's summer season. We’ll return with fresh episodes next year, but in the meantime please enjoy our special curation for the holidays. This episode originally aired on 28th Jan, 2025.

Australians love to crack open a ‘cold one’, but increasingly we’re turning to non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits. How did NoLo drinks become so popular? What’s actually in them? And are they healthier than their boozy counterparts?

Guest: Jacinta Bowler, ABC science reporter 

If you’re into the science of what we eat and drink, check out our episode on the influx of random chip flavours or why the alt right is obsessed with eating meat. 

Read Jacinta’s article on no and low-alcohol drinks here.

If you have something you'd like to see covered on Quick Smart, let us know at quick.smart@abc.net.au

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You’re listening to Quick Smart's summer season. We’ll return with fresh episodes next year, but in the meantime please enjoy our special curation for the holidays. This episode originally aired on 25th Feb, 2025.

Do you struggle with making big life decisions? Maybe it's moving overseas, quitting your job or deciding to have a baby. This week, how to ditch analysis paralysis and make a life-changing choice.

Guest: Sana Qadar, host of All in the Mind.

If you liked this chat, check out our episode on what makes someone an introvert or an extrovert. Sana also has a longer All in the Mind episode about how to decide when you can’t decide.

Drop us a line at quick.smart@abc.net.au if there's a story or topic you'd like us to cover.

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You’re listening to Quick Smart's summer season. We’ll return with fresh episodes next year, but in the meantime please enjoy our special curation for the holidays. This episode originally aired on 1st April, 2025.

Why do some people save every spare dollar, while others blow through their pay the moment it lands? It might have less to do with discipline and more to do with the way you were raised.

Guest: Emily Stewart, ABC business reporter and author of Sensible Money

If this episode has you feeling *triggered*, you can sign up to Emily’s handy money newsletter here (you're looking for Your Money Explained next to a picture of Emily). You might also like our previous chat about how to survive the cost of living crisis.  

And if there are any topics you’d love us to cover, get in touch at quick.smart@abc.net.au

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You’re listening to Quick Smart's summer season. We’ll return with fresh episodes next year, but in the meantime please enjoy our special curation for the holidays. This episode originally aired on 17th June, 2025.

When many of us were growing up, the c-word was the worst thing you could say. Now, it’s having a renaissance. How has an "offensive and hateful” term transformed into a compliment? And why are drag queens, actors and K-pop girlies at the forefront of reclaiming "See You Next Tuesday”?

Guest: Virginia Trioli, host of Creative Types on ABC TV and iview.

Check out Virginia’s article on how the the c-word is being reclaimed by women in pop culture here.

If you liked this chat, you might also enjoy our episodes on how teenage girls are shaping our vocabulary or whether Stockholm Syndrome a sexist myth.

If there's a story or topic you'd like us to cover, drop us a line at quick.smart@abc.net.au

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You’re listening to Quick Smart's summer season. We’ll return with fresh episodes next year, but in the meantime please enjoy our special curation for the holidays. This episode originally aired on 15th April, 2025.

It feels like asbestos has been having more than it's fair share of limelight over the last few years. But it's manufacture, sale and import was banned in Australia in 2003. So, where is it coming from?

Guest: Angelique Donnellan, reporter for ABC's 7:30 program.---------

If you liked this chat, you might also like our episode about whether Australia has a problem with class.

You can find Angelique's articles about her investigations here.

Thanks to my producer Jessie Kay. Drop us a line at quick.smart@abc.net.au

The Victorian government has signed into law a historic Treaty with First Nations people. It’s supposed to help fix the effects of institutional harm. So, what will actually change?

Our personal data can be used to manipulate the prices we see, the disinformation we believe, and sometimes even who we vote for. So, how much does the internet know about you?

From pub bands and street buskers to TikTok-ing teens, the world is full of music covers. Some are admirable, others are average. Yet every so often, an artist will release a cover that flips a song on its head. So, why are we drawn to making the old new again? 

Democracy dates back to the ancient Greeks and is meant to give us a say on who’s in charge. But lately, some democratically elected leaders are acting more like kings than politicians. So, does democracy still work? And how do we stop “undemocratic” forces from manipulating us?

From a muddling Mr Darcy to Clueless diva Cher Horowitz, some of the most iconic characters in books, films and TV were conceived by Jane Austen — or based on her works. So, who was she, really? And what makes her classics... classic?

Google gets billions of searches every day. But now, the tech giant wants to be AI-fuelled “answer engine”, rather than a gateway to other sites. It poses a massive threat to journalism, but it’ll also affect the information we see and don’t see. 

If you needed a life-saving transplant, would you take a gene-edited organ from a pig? It sounds like science fiction, but this procedure has been researched for decades, and it could help solve the massive organ shortage. But is it ethical to use animals for their parts? And are there other risks? 

A Catholic and a Satanist walked into a bar ... and managed to fall in love? During the past two decades, more of us have become non-religious, but we’re also increasingly up for dating and marrying across the spiritual divide. So, how do interfaith couples make it work? And what can we learn from them?

Remember when you could drop off soft plastics at the supermarket and feel a little smug, because you knew they’d be recycled? Turns out that scheme was secretly stockpiling rubbish, not recycling it. So, why are soft plastics harder to recycle? And will a new scheme actually work? 

When you think of a saint, who do you picture? Chances are it’s not a tracksuit-wearing, video game playing teen, but that's exactly who the Catholic Church canonised recently. So, why was Carlo Acutis special? What miracles did he perform? And could his sainthood help drive younger people back to religion? 

At a stadium in Arizona, 63,000 people gathered to remember Charlie Kirk. Among them was President Donald Trump, who called the controversial right-wing figure a “martyr”. Who exactly was Kirk? Are politicians weaponising his death to crack down on their opposition?

While cinemas struggle to fill seats, horror films are bringing in billions. So, why do we enjoy being scared? And how come horror flicks are filled with nuns, crosses and other Christian imagery?

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If you liked this chat, send it to the cinema buff in your life. You might also enjoy our eps on how cults are being targeted with coercive control laws and why certain female body parts are named after shady, white men.  

Plus, check out Anna Levy’s article about religion in horror films.

From the sovereign citizen movement to vaccine conspiracy theories, extreme beliefs are on the rise, and they can make family gatherings super uncomfortable. Why do sensible people fall for irrational ideas? And can we challenge these ideas without alienating the people who hold them?

Love decluttering videos, but hate home organising in real life? Too much stuff can make us feel stressed, but parting with objects isn't always easy. This week, what your clutter says about you, and how you can get on top of it.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. And yet, the Israeli government just approved almost 3,500 more of these homes. Meanwhile, settler violence against Palestinians is rising. So, who are the settlers and why are they allowed to exist outside the law?

If you had to dash out for a bottle of milk, could you just stroll to the supermarket? If the answer's yes, you might be living in a 15-minute city. What are these neighbourhoods, exactly, and why do conspiracy theorists hate them?

Financial woes, global conflicts, and world leaders who act like the rules don’t apply. The United Nations is at crisis point. So, 80 years since its creation, is the UN still relevant? And how might we fix it?

Like it or not, tax affects our incomes and grocery bills. It also helps pay for roads, hospitals and schools. But could the government be taking less from our salaries and more from big business, inheritance, or superannuation?

Late night TV legend Stephen Colbert is being taken off air, and suspicions are swirling. His US network CBS says it cancelled the talk show for financial reasons, but could President Donald Trump have something to do with it?

Teenage boys have always had a certain reputation for rowdiness, but there’s something different going on in our schools. Fuelled by toxic influencers, misogynistic behaviour is getting worse. So, how bad is it, and how do we stop it?

'Stockholm Syndrome' is a phrase we use to describe people in toxic relationships. But have you ever considered the first case? This week, meet the woman behind this dubious diagnosis. 

Oh, adulthood. Suddenly you're a Jack (or Jill) of all trades, negotiating tax returns and changing tires. Many of us feel wildly unprepared. Should our parents have passed down these skills? Or could schools or social media fill in the blanks?

Fallopian tubes. The G-spot. Skene’s glands. Why are so many female body parts named after shady white men... and should that change?

Missiles are flying, nuclear sites have been bombed, and now Donald Trump has declared a ceasefire. Why do Israel and Iran hate each other? Who are the men in charge? And how much is ego fuelling this conflict? 

Why do some people save every spare dollar, while others blow through their pay the moment it lands? It might have less to do with discipline and more to do with the way you were raised.

They tell you how to act, what to believe, and who to surround yourself with. It sounds like coercive control, right? But this type of manipulation doesn’t just exist in intimate relationships, it happens in spiritual ones, too.

Do you ever feel a sinking sensation that you’re not being "productive” enough? It doesn’t just hit at work either, it can tarnish weekends with a weird sense of guilt. Hyper-productivity isn't the answer, that leads to burnout. So, how do we find a happy medium?

Chances are you, or someone you know, took an antidepressant this morning. One in seven Australians are on the medication, and for many it's lifesaving. But are we staying on antidepressants for too long? Is there a right time to stop? And what should we know about withdrawal symptoms? 

Have you ever considered cutting a family member off? It's called going "no contact" and social media is filled with stories from people who’ve done just that. But how do you know you're making the right choice? And can fractured relationships be saved?

Call it romantically reckless or fiscally responsible, more Aussies are considering ENM (ethical non-monogamy). So, do these relationships work? And how can you stop jealousy taking hold?

More than a hundred red-cloaked figures will enter in the Sistine Chapel, but only one can walk away with the top role. This isn't a new reality TV show, it's the real-life drama of the papal conclave. Who could be the next Pope, how much will his voice matter in the modern world, and was the movie accurate?

Politicians love to overwhelm us during election campaigns. But often, we're left wondering what they actually stand for. Who has the best policies on issues you care about, and how are young people changing the tide of this election?

Donald Trump is wreaking havoc on America's legal system. He's disobeying court rulings, calling judges "crooked", and pressuring law firms to donate to hand-picked causes. We've never seen this behaviour from a US president. So, how far is he willing to go?  

When many of us were growing up, the c-word was the worst thing you could say. Now, it’s having a renaissance. How has the most "offensive and hateful” term transformed into a compliment? And why are drag queens, actors and K-pop girlies at the forefront of reclaiming "See You Next Tuesday”?

Body odour. It’s one of those things we all experience, but rarely talk about. This week, how BO became a social taboo, why you shouldn't fear aluminium in anti-perspirants, and whether natural deodorants are as effective as the conventional kind.

Do you struggle with making big life decisions? Maybe it's moving overseas, quitting your job or deciding to have a baby. This week, how to ditch analysis paralysis and make a life-changing choice. 

When you’re looking for a new book, are you ever swayed by the little quotes on the front cover? They might say “Unputdownable!” or "Obsessed!” and they can help books become bestsellers. But one US publisher thinks this “incestuous” practice needs a rethink. Author and radio host David Marr drops by to explain.

Scour social media as a Millennial or Gen Z woman, and you're bound to come across wellness influencers claiming your hormones are out of whack. Is there any science behind so-called 'hormone balancing'?

There’s something going on in the art world. Works are being covered up, a creator was controversially dropped, and an Oscar-winning documentary can’t get an American distributor. Why is this happening? And what does it have to do with the war in Gaza?

Elon Musk did that questionable “hand salute” at a Trump rally. Now, Germany's far-right party has doubled its share of votes. How did we get here, and what could happen next?

Australians love to crack open a ‘cold one’, but increasingly we’re turning to non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits. Why have NoLo drinks become popular? What goes into them – and are they healthier?  

Award ceremonies, like the Oscars and GRAMMYs, used to be the height of glamour and success. But are these events increasingly irrelevant? Or are we just seeing them in a different light?

If you've tuned out of Aussie politics, you’re not alone. Apathy is high, especially among young people, and there’s a genuine concern that elected representatives don't actually represent us. But are things about to change?

Getting pregnant through a fertility clinic can be difficult and wildly expensive. That’s why thousands of Australians are using Facebook groups to solicit sperm from strangers. 

But not all donors have pure intentions.