Insight

Desperate Australians are turning to controversial, unproven stem cell treatments for a whole range of illnesses. They say they're tired of waiting for the long process of clinical trials to conclude, while they get sicker and sicker. This week, Insight asks whether current stem cell treatments are cause for hope – or just misleading hype.

As the prospect of legalisation and clinical trials looms in several states, Insight also asks whether legal marijuana will lead to an increase of recreational use – and just what will happen to the black market. Is medicinal marijuana doing good or harm?

Do you want to be resuscitated regardless of the outcome? This week on Insight, we look at when it's wise to use CPR and when you're better off without it.

Diabetes is one of Australia's greatest health dilemmas. Every day, 280 people develop the condition. But can you get rid of it? Insight sits down with Dr Michael Mosley to investigate why this has become such an issue for Australians, how the food you eat impacts your blood sugar levels, and the plan he believes will reverse the disease in many sufferers.

Insight investigates what happens to the children who are caught up in international custody battles, and if there's a better way to solve the dispute.

Insight explores one of the greatest taboos in parenting: mothers who leave. We investigate the complex reasons women make the heart-wrenching decision to walk away from family life. Insight is an Australian current affairs forum, with lively debate and powerful first-person stories. Hosted by award-winning journalist Jenny Brockie.

How do people deal with tragedy and disasters when they're first on the scene? From everyday reluctant heroes who put themselves in danger to save others, to rescue workers who put their lives at risk doing their jobs, and bystanders who freeze rather than act when witnessing an unfolding crisis: Insight hears from them and others. Australian current affairs forum, with lively debate and powerful first-person stories. Hosted by award-winning journalist Jenny Brockie.

Insight will hear from recent immigrants, all of them granted Australian citizenship in the three years since the last federal election, about the issues that matter most to them. These voters have a unique perspective on the Australian election process and how it compares to the political systems in their native countries.

Labour exploitation has overtaken sex slavery as the most common form of human trafficking in Australia. This week on Insight we hear from migrant workers from various industries across the country, brought here on a range of different visas. They share their experience of underpayment, long hours, unsafe working conditions, threats and abuse.

Dowry practices are alive and well in Australia, not only in sections of the Indian community, but dowry or bride price is widespread amongst the African and Islamic communities too.In Melbourne, South Sudanese man Chol Goch was proud to negotiate and pay a high price for his new wife Ajah Wuoi. Ajah grew up expecting a dowry and felt more respected by her community after she recently brought in the price of $70,000.Salpha Dut, from the same community, has been working 11 hours a day, seven days a week for the past three years in Hobart to save up for his wife who is waiting for him to afford the dowry of 250 cows before her family will let her move to Australia. Despite the hardship, Salpha doesn't have a problem with paying for a wife.But not everyone within the community is happy to accept the traditional way of doing things without challenging it. South Sudanese lawyer Nyadol Nyuon is against dowry and says it promotes gender imbalance. She'd like to see it abolished but she recently married and accepted her husband paying a large price for her to keep her family happy. She says this highlights the cultural clash within new communities in Australia as they negotiate old traditions in a new setting.In Sydney, Sheron Sultan, a model from a South African background, asked her Austrian boyfriend Nick Toth to pay lobola, the bride price, as she wanted to uphold her culture and keep her ancestors and family happy. But the couple struggled with the concept of paying for a wife until they interpreted the tradition in a new way to make it their own.Similarly in Brisbane, Naseema Mustapha personalised her Islamic dowry by requesting her husband-to-be Mohamed to buy and slaughter a goat to cook it and feed the poor. And we hear from a young Indian woman in Melbourne, Roopa, who describes how the dowry custom destroyed her arranged marriage.This week on Insight we examine the future of dowry in Australia and hear the stories of new communities struggling with old traditions.

Navigating the workplace with a mental illness can be challenging.Do you tell your boss about an illness? If you do, how will they react? And, what happens if your mental illness might affect your ability to do the job?Dave Westgate was hesitant to tell his boss out of concern his corporate career would be killed with kindness.His feared reaction: "We won't put Dave on the next big pitch or whatever because it might be too much pressure for him."For Carol Scherret, choosing to disclose her mental illness hasn't always helped her in the workplace."I'm either asked to leave, I leave because I'm sick … and some places have taken the opportunity when I'm off sick to restructure and then sort of say … 'there's no job for you anymore'."John McCormack, a NSW paramedic, says he worried about his decision-making at work when he was struggling with a mental illness: "When I was at my worst, I would get complaints that I was rude and abrupt."Mental illness can be difficult territory for employers too.For small business owners like Alex Colls, the adjustments required to support people with a mental illness can negatively impact the bottom line."Absenteeism … crept up to about 50 per cent which hurt such a small team on such a regular basis."And for others, like Andrew Campbell, it's about ensuring that employees in the construction industry are well enough to stay safe on the job."Because our industry is so high risk, you know, the last thing we want is someone that's not doing well that day and going to a high risk job and die because of it."The prevalence of Australians living with a mental illness means that this is an issue that both employees and employers are increasingly dealing with.An employee's mental health impacts business profit too. It's estimated that mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces $10.9 billion dollars each year. And for approximately every $1 a workplace spends on mental health, they'll see a $2.30 return on the investment.This week Insight hears from employees and employers about how mental illness is being managed in the workplace. And asks, how can it be better managed?

What happens when trying to be healthy becomes unhealthy? This week on Insight, we hear from people whose healthy habits have strayed into the dangerous territory of disordered eating. At what point did they tip over into being unhealthy? And how have they dealt with it?

Australia has around 1,800 long-term missing people. For their families and loved ones, the ambiguity surrounding their fate can be a living nightmare. This week on Insight: living with the unknown when someone you love goes missing.

Failure – we fret it, we shun it, and we question ourselves whenever it happens. This week on Insight: How do you rebound from failure?

How old is too old to have a child?

What is the impact of working on criminal trials?

Why are women over 40 drinking more?

Are we entering the age of no retirement?

Where do women draw the line on sexual harassment in the workplace?

What's it like growing up in a stepfamily?

Insight finds out how Intersex people navigate life and the medical system.

How sick can you get from a tick?

Insight explores what drives people to push their physical limits? What are the consequences?

What is it like having an unplanned child with someone you hardly know? Insight talks to men and women about the decisions they've made with - or without - partners they've just met. Hosted by award-winning journalist Jenny Brockie.

Insight examines why dealing with cancer is different for young people. We ask what it's like dealing with the physical and emotional scars left by what could have killed you, and does that experience change when you still have so much life left ahead of you?

Insight cuts through the confusion to ask how patients, surgeons and other specialists can make a joint decision about when to operate – or not.

This program looks at how people are trying to hack their sleeping patterns. Marc Fennell chats to those affected and delves into hacks that have been proven to work.

Jenny Brockie takes a look at why so many veterinarians are struggling with their mental health.

Marc Fennell takes a look at the impact of having a forbidden relationship, and explores how people are navigating them.

Marc Fennell takes a look at the impact of having a forbidden relationship, and explores how people are navigating them.

Marc Fennell takes a look at what it's like to chase a medical gamechanger. He speaks to medical experts about the future of modern medicine.

Men are struggling to hold onto friends. How powerful can male friendships be and do we need to rethink what being a mate is all about?

Only child families are on the rise. What are the pros and cons?

Australia is making it harder to get game-changing weight loss drugs. Are they a long-term solution and how are they changing us and our relationship to weight? 

Is the drive to create a legacy worth the pressure on ourselves and others? 

How do memories define us and can we always trust them?

How does our perception of the future impact our behaviour in the present?

How are we acknowledging our shared past and are we getting it right?

Anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise globally, and polls show more than half of Australians believe migration rates are too high. So, what's behind the numbers? Insight explores the impacts of immigration on our communities, economy and national identity and asks what it all means for a cohesive, multicultural society?

You are entitled to your views, but do the rest of us have to hear them? Are terms such as "cancelled", "free speech" and "cultural safety" used in place of constructive, respectful debate? On this episode, Insight asks students, families, politicians, protesters and academics: "Have we lost the ability to disagree well?"

Have you ever flirted to make a partner jealous? Do you envy a friend's life? Are people jealous of you? Jealousy is driven by an underlying sense of insecurity and low self-esteem. Envy can lead to a feeling of inferiority. Can we embrace these emotions and use them for good?

Insight this week asks members of the trans community about striking the right balance as medical pathways for trans minors in parts of Australia – and around the world - become restricted.In Australia, people under 18 generally require guardian consent and a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (also referred to as gender incongruence) for medical practitioners to provide gender-affirming treatments.However, legislative changes in Queensland and the Northern Territory mean doctors in the public system can no longer prescribe gender-affirming medication to new trans patients under 18. Patients already accessing this care can continue their treatment. Not all trans and gender diverse people experience gender dysphoria, and the term itself is contentious due to the concern it stigmatises trans healthcare as a mental health condition.In 2019, the World Health Organization approved changes to its ICD-11 manual (effective 2022) to declassify transgender health issues as mental disorders and reclassified "gender incongruence" under sexual health."Gender dysphoria" still appears in the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual (DSM-5) as a diagnosis of distress that can help provide access to medical treatment and support.Gender-affirming medical treatments currently available in Australia to trans youth include puberty blockers, gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), typically from age 16, and in rare cases, gender-affirming chest surgery (more commonly known as 'top surgery').Puberty blockers, administered in the early stages of puberty, are a medication that temporarily suppresses sex hormone production to delay puberty and its physical changes, such as breast development or voice deepening.Teens usually around age 16 and adults can be prescribed GAHT, which is the medical administration of estrogen or testosterone to help align a person's secondary sex characteristics (such as body fat distribution, voice pitch and body hair) with their gender identity.