Conversations

During her two terms as PM, Jacinda gained global attention for her response to the terror attack in Christchurch and for giving birth at the same time as running the country.Jacinda grew up as a good Mormon girl who planned on making a difference behind the scenes.But when she unexpectedly became head of the Labor Party, only weeks away from a federal election, Jacinda discovered she had a talent for leadership.Jacinda's memoir about her time as PM and her life before and after is called A Different Kind of Power.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake and Nicola Harrison is the Executive Producer.Further InformationA Different Kind of Power is published by Penguin.For more information, Penguin authors Jacinda Ardern

The much-loved actor Sam Neill had an unusual path into acting. Raised in New Zealand as a shy boy with a stutter named Nigel, he was 30 when he got his big break (R) Sam, who has died at the age of 78, was an acclaimed actor, a winemaker, an author, a cancer survivor and a Dad to four children. In recent years he had cared for cows, pigs, ducks and horses on his farm in New Zealand while making Pinot Noir.In his remarkable career as an actor he starred in more than 100 films including Jurassic Park, My Brilliant Career, and The Piano.A few years ago, stuck in Sydney while undergoing treatment for cancer, Sam found himself with a lot of time on his hands to reflect on his eclectic life.Sarah spoke to him in 2023 after the release of his quirky, funny and life-affirming memoir.Further information:Did I Ever Tell You This is published by Text

Fairytale expert, Kate Forsyth travels back in time to the stories of her youth, to a dark, fantastical and eerie world where cruelty and mischief abound.As a young girl, Kate was sent to stay with her great aunts in Newcastle and there was introduced to the darkness, magic and mystery of Scottish folklore.These stories lit Kate’s imagination on fire, and let to a lifetime of study into these powerful stories and the messages behind them.One true story from this period that stayed with Kate was the treacherous and dramatic life story of Mary, Queen of Scots, who, in the telling, was only a few years older than the teenaged Kate.Intertwined with the true Scottish history were dark, fantastical and eerie accounts about cruel and mischievous fairies who would leave their young in place of human babies, as ‘changelings’. This world abounded with magic - hazelnuts that give the power of invisibility and curses that cause boys to dance to their death.These legends also feature brave and ingenious girls who figure out how to rescue the sick and cursed through their own wits and knowledge of the natural world.Further informationThe Changeling is published by Penguin Random House.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.You can listen to Kate's previous Conversations interviews on the tangled roots of fairytales, the dark and violent origins of beloved fairytales, the Russian tale of Vasilisa the Wise and her nemesis, the witch Baba Yaga, the story of a blood red rose, The intrepid and curious Charlotte Waring Atkinson, Psyche, the curious and brave goddess of the soul.This episode touches on witch trials, burning of witches, neolithic stones, storytelling, violence against women, cunning folk, ken, kenning, runes, being in touch with the seasons, old women, prayers, spells, rowan tree, faeries, fairies, fairy queen, changeling, autism, neurodivergent, neurodiverse, dauphin, King James, King James Bible, To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Travel writer Pico Iyer was at the peak of his career when an accidental layover at Narita airport saw him begin to question everything.Pico began flying around the world solo at the age of nine.His parents lived in America and he had become a boarder at the Dragon School in Oxford.To get to school and from school he took several flights each year alone.The formative experience of travel stayed with him, and he grew up to become a journalist and travel writer for Time Magazine.Further informationThis episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2020.Autumn Light: a season of Fire and Farewells is published by Bloomsbury.This episode was produced by Nicola Harrison. The Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Paul Kelly, Editor-at-Large of The Australian, investigates how the country went from the great reform age under Hawke, Keating and Howard, into the tumultuous Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison era of prime ministers, and arrived at the current existential crisis facing the Liberal Party.Paul started his career as a political journalist in the 1970s and was at old Parliament House when Gough Whitlam was dismissed.In his latest book, Paul examines how the Liberal Party lost its long-standing grip on the Australian psyche between 2013 and 2022, as it cycled through three temperamentally and ideologically divergent prime ministers. He says that despite its many achievements, the Coalition in office was marked by a period of under-performance and doubts over the political system's capacity to serve the national interest.Paul looks at the factors underpinning the current crisis besetting the Coalition and the reasons why Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison all struggled to govern, in very different ways.Further informationThe Twilight of Exceptionalism: The Liberal and Conservative Era 2013 - 2022 is published by Melbourne University Press.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.This episode covers Liberal party crisis, Barnaby Joyce, One Nation, conservatism, populism, populist, same sex marriage plebiscite, postal survey, carbon tax, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, covid19, covid, conservative politics, conservatism, MH17, Putin, Ukraine, mossad, ASIS, budget, NDIS, Gonski, Prince Philip, knighthood, Scotty from marketing, China, AUKUS, Albanese, To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Wongaibon woman, Gayle Kennedy tells the story of her childhood, punctuated by years of treatment for polio. A bright child, she blitzed school and was drawn to comic book writing, which led to an award-winning career as an author.Gayle was two when she contracted polio. The family was living in a camp outside Condobolin when little Gayle collapsed at her aunt’s house.Gayle’s mother was in hospital at the time, where she had given birth to Gayle’s younger brother. She ran from the hospital to her sickly toddler, and brought Gayle in for treatment.Gayle was sent to Sydney and spent six months in an iron lung, a mechanical respirator that covered her whole body, leaving her head exposed.For years she would return to Sydney for follow up therapy. Gayle was a bright student who overcame racism at school and after she graduated she worked with the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, then set up the Ivanhoe Land Council.During this time, Gayle was introduced to Streetwize Comics, which inspired to give writing a go and got a job as a comic book writer.Years later, Gayle became unwell again, and she was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome.She was miserable and suffering, and when she joined the NDIS her life changed for the better.She started writing stories that were published in the Sydney Morning Herald and went on to win the David Unaipon Award for her book Me, Antman and Fleabag.Further informationThis episode was produced by Rebecca McLaren. The Executive Producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.This episode contains reference to father's love, mother's love, polio, post-polio syndrome, Abbotsford station, Ivanhoe, Wangaaypuwan, Royal Flying Doctor Service, rehabilitation, children's hospital, kind nurses, long drop toilet, racism, Catholic school, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, cousins, nepotism, Balmain, NDIS, scooter, how to drink in the park, Redfern, blackfellas, saying yes, giving things a go.To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Troy grew up travelling between two very different worlds with his Indigenous mum and his Maltese Dad. At just 17 he started on his path to becoming one of Australia's biggest country music stars (R) CW: Mentions suicide, please take care when listeningTroy Cassar-Daley is a proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man, and one of Australia's most beloved country music stars.As a 17-year-old musician just starting out, Troy joined a band called Little Eagle. Soon afterwards, he won the Tamworth Starmaker Quest, and within a few years, Troy was a fully-fledged country music star.In his long career, Troy has won 40 Golden Guitars and 5 ARIA Awards, among many other accolades. In his most recent album, Between the Fires, Troy digs deep into his own family history, with songs of grief, love and connection.Further informationTroy is touring now - more details hereHelp and support is always availableIf you need to talk, 24/7 crisis support is available from Lifeline by calling 13 11 14.You can also text and chat online with counsellors here.

Writer Anita Heiss has based her novel  Dirrayawadha on stories from the 1800s during the frontier wars in Bathurst, when martial law was declared.

The filmmaker on her series which documents a period some historians call the most important war Australia has ever fought in.Rachel Perkins is one of this country's great storytellers, translating distinctively Australian stories for the screen, including a television series first released in 2022 called The Australian Wars.It tracks the bloody conflicts that broke out across the continent after the arrival of the British colonists.Rachel says these are the most important wars in our history: they were fought on Australian soil, between Australians, to determine the ownership and control of the entire country.The stories from this era are stories of violence, of peace, of epic adventures, which make up the foundational narrative of this nation.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2022 Further InformationThe Australian Wars is available to watch on SBS on Demand.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores Aboriginal history, British colonial history, frontier wars, the Native Police, death, conflict, grief, Australian history, guns, violence, land ownership, control, documentary

Tagalaka man, Victor Steffensen on the ‘walking encyclopedias’ — dear old men he met who entrusted him with their decades of cultural knowledge and taught him to apply the right traditional burn for the right environment, so Country can thrive. Victor advocates for small, cool fires that emit white smoke. This is something Indigenous people have done for tens of thousands of years to help Country survive and thrive.Victor was a young man who wasn’t sure which direction to take when two elders in Far North Queensland took him under their wing.He was hungry for knowledge and a beautiful, trusting relationship grew between the three men. The old men poured their expertise into Victor, who captured it all on videotape.Today Victor teaches all around the country, using traditional methods on how to safely burn the landscape so plants, animals and people can flourish.Further informationThe Knowledge: Learning from ancestral wisdom to save our challenging global environment is published by Allen & Unwin.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode covers Indigenous elders, cultural knowledge, doubt, backburning, bushfires, fuel load, drip torch, cool burn, mosaic burn, everything is connected, sacred knowledge, climate change, native grasses, crocodile country, knowledge sharing, Indigenous knowledge systems, NAIDOC week, lost language, mentors, Indigenous rangers, Kuranda, camping, fishing.To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

For 40 years, crime was the only constant in Lincoln Lynch’s life, until a prison stint forced him to look inward and change the trajectory of his life for good.His young mum went to prison for dealing drugs when Lincoln was little, and eventually he followed in her footsteps.Lincoln endured periods of homelessness and institutionalised abuse as a teenager, and he became a teen father, before winding up in prison himself.There, in his cell, Lincoln discovered God’s teachings about compassion and forgiveness, and he resolved to leave prison a different man.On the outside, he was given practical, real-life support to re-establish his life at a halfway house in Sydney called Rainbow Lodge.With new-found confidence and purpose, Lincoln started studying psychology, fell in love and is now working at the lodge, helping other men find their way outside of prison.Content Warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion about childhood abuse and sexual assault.More information about Rainbow Lodge can be found online.This episode of Conversations was produced by Rebecca McLaren and Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores judicial system, justice system, recidivism, substance abuse, heroin, meth, speed, homelessness, sleeping rough, childhood abuse, sexual assault, sexuality, institutional abuse, mother son relationships, grief, drug dealing, crime, guilty verdict, prison system, prison sentence, serving time, changing your life, turning your life around, love, relationships, fatherhood, psychology, Vince Hurley, policing, criminology, intergenerational trauma, God, spirituality, reform.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The inaugural winner of Alone Australia on her life as a creative, outrageous, nature-loving misfit who grew up to live through great depths of love and grief. Warning: Discusses the death of a child.In 2023, Gina Chick spent 67 days by herself, in the wilderness of Tasmania’s West Coast, surviving on worms, fish, and one unlucky wallaby.After those 67 days, Gina became the first-ever winner of a reality show on SBS called Alone Australia, but her approach to the competition was very different from the other contestants.For Gina, the wild was not an enemy to be overcome but a place with no hierarchy, where she feels completely herself.It’s always been that way, since she was a 'weird' little girl with a rare affinity with birds and nature.As an adult, Gina spent years inside Sydney’s queer club scene and working for an all-girl security firm, but life changed completely for Gina when she became a mother herself.Further informationIf you need support after listening to this story, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.Gina's book We are the Stars was published by Simon & Schuster in 2024.The Executive Producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.This episode explores motherhood, parenting, reality television, Alone Australia, winner of Alone, hunting, survival, did Gina catch the wallaby? adoption, adoptees, Kiama, South Coast NSW, ADHD, birds, neurodiversity, bad boyfriends, debt, sexually transmitted debt, scent, pheromones, younger men, Oxford Street, survival, nightclubs, podium dancing, synaesthesia, breast cancer.To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversations podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Nuking the moon, putting mirrors in space and blowing up the Polar ice caps are just some of history's hairbrained schemes to control the weather, an obsession man has had since the dawn of time.As a major heatwave tears through Europe, millions of people are frantically trying to stay cool, or praying for some relief. Their desperation is not new.For thousands of years, human civilisations have been obsessed with trying to control the weather, to stave off drought and famine, in order to survive.There are ancient tales of great kings who could part the oceans, and deities who would bring down the rain if they were presented with the right kind of sacrifice.But it wasn’t until the last century that we suddenly had the technology to actually do these kinds of things, or at least attempt to do them.Some of these wild ideas - to bring water to the desert, drain the Mediterranean Sea to make farmlands, simply make Russia a warmer place to live - have involved blowing up the Polar ice caps, putting mirrors in space, and nuking the moon.They sound dangerous and unlikely, but some of them have come true.And now, many people are at work on brand new gigantic geo-engineering solutions to counteract the effects of the warming planet.Palaeontologist and explorer, Tim Flannery, has been tracking the progress of some of these schemes.A Brief History of Climate Folly, written with Emma Flannery, is published by Text Publishing.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores weird science, crazy science, Elon Musk, China, Trump, feats of engineering, space exploration, the human ego, wild weather events, magic, supernatural, religion, God, divinity, human sacrifice, famine, starvation, migration, global warming, climate change, European heatwave, Paris heatwave, fossil fuel, deforestation, COP, climate change policy, sea levels, floods, Summer, water, gas, electricity, solar power, politics, renewables.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

John Hockney's memoir gives a rare insight into the unusual life of one of the world's most famous artists.He grew up in the industrial town of Bradford in Northern England and was one of five children in a creative household, led by his iconoclastic father Kenneth, a conscientious objector who always told his children to 'never worry what the neighbours think'.During the war, there were many shortages. As child, John's brother David would creep downstairs in the morning and draw on whatever paper was available.He drew figures, streets, houses, landscapes and cartoons on the white edge of the newspaper, his mother's magazines, or whatever comics arrived that day.When David got his first sketchbook at the age of 10, his parents realised his drawing was much more than compulsive doodling.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2020Further InformationJohn Hockney's memoir is called The Hockneys: Never Worry About What the Neighbours Think

For more than a century, Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent was occupied by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the "wayward" girls and orphans they took care of. Patricia Sykes was one of those girls.She was dropped off at the orphanage with her three sisters in the early 1950s after their mother died.Their father couldn't afford to take care of four girls at home, but wanted them to stay together, so an orphanage felt like his only option.As a girl, Patricia, a gifted student who loved music and words, desperately wanted to escape the convent.But later in life, after finally finishing school and then university as a mother and mature student, Patricia returned to Abbotsford Convent.As a poet in residence, Patricia went back on her own terms to hear and to tell the stories of dozens of women who passed through its doors, and to interrogate her own understanding of her time with the nuns.Patricia's collection of poetry is called The Abbotsford Mysteries. You can find information about all of Patricia's books online.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Australia of yesteryear, modern history, Melbourne, Victoria, nunnery, orphanages, grief, sisterhood, education, women's rights, motherhood, losing a mother, the Queen, writing, books, late life career change.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Science writer David Epstein on why freedom can be the enemy of success and how we can all benefit from less choice, not more.We live today with vastly more freedom of choice than our ancestors.But there’s also plenty of research telling us all this choice is making us more anxious, overwhelmed and less creative.In his book, Inside the Box, David makes the case for how constraints can unlock creativity and satisfaction.And why after writing this book he now believes that narrowing your options can truly set you free.Further InformationInside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better is published by MacmillanYou can learn more about David Epstein hereThis episode was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores creativity, innovation, creative burnout, relationships, technology, art, music, rules, deadlines, science, General Magic, Apple, Iphone, sport, choice, anxiety, creative thinking, rules.

Veteran performer Paul Capsis on his strict upbringing and the strong female role models who helped him stay in school despite the brutality.A powerful and expressive voice, flamboyant physical presence, and mane of dark hair have become his trademarks as a performer.But when Paul was growing up in inner-city Sydney as the child of Greek and Maltese parents, these same qualities brought him a world of trouble. At school he was relentlessly ridiculed and beaten.The love of his Maltese grandmother, Angela, and other family members, helped Paul stay in school despite the brutality; as did immersing himself in the music of his favourite singers, Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2018The producer was Michelle Ransom Hughes and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.It explores performing, singing, homophobia, bullying, Maltese heritage, Greek heritage, strong female role models, Janis Joplin, cabaret, grandmas, women, inner-city Sydney.

Anna Dombkins was 25 years old, when she and her husband happened on a television program about adoption which would completely change their lives. CW: this episode of Conversations discusses adoption.It was a documentary investigating the unimaginable conditions of some orphanages in China.The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt children who had no other family support, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.While living in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for a number of years, Anna saw how many children were coming into local orphanages not because they were unwanted or because their biological parents had died, but because their families simply couldn't afford to take care of them.So, since returning to Australia and becoming a mother to her sixth child, Anna became the founding director of Forever Projects, a charity supporting Tanzanian women in poverty, so they can live independently, care for and keep their babies without having to resort to adoption.Forever Projects has since helped more than 3,000 babies remain with their families.Home Forever: Adoption, hope and the mountains we’re all climbing is published by Pepper Press, Fair Play Publishing.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores families, motherhood, fostering, overseas adoption, fatherhood, siblings, blended families, cultural awareness, Australian adoption policy, faith, religion, Christianity, serving the community, marriage, love, intergenerational, grandparents, grief, cancer, Moshi, Forever Angels Baby Home, five under five, lawyers, legal system.

Country music artist Kasey Chambers has spent her life making music and connecting with audiences.  It’s what she believes she was put on the earth to do.Growing up Kasey and her family spent much of the year camping and roaming the Nullabor Plain where her dad would hunt for foxes and rabbits.She started singing around the campfire as a little girl and went to sleep to the sound of her father’s rifle as he worked through the night.Singing came naturally to Kasey, and she loved all the old country classics, as well as some Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen.The title of Kasey’s memoir is a tribute to her father and the most important piece of advice she’s ever received.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.Further Information Just Don't Be A D**khead is published by Hardie Grant.You can learn more about Kasey's music hereThis episode of Conversations explores family, childhood, growing up in rural Australia, music, singing, country music, camping, hunting foxes and rabbits, fathers, guitar, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, ARIA Hall of Fame, eating disorders, motherhood.To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

James O'Loghlin had only just reconnected with one of his best and oldest friends, Jum Wallner, when Jum received some terrible news. What began next was a high stakes race with a fatal deadline.The two men had grown up in Canberra, where thousands of homes had been filled with asbestos, which was often carelessly installed and removed.Jum himself had grown up in one of these so-called "Mr Fluffy" homes, named after the local company that had installed the carcinogenic insulation.When Jum felt a pain in his side, it wasn't long before the father of two and husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given months to live.Jum had discovered that if you got sick from being exposed to asbestos in your workplace you were entitled to compensation, but if it came from your home, you got nothing.So Jum asked his old friend James for some help to petition the powers that be to help asbestos victims like himself and their families.James began a race against time, trying to convince both the ACT and Federal governments to help Jum and others, in the middle of a pandemic, before it was too late.Along the way, James and Jum reconnected deeply as friends who desperately wished they had more time together.The Missing Piece is published by Echo Publishing.More information about the Loose-Fill Asbestos Disease Support Scheme can be found at the ACT Government's website. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores friendship, male friendship, university days, terminal disease, James Hardie, cancer, terminal diagnosis, how to grieve a friend, activism, petition governments, Covid, pandemic, Greg Hunt, Angus Taylor, compensation, accidental activist, dying friends, mourning, funerals, Andrew Barr, ALP, Labor party, Liberals, bipartisan, Albanese, politics, Auspol, burnout, diagnosis.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is back with a look at the humorous and bizarre stories of the newspaper founded in 1979 by a former CIA officer.“174 MPH SNEEZE BLOWS OFF WOMAN’S HAIR”, “BABY BORN WITH TATTOO”, “GARDEN OF EDEN FOUND!”These were some of the fantastical headlines that led the comedic black and white US tabloid, Weekly World News (WWN).Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is a true crime writer and a columnist for The Australian. He was a fan of the nonsensical reporting during its hard copy days, and even started his own journal along similar lines in Australia.Peter tells the story of Generoso Pope Jr, the ex-CIA officer who founded WWN in 1979 and entertained readers with fictional news stories, often with a paranormal slant.Further informationYou can read Weekly World News online.Listen to previous Conversations interviews with Jack the Insider: Chow Hayes, Australia's first gangster (2017), the Fine Cotton affair (2019) and the disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson (2024).This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.This episode covers aliens, alien love child, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, satirical news, fake news, comedy, giggle, Elvis, newspapers, newsgathering, bigfoot, mermaids, man-fish, CIA, conspiracy theory, David Icke, lizard people.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Darren Hayes rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the musical duo Savage Garden but the scars of his violent childhood nearly ended everything.The band ended up selling 35 million albums and won numerous awards with hits like 'Truly Madly Deeply'.On the surface, Darren had achieved wealth, adoration and stardom —everything he dreamt of as a kid growing up in Logan, on the outskirts of Brisbane.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024Further informationUnlovable is published by Penguin Help and support is always available:Call 1800 737 732  (1800 Respect) to speak to a counsellor if you are experiencing domestic violence. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Ken Gamble is very good at spying on people doing the wrong thing but perhaps the investigations that have had the most impact are the missing person cases he's taken on pro bono.Ken spent part of his childhood living in a remote outback pub and by the age of 12, he was driving drunk jackaroos back to their stations.When his family moved to the Sunshine Coast, Ken took up boxing on the amateur circuit and left school in Year 10 to pursue the sport full time, until a savage injury ended his career before it had really begun.After stints in the Army Reserve and as a firefighter, Ken decided he wanted to be a private investigator and began working in personal injury insurance fraud where he became highly skilled in covert surveillance.And with the arrival of the internet, Ken turned his attention to tracking down the humans behind online scams.Ken has also been called on to help in some high-profile missing person cases, including that of Belgian backpacker, Celine Cremer.Further information This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, Nicola Harrison is the Executive ProducerIt explores criminals, cyber crime, insurance fraud, covert surveillance, private detectives, Mt Isa, alcoholism, violence, boxing, counterfeit products, boiler rooms, online scams, missing persons, mobile phone data, geospatial analytics, Eumundi, Celine Cremer, police, bikies.

Gonzo journalist and writer John Safran on why he decided to squat in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West.John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be, from breaking into Disney Land, to infiltrating fascist strongholds in Australia.A couple of years ago, one of his journalistic expeditions saw him squatting in an abandoned Hollywood mansion belonging Kanye West.John had seen a clip of the hip hop start denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because they are actually Jewish.His week writing and snooping in this strange house, with no running water and a vulture in the roof, made John go increasingly loopy as he tried to understand what pushed this critically acclaimed artist from celebrity eccentric to seriously 'out there'.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024It explores Kanye West, Judaism, antisemitism, Hollywood, hip hop, Christianity, Nazism, racism, hip hop, squatting, the Donda Academy, journalism, Adidas, money, fame, documentary, writing, the Holocaust, mental health, celebrity, mansionsFurther informationSquat is published by Penguin.

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. But one quintessentially Australian story of survival, love and adventure lay dormant for more than a century before journalist and author Lisa Wilkinson raised it from the depths of the Atlantic.Everyone knows the story of the Titanic - the biggest, most magnificent, most expensive ship ever built.It was meant to be unsinkable. But when it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, it sank, killing 1500 people.For more than 100 years, the tragedy has inspired filmmakers, historians and explorers to unearth the incredible human stories of love, survival and class warfare.But for much of that time, there was one story that seemed to have been hidden amongst the wreckage, until journalist and author Lisa Wilkinson raised it from the bottom of the Atlantic.This is the story of Evelyn Marsden, the only Australian survivor of the sinking of the Titanic, and the real Titanic love story that shaped the rest of her life.The Titanic Story of Evelyn is published by Hachette.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores history, Australian stories, Jack and Rose, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, shipwrecks, survival stories, love stories, non-fiction books, modern history, David Cameron, OceanGate, submersible, submarine disaster, Bondi, 20th century Australia, nurses, nursing, doctors, working on cruise ships, adventurous women, falling in love.

Molly's niche career began over a decade ago when she entered a whistling competition on a whim and she now performs all over the world. Her music sits somewhere between birdsong and the soundtrack to a film noir.Born in Sydney, Molly moved to Hollywood as a baby before returning to Australia for high school in Byron Bay. Once she realised her talent was more than just a hobby for family and friends, she began performing live with musicians in LA and has collaborated with the likes of Dr Dre, Beck and Karen O. Mark Ronson even asked her to whistle on the Barbie soundtrack.Now Molly is at the centre of a new documentary, Whistle, which follows whistlers from around the world as they prepare for the Masters of Musical Whistling competition.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores whistling, music, art, film soundtracks, Hollywood, LA, Byron Bay, whistling competitions, African Grey Parrots, Mark Ronson, Barbie, Alessandro Alessandroni, Ennio Morricone, The Good the Bad the Ugly, Harry Dean Stanton, Cafe Molly, John C Reilly,African Grey Parrots, Mark LewisTo binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Marele Day is a novelist, but as a young woman looking for adventure, she hitchhiked on a catamaran sailing from Darwin to Sri Lanka.The skipper was a Frenchman, named Jean Day, who revealed on board that he had once done jail time for hijacking a plane.What she only found out later, was that Jean was a fugitive on the run from another high-profile crime.Further informationMarele Day's memoir is called RecklessThis episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2023The producer was Sinead Lee and the EP was Carmel RooneyIt explores sailing, risk taking, adventure, young women, the ocean, criminals, hijacking planes, deception, being French, lies, Sri Lanka, writing a memoir, high profile crime, financial fraud.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Clinical psychologist and men's mental health researcher Zac Seidler on how boys are being fed increasingly inflammatory content online, and what men can do IRL to offer a version of masculinity that is healthy and vulnerable, instead of hard and dangerous.Many young men are taking a journey on the internet right now which starts with inoffensive self-improvement videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, but quickly becomes something else entirely.Young guys are searching the internet for fitness, grooming or relationship advice, looking for self-esteem and self-discipline. The algorithm then tries to sustain their attention by offering them more inflammatory and more dangerous content, presented by influencers with cigars and sunglasses, who give them an ideology that blames women for all of their problems.This is the loose digital ecosystem that has been named the 'manosphere', and it's leading people to wonder what exactly is going on with men that they're being drawn into a dark place and ideology that completely alienates them from women and from real life experience.Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist and the director of research at Movember, the men's mental health charity, and he is particularly interested in men's issues.Zac has conducted some world-first research into this online world, asking the questions 'What need is this content meeting?', and how can men be empowered to pull themselves, their sons and their mates out of this dangerous cycle.Keep up to date with the research Zac is doing via Movember, the leading charity changing the face of men's health.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores manhood, masculinity, toxic masculinity, sons, fatherhood, men's mental health, men's suicide rates, depression, Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, Myron Gaines, Rollo, Joe Rogan, social media algorithms, Instagram, chronically online, touch grass, grief, death, sex and relationships, isolation, vulnerability, how to talk openly about mental health struggles, men and boys, mothers and sons, Looksmaxxing, Clavicular, becoming a father, marriage, love, husbands, how to be a better man, empathetic accountability, Breadtube, Contrapoints, Hbomberguy, and PhilosophyTube.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The former Australian of the Year and pioneering cancer researcher, died from brain cancer on Sunday evening.Richard was a world-leading melanoma pathologist and cancer researcher.After his own aggressive brain cancer was diagnosed in 2023, Richard volunteered to be 'patient zero' in an experimental medical approach, which applied some of the discoveries he and his team had made in melanoma treatment. Richard credited much of his determination, optimism, and humility, to his childhood in Tasmania.Sarah spoke with Richard in 2024.Richard's memoir is called Brainstorm.This episode of Conversations explores cancer research, melanoma treatment, brain tumour, neurosurgery, recovery. radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, Australian of the Year, death, grief, terminal illness, pioneering research, family, great Australians, open letters.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Growing up in Tokyo, Hiroko Yoda  never thought of herself as religious, but after her mother died, she began exploring the spiritual traditions of her homeland.She was inspired by the Shinto idea that there are '8 million spiritual beings', animating everything we encounter.In the different practices of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shugendo, Hiroko found practical means of emotional support, and also ways of making her everyday life more beautiful.Further informationHiroko Yoda's book is called Eight Million Ways to Happiness This episode explores Japan, spirituality, psychology, Shintoism, Buddhism, Shugendo, family, grief, healing, religion, walking, parents, death, Tokyo, emotional support.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Dan Rankine (aka 'trials') was the only little Aboriginal boy living in his rural Welsh village when he woke up shaking from a nightmare. That's when he and his mother knew they needed to go home to Adelaide.Dan is now one of Australia's most respected hip hop producers, writers and rappers.Born in Adelaide, Dan spent his early years on the other side of the world - in the rolling, green hills of rural Wales - with his mum, who had fled there from Dan's violent father in the middle of the night.Far from his Ngarrindjeri connections, and with no one around who looked like him, Dan felt isolated.After an unexplained nightmare, he and his mum decided to move back to Adelaide, where things didn't suddenly become perfect.But a car crash, which could have been tragic, became an incredible turning point in Dan's life, allowing him to buy his first set of turntables.And at 16 years old, Dad set himself on the path to becoming 'trials', performing, writing and producing with and for artists like the Funkoars, Hilltop Hoods, Archie Roach and A.B. Original.Dan has recently stepped out on his own, to release his debut solo album Hendle - something of an origin story, full of honesty, pain and passion.Hendle is out now. Dan is set to publish an accompanying memoir later this year.Keep up to date with Dan's music, art and tour dates at on his Instagram page.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores First Nations excellence, substance abuse, family violence, domestic violence, cultural education, blended families, Briggs, Paul Kelly, Gurrumul, childhood trauma, art, expression, alcoholism, fatherhood, love, grief, estrangement, Australian hip-hop, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays, TV and film soundtrack, systemic racism, justice system, violent crime, art as therapy, painting, memoir, writing, book, sobriety, poetry, Dan Sultan, triple J, Reclaim Australia, Aus Music Month, how to write songs, dark humour, growing up, becoming a man, journalling, self improvement, metaphysical, the Dreaming, belonging, prison, incarceration, beats, NWA, Wu Tang Clan.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. She ignored practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, and this led to career highlights like travelling the globe to select the zoo's next gorilla patriarch. (R)Erna was born in The Netherlands, to parents who were involved in the Dutch resistance during World War II.Erna's love of languages took her to Spain, where she lived for many years with her widowed sister and young nephew.It was there she met a penniless Australian backpacker and fell in love, starting Erna on the path to the rest of her life.Further informationOriginally broadcast May 2025.Hear Me Roar was published by Affirm Press in 2025.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.This episode touches on feminism, sexism, animals, breeding gorillas, zoos, captive animals, Dutch resistance, marry an Australian, Spain, love of languages, history and Europe.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The Gamilaroi journalist on the tiny coalmining town that made her and still sustains her, how eating worms led to a job on breakfast TV, and why she's aiming to be a good ancestor in the deep future.Brooke grew up in Muswellbrook, a coal mining town in NSW.She was a smart, high-achieving kid, doing every extra-curricular activity she could fit in.Despite this, she dropped out of high school and didn't finish her education.After a couple of lost years, a kind boyfriend introduced Brooke to the idea of journalism, and suddenly, she was raring to go, earning jobs in the press gallery in Canberra for NITV, and on triple j, reading the news.Brooke was at the height of her career, doing entertainment news on the Today show on Nine, when she made a decision that seemed to come out of left field.In 2024 Brooke suddenly quit her high-profile job to take up an offer to study at Oxford University.Oxford presented the opportunity to complete the unfinished business of her education after being robbed of her academic potential in high school. In continuing to study, Brooke is focused on a life to be a not only a good auntie and sister but also a good ancestor for future generations.Further informationBrooke's book of essays, All of It: Notes on public life, private joy and everything in between was published by Joan, an imprint of Allen & Unwin.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.This episode touches on the Voice to Parliament referendum, Aboriginal, language, climate change, Indigenous knowledge systems, aunty, ancestors, single mum, DV, domestic violence, work experience, political reporter, Tony Abbott, the news cycle, Canberra, the press gallery, parliament house, UTS, family, nieces, nephews, deep time, deep future, raise the age, age of criminal responsibility, children in prison, children in detention, Socratic method, philosophical argument, economics and politics.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The much loved actor has been on Australian TV screens and theatres for nearly 50 years. (R)Noni Hazlehurst comes from a long line of performers, her parents met while they were part of a touring Variety act in the UK, and her great grandfather was a famous child trapeze artist.Keeping children company on Playschool was one of her best known roles, which she had for 24 years.In Noni’s day, Playschool was recorded in one take, unless one of the presenters swore or was bitten by a rabbit.Further informationNoni's memoir Dropping the Mask is published by HarperCollins.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.It explores acting, theatre, television, marriage, divorce, publicity, children's television, Playschool, Better Homes and Gardens, performing, family, renovations, privacy, legacy. audience, Logie awards.

Political advisor Ed Coper on the cold-blooded machine that is feeding angry people angry content online to make them even angrier, and what we can do about it.Ed Coper is a political advisor and communications consultant who has worked for the Australian Labor Party, and for progressive lobby groups.Over the past few years, he has noticed what everyone else has - people on both sides of the divide becoming increasingly vocal and angry about their politics online.While there's no shortage of things to get outraged about in today's world, no matter where you lie on the political spectrum, Ed argues our rage is being monetised cold-bloodedly by social media platforms.This digital, online machine has planted us in what he calls the era of 'angertainment', where an entire outrage industry is harvesting our worst impulses with algorithms that deliberately trigger the caveman switch in our brains that keeps us alert for potential threats.But there is an antidote.Ed says we need to understand this machine in order to build guardrails that preserve democracy, heal divisions and protect future generations from the "angry clowns" who currently rule the attention economy.Angertainment is published in Simon and Schuster.This episode of Conversations explores politics, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, divisive society, social cohesion, left versus right, attention spans, war, Trump, Putin, Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, elections, World War 3, the future, chronically online, rage bait, internet trolls, keyboard warriors, content farming, bots, Russia, Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Get Up, populism, political ideology, transgender issues, attention economy, MAGA, the woke left, polarised society, family violence, violence against women, misogyny, entertainment industry, Hollywood, nihilism, conservatives, progressives.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The former Canberra Raiders player on hiding his fantasy reading habits as a kid in Western Queensland, the joy of doing hard things, and how books brought him back from the brink. Warning: Discussion of suicide.Luke was a sensitive kid, growing up on a cattle station in Western Queensland. He loved being transported by fantasy novels — following the quests, battles and magic they offered him.Luke found release in these books, beyond the hard work and zipped lips of the strong men he saw around him.Luke didn’t fit into that mould, though he did plenty of work on the farm and loved playing footy. The sport helped him find a place to belong in his world.As a young man, he scored a place in the Canberra Raiders NRL team, and was introduced to the world of gambling.This quickly spiralled into an addiction, and Luke abused drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of this period.Despite being at the height of his young life, and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, Luke couldn’t pay for his groceries. He couldn’t put fuel in the car. He was spending all his money on betting.When things hit rock bottom, Luke relied on the strongest, most loving person he knew — his mum.He understood, somehow, that to get out of the deep hole he was in, he had to find his way back to reading.Further informationLuke is writing his first two fantasy novels, which will be released in early 2027 under Atria Books Australia, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.If you need someone to speak to, you can always call or chat online with Lifeline on 13 11 14.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.This episode touches on suicide, gambling, having a flutter, addiction, rehab, love mum, strong mum, single mum, horse racing, the trots, syndicate, racing horse, borrowing money, Newcastle, rock bottom, hitting rock bottom, powerless over addiction, hero's journey, MDMA, cocaine, alcohol abuse, relapse, recovery, non-linear journey, toxic masculinity, self help, sensitive man.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Jayden Sheridan was just 17 years old when he found out he was going to be a father, and immediately Jayden knew he needed to give his son better opportunities than he ever had growing up in regional Victoria. (R)In Seymour, which is one of the most disadvantaged postcodes in Australia, Jayden experienced homelessness, substance abuse, violence and a general lack of direction. He had no male role models in his life, but he did have the local skate park.It's where he went to feel safe and to feel himself, and Jayden wanted to create that same feeling for his son, and all the other kids in his town of Seymour.What started as adhoc skate lessons quickly turned into Gnarly Neighbours, something far bigger and more impactful than 17-year-old Jayden could have imagined.Jayden has recently been selected as a 2026 Westpac Social Change Fellow. His fellowship involves travelling across the US, Europe and the UK to learn from organisations doing similar work in creative and trauma-informed mentoring for young people.You can learn more about Gnarly Neighbours here.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.This episode of Conversations explores substance abuse, drug use, drug dealing, expulsion, troubled children, mental health, bipolar disorder, teen parenting, teen fatherhood, teen motherhood, skateboarding, skating, streetwear, origin stories, family dynamics, male role models, father figures, dysfunctional families, single parenting, rural and regional Australia, masculinity, manhood, rites of passage, mentoring.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The Wikipedia co-founder has developed seven rules for building trust to create a better world, both on the internet and IRL.Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Jimmy was enamoured with his family's Encyclopaedia Britannica.The city was home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre, and the energy of the place gave a young Jimmy a robust enthusiasm for technology and the future.As a young man, Jimmy developed the idea to start a free, online encyclopaedia, built by strangers and shared across languages.In 2001, Wikipedia was born, and for a time it was derided.Now, the website is a mainstay of the internet and a resource trusted by many.Jimmy says Wikipedia is all about strangers working together on the internet, in pursuit of a common goal, powered by their shared enthusiasm, and that is something to celebrate.Further informationThe Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower is published by Bloomsbury.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.It covers Twitter, X, trolls, vandalism, respect, civility, not-for-profit, tech bros, volunteers, social media ban, nupedia, servers, bots, AI, meconium aspiration syndrome, authenticity, empathy, logic, abortion, internet traffic, shouting online and civil discussion.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Joh Jarvis was a high-flying boss when grief from a terrible loss began to overwhelm her. She tried therapy, exercise and healthy eating. Then she found Vedic meditation, and the experience was 'psychedelic'. (R)Joh Jarvis is a Vedic meditation teacher in New York City.On a regular basis Joh travels to the notorious Rikers Island Prison in the Bronx.There, she teaches meditation to men waiting on remand.Inside a prison which is often violent and chaotic, she aims to give them a new way of coping.Joh grew up in Adelaide, and always wanted to live amidst the bright lights of New York.After a stint as a bicycle courier, she worked her way up to management at the ABC.As she approached 50, she had a well-paying job, a nice house, and strong connections with friends and family. But long-term grief had hollowed her out, and she asked herself, is this all there is?Then she was introduced to Vedic meditation, and she says her first encounter was 'psychedelic'.Read more about Joh's work at Rikers Island and other US prisons at her website The Light Inside.And you can see Joh in action on ABC TV's Compass.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.It explores epic life stories, family dynamics, grief, loss, reflection, Vedic meditation, meditation, personal stories, origin stories, death, career, giving back, New York City, Rikers Island prison, incarceration, justice system, prison system, mindfulness, mantras, health and wellness, suicide.

Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into a money- and status-obsessed young man, who mixed with gangsters and shady businessmen.Patrick's new book begins with the description of a scene that was picked up by a surveillance camera in London in the early hours of a November morning in 2019.The footage showed a grainy image of a shadowy figure, anxiously moving about the balcony of a luxury apartment. That young man's name was Zac Brettler. He was 19 years old, and hours later his body was discovered on the banks of the River Thames. Patrick Radden Keefe’s investigation explores Zac’s secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch, and delves into the true identities of the wealthy gangsters who were there in his final hours.Further informationLondon Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth is published by Pan Macmillan Australia.This episode covers grief, fantasy life, con artists, London underworld, Boris Johnson, family tragedy, luxury, Holocaust survivors, rabbi, Mill Hill school, young men, making money, raising boys, Roman Abramovich, oligarch, plutocrat, MI6 and true crime.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The philosopher argues that as a culture, we'd be happier and saner if we re-examined our view of love, because our romantic notions can actually work against the relationships we want most. (R)Alain De Botton's novel from 2016 called The Course of Love challenges many assumptions about falling in love and what comes next.Alain first tackled the subject when he wrote Essays of Love in his early 20s.The episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2016The producer was Michelle Ransom-Hughes and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness, and how recognising his own led to true healing. (R)Dr Gabor Maté was born in Budapest to a Jewish family, just before Nazi tanks rolled into the city.His mother risked handing him to a stranger on the street to try and get him to safety.Many years later, after establishing himself as a successful physician in Canada, Gabor looked at the problems in his work and marriage and wondered if they were linked to that early trauma.He uses his own experiences as a test case for the effects of trauma on the body and the body-mind connection. Dr Mate is internationally renowned for his ideas around the lifelong impact of trauma.He believes it is contributing factor to rates of addiction, chronic disease, and mental illness, as well as ADHD.His views are sometimes described as unorthodox by his critics, but Dr Mate argues that understanding trauma of all kinds allows for real healing, as has happened in his own life.Further InformationThe Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Dr Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté is published by Penguin Random House.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2025.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Diana Nguyen's mother would walk out of her performances at interval in protest of her career, but Diana forged on and in the process healed this mother-daughter relationship. (R)Diana Nguyen knew she was born for a life on the stage when she discovered dancing while staying in a nunnery as a child.Her love affair with the arts, however, fractured her relationship with her mother, who had escaped Vietnam by boat and wanted her eldest daughter to be 'more' than a performer.But a trip to her motherland helped heal this mother-daughter relationship, and after years of walking out of her performances in protest, Diana finally saw her mum from the stage as she took her bow.

At 48, Bill Hayes moved to New York. He took up photography, and never anticipated the surprise of falling in love with his neighbour, Dr Oliver Sacks,  a neurologist, a naturalist and a university professor. (R)Doctor Oliver Sacks became famous for writing case histories of his patients in books, including The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars.At 75 years old, Oliver had never been in a relationship, until he fell deeply in love with his neighbour Bill Hayes, who was decades younger than him.Bill and Oliver lived together until Oliver Sacks died in 2015, in his early eighties.Further informationBill's memoir Insomniac City was published in 2017 by Bloomsbury.This conversation was recorded at the 2017 Sydney Writers' Festival.The producer was Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.

Louise Philip had just scored her breakout role on Australian television, in Bellbird, when a horrific car crash threatened to derail the life she was forging for herself. (R)Louise was 15 years old when she convinced her parents to let her drop out of high school to become an actress.She had just scored her breakout role on Australian television, but within a few months a terrible car crash threatened to derail the life that she was forging for herself. Louise broke her back and permanently lost the use of her legs, and she was told that the silver screen was no longer a place for her.But Louise fought to get back to work, and thrived on Australian television sets for years until she did something else that people told her was impossible -- she became a mother.Only after Louise became a mother did she have the perspective to deeply talk to her father, who was driving the car when it crashed all those years ago, about grief, guilt and forgiveness.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.The producer was Nicola Harrison and the executive producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores disability, tv acting, Australian television, disability access, discrimination, grief, guilt, motherhood, family, love, tragedy, resilience, forgiveness.

As a little girl growing up in Brisbane in the era of the White Australia policy, Lindy lived through the pain of always feeling different but then she began using it as fuel for her art. (R)It took her many years to find the power in what she calls the 'tearing' in her identity.She began to make work based on her own family story, and her Zen practice.Lindy is now one of Australia's leading contemporary artists.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2022 

At 25, Peter Goers lost both of his parents after the commercial plane they were travelling in crashed into a suburb of New Orleans shortly after take off.Suddenly, he was required to drop everything to fly to America and identify their bodies, he also spent time the relatives of the other 143 passengers that died in the tragedy.For many years Peter's reaction to losing his parents was expressed through a reckless regard for his own life, before finally learning how to live with himself and the defining tragedy of his life.Peter Goers is a retired ABC broadcaster, he presented The Evening Show on 891 ABC Adelaide for over 20 years.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2023.It was produced by Nicola Harrison and Eliza Kirch is the Executive Producer.Further InformationPeter's memoir, In the Air of the Afternoon is published through Wakefield Press.

For 45 years, George Palmer harboured a secret. He spent every spare moment composing classical music, and then shoving his scores in his bottom drawer. Until one day, almost by pure chance, that music saw the light of day.As a young man, George had dreams of becoming a renowned classical music composer, but when he walked into university, he didn't feel like he belonged in the music department.George left after his first week, and followed a school friend into the law department.At first, George was not inspired by the law, but he ended up falling in love with the human side of the justice system.For the next 45 years, he climbed the ranks from barrister, to Queen's Counsel, and finally to judge in the NSW Supreme Court, where he had ultimate responsibility for all adoptions in the state.But through all those years in public life, George had a secret "vice".Every spare moment he had was spent at his piano, scribbling down choral works and orchestral scores that he never intended anyone to see or hear.He never spoke about composing with his colleagues, friends or family, until one day George's talents were uncovered through chance and tragedy.George's latest work The Drover's Wife - The Opera is playing at Brisbane's QPAC until 22 May, and then will be staged at Sydney's Opera House in August, 2026.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.It explores World War Two, family origin stories, spies, British intelligence, hearing loss, late in life career changes, second career, protective list, adoption, foster care, Supreme Court, legal system, justice system, judicial system, commercial law, Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, opera, contemporary classical music, contemporary Australian composers, Indigenous stories, Leah Purcell, stage adaptations, books, writing.

From muscle paralysis and sleepwalking, to the power of our subconscious, Dr Sutapa Mukherjee takes you into the secret world of sleep.Dr Sutapa Mukherjee is a sleep specialist fascinated by how the time we spend awake is built on the hours we spend horizontal, and totally withdrawn from the world. She trained initially as a respiratory specialist, but moved into sleep research when she realised how little was known about what happens to us when our conscious mind switches off at night. Sutapa helps people to overcome sleep disorders, like insomnia, sleepwalking and narcolepsy, which can sometimes come with a condition known as cataplexy: when laughter or another strong emotion causes someone to instantly collapse into sleep. This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024The producer was Meggie Morris and Carmel Rooney was the Executive Producer.It explores sleep, insomnia, sleepwalking, narcolepsy, sleep apnoea, consciousness, cataplexy, mental health, physical health, mental clarity, energy, mood, snoring, respiratory illness, mindfulness, anxietyTo binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Former AFLW star Moana Hope has spent her life caring for others, including her dying father and her beloved sister Vinny, who has an intellectual disability. It wasn't until Mo was in her 30s that she realised she needed to learn how to love herself.Content Warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion of childhood abuse, domestic violence and suicidal ideation.Moana Hope grew up with 13 siblings in a two-bedroom housing commission home in Melbourne's north west.As a little girl, she played football with the boys and then with grown women, and in her 20s she took on full-time caring responsibilities for two of her nephews, as well as her sister, who lives with an intellectual disability.This backstory, along with her natural talent for the game and charisma off the field, helped Mo stand out as a star of the women's game when the AFLW was launched in 2017.Mo was a marquee player for Collingwood in the women's debut season.But she retired earlier than she had planned to.Post-AFLW, Mo had a lot of time to think about herself outside of football, and about the chaos and violence that was normalised in her childhood home.But it wasn't until Mo became a mother herself, that she fully reckoned with her understanding of love.Mo shares intimate snippets from her life on Instagram.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.It explores AFL, the Pies, Melbourne, Glenroy, Maori heritage, Cancer, death, grief, caring, queerness, footy, Hawthorne, women's sports, cricket, mother daughter relationships, mother father relationships, personal work, therapy, inner child work, sisterhood, engineering, female business owners, motherhood, sons and mothers, violence, abuse, financial abuse, Essendon, GWS, Richmond, Adelaide.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.