Conversations

Monica McInerney with tales from her childhood in a railway family in the South Australian town of Clare (R)

Australia's most famous landscape architect on learning from the garden, Greek school and his Yiayia

Philippe Sands on how a cache of letters sent him on the trail of Nazi war criminal Otto Von Wachter, who escaped to Rome on the 'Ratline' (R)

Designer Jenny Kee with the story of her wild and creative life, including how she and Linda Jackson began a movement which changed Australian fashion (CW: discretion required. Drug references, suicide and content that might be upsetting)

The ABC Sports presenter describes his life at 17, a year dominated by football, girls, beer, and a serial killer stalking his neighbourhood

While they greet one another with soft "woohoos", carefully feed their fat, fluffy babies and bleat at sunset, field naturalist Tanya Loos keeps an eye on the beautiful and ferocious population in her backyard

When an eruption began in 1994 in Papua New Guinea, the last thing singer-songwriter Ngaiire expected was a second volcano to begin spewing ash. Tuning in to the mystery and majesty of PNG has become a lifelong project (CW: Some listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening)Throughout her childhood, singing was something Ngaiire did at church, somewhat begrudgingly, because her dad told her to.The singer-songwriter grew up between Palmerston North in New Zealand and her father's home in Rabaul, a volcanic hot spot on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea.As a child, she and her family survived a double volcanic eruption in 1994, and the chain of events that followed pulled Ngaiire to Wenamo, her mother's ancestral home in the Highlands.Amongst the mountains, Ngaiire leaned into quiet spirituality and connected with her ancestors, both living and deceased.Music is a delight and a necessity for Ngaiire, but in the past she tried to separate her Papua New Guinean heritage from her music career in Australia.That changed in 2017 when she made a pilgrimage to her mother's mountain.Further informationSome listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening.The following songs have been edited for the podcast:ShiverHim 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.

Zen priest and writer Ruth Ozeki takes us into world brimming with the voices of people and household objects, and her own experience of hearing her father's voice in her ear after he'd died

David Hepworth charts our fascination with that most earth-bound of gods, the rock star; and discusses some of music history's striking examples (R)

After Isaac Adams returned from Afghanistan struggling with anger and hypervigilance, he found that working with traumatised racehorses was helping him heal

Lynn Rainbow grew up in a castle in one of Australia’s most theatrical families. In the 1970s she became a famous actress, before she began a new life as a philanthropist

'Jack the Insider' returns with the story of Neddy Smith, the violent criminal and heroin dealer who became an enforcer for a cabal of corrupt police detectives in the 1980s (CW: discussion of violent acts)

Miriam Lancewood on her life roaming the New Zealand bush, hunting possums and goats to survive (CW: Graphic descriptions) (R)

Miriam was conceived in an air raid during WWII and brought up in a nice Jewish home with a charismatic mother. She became the naughtiest girl at Oxford High School and then grew up to be one of the world's best known actors

How the 'Men at Work' front man managed the trip to mega-stardom and back again (R)

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher inspired his music (R)

When Joan Marie Larkin was given a guitar at the age of 13, she was on the path to becoming the Godmother of Punk (R)

Jimmy Barnes grew up as a boy called James Swan in Glasgow, then in South Australia. In his late teens, he joined a band called Cold Chisel and became a huge star. But on and off stage Jimmy was battling the demons of his troubled childhood (R)

Museum curator Imelda Miller on the history and vibrancy of Australian South Sea Islanders

Physicist Paul Davies on the mysteries of our universe, including the puzzle of the 'super-void' inside the constellation of Eridanus

Journalist Gary Nunn on what he learned about grief, comfort, and the influence of clairvoyants during his two year investigation of the supernatural industry

Kate Leaver became fascinated by the curative qualities of dogs after her Shih Tzu Bertie helped her through her darkest days (R)

Tobacco giant Philip Morris was financing what looked like anti-smoking initiatives around the world, but what they were advertising wasn't safe

She didn't know it at the time, but religiously eavesdropping on her mother's phone conversations and counselling her grandmother through a breakup made her the psychologist she is today

Treetop scientist Meg Lowman on her working life among the leaves, birds and insects in the world's forest canopies, which she calls the '8th continent'

Mandy's life changed completely in 2013 when she fell terribly ill with sepsis. Since then, with prosthetic replacements for all four limbs, she has learned to walk and drive again, and she doesn't want applause for living her life like everyone else (CW: mention of suicide)

Claire Nelson was in the Joshua Tree National Park hiking alone when she strayed from the trail and slipped, shattering her pelvis. Her phone was out of range, and she knew she had to stay alive long enough for someone to realise she was missing (R)

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on witnessing the events of September 11th, 2001 from the window of a Washington hotel room (R)

Debra Gavranich with the story of her mother Marija, who left her tiny Croatian island to make a life with a man she’d never met, in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Valley

When the red-headed Englishman deserted the East India Company in 1827 to conduct his own archaeological digs in Afghanistan, he never imagined the Company would find him again, or try to blackmail him into spyingDr Edmund Richardson tells the story of Charles Masson, a red-headed Englishman, who embarked on a series of adventures and misadventures in Afghanistan after deserting from the East India Company Army in 1827.When Charles arrived in Kabul it was one of the wonders of the world, a wealthy and tolerant city in Asia and he fell in love with its bazaars, its fruit orchards, and its storytellers.Charles was on the trail of Alexander the Great.He set out to find one of Alexander’s lost cities, "Alexandria Beneath the Mountains".Along the way, Charles uncovered many treasures from Afghanistan’s Buddhist past.He visited the giant Bamiyan Buddhas (since destroyed by the Taliban) and discovered a 2000-year-old golden casket, which featured the earliest known face of the Buddha.And while Charles was digging up the past, the East India Company was tightening its net around him.Further informationAlexandria: The Quest for the Lost City is published by BloomsburyTo binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversation 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.

Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old

When Hayley moved to a cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, the rural idyll wasn't quite as she imagined (R)

Professor Pankaj Sah has a special interest in researching the amygdala and the possibility of treating PTSD to remove the fear and anxiety that come with it

As a young woman, Krystyna thought her father had taught her everything about Poland’s history, but she didn’t know that what he’d left out would become a focus of her life

One of the most influential disability rights activists in history tells her story of her fight for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human

Reverend Bill Crews on the moment which changed how he saw his own life story, and his ideas on how we can all cultivate compassion, tolerance, empathy and love in difficult times

The modern world functions on precision - phones, computers, cameras that operate with exactness. But in the quest for perfection, have we lost the art of craftsmanship? (R)

Marine biologist Dr Edith Widder was inside a submersible searching for bioluminescence in the ocean depths when she saw a giant squid as big as a two story house

Biologist Catherine Raven was living off-grid in a remote valley in Montana when she unexpectedly became friends with a wild red fox

When David McAllister began ballet lessons in Perth in the 1970s, being a 'ballet boy' was a kind of social death. But his school bullies helped spur him on to become one of the world's best dancers (R)

Journalist Mark Willacy on his investigations into alleged war crimes by Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan CW: Some listeners may find elements of this conversation upsetting

Anna hosts Death, Sex and Money a podcast about money, race, #MeToo, and what to say when someone dies

From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. Linda Jaivin has written a new account of China which pulls together its sprawling history

In 2015, Amani Haydar suffered the unimaginable when she lost her mother in a brutal act of domestic violence perpetrated by her father (CW: Domestic violence)

Biologist Merlin Sheldrake's extreme experiments, many of which involve his physical body and varying forms of fungi, have led to equally remarkable discoveries (R)

As current CEO of Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand, Molly wants to put an end to human exploitation by delivering transparent supply chains throughout the world. But whether working in the White House, or from a tiny village outside Canberra, Molly's work fulfills the purpose she discovered as a college student raised in a Quaker family

Roger Pulvers lived an adventurous life in the Soviet Union, Japan and Poland, before he chose a whole new identity in 1976 (R)

Anaesthetist Christine Ball traces the world-changing work of the man who brought an end to surgery performed on conscious patients

As a child, the superstar swim coach lived with a chronic lung condition, and had part of a lung removed. In 1956, a huge event held right in his family's backyard changed the course of his life (R)

Anna's stellar cycling career saw her smash Australian Olympic records and become the World Champion 11 times. Then to the surprise of many, she walked away (R)