Conversations

Glennon made a big name for herself in the US as a ‘Christian mommy blogger’ with her candid and often hilarious writing when she fell wildly in love with U.S Women's Soccer star Abby WambachAlongside her blackly funny posts about the challenges of parenting, Glennon wrote about her recovery from alcoholism and bulimia.She encouraged her growing tribe of followers to feel their feelings rather than numbing them.Glennon then used her platform to create an all-women-led non profit organization.Together Rising has raised $27 million for women, families, and children in crisis.A few years ago Glennon's husband Craig confessed he'd been unfaithful to her for years.She decided to stay in the marriage and fight for it.In 2017 Glennon was at a conference launching her book Love Warrior about recommitting to her marriage.When she saw US women’s soccer star, Abby Wambach, Glennon immediately fell madly in love.She upended her life to be with her, and had to rethink many of her ideas about marriage and motherhood in the process.Further informationUntamed: Stop Pleasing and Start Living is published by VermillionLearn more about Together RisingTo 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.

Writer Deborah Feldman grew up inside the claustrophobic world of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect in Brooklyn, and as a teenager she was married off to a man she barely knew. In her 20s she fled to Berlin to make an entirely new life

Lawrence Ryan grew up in a dilapidated Victorian-era homestead called Monte Cristo. From when he was young, he knew he'd grow up to become a professional stuntman, jumping his motorbike over cars, buses and planes

Matt Norman's late uncle Peter won a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics, then was notoriously cast out of Australian sport (R)

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'

Robynne Murphy, film-maker and former steel worker, on the Wollongong women who took on BHP for the right to work alongside men at the steelworks

How a Birmingham boy became best-selling thriller writer, Lee Child (R)

When Johnathan was a boy he was written off as too skinny and too wild for rugby league (R)

The late writer with the story of a terrible accident in 1976 which completely changed her family (R)

Dan Richards follows his curiosity to some of the most remote habitable places in the world including an Icelandic cabin and a monastery high in the mountains of Japan

Hearing their Tongan mother’s powerful voice rise above the congregation in church, primed Vika and Linda for a life in song. Their distinctive harmonies and dazzling energy have seen them grace stages and studios for thirty five years

In the midst of Lisa Millar's brilliant career as a journalist, she found herself in the grip of aviophobia, a crippling fear of flying (R)

Historian Lucy Inglis on humankind's greatest painkiller and how its trade and cultivation are threaded through the story of civilisation, and the lives of every one of us

The co-creator of Absolutely Fabulous says her success rests on a series of happy accidents and calls herself an extreme procrastinator (R)

When Danna Young's husband Mike received a terrible diagnosis, she found herself drawn to conspiracy theories in the search to find someone, or something to blame

Australian comedian on Nanette, her 'farewell' to stand up comedy; being diagnosed with high-functioning autism as an adult; and on Douglas, the show and the dogHannah made an instant impression with her first comedy set, winning a national contest in 2006. She quickly became a regular on the Australian and UK festival circuits, and on television shows including Adam Hills Tonight and Please Like Me.After a decade of consistent work, Hannah wrote a show called Nanette, which she billed as her 'farewell' to comedy. In it, Hannah used the familiar context of stand-up to talk powerfully about trauma, her own trauma, and what her life's been like from the inside. It was confronting and raw, as well as tough for Hannah to perform, and made a huge impact with audiences, critics and other comedians.Nanette was filmed for a Netflix comedy special, becoming one of the most popular ever. It earned Hannah prestigious Peabody and Emmy awards and a level of fame she never expected.Hannah's most recent show was Douglas. In Douglas, Hannah explains that shortly before writing Nanette she received a diagnosis of high-functioning autism.Further informationDouglas and Nanette are available on NetflixTo 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.

When Pasi was a boy he would sneak into his father's empty schoolroom in northern Finland and pretend to be a teacher. Now he's one of the world's leading voices in education, encouraging schools to help kids find their passion in life, and to follow it

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when she hand-reared a magpie nestling. When it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers to study avian behaviour. Her books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking (R)

Meet a sound designer and naturalist who makes field recordings all over the world. He then puts them to use in soundscapes for film and television, galleries, museums and apps (R)

Uncle Jack was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby and denied his Aboriginality. A one-off trip to Fitzroy connected him with a family he didn’t know about, and promptly landed him in jail (R)

Europe's startling deep past explained: pygmy dinosaurs, blue-eyed Neanderthals; and how an asteroid the size of Manhattan ruptured everything (R)

The Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less was working as an odd-jobs man for an Italian Baroness when a phone call upended his life (R)

Walking through grief and facing up to life on the Pacific Crest Trail, the true story of Wild (R)

Celebrated British poet Lemn Sissay grew up not knowing his given name or his Ethiopian parents. His life was shaped by being adopted, and then raised in state care (R)

James explains the traditions, language and pleasures of shepherding in England's Lake District (R)

When Darleen Bungey set out to uncover her father's past she discovered a Hollywood heartthrob and a singer whose records outsold Bing Crosby's

Maira's daily life as a New York-based artist who likes to paint trees, dogs and hats, and why the contents of her mother's closet became famous

One of the world's only master paint-makers, David Coles on how he found a life creating colours like Lapis Blue and Rose Madder (R)

On 9/11 Captain Beverley Bass diverted her American Airlines jet to a tiny town in Newfoundland, along with thousands of other airspace refugees (R)

Dr Culum Brown's work on fish cognition has proven fish have long memories, sharks have friends, and sting rays know when it's the weekend

Miranda's story from growing up in Kakadu National Park as a Larrakia Tiwi girl, to finding fame in The Sapphires, and co-creating Top End Wedding, the first romantic comedy set in the Northern Territory

Sheila Heti on the life of Finnish writer Tove Jansson who created the Moomins, and some of her own reflections on her choice about whether or not to become a mother

Helen recently published her diaries from the years 1978 to 1987. They include her thoughts on writing and work, parenting, love affairs, and the quest for the right pair of shoes (R)

Rutger Bregman takes a new look at the accepted idea that humans are just one disaster away from bad behaviour. He says our species' survival has long depended on the best aspects of our nature, such as kindness and the sharing of ideas

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

A new conversation with the Irish novelist, on what it means to be a grown up, and standing her ground on Ireland’s moral questions

Young Robert Lukins modelled himself on the fictional character Adrian Mole, a prodigious reader and writer (R)

Sandy was teaching at a school in the English countryside when he set off in a Mirror dinghy, intending to sail as far as Gloucester (R)

How a group of financiers from a poor and damp island on the outer rim of Europe created a private company which came to rule India (R)

Tony Wilson was always drawn to the world's great speeches. Then, without warning, he was called on to make the most difficult speech of his life

Naomi is an American poet and author living in San Antonio, Texas. Her family story is marked by life-changing coincidences, and narrow escapes

How Shannon Molloy survived the worst year of his life, as a gay teenager at an all boys' school on the coast of Central Queensland

A much-loved performer digs into the challenging truth of her father's past (R)

While confined to a hospital room for months with a rare form of tuberculosis, Christiaan found love and an entirely new path in life

Tom Keneally with the story of Edward 'Plorn' Dickens who was sent to live in Australia when he was sixteen in the hope he might redeem himself

In 2015, Sydney boxer Davey died of brain swelling after he was knocked out in the ring. When journalist and boxer Stephanie Convery reported on the inquest, she found a sport in a collective state of denial

When therapist Lori Gottlieb found herself in therapy after a devastating breakup, she began to rethink her own life story

A songwriter's songwriter, John turned his often bemused view of people and politics into songs for fifty years (R)

Astronaut Jim Bagian on working, eating and sleeping in micro-gravity while orbiting the earth at 28 000 kilometres an hour

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