Conversations

Comedian Adam Rozenbachs booked his father on the trip of a lifetime. But it turns out his Dad doesn't like museums or monuments, galleries or landmarks, or travelling much at all

Broadcaster Phillip Adams is a filmmaker, former ad man and author - and he’s just celebrated his 80th birthday

The author of bestselling novel, Pachinko, explores the lives of generations of Koreans in Japan

Forensic anthropologist Lucina Hackman uses scientific evidence and rational deduction to identify the dead, and return the missing to their loved ones

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

One of the all time greatest and silliest stories in Australian history

The farcical events that unfolded when a group of conspirators hatched a plot to defraud bookmakers of millions of dollars (R)

When Anne was ten, she walked onto the school playground and a girl spat in her face after calling her ‘a dirty, Arab Muslim’. To her shock, the teacher did nothing. The incident sparked Anne's ongoing passion for justice

Tim Flannery on the bizarre geography of prehistoric Europe, and how an asteroid the size of Manhattan ruptured everything

Natalie Walker supports the innocent partners and families of perpetrators of online child sex offences. She founded an organisation to provide peer support, and transform the stigma applied to secondary victims

Hung Le and his family made a terrifying escape from Saigon in 1975. All they had with them was one suitcase, a box of biscuits and some seasick pills. As they left, they saw Saigon on fire. Later, Hung's father became the 'lost artist' of Vietnam

Law Professor Jeremy Gans with stories of jurors using ouija boards in court, falling in love with advocates and snoozing through proceedings (R)

Niki Savva on the bungled coup which ousted Malcolm Turnbull and installed his surprise successor, Scott Morrison

Bryan’s played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world. From Breaker Morant and Newsfront to Two Hands and Sweet Country, a huge number of classic Australian films feature Bryan, a testament to his talent, popularity and work ethic. Bryan also spent a period working in America, starring most notably in Cocktail and Gorillas In The Mist, before ultimately choosing Sydney over Hollywood.In the 1980s, working on the American-made series The Thorn Birds utterly changed Bryan’s life. He and British co-star Rachel Ward fell in love and married soon after.Their creative partnership has been enduring and they worked on Bryan's latest film Palm Beach together, with Rachel directing and co-writing, and Bryan also co-producing.Palm Beach was inspired by a reunion of friends in later life, and a health scare that rocked Bryan’s confidence for several years. Further informationBryan was awarded the Australian screen industry's top honour, winning the Longford Lyell Award at the 2018 Australian Academy Cinema Television AwardsTo 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.

Yosemite’s most punishing climb is the 3000ft sheer face of El Capitan mountain called the Dawn Wall. Tommy grew up exploring Yosemite and in 2015 he and his partner Kevin Jorgeson became the first to free-climb the wall

Dan Ziffer had a front row seat for the testimony of victims, financial advisors and bankers offered up to Australia's Banking Royal Commission

Adele Ferguson on the dishonest dealings of Australia's banks and financial institutions, and the damage done to customers and whistleblowers

Peter's Korean birth mother spent years searching for her son in America. Then she discovered an AFL star living in Perth (R)

Writer Dominic Smith on the glittering, perplexing history of the silent film era

Grant Edwards won the title of The Strongest Man in Australia for four years in a row by pulling trains, planes, trucks and ships. At work, he fought child exploitation and human trafficking. But while protecting others, Grant forgot to look after himself

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

A severe spinal injury could not crush Dinesh Palipana's drive to become a doctor (R)

Robert Raven puts aside his long-held fear of spiders to collect them and uncover hundreds of new species. (R)

Faye McLeod took on a stage name when she became a performer, and followed her star to the UK in the 1960s (R)

When Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by the Indonesian Government, their lawyer of 9 years was not far away. Theirs are among the deaths which continue to drive Julian’s efforts to have capital punishment abolished worldwide

Historian Billy Griffiths on the complex history of Australia's indigenous archaeology

John on what he's learned in more than 30 years as an educator, parent, and founder and principal of Candlebark and Alice Miller schools

At 59, Michael became a 'reluctant psychonaut'. While on LSD he felt his sense of self disintegrate into a storm of Post-it notes

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 in his family's backyard changed the course of his life

Louise Burton has worked with the Royal Flying Doctor Service Qld for twenty years

Hugh White on the conundrum of how Australia can defend itself in the Asian century

Psychologist Jessica Grisham on working with people whose wellbeing is threatened by their attachment to 'stuff' (R)

Sound designer and naturalist Douglas Quin makes field recordings from everywhere on Earth and uses them to create soundscapes for film and tv, galleries and museums

From Antarctica to Arnhem Land, the pages of the books of this prolific author and illustrator are fuelled by adventure (R)

Jan’s work as a champion of young people has its roots in her own story (R)

Barbara Laidlaw pieces together the mystery of what her parents endured as internees in Hong Kong (R)

Bernie was a wild teenager who became a jackeroo and a dingo trapper. Then he began helping kids in trouble (R)

As a child Trent was a quiet observer of the drama of his family and his neighbourhood. He grew up to become an award-winning writer (R)

Bricklaying takes him around the world as a teacher and expert, but Troy Everett still finds deep satisfaction in laying bricks

Stephanie Wood was an acclaimed newspaper journalist when she fell for a romantic fraudsterStephanie Wood was a successful and well-travelled journalist when she met a sweet man online.They spent many romantic weekends away and discussed a future where they would live together in the country.But after months of his last minute cancellations and no shows, Stephanie finally ended the relationship.What she discovered next was a shocking tale of deceit and manipulation.Once she began telling her story, Stephanie realised there were hundreds of other women just like her.Further informationFake is published by PenguinTo 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.

After decades as a marine ecologist, Pia Winberg began her own seaweed farm. One ordinary working day there was a terrible accident

Mandy Sayer has uncovered the history of a thriving Gypsy community (R)

Left totally blind by treatment he received as a premature baby, Ron credits technology, love, and good timing with his success in life and the law

When she rode her motorbike solo across the Silk Road, Heather thought she had nothing to lose. Her HIV positive diagnosis was far more serious in the 1990s than it is today

Zak Grieve was 19 when he was found guilty of murder, although the judge said he wasn't at the scene of the crime. Steven Schubert tells his story

The astounding fate of Narcisse Pelletier, taken in by the people of Night Island after being abandoned on the coast of far north Queensland in 1858

After a stroke at age 31, Lavinia Codd lost part of her memory, and half her vision. Then she became fascinated by her brain's ability to regenerate (R)

'Becardiganed polymath' Robin Ince on the fascinating brains of stand-up comics

Patrice Newell was a model and a TV host before she began again as a biodynamic farmer

Richard Tognetti was a boy when he first showed a brilliant talent for playing the violin. But in the town where he grew up, his talent made him a target