Conversations

Angela Hamilton was raised by a tyrannical father, who terrorised his family. Decades later, she found out the truth about what he'd done during WWII

How a shy Mormon girl named Sharon became Poh Ling Yeow (R)

Australia through the eyes of The New York Times Australia bureau chief, Damien Cave

Chasing the back beat and adventures in wide open spaces, Rob remains essentially the same as the boy he was (R)

After treating a patient named Anna, Sharonne Zaks saw the power relationship with her patients differently. She developed a new branch of dentistry to help care for survivors of sexual assaultSharonne Zaks grew up in a family of dentists, and when she too became a dentist, she developed an empathetic relationship with her patients, never judging them even if they'd avoided the dentist for years.After some years, a patient named Anna profoundly changed Sharonne's understanding of a patient's experience in the dentist's chair.She realised that for those who've been through a sexual assault or trauma, the extreme powerlessness of being treated at the dentist can be highly triggering.Sharonne undertook study into the area, and began a new regime to treat survivors in her own practice.She then began explaining what she'd found about the power dynamic between dentist and patient, to her own profession.Further informationWatch Sharonne's video about finding a dentist you can trustSee all Sharonne's videosTo 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.

Eight stories exploring the pleasures and perils of water

Barrie unearths a family wartime secret after fifty years (R)

Alex Landragin was born into a champagne-making family in the French village of Verzenay. When he was five, his family began a new life in Australia. Then a freak accident changed everything.

Esther is a therapist who spent years studying intimacy, monogamy and sexuality. She became the world's most well-known expert on modern loveWhen Esther was a teenager she was voraciously curious about human behaviour.She thought she'd become a journalist or a translator, but instead she grew up to become the world's most famous contemporary psychotherapist.Esther became known around the world after the release of her podcast "Where Should We Begin?" in which she counsels real-life couples who are on the brink of marital breakdown.In her sessions she's often exploring the tension between the need for security in a relationship, and the need for some distance and a sense of adventure, to keep the spark alive.Esther says when you choose a partner you choose a story, and by doing so, you're often recruited for a part you never expected to play.Further informationThe State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity is published by Yellow Kite BooksListen to the podcast Where Should We Begin?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.

The story of family bonds so strong that one couple gave their child to another, to be raised in a country far away

The matriarch of La Mama on life in and out of Melbourne’s beloved theatre

Dulcie Markham was one of the most notorious characters of Sydney in the 1930s, but many of her lovers met a grisly end

Lynne Kelly became a senior memory champion after she began researching ancient ways of transforming landscapes, objects and the human body into 'memory palaces.'

In the dying days of the Vietnam War, hundreds of orphans were airlifted from Saigon to safety. Ian Shaw tells the story of two Australian women at the heart of Operation Babylift

Demystifying the art of talk therapy and the complex relationship between therapist and patientPsychotherapy, also known as 'the talking cure', is based on a profound and usually ongoing connection between a person and their therapist.This type of work, often dealing with long buried events or feelings, can be transformative for patients.Gill Straker has a lifetime of experience as a psychotherapist, in Australia and in her birthplace, South Africa.Her work counselling victims of brutality and trauma during the apartheid regime was fundamental to her ongoing practice.At the heart of every successful therapeutic session, says Gill, is a willingness to be present, open, and to learn from each other.She encourages people to include the health of their minds as well as their bodies, when looking to improve their wellbeing.Further informationThe Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship is published by MacmillanGill is a clinical professor in the School of Psychology at Sydney UniversityTo 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.

Tony became an actor against his mother's wishes. Three decades later, he won the part of a lifetime (R)

Travelling the world in pursuit of language and exploring its uses, abuses and transformation

Sally Young unearthed a culture of 'dog does not eat dog' as she wrote a history of Australia's newspaper barons

Gina Perry uncovers the strange story behind a controversial psychological experiment (R)

Dog whisperer Guy Hull on remarkable dogs, from life-saving kangaroo dogs to plane-flying Alsatians (R)

Vickie's met with trouble all through her life, starting with a police record at the age of two. She went on to challenge a Federal law on the rights of prisoners

The late Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke on his life before politics, and his years at The Lodge (R)

Social Researcher Rebecca Huntley on Australia's new political landscape

After two suicides within her family, Jessie returned to Northern NSW to begin again. (R)

Eleanor Gordon-Smith was a 'recovering champion debater' when a night in King's Cross upended her belief in the power of reason

As a young man, Irvine Welsh fell off a double-decker bus and won a tidy sum in compensation. Then he began to write 'Trainspotting'

Tales of drowned towns, pugnacious unionists, terrifying brumbies and a love story in a laundry floor came to light in Siobhan McHugh's history of the Snowy Scheme

Kate has used tragic events in her own life as creative fuel to write more than 25 plays (R)

Writer Susan Orlean on the enduring mystery of who set fire to the Los Angeles Central Library

The Sugarbag bees who headbutt their queen to her death are among the many Australian bee species which fascinate ecologist Toby Smith

David Isaacs on the surprising history of human vaccination

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

Sarah’s life took a gothic turn as she crafted her version of Melmoth

The Pulitzer Prize winner was working as an odd-jobs man for an Italian Baroness when a phone call upended his life

George Saunders was a knuckle puller in a slaughterhouse and drove a chicken delivery van before he became a writer

Biologist Jodi Rowley has identified 26 new species of frogs in South-East Asia and Australia (R)

The opioid crisis is destroying hundreds of thousands of American lives and Beth Macy has been up close to it

Vicki Laveau-Harvie was estranged from her parents for decades, before she was summoned to their isolated ranch on the Canadian prairies (R)

The epic life story of a First Fleet rebel as told by Meg Keneally

Why Gwen Cherne became an advocate for war widows after the death of her husband Pete (R)

Professor David Walker on the history of the Australia-China relationship

Reflections on what it means to be Australian

Kate Forsyth explores a classic Russian folk tale and delves into the romantic life of the Brothers Grimm (R)

Acclaimed novelist Jennifer Egan dives into the chaos, romance, and hard graft of the old Navy Yards (R)

The real story behind Looking for Alibrandi

Mark led the ABC through a decade of dramatic change. Now he's on a quest for digital minimalism

David Gillespie on how Fortnite and Instagram are altering the neural pathways of a generation

Simon Longstaff's life was changed by one of the most searing ethical dilemmas imaginable

Adventurer Adrian Hayes on what he learned while attempting the world’s second tallest summit

An NRL champion talks candidly about his challenges on the road to football fame