Conversations

Jonathan Miller on President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs in the Philippines

Mei Fong explains how China's misguided population control scheme rendered it 'too old, too male, and too few' (R)

A freewheeling conversation with the celebrated poet and essayist

After two suicides changed her family forever, Jessie Cole returned to Northern NSW to begin again (CW: Suicide references)Jessie grew up in Northern NSW in a rainforest house lovingly built by her parents. They had moved to the hills outside Byron Bay in the 1970s and believed they could remake the world.Jessie’s father had two older daughters from a previous marriage, who visited from Sydney every school holidays.By the time she was eighteen Jessie had lost both her half-sister Zoe, and her father to suicide.Many people in her small community didn't know what to say to her about what had happened, so they avoided the family altogether.Then in her early 20s, Jessie decided to return to the family home in the rainforest.Further informationStaying is published by TextHelp and information are always availableLifeline 13 11 14 24 hour counsellingSANE Australia - helpline, online, forums 1800 187 263Beyondblue - telephone and online counselling 1300 22 4636Suicide Call Back Service - 24 hours -1300 659 467To 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.

In the midst of her grief, Sarah became aware that hospital negligence led to her mother's death

Hamish Maxwell Stewart from the University of Tasmania has spent his working life deep in the Tasmanian convict archive (R)

Amateur astronomer Greg Quicke was working in Northern Australia, sleeping under the stars in a swag when he bought a second-hand telescope

How three cultures shaped one of our great performing artists

Social researcher Hugh Mackay has some ideas for a more compassionate and socially cohesive Australia

Reflections on a failed campaign to become America’s first female President

In 2014, Stephen Davis went on a rescue mission to northern Nigeria to save the Chibok girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram (R)

Jeremy Heimans was one of the founders of GetUp in 2005. Since then he's been at the forefront of the online movement for social change

Dr Rosemary Laing was Clerk of the Senate for seven years

Katy was described by Donald Trump as disgraceful, a liar, and 'third-rate' during her coverage of his successful Presidential campaign

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

How a shy Mormon girl named Sharon became Poh Ling Yeow. Sharon Ling Yeow grew up in Malaysia, and moved to Adelaide with her parents at the age of 9.She was a shy child, who loved to paint and draw, but found school and socialising overwhelming.At home, her Aunty Kim taught her how to cook Malaysian food, and her mum taught her how to bake.At 16, Sharon joined the Mormon Church, where she met her first husband, Matt.Shortly after they were married, the couple left the church. Matt then encouraged Sharon to take the name Poh, which she'd been given at birth but never used.The couple's marriage didn't last, but their friendship did. Poh had a flourishing career as a painter when she decided to enter a new TV cooking show, Masterchef.In 2009, Poh was named runner-up in the final of the show. She met a man named Jono on the set, and later the two were married.Since then, Poh has continued to paint, and she's opened a cafe called Jamface with Jono, Matt and her best friend Sarah.Further informationPoh Bakes 100 Greats was published by Murdoch Books in November 2017To 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.

Growing up next door to some of Australia's most notorious criminals shaped Patrick Kennedy's family

The story of the 2011 earthquake that triggered multiple disasters in Japan, and took many thousands of lives

Annie Raser-Rowland's adventurous life as a weed forager and free thinker

Raised in rural Idaho in an extremist Mormon family who forbade her to attend school, Tara studied in secret, and made her way to university

Journalist Masha Gessen on growing up Jewish in the Soviet Union, and her two remarkable grandmothers

Charles Eddy became an expert on rare bleeding diseases after his son Lachie was born with haemophilia

Liz's life before and after netball; and what she had to unlearn to have a baby boy after facing secondary infertility

Robert Fisk has spent his career reporting from war zones, and he's one of the few Western journalists who met Osama Bin Laden in person (R)

Kerry Tucker rewrote her life story from inside maximum security

Historian and angler Anna Clark on the story of fishing in Australia (R)

Peter Venn's imagination was captured by the simple physics of the hovercraft. He turned flying them into a business, but the unusual vehicles still bring him joy

Archaeologist Serena Love on climbing into history in one of the first villages on earth, where the locals lived with de-skulled bodies buried in the floor

Stockbroker Clare Keenan has worked in places ranging from a New Zealand prison, to a covert Jordanian broadcaster. She trusts her fierce survival instinct to keep her safe

Leigh Straw tells the story of Lillian Armfield, arch enemy of serial criminals Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh et al

Jan Becker on her work saving the lives of newborn babies in Sub-Saharan Africa, in 'the golden minute' after birth (R)

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

Virginia Lloyd's talent for the piano shaped her early life

Lisa-Ann Gershwin is among the world's foremost jellyfish biologists (R)

Neil James on the Australian soldiers sent to WWI with spurs, a clasp knife and two books of verse

Alan Cockerill explains the revolutionary philosophy of educator Vasily Sukhomlinsky (R)

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

Marine biologist Micheline Jenner has lived at sea, researching humpbacks, for thirty years

When James Jeffrey's parents split up, his life took on a seismic instability

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

Zoologist Danielle Clode and the story of Australian naturalist, Edith Coleman.Marion Rankine on the history of umbrellas.

Gideon Haigh returns with the story of a shocking crime from bohemian 1930s Melbourne

Geoffrey's sense of social justice saw him become a barrister at the Old Bailey, then a champion for human rights

Kitty Flanagan has woven together a series of true stories from her life including being locked in a crayfish freezer for talking too much

A group of work colleagues cajoled Urzila into performing live on stage for the first time, and kickstarted her unexpected career in comedy

NASA astronomer Jennifer Wiseman on exploring the design of the universe

After a boyhood spent riding the ferries, John Darroch devoted his life to recording their stories

Brian Green explains how the universe is made of strings, vibrating in 11 dimensions (R)

Jack the Insider tells how a union became an elaborate front for murders, standover rackets, drug syndicates and armed robbery

A wide-ranging conversation about the landscapes, physical and imaginary, which inspire one of the world's most prolific authors