Conversations

Dr Jayashri Kulkarni on her Indian-Australian upbringing and her groundbreaking research into women's hormones and mental health (R)Jayashri Kulkarni’s family moved from India to Australia in 1961.They found there were no Indian grocery stores, few spices of any kind, and plain yoghurt wasn’t available.But the Kulkarnis adapted to their new home, teaching their neighbours how to cook Indian food, and encouraging Jayashri's love for studying.Jayashri became a doctor, and during her training as a psychiatrist she became fascinated by the relationship between women's hormones and mental health.She’s since been at the frontline of groundbreaking research, which challenged many of her colleagues and ended up helping women all over the world.Further informationFirst broadcast in February 2024.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Tamar Cranswick and presented by Sarah Kanowski.To 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.It explores female health, medical research, menopause, perimenopause, hormonal health, female medical research, migration, studying medicine, depression, anxiety, gut health, why don't doctors listen to women, gender stereotypes, underrepresentation in medical research, gaslighting in women's health, women's pain, motherhood, stress, psychiatry, reproductive health, hormonal birth control.

Cheng Lei's years in detention in China, on trumped-up espionage charges, go from cruel and isolating, to absurd and romantic when she gets moved into a cell with three other women.The Chinese-Australian journalist was held in detention in China for more than three years, accused of selling state secrets to foreign people and powers.In episode one of this two-part series, Lei explained how the charges hinged on a document that was read out publicly on television, and how she survived the cruelty of interrogations and being kept in isolation.In this episode, Lei's details how her experience of detention changed as she moved out of solitary confinement, but still under lock and key with three other women.In cell 112, Lei and the other women sang songs when the guards weren't watching, they fought, they bonded and they communicated secretly with the prisoners in a cell next door.The knocking, for which Lei was punished, climaxed in a covert proposal.Eventually, Lei saw sunlight again. With the help of the Australian Government, she was released and flown back home to Melbourne, where she was reunited with her children (now teenagers), rebuilt her life and can be publicly critical of the paranoid and image-conscious state security system that locked her behind bars for years.Further informationListen to the first part of Richard's extraordinary conversation with Cheng Lei here.Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom is published by HarperCollins.Cheng Lei: My Story is a documentary made by Sky News Australia. It is available to stream at SkyNews.com.au.Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.This episode of Conversations explores CCP, Covid, propaganda, communism, paranoia, Marise Payne, Scott Morrison, family separation, career changes, jail, justice system, Chinese Communist Party, embassy, diplomatic relations, CCTV, state broadcaster, media, television, news anchor, single mothers, trade, tariffs, books, writing, motherhood, parenting, Tiananmen Square, personal stories, origin.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.

When journalist Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese state security agents, she thought would be freed within the week. Instead, she was held on absurd espionage charges for more than three years, much of that time spent in isolation.When Cheng Lei moved back to the country of her birth after the dramatic opening up of China to the world, she was a part of something exciting and historic.That all changed after Xi Jinping came to power, and Australia's relations with China deteriorated.In this first episode of a two-part series, Lei explains how eventually, she found herself detained on bogus espionage charges, and held for more than three years in a Chinese detention centre.For the first six months of her detention, Lei was isolated and alone except for the rotating female guards who stood over her 24 hours a day.Lei was not allowed to speak to these guards, she was forced to sit on the edge of her bed for 14 hours a day, she had to ask permission to do anything, she was not allowed to close her eyes and intermittently she was taken to a room, tied down in a chair and interrogated about allegedly sharing state secrets with foreigners.Lei learned how to ration books, she practised German vocabulary, wrote scripts in her head and thought of her two children to stay sane under torturous conditions.Further informationListen to the second part of Richard's extraordinary conversation with Cheng Lei here.Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom is published by HarperCollins.Cheng Lei: My Story is a documentary made by Sky News Australia. It is available to stream at SkyNews.com.au.Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.This episode of Conversations explores CCP, Covid, propaganda, communism, paranoia, Marise Payne, Scott Morrison, family separation, career changes, jail, justice system, Chinese Communist Party, embassy, diplomatic relations, CCTV, state broadcaster, media, television, news anchor, single mothers, trade, tariffs, books, writing, motherhood, parenting, Tiananmen Square, personal stories, origin.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.

In 2008 Nathan Dunne was night swimming in Hampstead Heath in the middle of winter when a psychological catastrophe struck him. He felt his sense of self split in two, and an unbearable pain overtook him. He couldn’t work out what had happened to him, and neither could the doctors.CW: This discussion contains sensitive mental health details and mentions suicide.Nathan was driven to attempt suicide, and endured years of misdiagnoses from doctors and medications that didn't work.Nathan didn't have the words to describe the confusion, pain and splitting of self he was experiencing.For years, water was the symbol of his undoing.When Nathan returned home to Australia and his parents' care, his mum gave him a copy of his grandfather's war memoirs.Here, Nathan found a link that showed him the healing qualities and the beauty that were possible in water.Eventually, Nathan found a doctor who could explain his symptoms and finally give them a name — depersonalisation.Further informationIf you need help, you can phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.When Nothing Feels Real is published by Murdoch Books.Read more about dissociative disorders and depersonalisation on the NHS website.Read about dissociative disorders and depersonalisation specifically in relation to young people on the Orygen website.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan.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.

Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason on what it takes to keep up with her seven children — all of them gifted classical musicians (R).Kadiatu is a former English academic and the mother of seven extraordinary children.All of them are gifted classical musicians.Her eldest daughter, Isata wrote and performed her first piano concerto at the age of eleven.Her son Sheku mastered the cello and performed at the royal wedding of Harry and Megan Markle.Every day the seven Kanneh-Masons, who range from early teens to the mid-twenties, fill the family home with glorious, sometimes chaotic, music.This episode of Conversations explores music education, classical music, accessibility to music, Isata, Braimah, Sheku, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata, Mariatu, piano, violin, cello, orchestra, state school, public education, big families, motherhood, fatherhood, prejudice, mixed race families, music is for everyone, how to learn the violin, gifted children, raising gifted children, gifted and talented.Further informationHouse of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons is published by Oneworld.Kadiatu's newest book, also published by Oneworld, is called To Be Young Gifted And Black.

The Irish novelist has always been open to where life can unexpectedly take him, and the excitement that comes with that kind of freedom.Colm Toibin's first big move was from rural Ireland to Dublin after his father died when he was young. Then, it was off to experience the wild hedonism and sexual liberation of post-Franco Spain, a pleasant shock after needing a prescription to buy condoms in Ireland.Since then, he's journeyed to Sudan, Los Angeles, New York and beyond.Wherever Colm goes, he keeps a running list in his head of tiny details — observations of seemingly mundane encounters, an offhand comment or the cut of a lady's suit on a train.Every now and then, these details bubble up in Colm's memory and another of his well-loved novels, like Brooklyn, Nora Webster or The Master, is born.This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. Conversations Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Presented by Sarah Kanowski.It explores film adaptations, death of a parent, grief, Ireland, homophobia, growing up gay, Catholicism, epic adventure, John Crowley, Nick Hornby, Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters, Dublin, immigrant experience, the Irish immigrant experience, family separation, origin stories, falling in love, books, writers, novels, life-story, family dynamics, reflection, loss, funny, comedy, repression, orgies, condom prescriptions, journalism, foreign correspondents.Colm's latest novel Long Island is published by Pan MacMillan.He was in Australia as a guest of the Wheeler Centre, RMIT, Melbourne Writers Festival and Sydney Writers Festival.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.

When Hilde Hinton was on the cusp of adolescence, her mother died. For years she protected her younger siblings from the truth about their mum.Despite the great grief of her mother's shocking death when Hilde was just 12 years old, there was also a sense of relief for Hilde. She shielded her younger siblings, Samuel and Connie Johnson, from the truth of how and why their mother died.But when Connie also died, decades later of cancer, Hilde was propelled into writing her first novel, in between shifts as a prison officer.Her debut book, The Loudness of Unsaid things, was intensely autobiographical.While Connie never got to read the book, Hilde's brother Samuel finally 'met' their mother through Hilde's writing, and learned all that his big sister had done for them growing up.Now, from her home in Melbourne, where people who need solace freely come and go, Hilde explores in her writing the ordinary things that make life extraordinary.This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. Conversations Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Presented by Richard Fidler.This episode of Conversations explores mental health, suicide, grieving, grief, death, mothers, single fathers, bipolar, mothers with mental health issues, mental health hospitals, institutionalisation, prisons, writing, books, novels, siblings, Love Your Sister, nuns, Australian Story, childhood cancer.Further informationThe Opposite of Lonely is published by Hachette.You can watch the episode of Australian Story, which features Hilde's brother, Samuel Johnson, online at ABC iview.

When Alex Schnell was around 5 years old, playing in rock pools around Clovelly beach in Sydney, she had an alien encounter. The creature in the shallow water in front of her was a little octopus and unlike anything Alex had seen before, and instead of darting off in fear like a fish might, to Alex it felt like the octopus was genuinely curious in her.Alex has now spent many hours observing them in the ocean, and has discovered extraordinary things about octopus intelligence, personalities, feats of memory, and mating behaviours.The episode of Conversations explores animal intelligence, octopus, giant cuttlefish, scuba diving, animal memory and cognitive skills, South America, prisons in Chile, National Geographic, Nat Geo, Paul Rudd, nature doco, documentary, Disney, how smart are octopus.Further informationYou can stream Dr Alex Schnell's nature documentary, Secrets of the Octopus, at National Geographic Online.

Sean Sweeney on the complications and joys of growing up as a a hearing child in a deaf family, using Auslan, a distinctively Australian sign language.In his twenties, Sean rebelled against the deaf world, and began to look for a new life in the hearing one.But after eighteen years, he returned. He found work as an interpreter at TAFE, and he met his future wife.In 2019, Sean became well known for interpreting from English to Auslan for Australia's Rural Fire Service during Australia's Bushfire Emergency.The episode of Conversations explores family, Auslan, interpreting, bushfire emergency, family, CODA

Marcel Dirsus is fascinated by the treadmill of tyranny: how dictators gain power, how they stay there and how they fall. This is his blueprint for bringing an end to authoritarianism.With democracies seemingly faltering worldwide, political scientist and writer Marcel Dirsus is putting tyrants under the microscope to better understand how they rise and how they fall.Years ago, Marcel took a break from his university studies and travelled to central Africa, where he took a job in a brewery.One day, while walking to work, he heard shots fired and an explosion in the distance as the military was launching a coup.The experience terrified him, and drew him into a study of tyrants — the dictators and despots who make life miserable for so many people on the planet.While they project an image of strength, guarded on all sides, and surrounded by people who do their bidding, Marcel says they live in fear.For the road to power is often flanked by the road to revolution.These men know a mass uprising, an assassination, a mutiny or a foreign invasion could end their reign at any moment, and who, or what will take their place?In investigating the long history of tyrannical leaders, however, Marcel has found a renewed optimism for Western Democracy.How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive is published by Hachette Australia.Marcel is appearing at the Sydney Writers' Festival on Friday 23 May.This episode of Conversations explores Putin, Xi Jinping, China, CCP, Russia, Trump, global politics, dictatorships, democracy, voting rights, election results, the new world order, Stalin, Hitler, famous leaders, Churchill, politics, books, writing, history, war, civil war, Africa, USSR, Elon Musk, Gaddafi, golden gun, torture, Libya, Syria, control, Machiavelli, monarchs, Al-Ghazali, East Germany, Congo, academia, what to study at university, coup, the elite, power systems, Cold War, Bashar al-Assad, Ukraine, surveillance, Roman Empire.

The bestselling Irish author grew up on a farm set on “50 acres on the side of a hill”. Growing up, she witnessed a harsh, misogynistic country that convinced her she would never marry. Claire shares what she has learned about writing from a litter of newborn piglets.Her works Small Things Like These and Foster have both been made into movies.Claire's stories often take place in the landscape where she grew up — the farms and small towns of Wexford in Southeast Ireland.Claire was the youngest of six children, and when she was born their farmhouse had no running water and few books.Instead, Claire fell in love with horses.As a small child she would go to the wood with her brother, who was a lumberjack.Amongst the chainsaws and workmen, little Claire would drive a harnessed horse from behind, to the roadside, to help clear the heavy trees. And as she grew older, she developed a fierce determination to live life on her own terms.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Presented by Sarah Kanowski.This episode of Conversations touches on marriage, Magdalene laundries, contraception, Ireland, Catholicism, big Irish families, horsemanship, starting brumbies, skewbald Connemara pony, New Orleans, writing, literary prizes, farms, personal stories, epic life stories, family dynamics, Cillian Murphy and modern history.Further informationListen to Sarah's interview with Queensland horseman, Ken Faulkner.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 writer had a complex relationship with his mother, whose professional reputation built a wall between them, but also saved his life more than once while working as a war correspondent.Peter Godwin was born in Zimbabwe when the country was still under colonial rule.His English mother was the only doctor for thousands of kilometres and early on, Peter realised that he came second to her patients.When Peter was little, civil war broke out at home and so he was sent away to boarding school, and then conscripted by the army when he was still a teenager.After his service, Peter became a journalist and while on the ground, his mother’s professional reputation saved his life more than once, including the time he was kidnapped while reporting in Somalia.As he grew older, Peter came to see his mother in a new light, and he finally learned the real reason she and his father had emigrated to Africa in the first place.This episode of Conversations explores PTSD, war correspondence, journalism, colonialism, the British Empire, Africa, Civil War, the United Kingdom, mothers and sons, the death of a sibling, grief, occupational hazards, mental health, grief, memoirs, biography, origin story, epic, adventure, conscription, boy soldiers.Exit Wounds is published by Allen&Unwin.Richard spoke with Peter's sister, Georgina Godwin, in 2022.

Psychiatrist Warren Ward treats patients who are severely ill with eating disorders. Understanding the mystery of human nature has driven him since he was a young doctor.Warren Ward's patients are often critically ill with diseases like anorexia.Warren says asking someone with anorexia to eat is like asking an arachnophobe to put their hand in a jar full of spiders.As a psychiatrist, Warren uses psychotherapy to help his patients.He encourages those with an eating disorder to approach their mental illness as one part of their whole self.His interest in the mystery of human nature informed his study of philosophy, and led him to examine the love lives of philosophers.Lovers of Philosophy is published by Ockham Publishing.This episode of Conversations explores mental illness, bulimia, orthorexia, anorexia, EDs, Eating disorders, disordered eating, how to help a loved one with an eating disorder, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, romance, heartbreak, love life, relationships, inpatient treatment, mental health hospitals, feeding clinics.

When writer Hannah Kent first visited Iceland in 2003, she came across a gothic true story about Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman hanged in Iceland. That story would change her life.Hannah's arrival to the Nordic island as an exchange student in 2003 was a difficult one.On her first night in the country, she found herself stranded late at night at Keflavik Airport and desperately homesick.But within weeks, Iceland had begun to change young Hannah — its dramatic landscapes, extraordinary light and chilling ghost stories embedded themselves in Hannah's psyche.She became particularly entranced with the haunting story of accused murderer and domestic servant, Agnes Magnusdottir, who became the last person executed in Iceland. Hannah's later novel, Burial Rites, was inspired by Agnes' story and became a best-seller. But there were many unsolvable mysteries that lingered in her mind years after that book was released.Hannah returned to Iceland to find answers, and discovered her life was still entwined with Agnes in strange and eerie ways.Always Home, Always Homesick is published by Pan Macmillan.This episode of Conversations was recorded live at the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. It explores writing, books, Rotary Exchange, high school exchange, ERASMUS, Scandinavia, remote travelling, the northern lights, mountains, ghost stories, horrible histories, psychics, speaking with the dead, creepy coincidences, true stories, death penalty, execution, murder, crime.

Claude Robinson developed a heroin habit as a young man, and spent years in jail. In 2006 he began to turn his life around for good. (CW: descriptions of drug use, addiction, and crime) (R)Claude Robinson is the manager of Rainbow Lodge, a home in inner Sydney for men just out of prison. Claude knows the place well because nearly 20 years ago he was sent there himself.Claude was a heroin addict who had taken to crime to pay for his habit and wound up in a minimum security jail. But after he assaulted a prison guard, he ended up in one of Australia's toughest jails - Goulburn Correctional Centre. While Claude was inside, his father died, and he found out that he had inherited $60,000.It was a chance to start a new life when he got out of prison. But instead, he and a girlfriend checked into a hotel in Kings Cross and bought some backs of heroin. Within weeks, all of Claude's inheritance was gone.In 2006, Claude was back in prison when he decided to finally change his story. He got off drugs, went to TAFE, and started working his way back to Rainbow Lodge, where he helps men who have walked a similar path to his own.Help and support is always available: The National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline is a free and confidential 24/7 phone service that provides counselling, advice, and information for those struggling with addiction. Call 1800 250 015.Learn more about Rainbow LodgeRead about Australia's Justice Reform Initiative's campaign Jailing is Failing This episode of Conversations discusses drug use, substance abuse, addiction, crime, mental health, toxic masculinity, manhood, fatherhood, parenting, turning your life around, getting clean, rehabilitation, rehab, intervention, AA, NA, sponsors, inheritance, heroin, methadone, ice, meth, illicit substances, incarceration, recidivism. 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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

From relationships and loneliness, to indecision and burnout, Jemma Sbeg is your guide to navigating your 20s, and looking back on that decade with a new perspective.When Jemma Sbeg started recording a podcast in the back of her Subaru about her quarter life crisis, she had no idea just how many people she would reach.But other people her age were desperate for guidance through their 20s - a decade a lot of us romanticise before we get there, and after we leave.It's a decade of massive growth for humans, when we make big decisions about relationships, careers and our own identities, but Jemma felt like she had no idea HOW to make the right choices.She had studied psychology at university, and so looked to psychological research papers to help her and her friends navigate attraction, heartbreak, friendship, imposter syndrome, career anxiety, burn out, mental health and living a happy life.Jemma's biggest lesson is realising while time is finite, we do have so much of it to "figure it out", and chances are you'll still be working many things out in your 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.Person in Progress: A Roadmap to the Psychology of Your 20s is published by Hachette Australia.Jemma's podcast is called The Psychology of your 20s.If you liked this episode of Conversations, you might also enjoy listening to Doctor Hilton Koppe on his experience of PTSD, journalist Ros Thomas on her research into loneliness or psychologist Dr Tracy Westerman on psychology in remote Australia.To 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.This episode of Conversations explores psychology, podcasts, research, books, writing, anxiety, TikTok, social media, ADHD, self-diagnosis, growing up, how to survive your 20s, stay at home dads, heartbreak, mortality, death anxiety, social anxiety, university, what to study, how to get over heartbreak, first loves, building a career in media.

Winnie Dunn was a teenager when the Chris Lilley character 'Jonah from Tonga' became a national joke and as a Tongan Australian the stereotype made her feel uncomfortable.Despite being born into a big Tongan family in Western Sydney, Winnie felt conflicted about her heritage growing up.But over time her understanding of what it means to be Tongan evolved, and at the age of 28, Winnie became the first Tongan Australian to have a novel published.Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.

Jamila’s craniopharyngioma had been growing for years, unbeknownst to her. In hindsight, it was her son who gave the first clue, when he stopped breastfeeding overnight at 11 months old.Today Jamila is an author, a broadcaster and the deputy managing director of Future Women, dedicated to achieving gender equity in Australian workplaces.A few years back, her life was on a powerful trajectory — she had been the chief of staff for a federal MP, written best-selling books and was a regular guest on TV panel shows.Then in 2017, she realised something was wrong with her health.At first she wasn’t worried. Then, at 31 she was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma — a rare and recurring brain tumour.When Jamila left the world of the well, her life changed completely, in funny, strange, and harrowing ways.Jamila's book Broken Brains: For anyone who's been sick or loved someone who was is co-authored with Rosie Waterland and published by Penguin Random House.This interview was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' EP is Nicola Harrison. The presenter was Richard Fidler.Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.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.

Whale and dolphin researcher, Barry McGovern’s love of sea creatures started in Clare, Ireland, when as a child he met the county’s solitary, friendly dolphin, named for the singer Dusty Springfield.Barry grew up in a tiny surfing village where he knew all the bird calls off by heart.His interest in animal science led him to Edinburgh Zoo, where he fed cassowaries and regularly, accidentally spooked a flock of Chilean flamingos.He assisted on a mammal research trip in Namibia, where he learned just how many people are required to take biopsy sample from a giraffe. Eventually he settled on whales, and he learned the lesson that while animals can be lots of fun to study, they come with a heavy research load, and not much time spent out in the wild.Barry has been slapped in the face by a whale’s tail and watched mother humpback whales squirt-feed their calves breast milk like cottage cheese. And he couldn’t be happier. Today, Barry works at the Pacific Whale Foundation, Australia. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' EP is Nicola Harrison. Presented by Sarah Kanowski.Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.

After a caesarean section on his labour ward went catastrophically wrong, Adam Kay took a radical inventory of his entire life. CW: traumatic childbirth, eating disorders.Adam was not far off qualifying as an obstetric consultant in the United Kingdom, when he decided he couldn't be a doctor any longer.He couldn't face ever again experiencing the tragedy of death during childbirth, nor could he understand the blunt response from his boss in the aftermath, and so he quit doctoring altogether. After a period of grief and depression, Adam reassessed his goals, his dreams and his relationships, completely up-ending the conventional life he had felt backed into.He turned to the diaries, which he had kept throughout his seven years working in hospitals, and became a stand-up comedian, then a television writer, an acclaimed author, the executive producer of a wildly popular TV series based on Adam's book, and most recently a father.CONTENT WARNING: This episode of Conversations contains accounts of traumatic childbirth and of disordered eating, which may distress some listeners.Help and support is always available. You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.Find out more about the Red Nose counselling services available to parents who have lost a child by calling the Red Nose Bereavement Support Line on 1300 308 307.If you or someone you know needs help with disordered eating, the Butterfly National Helpline is available on 1800 33 4673.This episode of Conversations explores studying medicine, the medical system, Medicare, overworked doctors, young doctors, junior doctors, obstetrics and gynaecology, delivering babies, careers, disordered eating, sexuality, marriage, LGBTQI+, fatherhood, surrogacy, mental health, comedy, touring, music, university life, should I study medicine.This Is Going To Hurt is published by Pan Macmillan.Undoctored is published by Hachette.Adam's debut novel, A Particularly Nasty Case, will be published by Hachette in August.You can stream the television series based on Adam's first book, This Is Going To Hurt, on ABC iView.Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.

Briana Blackett was a journalist in Qatar when she realised her baby son Max wasn't responding to his name. When Max and his little brother Freddy were both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Briana left Doha to begin an entirely different life (R)

Jonno Seidler with the story of his Dad Ray, a much-loved and successful doctor, who hid his private struggles from the world.Behind closed doors, Ray Seidler was locked in a herculean fight with his own mental health. His frequent bouts of depression caused him to regularly 'run away' from his own home and family, and eventually led to his suicide. His son, Jonno Seidler, has written about his father's life, and Jonno's own mental health diagnosis, which he's been determined not to keep secret.This episode of Conversations focuses on men's mental health, suicide, Ray Seidler, Jonno Seidler, bi polar, family, family history, harm reduction, Seidler family, Jewish faith, grief, loss, male suicide epidemic.It's a Shame about Ray is published by Allen and Unwin.Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.

Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. Despite practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, Erna kept her nerve.She was born in The Netherlands, to parents who were involved in the Dutch resistance during World War II.Erna's love of languages took her to Spain, where she lived for many years with her widowed sister and young nephew.It was there she met a penniless Australian backpacker and fell in love, starting Erna on the path to the rest of her life.Erna's memoir Hear Me Roar is published by Affirm Press.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison. This interview was presented by Sarah Kanowski. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more on the Conversations website.

Mawunyo Gbogbo was raised as a church-going African Australian girl in the sleepy mining town of Muswellbrook, before she grew up to become a hip-hop journalist and a writer (R)Mawunyo's parents had met in Ghana, migrating to Australia when she was a baby.At high school, Mawunyo fell hard for a charismatic boy, and for the first time, she was introduced to hip hop music.When she was offered a chance to further her budding media career in New York City at the Bible of hip hop, The Source magazine, she grabbed it.But while her time in New York was thrilling, it also threatened to derail her dreams.This episode of Conversations explores Biggie, Tupac, hip hop, rappers, Eminem, Kanye, music, addiction, African diaspora, regional NSW, religion, God, faith, love, migrant communities, relationships, first love.Hip Hop and Hymns is published by Penguin. The book has has been optioned by Tony Briggs, who created and wrote The SapphiresShe is now working on her next book, a novel about a psychiatrist who is more unhinged than his patients.

Luke Hura has an innate ability to understand and communicate with animals, and for decades he's been training them for film, television and the stage.You’ve probably seen one of Luke's dogs in action — he trained Bouncer, the labrador from Neighbours, the kelpie from the film Red Dog, and the maremma who starred in Oddball.Luke has trained cats, chickens and even earned the trust of a big, black pig with tusks, whom he says was a dream to work with.Training takes patience, discipline, and endless repetition but Luke says building trust and being able to understand body language, energy and emotions is the most important.This episode of Conversations explores dog training, how to train dogs, Muster Dogs, how to train cats, dog behaviourist, pets, animals, vets, stage dogs, acting, Red Dog, neighbours, the television industry, working with animals.Luke and his groodles are currently performing in the musical Annie, which is touring Australia this year. You can find out more about the production online.

In 2007, Jeremy Austin was asked by the Royal Australian Navy to help them identify the remains of an unknown sailor from World War II. Using the best forensic DNA technology, he embarked on a quest to figure out who this man was and to track down his surviving descendants.This episode of Conversations explores DNA science, world war 2, Australian navy, history, technology, family history, HMAS Sydney, genealogy, unidentified remains

The Masterchef graduate shares what he learned from his grandmother, who won the lottery in Malaysia when she was a 25-year-old widow with three children to care for.After Adam's parents met and married, the family emigrated to Australia when Adam was three-years-old.He and his brother sped through school in Adelaide and Adam went on to become a lawyer.In 2010, he won the second season of Masterchef with Peter Gilmore's delicate Snow Egg, and he has been travelling the world ever since, spreading love for the five different tastes.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The executive producer is Nicola Harrison and it was presented by Richard Fidler.Watch The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, Adam’s Dateline episode on the new Changi Prison, and Destination Flavour: Singapore all on SBS.This episode of Conversations focuses on Adam Liaw, cook books, epic life story, family dynamics, Peranakan food, cooking, food, recipes, Malaysia, Singapore, winning the lottery, The Cook Up, Dateline, Masterchef, Changi Prison, reflection, history and Hainanese Chicken rice.

In 2023, Arnold Dix helped rescue 41 men trapped in a tunnel after it collapsed high in the Himalayas. As an engineer and tunnel expert, he was uniquely placed to assist, but Arnold also used another skill in the high risk operation: he listened to the mountain.The successful rescue made Arnold a hero to millions of people across India and it was in news all over the world, including back home in country Victoria, where the story surprised the community who knew him as a part-time truck driver and flower farmer.Arnold’s life has taken him from geology to law to tunnels, he’s been shot at in Albania, saved lives in Qatar and driven trucks to make ends meet. He also worked in the tunnels of Ground Zero after 9/11.The episode of Conversations explores tunnels, the Himalayas, rescue, trapped workers, science, geology, law, 9/11, mountains, memoir, hero, engineering, career change.The Promise is published by Simon and Schuster

Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis grew up in Sydney, famous for its coastline and beachside existence. But for reasons beyond her control, she didn't learn to swim until she took the plunge as an adult.Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis has achieved a lot in her young life.She is a social researcher at Western Sydney University, she has represented Australia at the United Nations, she advices groups like UNESCO and a couple of years ago she was awarded the NSW Premier's Youth Medal.But for her family, Angelica's greatest achievement is learning to swim as an adult.Australia has a sense of itself as a nation of swimmers, and presents this image to the world in its tourism campaigns, films and ownership of the pool at the Olympics.But in reality, a quarter of Australian adults are very weak swimmers or cannot swim at all, including Angelica, who grew up in Western Sydney, the eldest of nine siblings in a big, blended family.Instead of going to swimming lessons after school, Angelica spent a lot of her time helping to take care of her little sisters and brothers, one of whom lives with severe disabilities.It wasn't until she was in her mid-20s that Angelica had the time to learn how to swim, so she could finally understand the calming and cooling effects of the water.Angelica's podcast documenting her quest to learn to swim as an adult is called Sink or Swim and was produced by Impact Studios.You can stay up to date with what Angelica is up to at her website.This episode of Conversations explores swimming, royal surf life saving, drowning, learning to swim, beaches, Sydney, Bondi, Western Sydney, Blacktown, Randwick, pools, public pools, climate change, summer, hot summers, carers, family dynamics, divorce, Nigeria, first generation Australians.

In 2013, Raynor Winn and her husband, Moth lost their beloved farm in Wales, it was where they'd lived for 20 years and raised their children.In the same week, Moth was diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease and doctors gave him just two years to live.Homeless and with their future together rapidly shrinking, Raynor and Moth decided to walk the South West Coast path.They camped wild in all weathers and often didn't have enough money for food.But amazingly, Moth's health began to improve.When they completed the walk, they found themselves in the midst of a whole new chapter.This episode of Conversations explores adventure, long walking trails, coastal trek, terminal illness, memory, Wales, marriage, writing, memoir, risk taking, Cornwall, partnership, homelessness, south west coast path, travel, wild camping.The Salt Path and The Wild Silence are published by Penguin.

Writer and tour guide Simon Tancred on the little-known ANZAC story of how a group of POWs made a daring escape on foot to neutral Switzerland.Simon Tancred fell in love with Italy as a young man, and set up a job for himself leading hikes and tours across the country, and into the Alps. So Simon was familiar with the old trails and passes that crisscross the mountains, and which have been used for hundreds of years by shepherds, traders and travellers. But one day, someone approached him with the unknown story of how a group of Australian prisoners of war from the Second World War escaped from Italy to freedom in neutral Switzerland.Four mates from Moree evaded the enemy by using these ancient, winding tracks.They didn't speak Italian, they battled wintry conditions, and never knew if the civilians they encountered along the way would help them or turn them over to the occupying German forces.Simon was so intrigued by this story, he bought some old maps and set out to follow their journey to freedom, by tracing their steps across the Alps.This episode of Conversations explores fascism, politics, war, civil war, prisoners of war, unknown stories of WWII, the Anzacs, Anzac Day 2025, Italy, Italian Alps, modern history, books, writing, walking tours in Italy, travel, Mountaineering, Partisans, Nazis, Nazi Germany, neutral Switzerland, World War Two history, religion, Madonna, Mary, Italian Catholicism, where to hike in Italy.Trails to Freedom is published by Hardie Grant.

Justin Heazlewood fled a complicated early life in Tasmania searching for fame as an artist on the mainland. Recently he moved back to his home town of Burnie, and realised community is where you find it.Justin Heazlewood grew up in Burnie, a coastal town on the North West coast of Tasmania.For years he imagined his hometown as somewhere he had to leave, especially if he was going to be any kind of artist.And there were other, more personal reasons that made staying in Burnie complicated.Justin's Mum has schizophrenia, and growing up he was often forced into the role of being her carer.It was something he did his best to hide from his friends and other people in his life.So after school, Justin headed to the mainland and began a life as a comedian and a songwriter.But a few years ago, he found himself returning to his home town for good. This episode of Conversations explores mental health, caring for parents, parents with mental illness, small towns, leaving your hometown, big city life, regional Australia, creatives in regional Australia, mother son relationships, returning home, community, fame, triple j, bedroom philosopher, radio, writing, music, musicians, learning guitar, grandmothers.Get Up Mum is published by Affirm Press and Justin's new book, Dream Burnie, celebrates the creative humans like him making art far from the big cities, and some of the teachers who recognised the young artists while they were at school.You can learn more about Justin's book Dream Burnie online.The Young Carer's Hotline is open Monday-Friday on 1800 422 737

The artist Loribelle Spirovski on her unusual childhood in the Philippines, meeting her father for the first time at 7 years old, and making her way as one of Australia's most exciting young painters.Loribelle Spirovski grew up in the Philippines, with her mum and her extended Filipino family.Her Serbian father, whom she had never met, was in Australia, driving taxis and waiting for the visa that would allow him to bring Loribelle and her mum to join him.Loribelle didn't meet her father until she was 7 years old, and when she saw him for the first time at Manila Airport, she was shocked by how hairy his arms were and the way he smelled just like she did.Eventually, the family was properly reunited in Sydney, Australia, where Loribelle had to navigate family and cultural ties, where she found love and where she made her way as one of Australia's most exciting young artists.This episode of Conversations explores painting, creativity, writing, books, love, marriage, Simon Tedeschi, William Barton, the Archibald Prize, art education, art teaching, chronic pain, chronic injury, identity, memoir, family dynamics, origin stories, refugees, Serbia, former Yugoslavia, music, piano, singing, language, mothers, fathers, long-distance relationships.White Hibiscus is published by Upswell.You can see some of Loribelle's art at her website and on her Instagram page.In July, 2025 Loribelle won the People's Choice Award for the 2025 Archibald Prize for a portrait she painted with her fingers of Kalkadunga musician William Barton.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.

As a child, before she escaped communist Hungary, Bo Remenyi had no ambitions. But when she got to Australia all of that changed. She's gone from cruising the casino floor as a high-stakes professional poker player, to saving the lives of children in remote Australia. (R)In 2018, Dr Bo Remenyi was made the Northern Territory’s Australian of the Year for her work as a paediatric cardiologist. But her path to receiving that honour, and to her work in remote communities, has been filled with unexpected twists and risks.After escaping communist Hungary as a child, she got her first job flipping burgers in a Townsville Hungary Jacks. From there, she put herself through medical school by cleaning the very lecture theatres in which she was studying. Somewhere along the way, Bo decided to play 60 hours of professional poker a week, and she was very good at it.This episode of Conversations explores Aboriginal health, Indigenous health outcomes, closing the Gap, Soviet Union, Communism, fleeing the Iron Curtin, Putin, medicine, studying medicine, studying medicine in Australia, university life, gambling, multiculturalism, migrant stories, first generation Australians, the Northern Territory, remote Australia, FNQ.

Journalist Kerrie Davies with the story of how novelist Miles Franklin went undercover as a maid for a year, in Sydney and Melbourne's wealthy houses, well before gonzo journalists became household names.The real-life story of novelist Stella Maria Miles Franklin had an unexpected chapter after publishing My Brilliant Career.In 1903, Miles became a 'girl stunt reporter' by going undercover as a servant.For a year, she lived as a maid in Sydney and Melbourne's wealthy houses and wrote about the humiliations and drudgery in the daily lives of servant girls, or 'slaveys'.During her experiment she hand-rolled heavy, wet clothes through a washing mangle; served her employers pre-breakfast tea and toast in bed, which she thought was an obscene indulgence; she cleaned guest rooms and parlours; helped at high-society balls and kept fires burning in winter.The manuscript Miles wrote about this year pre-dated George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London by three decades, yet it never found a publisher.Journalist Kerrie Davies has investigated this little-known chapter of Miles' life, finally bringing this story to life in her own book.This episode of Conversations explores feminism, suffragettes, biography, books, servants, writing, Australian fiction, boy sober, class warfare, adventures, adventurous women, risk-taking, origin stories, gonzo journalism, Nellie Bly, Rose Scott, early 20th century Sydney, Chicago, women's rights, trad wives, motherhood, partnership, self-partnering.Miles Franklin Undercover is published by Allen and Unwin.

Song propelled Morris Stuart from his early life shepherding sheep in British Guyana to an unlikely love story in London. In his retirement, he found himself shaping a choir of Central Australian Aboriginal women, who had been breathing life into 138-year-old Lutheran hymns.Morris Stuart met his Australian wife, Barbara in London in the 1960s.The pair led a youth group attached to a nearby church, and initially tried to ignore their growing feelings for each other.Morris was a young, Guyanese activist who was descended from African slaves, and wasn’t ready to face the social reality of marrying across racial lines.Morris and Barb fell in love and married several years before the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? was released, and featured at several screenings in London, where community members could ask them questions as a real life, interracial couple.The couple went on to have four children and moved to Australia, where Morris became a pastor with a community church in Melbourne.In their retirement, Morris and Barbara developed relationships with the Warlpiri community in Central Australia. They arrived in Alice Springs in 2005 and Morris started recruiting for a choir.More Indigenous communities started joining in and Morris formed the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s choir.They performed hymns brought by German Lutheran missionaries to the region in the late 19th Century, which were translated into Pitjantjatjara and Western Arrernte.The choir’s biggest achievement is a tour to Germany in 2015 — to perform the hymns that had all but vanished from use in Germany, but have been preserved in the Central Australian desert for 138 years.Follow the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir on Facebook.Watch the documentary about the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir tour to Germany, The Song Keepers. This episode of Conversations touches on heritage, epic life story, origin stories, church, personal stories, childhood and reflection.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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Nature writer Andrew Darby on what he learned from his rambles through the wilds of Tasmania, communing with the world’s oldest surviving trees. In particular, his ‘buttock clenching’ ascent up a 60-metre-tall eucalyptus known as The Vibe Tower.Nature writer, Andrew Darby spent more than 20 years as a Fairfax correspondent based in Tasmania.His stories involved the natural beauty of the bush, including visits to wild places and to the people who protect them, but it was deadline-driven and he couldn’t spend the time he wanted to.In 2017 Andrew was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.He underwent immunotherapy and was given a maximum 18-months to live. It has been eight years since he entered his “second life”.Andrew was determined to fully inhabit his beloved Tasmanian bush, so he went by himself to commune with ancient trees.These are some of the world’s oldest surviving trees, like King’s Lomatia; some of the biggest trees, like a 60-metre-tall eucalyptus known as The Vibe Tower; and Andrew’s favourite, the dignified Pencil Pine.The Ancients: Discovering the world’s oldest surviving trees in wild Tasmania is published by Allen & Unwin.This episode of Conversations touches on wild Tasmania, ancient trees, Pencil Pine, King's Lomatia, King Billy Pine, Giant Eucalyptus, Peter Dombrovskis photography, Walls of Jerusalem National Park, Pool of Siloam, epic hike, solo hike, stage four lung cancer, immunotherapy, second life and loving nature, hikes of Australia.

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in the South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost (R)Anh is an academic and community volunteer who grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family.Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe.But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war, and so in the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape.Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hoped would take them to the Philippines.They intended to bring 40 people with them, but on the day of departure 101 people crowded on board, before the boat sailed into a once-in-a-century storm on the South China Sea.Years later, Anh found film footage of their rescue, at a moment when almost all hope was lost.After their rescue, her family made it to a refugee camp in the Philippines, then to America, where Anh grew up to attend some of the world's most prestigious universities before she became an academic herself.This episode of Conversations explores family dynamics, refugee stories, migrant stories, boat people, Vietnam War, Catholcism, escapes, near death experiences, the great American dream, Harvard, Bryn Mawr College, University of Melbourne, theology, PhD, doctorate, academia, Christianity, life story, United States.Originally broadcast in June 2022.Since Richard spoke with Anh, she has created a walking group in Melbourne for refugees and friends of refugees. Anh says walking creates connections and can inspire belonging to land, people, and country in Australia. This is part of her research on post-traumatic growth for refugees and her upcoming memoir The History of Walking with Refugees.If you would like to join the Melbourne Refugee Walking Group, email [email protected]

When artist Vincent Fantauzzo was a boy he was a street-fighting petty criminal with dyslexia and a blazing talent for drawing. He escaped jail time, and grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known portrait artists.VIncent Fantauzzo is one of Australia's most successful portrait artists.For his luminous, photo-realistic paintings he's won the People's Choice Award at the annual Archibald Prize more than any other artist.He's also won the Moran National Portrait Prize twice, once with a painting of his friend, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and the second time with a painting of his wife, actor Asher Keddie.All the success is a long way from his upbringing in Broadmeadows in Melbourne, when at times it seemed like he was going to end up in jail, or dead.Vincent struggled so badly with dyslexia that he developed elaborate rituals to avoid writing at school, which is partly how he came to drawing. He became a street-fighting petty criminal and he was kicked out of school at 14 and was drawn into a violent world where he had to be extraordinarily streetwise to survive.Vincent still carries the scars of surviving his childhood into the big, beautiful life he's built for himself as one of Australia's most well-known artists.This episode of Conversations explores origin stories, social disadvantage, parenting, father son relationships, boxing, learning disabilities, struggling in school, Hollywood, the art world, Heath Ledger, Kim Ledger, Batman, family, family dynamics, life story, art, portraits, painting, juvenile crime, drug dealing, hot houses, brothers.Unveiled, written with Craig Henderson, is published by Penguin.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.

Rebecca Huntley, Rick Morton, Julia Zemiro and Sarah Kanowski bring you stories of human failure, misadventure and outright fiasco in a live storytelling event recorded at Adelaide Writers Week.A few weeks ago, some former guests of Conversations, and our two presenters gathered at the Adelaide Town Hall.The event was a live storytelling hour, with the theme 'Mistakes were made', in front of a rapt audience of 800 forgiving souls.Writer and social researcher Rebecca Huntley shared her dramatic foray as a first-time driver.Journalist Rick Morton recounted a story about a run-in between his brother's drug- and alcohol-fuelled friends, with a cameo from the rom-com 'Bridget Jones' Baby'.TV presenter and actor Julia Zemiro told her own tale of mortification in a professional setting, and her experience of "esprit de l'escalier" — thinking of the perfect response once you have already left the building.Our own Sarah Kanowski spoke of the time when a few very big risks were taken, that one time in the Amazon Basin.This episode of Conversations touches on mistakes, fiascos, accidents, insults, life stories, epic personal stories, ayahuasca, The Amazon, ice, drug addiction, Bridget Jones, and more.

Josie McSkimming on growing up with her bohemian sister, the poet Dorothy Porter, and how their lives took off on wildly diverging paths as they grew up.Sisters Dorothy and Josie Porter grew up in an interesting and sometimes volatile home on the northern beaches of Sydney in the 1970s.Together with their middle sister Mary, they lived in a world of books, a backyard menagerie of animals, and regular birdwatching excursions. Their father Chester was a well-known lawyer who was sometimes a explosive presence at home. Josie adored her charismatic big sister 'Dod', for her wicked sense of humour, her appetite for life, and her fierce talent.After the girls left home and began their adult lives, they set off on wildly different paths.Dorothy ran headlong into bohemian adventures, and became a famous poet. While Josie, to her sister's dismay, became a born-again Christian for 35 years, eventually leaving the church after questioning the doctrines enforcing women's submission.Dorothy died at just 54 years old, and decades later, Josie has written down her own version of the family story, paying tribute to the many ways her big sister shaped her life.This episode of Conversations explores family dynamics, parenting, love, grief, sisters, sisterhood, poetry, religion, indoctrination, gay conversion, coming out, lesbians, the queer community, writing, books, family history, origin stories, parenting, mothers, fathers, Lindy Chamberlain, Australian poets, modern poets, Church, bible study, leaving the church, Mona Vale.Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood is published by UQP.

Hilton Koppe was a beloved country GP for 30 years before an unexpected health crisis of his own forced him to reassess everything (R)Hilton Koppe grew up knowing his parents wanted him to become a doctor and so when he got the marks to make it into medicine, they were overjoyed.By the time he was 30, he'd started working as a country GP. Hilton then became a beloved local doctor in Northern NSW, and he worked there for more than three decades.But a few years ago, Hilton's own health suddenly went awry. He started experiencing constant neck pain, and then the side of his face went numb.He was sent him for an MRI, which revealed nothing.But then Hilton's own GP gave him an unexpected diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, related in part to his work as a doctor.This news up-ended almost everything about Hilton's life.This episode of Conversations explores medicine, Australia's medical system, Judaism, migration, post WW2 migration, Jewish families, Australian multi culturalism, family dynamics, health, wellbeing, PTSD, trauma, mental health diagnosis, South Africa, fascism.Hilton's memoir is called One Curious Doctor.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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Journalist and author Sonya Voumard on the rare neurological condition that has stalked her since a family tragedy during her childhood.Sonya Voumard was on the precipice of teen hood when her father suddenly and unexpectedly died.In the months following his death, Sonya developed a tremor in her right hand, not dissimilar to the shaking she sometimes noticed in her father when he was cutting the top off her boiled egg at breakfast.The tremor got worse as she got older, but working late nights as a dogged journalist, fuelled by coffee and nicotine, it almost became a badge of honour for Sonya.One day, though, a terrifying moment while driving set her off on a decades-long quest through Australia's medical system.This episode of Conversations explores disability, neurological condition, brain surgery, experimental medicine, grief, untimely death, death of a father, journalism, Port Arthur massacre, Mabo, Melbourne, substance abuse, alcohol, shaking, Parkinson's, being queer, unexplained medical anomalies, neurosurgeon, neuroscience, St Vincent's hospital, writing, books, memoir, Dystonia, essential tremor, familial tremor, MS, multiple sclerosis, medical system, medicare, public versus private patients.Tremor: a movement disorder in a disordered world is published by Finlay Lloyd.Learn more about dystonia from the Dystonia Network of Australia.

Loneliness is a universal experience, for each of us at some point in our lives. Journalist Ros Thomas travelled the world to investigate, and find the antidote. To 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.Ros spent a year travelling around the world to research something all of us have experienced — loneliness.She met an old man who had learned to thrive through crushing grief with the help of a small, desktop robot.Ros visited a share house in Sweden where pensioners live with young asylum seekers, who care for each other like grandparents and grandchildren.And she explored her own early and devastating experience of loneliness — when her father abandoned the family when Ros was a tiny child.This episode of Conversations touches on loneliness, isolation, being a friend, social connection, community modern history, life story, fatherhood, absent fathers, personal stories, family dynamics, fathers, solutions to loneliness, the loneliness epidemic, Churchill Fellowship and connection.

The chief investigative reporter on her work exposing criminals and corruption, including former politician, Eddie Obeid and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick.Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.She grew up on a farm in NSW, and during university, funded her start in Sydney by setting up a busking booth in Kings Cross.Passers-by would pay her to answer a question, have an argument, or verbally abuse them. Kate's start in crime reporting came from an early job writing for a gossip column. She was instructed to cover a wedding of a family member of known criminal figure, George Freeman.Kate compared the sequins in the bridal party's outfit to a bullet-proof vest, and received the first of many death threats throughout her career. She has won 10 Walkley awards for her work on the biggest crime and corruption cases in NSW.She has exposed the crimes of politician, Eddie Obeid, former Health Services Union boss, Michael Williamson and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick, among many more.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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.Further informationKeep up to date on Kate's work here.Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.She grew up on a farm in NSW, and during university, funded her start in Sydney by setting up a busking booth in Kings Cross.Passers-by would pay her to answer a question, have an argument, or verbally abuse them. Kate's start in crime reporting came from an early job writing for a gossip column. She was instructed to cover a wedding of a family member of known criminal figure, George Freeman.Kate compared the sequins in the bridal party's outfit to a bullet-proof vest, and received the first of many death threats throughout her career. She has won 10 Walkley awards for her work on the biggest crime and corruption cases in NSW.She has exposed the crimes of politician, Eddie Obeid, former Health Services Union boss, Michael Williamson and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick, among many more.This episode of Conversations covers crime, corruption, true crime, Melissa Caddick, Eddie Obeid, corrupt politicians, investigative reporting, Walkley awards, Kings Cross, George Freeman, Minder, SMH, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Fairfax, Nine.

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 (R)Growing up, Krystyna Duszniak's father didn't speak a word of English to her, instilling in her a love of the Polish language, literature, history and culture.As the child of immigrants who had survived World War II, history was all around Krystyna, and while her patriotic father taught her so much about his homeland, she found he left out a vital part that turned out to be the focus of her career.Krystyna has made it her life's work to decipher historical records and bring the past back to life.She helps families connect to long forgotten events and people in the old country.Often, she will unearth unsavoury war stories, hidden first children of remarried parents, or secrets no one wants to hear about their relatives.This episode of Conversations explores family history, modern history, ancient history, Europe, War, family dynamics, migrant stories, patriotism, secrets, family secrets, genealogy, ancestry.

Peter Norris's father was a notorious bank robber who lived life on the run, dragging his boy across the country with him, until Peter refused to go with him one last time. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make.Peter Norris grew up on the run with his criminal father, Clarence 'Clarry' Norris.Every time Clarry was arrested, he would find a way out of custody and fulfil his promise of coming back to his son, and every time they reunited they would be off once more tearing across Australia.Peter climbed out windows at foster homes, and escaped group homes for boys to be with his dad, in Sydney, in Shepparton, Perth and Port Hedland.Until one day, his father came back to Peter when he had landed on his feet in the home of a beautiful foster family in regional Victoria.The faith the Dullards had in Peter gave him the courage to finally say "no" to his loving, caring, criminal, complicated dad.It was the hardest decision he ever made, but while desperately Peter wanted to be with his father, but didn't want to be him.It was the last time Peter ever saw his father. This episode of Conversations discusses family dynamics, origin stories, crime, criminality, theft, intergenerational trauma, foster care, abandoned children, group homes, remand centres, Baltara, homelessness, abuse, parenting, grief, closure, fatherhood, father son relationships.The Bank Robber's Boy is published by Simon & SchusterTo 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.

Martha Jabour was a young mum when her baby son Michael died suddenly. In the thick of her grief, she worried for the devastated young police officer who had come to her home that day, before he unexpectedly reappeared in her life (CW: this conversation discusses the death of a child).Martha Jabour has lived through the worst possible day for a parent. When she was a young mum, she put her baby Michael to bed one night, and by the morning he had died in his sleep. Michael was just 7 weeks old, and because his was an unexplained death, there were police on her doorstep, and a post-mortem, and an ambulance which took away her baby boy.At the time of Michael's death in the 1980s, not much was known about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).Martha threw herself into support groups, fundraising, and helping to change the story for parents like her, affected by the shocking and unexplained loss of their babies. Within a few years, research discovered more about the causes, and today rates of SIDS have fallen by nearly 90%.Martha trained as a grief and trauma counsellor, and her work with grieving parents saw her tapped on the shoulder to start a Homicide Victims Support Group.It was a job she initially said she’d only do for a year - but it became her life’s work.This episode of Conversations explores SIDS, death of a child, grieving, grief, policing, community policing, motherhood, fatherhood, parenting, birth stories, sick children, sudden loss, cot death, trauma, shock, counselling, therapy, support groups, where to find support.Help and support is always available. You can call Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 13 11 14, or text them 0477 13 11 14.Red Nose also offers counselling services to parents who have lost a child. Their number is 1300 308 307.

While working as an undercover cop, Nick Kaldas played a drug baron in the market for vast quantities of hemp oil, tracked a fugitive with a penchant for hair transplants, and posed as a hit man for a spurned lover.Nick was a 21-year-old immigrant lad from Egypt when he decided to join the NSW Police Force.He soon rose up the ranks from working as a junior constable on the beat, then as one of the first Arab-Australian undercover cops, to becoming one of the most senior police officers in Australia.While undercover, Nick tracked a fugitive with a hair transplant, bought hemp oil and heroin at the Sydney Hilton, and was hired as a hit man by a spurned lover.He then had stints as the head of the homicide squad, the gangs squad and led some of NSW's biggest criminal investigations as Deputy Police Commissioner. Nick's work also took him to Iraq to rebuild the police force after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.Since leaving the NSW Police, Nick has continued his work in international law enforcement.This episode of Conversations explores crime, gangs, Egypt, migration, the Arab world, Syria, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, policing, law enforcement, corruption, inquiry, undercover cops, films, Batman, Northern Territory, NT Police Commissioner, Michael Murphy.Behind the Badge is published by Angus and Robertson.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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Football tragic Andy Paschalidis was in his 50s when a dear friend and fellow player died during an over-35s soccer game. The tragedy inspired him to begin a whole new story for himself, and the sport (R)Andy grew up in Sydney's Balmain when it was a working-class suburb, full of migrant families. His parents had arrived in Australia from Greece a few years before, seeking a different life.Andy grew up to be one of the first Greek-Australian sports broadcasters on TV and radio on SBS and 2GB, and he never lost his zeal for football.When he was in his early 50s, Andy joined an ordinary weekend over-35s football game as he did each weekend.His friend and fellow player Matt Richardson had a heart attack on the pitch that day and died. He was just 42 years old. Then Andy discovered another friend had recently seen his teammate die exactly the same way. He decided to take six months off work to find a way to reduce the number of deaths in Australian amateur football. Since then Heartbeat of Football has saved many lives.This episode of Conversations explores grief, mateship, masculinity, male health, health and wellbeing, heart attacks, heart disease, cardiac arrest, signs of heart attack, exercise, football, FIFA, soccer, senior sports, older sports, amateur sports, deaths on the field, health, safety, migration, migrant Australians, first generation Australians, post-war migration, Sydney.When Andy's conversation with Richard first went to air, a listener named Kevin Whitby realised he was having a heart attack. Minutes later, he presented himself to the emergency department at Wollongong Hospital, where medical staff confirmed he needed immediate treatment.Since we last spoke with Andy, last year in Sydney alone, six footballers (the youngest of which was 13 years old) have been saved in the midst of on-field cardiac incidents by the defibrillators provided by Andy's charity.Learn more about the work of Heartbeat of Football.