Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption.
Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.
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 at the Conversations website.
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The philosopher argues that as a culture, we'd be happier and saner if we re-examined our view of love, because our romantic notions can actually work against the relationships we want most. (R) Alain De Botton's novel from 2016 called The Course of Love challenges many assumptions about falling in love and what comes next. Alain first tackled the subject when he wrote Essays of Love in his early 20s. The episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2016 The producer was Michelle Ransom-Hughe...
The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness, and how recognising his own led to true healing. (R) Dr Gabor Maté was born in Budapest to a Jewish family, just before Nazi tanks rolled into the city. His mother risked handing him to a stranger on the street to try and get him to safety. Many years later, after establishing himself as a successful physician in Canada, Gabor looked at the problems in his work and marri...
Diana Nguyen's mother would walk out of her performances at interval in protest of her career, but Diana forged on and in the process healed this mother-daughter relationship. (R) Diana Nguyen knew she was born for a life on the stage when she discovered dancing while staying in a nunnery as a child. Her love affair with the arts, however, fractured her relationship with her mother, who had escaped Vietnam by boat and wanted her eldest daughter to be 'more' than a performer. But a trip to her mo...
At 48, Bill Hayes moved to New York. He took up photography, and never anticipated the surprise of falling in love with his neighbour, Dr Oliver Sacks, a neurologist, a naturalist and a university professor. (R)Doctor Oliver Sacks became famous for writing case histories of his patients in books, including The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars. At 75 years old, Oliver had never been in a relationship, until he fell deeply in love with his neighbour Bill Hayes, who...
Louise Philip had just scored her breakout role on Australian television, in Bellbird, when a horrific car crash threatened to derail the life she was forging for herself. (R) Louise was 15 years old when she convinced her parents to let her drop out of high school to become an actress. She had just scored her breakout role on Australian television, but within a few months a terrible car crash threatened to derail the life that she was forging for herself. Louise broke her back and permanently l...
Growing up in Tokyo, Hiroko Yoda never thought of herself as religious, but after her mother died, she began exploring the spiritual traditions of Japan. She was inspired by the Shinto idea that there are '8 million spiritual beings', animating everything we encounter. In the different practices of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shugendo, Hiroko found practical means of emotional support, and also ways of making her everyday life more beautiful. Further informationHiroko's book is called Eight Million...
As a little girl growing up in Brisbane in the era of the White Australia policy, Lindy lived through the pain of always feeling different but then she began using it as fuel for her art. (R) It took her many years to find the power in what she calls the 'tearing' in her identity. She began to make work based on her own family story, and her Zen practice. Lindy is now one of Australia's leading contemporary artists. This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2022...
At 25, Peter Goers lost both of his parents after the commercial plane they were travelling in crashed into a suburb of New Orleans shortly after take off.Suddenly, he was required to drop everything to fly to America and identify their bodies, he also spent time the relatives of the other 143 passengers that died in the tragedy. For many years Peter's reaction to losing his parents was expressed through a reckless regard for his own life, before finally learning how to live with himself and the...
This episode delves into the extraordinary dual life of George Palmer, who secretly composed classical music for 45 years while climbing the ranks to become a New South Wales Supreme Court Justice. He recounts his early musical dreams, his eventual dedication to law's human side, and the profound impact of presiding over adoption cases. A personal tragedy and the onset of hearing loss ultimately inspired him to share his music, leading to an "Australian Story" documentary and a fulfilling late-life career as a renowned opera composer.
Sleep specialist Dr. Sutapa Mukherjee unravels the complex world of sleep, from the distinct stages we cycle through each night to the critical roles of REM and slow-wave sleep in memory, emotion, and physical restoration. She addresses common sleep disorders like sleepwalking, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea, offering insights into their causes and treatments, alongside practical sleep hygiene tips and therapeutic approaches for better sleep.
Former AFLW star Moana Hope has spent her life caring for others, including her dying father and her beloved sister Vinny, who has an intellectual disability. It wasn't until Mo was in her 30s that she realised she needed to learn how to love herself. Content Warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion of childhood abuse, domestic violence and suicidal ideation. Moana Hope grew up with 13 siblings in a two-bedroom housing commission home in Melbourne's north west. As a little girl...
Australians are living longer and longer, which is on one hand a beautiful thing. But on the other, prolonged old age is wreaking havoc. So how might we respond to this new demographic situation we find ourselves in? Lucinda Holdforth is a writer who specialises in looking at what makes good societies flourish, everything from manners to politics and equality. Most recently, she's set her sights on the unintended negative consequences following the extraordinary increase in life span around the ...
Zoologist Jack Ashby shares his deep fascination with the platypus, an animal that profoundly challenged early European scientific classification with its unique blend of mammalian and reptilian traits, such as laying eggs and suckling milk from fur. The episode delves into the platypus's extraordinary adaptations, from electroreception and specialized feeding to venomous spurs, alongside a critique of the historical colonial mindset that dismissed Australian wildlife as 'primitive' or 'weird.' Ashby advocates for embracing these creatures as evolutionary marvels and highlights the critical need for their conservation.
Antoun Issa delves into his mother's past, revealing the profound impact of the Lebanese Civil War on her life, from an idyllic childhood to secret love, shattered dreams, and immense personal sacrifices. Through her story, he illustrates the dehumanizing reality of conflict, the strength of the human spirit in survival, and how her decisions forged a new future for her family in Australia, influencing his own career dedicated to humanizing war narratives.
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...
This episode features Dr. Damien Brown, whose journey took him from treating war wounds with Doctors Without Borders in Angola and South Sudan to serving remote communities in Central Australia and Far North Queensland. He recounts dramatic rescues like a fuel tank explosion and unexpected dangers, alongside the profound challenges of addressing chronic diseases and systemic inequities in Indigenous health. Dr. Brown reflects on the "heroism of incremental care" and the importance of finding satisfaction in small, life-changing wins amidst immense hardship.
Filmmaker Kasimir Burgess travelled to Mongolia to follow two young men on their gruelling journey to bring 2000 horses to safer pastures during an exceptionally brutal winter. For centuries, the herders of Tsakhir Valley in Mongolia have protected their horses from the harsh winters by nominating their bravest young men to move them. But the ancient practice has been forced to stop in recent years due to climate change. Iron Winter documents one community's attempt to revive the tradition by in...
Award-winning Australian author, poet and essayist David Malouf died last week at the age of 92, he spoke with Richard in 2014. The first son of a Lebanese family, David spent his early years in South Brisbane, his vivid memories of life as it was then are captured in his classics, Johnno and 12 Edmondstone Street. Although his father played representative rugby league and was a champion boxer, David pursued a life of letters and during his career he published numerous highly-awarded novels and ...
The ABC journalist explains how competing, overlapping narratives and outright myths form our understanding of events of the past, featuring an impersonation of Winston Churchill talking about a lemon tree. Matt presents and writes the ABC TV show and podcast “If You’re listening”, where he says he explains the world’s most important stories while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes. He applies his Australian lens on major turning points in history; the villains, visi...
Bonnie Hancock got the idea to paddle around Australia after she stumbled on a book in her local library, the wild adventure ended being a gruelling 12,700 kilometre journey took almost a year to complete. Along the way, Bonnie met sharks, crocodiles, and sea snakes, she battled unrelenting seasickness and some serious storms. She also met some fascinating characters and saw the whole of Australia from a very unique vantage point. Further information The Girl Who Touched The Stars is published b...
Professor Daniel Reynaud on the incredible true story of an assuming vicar who turned out to be the most decorated military chaplain in Australian history, who had at one point lived his life on the edge. During World War Two, a self-effacing man named Walter Dexter served as the vicar of a church in West Footscray. Walter was in his 60s and his attempts to take up a career as a farmer and a teacher had failed, and so he’d returned to his earlier vocation as a clergyman. His children regarded th...
At 23 years old, Stephanie Browitt willed herself to stay awake long enough to survive a volcano eruption on New Zealand's Whakaari / White Island. More than six years later, her resilience and sanity remains as strong as ever. The rescue mission to White Island in November 2019 was led by three civilians, who immediately flew from the mainland, as the emergency services deemed the island too dangerous for their trained paramedics to get there. Stephanie clung on to consciousness, despite severe...
The Danish-British author, broadcaster and comedian recalls her unusual early life with glee, including how she came to be holding the hand of Neil Armstrong’s assistant at NASA’s headquarters on July 20, 1969. (R) Sandi’s interest in the world was stoked from a young age by her father, Claus, who was Denmark’s first Foreign Correspondent, and who was incredibly famous in his homeland. It was her dad who believed experiences were more important than day-to-day schooling, which is how Sandi came ...
When the world's most famous dancer offered a young sailor a job as his assistant, Blue Robinson thought it was a joke at first. But what followed was the most fascinating and formative year of Blue's life. Simon 'Blue' Robinson grew up sailing and playing rugby on the idyllic island of Jersey, between England and France. In his 20s, he went further a field, first to London and then Blue started working on yachts sailing around the Caribbean. One evening at a restaurant in St Barts, Blue spotted...
Alex Braczkowski is a big cat expert and for years he's been following a rare group of tree-climbing lions, including the charismatic, enigmatic, three-legged Jacob. Alex fell in love with animals by accident, he'd just been expelled and while his parents were trying to find him a new school, they made him use his time wisely by volunteering at the Johannesburg Zoo. From there he went to game ranger school, and onto university at a campus nestled in forests at the base of the Outeniqua Mountains...
Hannah Clarke and her three children were killed in an horrific attack that shocked Australia but for Dave Kramer their deaths were personal, he was friends with Hannah and had witnessed her relationship up close. Dave's own childhood exposure to domestic violence had blinded him to some of the signs that Hannah and her kids were in danger. After Hannah's death, Dave began the difficult work of confronting his past and educating himself on how to recognise abuse and have the confidence to speak ...
Author Helen Pitt has written a history of the iconic fun park and it's a tale bound up with con men, crooked cops, and developers who have long wanted to snatch up the prime piece of waterfront real estate.Millions of people have happy memories of walking through the teeth of the gigantic face on the edge of Sydney Harbour but it wasn't the first Luna Park in Australia, that honour goes to the Melbourne version which opened a decades earlier. But the tale of Sydney's Luna Park is arguably the m...
When Sonia Henry signed up to work as a GP in a remote mining town in the Pilbara, the experience changed almost everything she believed about Australia. An unfortunate romantic entanglement just before her final exams left her questioning everything, just as she was about to qualify as a doctor. To escape her life in Sydney, she signed up to work in some of Australia's most far-flung medical clinics. While working as a GP in places like the Pilbara, outback NSW, the Northern Territory and Broom...
Jane Messer embarks on a profound journey to understand why her father, Michael, was abandoned at a British boarding school by his mother, Bella, during the rise of Nazi Germany. Challenging his lifelong narrative of being unloved, Jane uncovers Bella's complex life, marked by personal struggles, wartime service, and difficult choices made under unimaginable pressure. The episode explores themes of inherited trauma, the reinterpretation of family history, and the profound impact of global conflicts on individual lives, revealing how understanding the past can lead to empathy and healing.
Novelist Emma Pei Yin ran away from Hong Kong as a teenager to start fresh in Australia. But she found herself repeatedly drawn back home whenever she put pen to paper. Emma grew up in England and Hong Kong. But her life in Hong Kong wasn’t so much about the neon skyscrapers as it was about her family’s ancestral village, tucked away in the New Territories. Emma spent her school holidays there with her grandparents, learning how to take care of the family cemetery and joining in Chinese Festival...
