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.
Whether it's an exploration of Australian and American politics, the intricacies of mental health, or the mysteries of ancestry and origin stories, our episodes offer a conversational approach that brings topics to life.
We uncover epic tales of war and peace, the complex dynamics of relationships and family, and the profound impact of grief and loss.
Follow Conversations for thought-provoking discussions, heartfelt stories, and a deeper understanding of the world around us.
Conversations explores the meaning of life, history, relationships, motherhood and fatherhood, love, religion and the origins of human life through a contemporary and conversational Australian lens.
From distinctive accounts of crime, mental health, ancestry, cults, grief, family and parenting, to discussions about science, books, art, music, war, spies and economics, Conversations traverses myriad topics.
Our interviews focus on pioneers of the natural world, wildlife, oceans, fungi, archaeology, palaeontology and megafauna.
Our guests speak about geopolitics, being a refugee and the experience of migration. They come from all walks of life — First Nations, Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples, CALD communities and ancestors of Australia's first fleeters. We explore Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu faith traditions, among other beliefs, including atheism.
We look at social history as well — close encounters with the ancient world, the Stolen Generations, and adventurers on an explorative odyssey.
In a Conversations interview, you will hear personal stories of secrets, lies, adoption, and living with disability, neurodiversity or chronic illness.
We traverse a person's life story, full of human interest topics, including redemption, love at first sight, spirituality, poverty, having children, family dynamics and even hidden families.
We hear from individuals who have struggled with drug addiction, jail, family violence, political imprisonment, persecution, abuse, depression, anxiety and mental health issues.
Conversations also speak to the public figures of Australian and international society — leaders, artists, politicians, authors, sports stars, actors and musicians.
A writer, a builder, a neurologist, a Paralympian, an Olympian, an amputee, a historian, a comedian, a funeral director, a bird photographer, an ethicist, a doctor, a spy, a pilot, a choreographer, a firefighter, a bookseller, an astrophysicist, a martial artist, a principal, an oud virtuoso, an ecologist, a carer, a demographer, a chess master, a forensic archaeologist, a biologist, a chef, a surfer, a button shop owner, a costume and set designer, a boxer, a drummer, a conductor, a dog behaviourist, an AFL player, a longevity expert, a barber, a Matilda, and a psychologist have all appeared on our program.
After almost 20 years of digging into the lives, stories and worlds of thousands of people, Conversations continues as the ABC's most popular podcast, providing Australians with a social history of our country and paying close attention to the small, personal details that make up a life.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt says it is time to reinstate the play-based childhood to bring our kids back from life online and into the real world, away from their increasing obsession with devices. It’s a fact of modern life that children who are given smart phones are able to access pornography, real images of violence and harmful comparisons with their friends and also influencers around the world. Social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt argues that as the social norms have changed, and you...
Dr Laura Driessen takes you 26,000 light-years away, into the centre of our galaxy and beyond in the search for radio stars, supermassive black holes and supernova remnants. Dr Laura Driessen is a radio astronomer who is fascinated with the scale of the universe and the wealth of information it holds, especially in its stars. Her obsession began as a child, looking through her mini telescope on family camping trips at the planets and at comets. But it wasn't until Laura was an undergraduate scie...
The Masterchef graduate and cookbook author grew up in Georgia as the Soviet Union was crumbling, gorging on plums in her grandfather's garden. During this time the young, voracious Alice couldn't keep her food down at kindy. And it took years to work out why. Cookbook author and TV presenter, Alice Zaslavsky grew up in Georgia as the Soviet Union was crumbling. She would gorge herself on plums in her grandfather's garden, and her voracious spirit was celebrated and encouraged by her parents and...
Pip Williams was diagnosed with dyslexia as a teenager. She grew up to write a novel inspired by the history of the Oxford Dictionary, which soon became an international bestseller. (R) Pip Williams was a teenage poetry enthusiast when she had her first poem, called Fifteen, published in Dolly magazine. Then just a couple of years later, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. But despite her struggles with reading and spelling, she never drew back from the world of books and words. A few years ago Pip...
The journalist delves into the history of experimental psychopathy treatment in Canada, which included mass, nude LSD trips. Years ago, journalist Jon Ronson did a course on how to spot a psychopath. People with psychopathic tendencies tend to use certain patterns of behaviour, turns of phrase, and a decoy mask of normality. Then Jon went out and met with men who had committed violent crimes, or had used their traits to make extraordinary amounts of money, and who had been locked up, for years, ...
For years Claude Robinson was doing crime to fund his heroin addiction. He was eventually locked up with murderers in Goulburn Prison, where he shared a dentist with Ivan Milat. But in 2006 he made a big change, to turn his life around. (CW: descriptions of drug use, addiction, and crime) 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 ...
During the height of his fame as one half of Savage Garden, Darren Hayes struggled to reconcile what he'd lived through as a child growing up in Logan (CW: descriptions of domestic violence). Darren Hayes rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the musical duo Savage Garden. The band ended up selling 35 million albums and won numerous awards with hits like 'Truly Madly Deeply'. On the surface, Darren had achieved wealth, adoration and stardom —everything he dreamt of as a kid growing up in Logan, o...
Professor Alice Roberts examines the bones of those who died between five and ten centuries ago, solving the mysteries of how they lived and died. Professor Alice Roberts wants us to listen to skeletons. She's an anatomist and archaeologist who says that posthumous examination of our bones can reveal so much more than what someone might have looked like. Whether it's about our health, our diet, what we did for a living, how we died, and whether that was a violent end — epic stories are written i...
Paul McVerry is an experienced cattleman and a stud breeder, who had a wild vision to fly a gift of cattle to India with the help of winemaker Dan Murphy. (R) New Zealand-born cattleman Paul McVerry has been surrounded by animals his whole life, and not just in cattle pens or in sheep yards. Paul has accompanied thoroughbred horses on weeks-long ship journeys across the Pacific ocean. He's been stuck with prized bulls in the back of a truck going the wrong way down Broadway in New York City. Aft...
Screenwriter, Mithila Gupta thought her life would mimic her beloved Bollywood films — full of swooning and drama. But something was stuck, and she was an adult before she could embrace her vibrant Indian heritage. Screenwriter, Mithila Gupta grew up obsessing over Bollywood heart-throbs, thinking she would meet her own prince in a movie perfect meet-cute, involving serenades and moonlight. Her parents had left their home in Jaipur, India, to move their daughter to Australia, with hopes of more ...
Matt Mewburn, one of Australia's last blacksmiths, takes you inside the "iron cathedral", where blacksmithing is still very much alive. Matt didn't grow up dreaming of forging knives and sculptures over heat as hot as volcanic lava. He thought he might take over the family farm or become a scientist. But when Matt was 20 years old, his father unexpectedly died, and Matt went looking for a hobby to keep himself distracted through the grief. A spontaneous trip to the local TAFE in Sydney introduce...
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. Louise Philip 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 permanentl...
As a forensic counsellor and then a grief counsellor, Wendy Liu has spent many years right up close to death. Her work with people who are processing all kinds of losses has brought her a much keener appreciation for life. (R) Wendy Liu was a young woman on a social work placement when she realised she had a special affinity for hard conversations about life and death. She put her aptitude to work in palliative care, and then some years later she began working as a forensic counsellor. For seven...
Author Rosalie Ham grew up in a country town three blocks long and three blocks wide. She paid close attention to the characters there, like the woman at the shops whose face was frozen into Munch’s scream. This eye for detail led to her first novel, which became a hit movie starring Kate Winslet. Author, Rosalie Ham grew up in country NSW, in a town three streets wide and three streets long. During a mouse plague, the rodents were so prolific that their droppings would appear at the bottom of t...
Writer Emily Maguire on losing her own faith, but finding awe and inspiration in a controversial myth about a female pontiff who some people believe sat disguised on the papal throne for two years in the ninth century. Writer Emily Maguire grew up in a very Christian home, where life revolved around the Church and prayer. By the time she was in her late teens, Emily had well and truly rebelled against her religious upbringing, eventually dropping out of high school, getting a job at McDonalds an...
Jelena Dokic overcame adversity, poverty and violence to rise to the top of the tennis world. Years later, her revelations about her father's abuse stunned the world. (CW: discussion of domestic violence and coercive control). This episode of Conversations also talks about sport, training, family, origin stories, parenting, relationships, childhood trauma, sports commentary, online trolls, refugees, security, control, family violence, therapy, mental health, identity, disordered eating, books, d...
Lee Berger, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and real-life Indiana Jones with tales of his hominid discoveries, many of which have rewritten the story of palaeoanthropology. (R) National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Lee Berger, entered the field of palaeoanthropology when there was an infinitesimally tiny chance he would discover anything, while digging around South Africa. But this real-life Indiana Jones kept bucking the odds. He kept unearthing previously unseen parts of hominid...
As Andrew Dwyer ventured further into the desert, he fell in love with the people and the landscape. He battled sandstorms, floods and isolation to serve fine foods under the stars. When Andrew Dwyer was growing up in 1960s Melbourne, the city wasn't the foodie destination it is now, in fact it was often described as a "culinary wasteland". But luckily for Andrew, his Czechoslovakian godfather and his Chinese stepmother introduced him to incredible flavours and cooking techniques from further af...
An impulse decision to buy a home in the rainforest results in a comedy of errors involving a python in the roof, an unexpected tax bill, two reality TV shows discussing bowel movements with Shane Warne. (R) Akmal Saleh doesn't like the jungle or rainforests, or any of the animals in the jungle or rainforest. Akmal likes cafes and running water, which made the comedian's purchase of a cabin in the hills outside Byron Bay incredibly puzzling to those who know him. Looking for a place where their ...
Athlete Gerrard Gosens didn't realise he was blind until his first day at primary school. His adventurous spirit led him to become a three time Paralympian, climb Mt Everest, swim the English Channel, and perform the rhumba on Dancing With The Stars. This conversation talks about family life, family history, childhood memories, origin stories, training, medical procedures, surgery, mountaineering, mountains, cycling, open water swimming, parenting, genetic conditions, glaucoma, disability, chari...
How a Birmingham boy became best-selling thriller writer, Lee Child, and the creator of one of the literary world's most popular loners. (R) James Grant grew up in Birmingham when it was a bustling industrial city. While huge workforces would pour of the factories as men ended their shifts and headed home on bicycles, for children, there wasn't much to do. Young James often found himself at the library, and he grew up a voracious reader. He began working for Granada Television after leaving univ...
Dr Tracy Westerman grew up in the Pilbara, where suicide and mental health issues have deeply scarred Indigenous communities. So this Nyamal woman decided to do something about it. Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman grew up in some of the most remote parts of Western Australia, moving from a station to a town called Useless Loop, eventually landing in the mining town of Tom Price. Tracy, the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and a white father, became the first person educated entirely in Tom Price, fr...
Michael Visontay with the true tale of how fragments of a rare Gutenberg Bible were sold off, leaf by leaf, in New York in the 1920s, and how the sale of these books, chapters and verses changed the course of his own family. Some years ago journalist Michael Visontay was researching his family history when he stumbled upon the story of a man named Gabriel Wells, who had been a New York book dealer at the height of the Roaring 20s. As a way to make fast money, Wells came up with a scandalous plan...
Legendary cook, author, food producer and educator Maggie Beer had a circuitous path to the food world, which began when she left school at 14. (R) Legendary cook, author, food producer and educator Maggie Beer grew up in Lakemba in South-West Sydney, and got her first job when she was 14 years old. Maggie had to leave school early to go out to work to help support her family after her father's business went bankrupt. Although she had a varied working life over the next two decades, it wasn't un...
In 2024 Nate Byrne went from presenting the weather to making the news when he acknowledged live on air that he was experiencing a panic attack. Keeping cool under pressure is a skill Nate developed in his first career as a Naval Officer, and perhaps also from his days as a go-go dancer in a Perth nightclub. Nate Byrne is the Weather Presenter on ABC News Breakfast. In August this year Nate went from presenting the weather to making the news when he acknowledged, as he was broadcasting live, tha...
Chef Ben Shewry grew up on a farm in New Zealand where his family grew or hunted most of their own food. Ben was 10 when he started working in restaurants and his discovery of a second hand Thai cookbook eventually led him to Australia. In 2015 Ben become the owner of Attica in Melbourne and turned it into one of the world's most acclaimed and innovative restaurants. This episode of Conversations explores origin, family, ancestry, parenting, origin stories, Melbourne, personal stories, depressio...
Antony Penrose grew up knowing little about his remarkable mother Lee Miller, who had studied with Man Ray in Paris, and become a model, a photographer, and a war correspondent. But then an unexpected find in the family attic changed everything. (R) Lee Miller was a Vogue model, a photographer, and a war correspondent who studied in Paris with her lover, Man Ray, lived in Egypt, and captured some of the most searing images of the holocaust. Recently she has become famous in pop culture for her g...
Bhawani O'Brien's first name means "giver of life" in Tamil, which is ironic she says, because one of the greatest privileges of her life has been helping more than 100 people in their dying moments as a voluntary assisted dying practitioner. Bhawani grew up in Malaysia with Sri Lankan parents, both of whom were doctors. She was also expected to become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or an accountant. Luckily for her, she adored her father, and followed his footsteps into medical school without ...
Australian Gonzo author and documentary filmmaker John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be. He put his sanity on the line in his latest escapade — breaking into one of Kanye West's strange homes. His latest slightly criminal expedition saw him squatting in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West. John had seen a clip of the hip-hop mega star denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because th...
Joh Jarvis was a high-flying boss when grief from a terrible loss began to overwhelm her. She tried therapy, exercise and healthy eating. Then she found Vedic meditation, and the experience was 'psychedelic'. Joh Jarvis is a Vedic meditation teacher. Every week, she travels into Rikers Island Prison — a notorious jail in New York City — to teach meditation to hardened criminals. Joh grew up in Adelaide and had always wanted to live amidst the bright lights of New York. After a stint as a bicycle...
