Pia began her own seaweed farm after decades as a marine ecologist. One ordinary working day there was a terrible accident (R)
Dec 17, 2019•48 min
Vickie's met with trouble all through her life, starting with a police record at the age of two. She went on to challenge a Federal law on the rights of prisoners (R)
Dec 16, 2019•52 min
When comedian Peter Helliar was a child, he was fascinated by the idea of death, and wrote about it endlessly. Then he grew up to become the 'world's happiest comedian'
Dec 16, 2019
Tales of the great Australian summer holiday from Mark Trevorrow, Alice Pung, Jack Hoysted and Steph Tisdell
Dec 13, 2019•1 hr
Ben grew up in Drumchapel, a Glasgow housing estate. As a young man, he built a thriving career as a musician, went to University and married. But some years later, he was homeless
Dec 12, 2019•52 min
Helen recently published her diaries from 1978-1987. They include her thoughts on writing and work, parenting, love affairs, the quest for the right pair of shoes, and the pleasures of mowing the grass Helen is the author of many books, including Monkey Grip, The First Stone, This House of Grief and The Spare Room. Helen's also kept a diary for almost all her life. But until now those exercise books filled with her thoughts, observations, frustrations and joys have been locked away in a laundry ...
Dec 11, 2019•54 min
Astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith on how Andromeda is due to collide with our galaxy in five billion years time (R)
Dec 10, 2019•51 min
How Irving Finkel stumbled upon the true story of the Ark before Noah on a Babylonian clay tablet
Dec 09, 2019•52 min
Timothy’s stellar screen career, including roles in ‘Mr Turner’, ‘Secrets and Lies’, the Harry Potter films, and his latest, ‘Mrs Lowry & Son’, was almost cut short by a life-threatening illness
Dec 06, 2019•51 min
Irish comic Dylan Moran on his unusual childhood, the story behind Black Books, and why he's given up drinking for good
Dec 05, 2019•48 min
After Hakeem was imprisoned while on his honeymoon in Thailand, Craig fought the power of two monarchies, a military junta, and the world's largest sporting institution to free him
Dec 04, 2019•48 min
Nepalese surgeon Dr Sanduk Ruit on his work in the villages of Nepal which has restored the sight of more than 150 000 people (R)
Dec 03, 2019•52 min
An anaesthetist and cave diver, Richard had the exact combination of skills needed to help save the lives of a Thai soccer team trapped deep underwater
Dec 02, 2019•52 min
Australia's storyteller in song on poems he's loved since childhood, and how reading and learning great poetry has changed his song writing
Nov 29, 2019•51 min
How a young computer scientist found his way out of a traumatic childhood
Nov 28, 2019•48 min
The retiring host of Q&A reflects on his time with the show, and how his years reporting from the former Yugoslavia have helped him craft best-selling fiction
Nov 27, 2019•51 min
Writer Christos Tsiolkas broke away from the Christian church as a teenager. As a grown man, in a moment of personal crisis, he rediscovered the letters of St Paul and saw them in a different light
Nov 26, 2019•50 min
How Samantha Power became one of world's most influential foreign policy thinkers
Nov 25, 2019•48 min
Nicholas Cowdery oversaw some of Australia's most sensational cases during his 16 years in the role. His decisions often made him enemies in politics and the media, but he was always motivated by the prospect of a fair trial
Nov 22, 2019•50 min
NASA astronomer Jennifer Wiseman on exploring the design of the universe (R)
Nov 21, 2019•53 min
Tim Watts MP has a deeply personal reason for wanting to resurface stories about Chinese migrants to Australia. From pre-Federation, to the Kelly gang, to the Melbourne Olympics, he tells how their influence weaves right through our culture
Nov 20, 2019•50 min
When Peter Sharp's severe back pain forced him to give up work, he believed he was unemployable. Then began photographing lost and abandoned dogs, cats, guinea pigs and chickens
Nov 19, 2019•42 min
New York Times journalist Ray Bonner spent decades reporting from some of the world's most dangerous places. Then he moved to Australia, and made one of the riskiest decisions of his life
Nov 18, 2019•48 min
William is considered one of Australia's greatest living artists. But it took years for his work to be recognised as brilliant
Nov 15, 2019•50 min
At the age of 2, Rebekah Robertson's son George calmly explained to his mum that he was a girl. After years of turmoil in the family, Rebekah began devoting much of her life to helping Georgie be herself. In the process, she changed history
Nov 14, 2019•50 min
How Clare overcame grief she'd stored away since childhood, found a way to manage anxiety, and embraced a joyful, messy life
Nov 13, 2019•51 min
Frank Dikotter on the common personality traits of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao and other twentieth century dictators
Nov 12, 2019•50 min
The story of two men who fought for different sides on the western front, and an unexpected friendship between their descendants (R)
Nov 11, 2019•52 min
Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when hand-rearing a magpie nestling. After it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers and began her research into avian behaviour. Her many books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking. Many assumptions about the nature of birds and their behaviour are completely wrong when applied to Australian birds. Gisela Kaplan was a professor of sociology when a magpie nestling she was hand raising bonded closely with her, follow...
Nov 08, 2019•52 min
After both her parents died young, Charlotte Wood grew up believing she would never grow old. When she reached her 50s, she began to ask some big questions about aging
Nov 07, 2019•51 min
