Conversations - podcast cover

Conversations

ABC Australia•www.abc.net.au
Society & Culture
Relationships
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.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Follow on
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
RSS
YouTube
Overcast
Pocket Casts
Episodes.fm
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Mike Hayes and the Holy Grail of winemaking

Mike was 15 when he left school to chip weeds in a Queensland vineyard. Forty years later he found himself in Portugal holding one of the world's oldest grapevines trying to discover if grapes can survive global warming.

Feb 21, 2020•46 min

Thea Hayes the walkabout nurse

When Thea was hired as a nurse on one of the largest cattle runs in the world, the job expanded to include hostessing and saving cows with clover bloat. In 1975 she was at Wave Hill Station when Gough Whitlam handed the Indigenous owners back their land

Feb 20, 2020•50 min

Young Hitler

How WWI helped a homeless vagabond named Adolf Hitler become the dictator of the German Reich (R)

Feb 18, 2020•49 min

The pavlova in the suitcase

Michelle Garnaut on how she began one of the world's most famous restaurants in communist-era Shanghai (R)

Feb 17, 2020•48 min

The unusual life of Rima Hadchiti

At 100cm tall, Rima is one of the smallest people in the world. But throughout her life, she's demanded to be heard

Feb 14, 2020•46 min

Benny and the pact with God

When doctors told Benny Agius her baby son had Down syndrome, she was full of anxiety about his future. Then Richard grew up to defy everyone's expectations

Feb 12, 2020•47 min

Fish, frogs and a photographer

Nature photographer Gary Cranitch on his working life floating off the Great Barrier Reef to capture a split-second image of the 'biggest orgy on the planet'

Feb 07, 2020•50 min

Steve's life in the London squats

Steve Bevington talks about his years in the thick of an underground movement of London squatters, who would break into abandoned buildings, change the locks and claim them as their own

Feb 06, 2020•53 min

When Robert met Maida

Former politician Robert Tickner grew up in country NSW, 'showered with love' by his adoptive parents. When he began the search for his biological mum Maida in his 40s, he discovered she'd been much closer than he ever knew

Feb 05, 2020•49 min

Life in 248 dimensions

Mathematician Geordie Williamson spent eight years cracking the code to find the weight of atoms in space (R)

Feb 04, 2020•45 min

The truth about space junk

Space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman on the unexpected artefacts of the space age (R)

Feb 03, 2020•51 min

Grantham — the town that washed away

When an inland tsunami smashed into a rural Queensland town in January 2011, people were killed and the town destroyed. Jamie Simmonds became the right-hand-man of Mayor Steve Jones, and they led an audacious recovery project

Jan 30, 2020•53 min

William McInnes on being a dad

William wanders through stories of fatherhood, from growing up in Queensland in the 1970s, to raising his own children as a single dad (R) William is one of Australia's best-known storytellers and actors. As his children became adults, he began to reflect on what it means to be a father. William’s dad was a gregarious character, a veteran of World War II, who ran a hire business in Queensland. Despite the many colourful names his father coined for him, William remembers his dad as a very loving ...

Jan 27, 2020•51 min

Mary's three gurus

How a young woman fell under the spell of spiritual cult leaders in the 1970s

Jan 23, 2020•52 min

How Sean Sweeney found his deaf heart

Sean was the first hearing baby to be born to his mother’s family in four generations. He became an Auslan interpreter, and an instantly recognisable figure during Australia's bushfire crisis

Jan 22, 2020•46 min

Claire G. Coleman's many lives

Claire grew up running wild in the Banksia forests of Southern Western Australia. As an adult she had a period of homelessness, living on the streets of Melbourne. After learning the truth of her family's story, Claire found her focus

Jan 20, 2020•45 min

Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

Megan Phelps-Roper grew up inside the notorious Westboro Baptist Church family. In 2012 she left the church, and her family, to live in the world she once reviled

Jan 19, 2020•52 min

Best of 2019 — Bryan Brown

Bryan’s played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world (R)

Dec 20, 2019•53 min

Best of 2019 — Ron McCallum

Left totally blind by treatment he received as a premature baby, Ron credits technology, love, and good timing with his success in life and the law (R)

Dec 19, 2019•52 min

Best of 2019 — Archie Roach

Archie tells of writing Took the Children Away and playing it in public for the first time, of his belated reunion with his siblings, and his love story with Ruby Hunter (R)

Dec 18, 2019•51 min
← PrevNext →
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android