Conversations

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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Episodes

The Soldier and the mare

After Isaac Adams returned from Afghanistan struggling with anger and hypervigilance, he found that working with traumatised racehorses was helping him heal

Oct 01, 2021•49 min

A Rainbow's arc

Lynn Rainbow grew up in a castle in one of Australia’s most theatrical families. In the 1970s she became a famous actress, before she began a new life as a philanthropist

Sep 30, 2021•43 min

Neddy Smith's last stand

'Jack the Insider' returns with the story of Neddy Smith, the violent criminal and heroin dealer who became an enforcer for a cabal of corrupt police detectives in the 1980s (CW: discussion of violent acts)

Sep 29, 2021•48 min

How a young Dutch woman discovered her savage self in the wild

Miriam Lancewood on her life roaming the New Zealand bush, hunting possums and goats to survive (CW: Graphic descriptions) (R)

Sep 28, 2021•52 min

The brilliant Miriam Margolyes

Miriam was conceived in an air raid during WWII and brought up in a nice Jewish home with a charismatic mother. She became the naughtiest girl at Oxford High School and then grew up to be one of the world's best known actors

Sep 27, 2021•53 min

Colin Hay's real life

How the 'Men at Work' front man managed the trip to mega-stardom and back again (R)

Sep 24, 2021•53 min

Behind the cake and the rain: the life of Jimmy Webb

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher inspired his music (R)

Sep 23, 2021•43 min

Joan Jett's life in music

When Joan Marie Larkin was given a guitar at the age of 13, she was on the path to becoming the Godmother of Punk (R)

Sep 22, 2021•46 min

Jimmy Barnes — a broken homecoming

Jimmy Barnes grew up as a boy called James Swan in Glasgow, then in South Australia. In his late teens, he joined a band called Cold Chisel and became a huge star. But on and off stage Jimmy was battling the demons of his troubled childhood (R)

Sep 21, 2021•50 min

A heart full of ancestors

Museum curator Imelda Miller on the history and vibrancy of Australian South Sea Islanders

Sep 17, 2021•53 min

The mystery of the hole in the universe

Physicist Paul Davies on the mysteries of our universe, including the puzzle of the 'super-void' inside the constellation of Eridanus

Sep 16, 2021•53 min

Psychics, mediums, astrologers and me

Journalist Gary Nunn on what he learned about grief, comfort, and the influence of clairvoyants during his two year investigation of the supernatural industry

Sep 15, 2021•52 min

The healing power of dogs

Kate Leaver became fascinated by the curative qualities of dogs after her Shih Tzu Bertie helped her through her darkest days (R)

Sep 14, 2021•48 min

John Safran and the truth behind the push to 'unsmoke the world'

Tobacco giant Philip Morris was financing what looked like anti-smoking initiatives around the world, but what they were advertising wasn't safe

Sep 13, 2021•50 min

How Nicole Highet helps new mothers cope

She didn't know it at the time, but religiously eavesdropping on her mother's phone conversations and counselling her grandmother through a breakup made her the psychologist she is today

Sep 10, 2021•52 min

Canopy Meg: the Arbornaut

Treetop scientist Meg Lowman on her working life among the leaves, birds and insects in the world's forest canopies, which she calls the '8th continent'

Sep 09, 2021•52 min

Life as a quadruple amputee and more – Mandy McCracken

Mandy's life changed completely in 2013 when she fell terribly ill with sepsis. Since then, with prosthetic replacements for all four limbs, she has learned to walk and drive again, and she doesn't want applause for living her life like everyone else (CW: mention of suicide)

Sep 08, 2021•52 min

Stranded - what Claire learned from falling

Claire Nelson was in the Joshua Tree National Park hiking alone when she strayed from the trail and slipped, shattering her pelvis. Her phone was out of range, and she knew she had to stay alive long enough for someone to realise she was missing (R)

Sep 07, 2021•55 min

John Howard recounts being in Washington on September 11, 2001

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on witnessing the events of September 11th, 2001 from the window of a Washington hotel room (R)

Sep 06, 2021•55 min

From Croatia to the Canefields: a love story

Debra Gavranich with the story of her mother Marija, who left her tiny Croatian island to make a life with a man she’d never met, in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Valley

Sep 03, 2021•55 min

Deserter, archaeologist and spy – the extraordinary adventures of Charles Masson

When the red-headed Englishman deserted the East India Company in 1827 to conduct his own archaeological digs in Afghanistan, he never imagined the Company would find him again, or try to blackmail him into spying Dr Edmund Richardson tells the story of Charles Masson, a red-headed Englishman, who embarked on a series of adventures and misadventures in Afghanistan after deserting from the East India Company Army in 1827. When Charles arrived in Kabul it was one of the wonders of the world, a wea...

Sep 02, 2021•55 min

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