Fran Harding was a stay-at-home mother of eight children when her pharmacist husband came home one night with the news that the family were moving to Charleville in Western Queensland to run a pub. Gordan had spontaneously leased a pub, and Fran was to be its new publican. So, with their kids in tow (including a little baby), they set off. Fran set up her sewing machine behind the bar and did her best to work out how to pull beers, understand what the locals were saying and keep tabs on her broo...
Oct 08, 2025•53 min
Dr Todd Bond is marine ecologist who goes where very few humans have ever been: the underworld, or the deep ocean. There, he studies the strange, scary and often cute creatures who call the deepest parts of our oceans home. This part of the ocean starts at 6000 metres deep, and is known as the 'Hadal Zone'. Todd travels there in a small titanium submersible, not much bigger than his own 6'4'' frame. Waiting there for Todd, in the inky darkness, is mysterious and magic, and is still largely unexp...
Oct 07, 2025•52 min
Jane Goodall, the renowned conservationist and pioneer of groundbreaking chimpanzee field research, has died of natural causes at the age of 91. Jane lived an utterly remarkable life, and her discoveries revolutionised science. She was only 26 years old when she first visited Tanzania to begin her research on chimpanzees in the wild Before Jane went to Africa we knew very little about chimpanzees, despite the fact that they're our closest cousins. It's only because of Jane’s research and observa...
Oct 02, 2025•49 min
Lawyer Paula Gerber on the human rights of the most endangered group of people in any community - its children. They are open to the most predatory forms of exploitation simply because they don't have the worldliness of adults, and must rely on trust and goodwill. When Paula Gerber was growing up in suburban Brisbane, she didn’t spend her weekends at the pool or playing cricket with her dad. Quality time with her father meant visiting his clients with him in the local jail or mental institution....
Oct 02, 2025•52 min
Musician Paul Field on grieving the death of his baby girl, Bernadette, and how she inspired his family band, The Wiggles, to bring joy into the lives of millions of children. CW: This episode of Conversations discusses the death of a child. Paul Field was on tour in Queensland with his band, the Cockroaches, when he received a call that would alter his life forever. His 7-month-old baby daughter, Bernadette, had unexpectedly died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Paul and his wife, Paulin...
Oct 01, 2025•52 min
When Brad Guy went skydiving in his early 20s, his whole family was there to watch. But when Brad jumped out of the plane strapped to his instructor, the parachute, and the backup chute both failed to open. The pair plunged to the ground at 80km an hour, and miraculously both survived. The fall was terrifying, but recovery is what scared Brad the most. Despite hitting the ground at around 80kmph, they both survived, but from the first night in hospital Brad started experiencing debilitating nigh...
Sep 30, 2025•53 min
Phillipa Perry grew in England and as a teenager went to a finishing school in Switzerland where she learnt to ski and speak in a posh accent. But instead of joining the aristocracy she worked as debt collector, a manager at McDonalds and eventually a psychotherapist. Later she married the celebrated artist Grayson Perry, who is famous for his cross-dressing. Philippa says the key to raising children is acknowledging feelings – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Her best selling parenting book The...
Sep 26, 2025•53 min
Bronnie Ware was recovering from burnout when she wrote a blog post reflecting on years working as a palliative carer and the epiphanies patients shared with her as they faced death. It was read by millions and became the basis of her best-selling book, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. And the lessons Bronnie learnt from her dying patients also helped her confront some darker elements of her childhood and eventually find peace. The book has become a touchstone for many people all over the world, ...
Sep 25, 2025•51 min
To Australia he was a genius adman and best-selling author but behind closed doors Bryce Courtenay was a deeply flawed husband and father. His son, Adam, has tried to make sense of the lies, the ego and the heartbreak. When Adam Courtenay was growing up, he saw his dad Bryce as a hero. Bryce worked in advertising so he knew all the latest, coolest trends, and at bedtime, Bryce told Adam and his brothers amazing stories about his life in South Africa and the Courtenay family’s noble origins. When...
Sep 24, 2025•52 min
In 2017, journalist Nick McKenzie heard rumours of executions and cover-ups inside Australia’s most elite military unit. For the next eight years, Nick waged an epic battle for the truth to be acknowledged about Ben Roberts-Smith VC. Along with his colleague Chris Masters, Nick began an investigation which hinged on Australia’s most famous, and most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, who served in the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) from 2003 - 2013. By following the story, they wer...
Sep 23, 2025•53 min
Christie took up wheelchair racing as a child as part of her rehab after a car crash left her with paraplegia. Sometimes dangerous and always thrilling, the sport helped to restore her sense of self and Christie went on to compete in seven Paralympic Games. But she almost gave up one of her events, the marathon, after a terrifying experience in Boston in 2013. Christie manages to split her time training for races, holding down several jobs, and raising her family. Further information If you need...
Sep 19, 2025•50 min
Claire Parkinson is the daughter of a long-distance lorry driver and her first job was cleaning the urinals at her local Suffolk factory. A stint as a prison officer set her up with stability and responsibility, then she was assigned to protect a notorious murderer. Content warning: this episode contains strong language. As a child, Claire was the apple of her father’s eye and when she got pregnant unexpectedly while a teenager, he could not speak to her at all and the two fell out. Claire becam...
Sep 18, 2025•52 min
Tom Robinson was a 14-year-old living in the Brisbane suburbs when he made a promise to himself to become the youngest person ever to row across the Pacific Ocean. Nine years later Tom set off from Peru bound for Australia without a support crew and limited communication. Tom navigated by the stars, made eye contact with a shark and rowed up to 15 hours a day when strong currents pushed him off course. And when his adventure ended, it was in a completely unexpected by perfect way. Read more abou...
Sep 17, 2025•52 min
Diplomat Grant Dooley was inside the Australian Embassy building in Indonesia when a bomb went off, killing several people. This was just the beginning of a series of devastating events that Grant had to come to terms with years after moving back home to Australia. In 2004, Grant Dooley and his wife, Kristan, moved to Jakarta with their two young children to start a three-year posting at the Australian Embassy. In September of that year, Grant arrived at the embassy complex for a brief visit. No...
Sep 16, 2025•51 min
Sarah and Richard give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the now complete Conversations Live Tour, Brisbane edition. Comedian, Mel Buttle was one of the special guests who appeared on stage to share some photos close to her heart, and the stories attached to them. Further information To see Mel's photos for yourself, head to the ABC Conversations Facebook page . https://www.facebook.com/abcconvos/ To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Ka...
Sep 12, 2025•13 min
As a child, Candice Fox knew her family wasn't what most people would consider normal. Their Christmas included lunch at Long Bay jail, where her father worked (R). At home, Candice's mother Ocean was busy rescuing lost people, injured native animals, and bringing home odd things from the council clean-up. In one 5-year period, Ocean fostered more than 140 children. To escape the chaos of home, Candice would immerse herself in her mum's collection of illustrated true crime stories.Then she began...
Sep 12, 2025•52 min
Dr Charlotte Tottman is a clinical psychologist who specialises in supporting cancer patients. Both her parents had died young from different cancers, so Charlotte always joked she would be next. In 2018, it wasn't a joke anymore. While on a beach holiday, Charlotte found a lump in her breast. When she got her own cancer diagnosis, all of Charlotte’s skills as a psychologist went out the window. She was scared, and angry, and determined to keep going rather than letting herself rest. After falli...
Sep 11, 2025•52 min
A few years ago, after a series of crisis after crisis after crisis, Allie Pepper thought she would have to give up high-altitude mountain climbing. This is how she got her groove back. Record-breaking mountaineer, Allie Pepper, is currently in the middle of a project to become the first and fastest woman to climb the world’s 14 tallest mountains – those over 8000m – without the use of oxygen. But just a few years ago, Allie nearly gave up climbing all together after a trifecta of mid-life crise...
Sep 10, 2025•53 min
Doctors often use euphemisms to dance around the 'C' word. But for oncologist Dr Ranjana Srivastava, how you talk to someone with cancer goes beyond "shadows, lumps and lesions". It's all about compassion and clarity, even when honesty is difficult. Ranjana Srivastava was a young doctor in regional Australia, accompanying her consultant on his late night rounds when she heard a patient say something that stopped Ranjana in her tracks. It was in that moment that she finally knew what her speciali...
Sep 09, 2025•52 min
Voyager frontman Danny Estrin on his unconventional path from heavy metal to law and on to the Eurovision grand final (R). Danny Estrin is one of the few Australians who knows what it’s like to perform at Eurovision. As frontman for the progressive synth metal band, Voyager, Danny commanded the stage in the 2023 competition, wind machine and all. His musical education started early, on a piano gifted by his babushka and freighted from the Soviet Union to his childhood home in Hamburg. After movi...
Sep 05, 2025•52 min
Kathleen Folbigg was locked up in prison for decades, wrongly convicted of the deaths of her four children. For years, her childhood friend Tracy was the only person who believed in her innocence. Now they are telling the story of their herculean fight to overturn Kathleen's conviction. (CW: loss of children, descriptions of life in prison) In 2003, Kathleen Folbigg was locked up in jail for decades, wrongly convicted of the deaths of her four children. One of the only people who believed in her...
Sep 04, 2025•53 min
When you call for an ambulance these days, chances are the officers inside will save a life. But 40 years ago, 80 per cent of Alan Playford's passengers would either die on the way to the hospital, or on its doorstep. This is how he, and his colleagues, changed the face of paramedicine for the better. When Alan Playford first joined the New South Wales Ambulance Service in the 1970s, he would drive an ambulance on his own to all sorts of emergencies. With little equipment, and no support, Alan w...
Sep 03, 2025•47 min
Ten years ago, Sydney-based artist HOSSEI took a step back from the art world to care for his sick mother. The more time they spent together, the more inspired HOSSEI became to create something especially for, about, and starring his mum. HOSSEI is an artist with a flair for colour, quirk and unbridled joy. But growing up the only son of a Persian-Australian family, it took years of hard work to convince his parents that being an artist was his destiny. HOSSEI's mother, Nahid, came around first,...
Sep 02, 2025•47 min
Hollywood actor Alan Alda has devoted his life to science, by taking his acting and communication skills off the screen and into the laboratory. Alan grew up in a show business family and spent his childhood touring with a burlesque show run by his parents. He eventually made a name for himself in showbiz, becoming well-known and much-loved for his performances in M.A.S.H. and The West Wing, as well as his roles in many Hollywood films. Alan is also famous for his love of science. He wrote Dear ...
Aug 30, 2025•52 min
Growing up south of Sydney as one of six boys, midwifery wasn't the occupation Christian Wright expected for himself. At the age of nine, he experienced a vision that gave him a sense of his future in a life of service. As a qualified midwife, Christian spent time in the tiny town of Nhulunbuy, right on the tip of the Northern Territory. He worked with Yolŋu women of remote Arnhem Land to help them birth their babies. Further information This interview was first broadcast in March 2021. 2025 upd...
Aug 29, 2025•5 min
Music was always in Mike Chapman’s blood. As a boy, he collected bottles at the Brisbane showgrounds and traded them for money, which he saved to buy his first guitar. In his career he has penned electrifying numbers for The Sweet, The Knack and Pat Benatar. In the history of '70s and '80s rock music, he is one of the least known, but most influential people. As a young man, he moved to the UK, hoping to become a rock and roll star. In the US, Mike produced Blondie's classic album, Parallel Line...
Aug 28, 2025•36 min
Michael Ware witnessed some of the most violent battles in Baghdad; and was kidnapped three times. He was one of the few Western journalists to live full-time in Iraq during the war, embedded with U.S. forces, insurgents, and terrorists. Leaving the war zone and resettling in Brisbane, Michael has had to 'consciously attempt to reclaim his life'. Further information Originally broadcast July 2012. Content warning: This interview contains distressing content. Please listen with care. Michael rele...
Aug 27, 2025•51 min
After a dream job as a nanny in Notting Hill, a young Donna Duggan was first lured to Africa by the charms of Zanzibar. She soon fell deeply in love with a local man, Nas, though she could never have predicted the direction their life would take. Nas and Donna set up a safari company, on the premise they would give back to the country and community as their business prospered. They had two children and built a life for their family and their wide network of Tanzanian employees. Nas was making a ...
Aug 26, 2025•52 min
Charles Lomu's gentle and religious life in Tonga with his grandparents showed him the meaning of love. He was on track to being a young, in-demand Rugby League player when grief shook his family, and Charles turned down a dark path. He ended up in periodic detention in jail. Today, the power of barbering is a tool the youth worker uses to steer young men away from the dangerous path he experienced, and to teach them to be men. Further information Originally broadcast July 2022. This episode was...
Aug 25, 2025•53 min
Marine ecologist, Pia Winberg learned how useful seaweed could be for gut health and wound healing. One day she was conducting research by herself in her lab when she had a terrible accident. Pia was four-years-old when she moved from her native Sweden to Australia. She always loved the beach and the coastline. As an adult, Pia became fascinated with the scientific properties of seaweed after visiting a Sri Lankan prawn farm using seaweed to bolster the health of the surrounding environment. She...
Aug 24, 2025•53 min
