Conversations

ABC Australia

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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2,001 episodes
Updated Today

Episodes2001

Newest first

Sep 9, 2025 · 51 min
Why Dr Ranjana Srivastava tells the whole truth about cancer
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 specia
Sep 5, 2025 · 52 min
Encore: Danny Estrin's Eurovision glory and the bittersweet aftermath
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. Afte
Sep 4, 2025 · 53 min
Kathleen Folbigg tells the story of her fight for freedom
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 i
Sep 3, 2025 · 46 min
How Alan 'the shit magnet' Playford helped revolutionise Australia's ambulance services
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
Sep 2, 2025 · 47 min
Why I wrote a musical for my cheeky, charismatic, Persian mum
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
Aug 30, 2025 · 52 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Alan Alda on bringing science to acting
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 De
Aug 29, 2025 · 5 min
20th Anniversary Collection: The male midwife working in Arnhem Land
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. 202
Aug 28, 2025 · 36 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Writing hit songs for Blondie, Tina Turner and Suzi Quatro
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 L
Aug 27, 2025 · 51 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Surviving PTSD as an Iraq War correspondent
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. Micha
Aug 26, 2025 · 52 min
20th Anniversary Collection: A Tanzanian love story
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 makin
Aug 25, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: The barber who helps boys become good men
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 episod
Aug 24, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: The seaweed scientist who survived being scalped
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.
Aug 22, 2025 · 38 min
Conversations Live podcast extra: Mandy Nolan and Wesley Enoch
Sarah and Richard give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the Conversations Live Tour, Brisbane edition. Writer and comedian, Mandy Nolan and Chair of Creative Australia, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch were two of the special guests who appeared on stage to share some photos close to their heart, and the stories attached to them. Further information To see Mandy and Wesley's photos for yourself, head to the ABC Conversations Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/abcconvos/ To binge even
Aug 21, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Mic's way out of the woods
Deeply ashamed of something he had done, Mic Whitty retreated into the Welsh wilderness until an unexpected goal pulled him out of homelessness and back into the world. Mic had entered the workforce at the tender age of 15, joining the RAAF as an apprentice, before taking on a series of highly paid jobs in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. But feeling stressed out and burnt out, Mic decided to take a simpler job at a youth hostel in the United Kingdom. Mic, however, couldn't financially acclimat
Aug 20, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Tommy Caldwell — born to climb The Dawn Wall
Tommy Caldwell grew up exploring Yosemite, looking up at El Capitan's punishing 3000ft sheer rock face. After years of training, he was ready to climb it. Tommy is regarded as the world’s best big wall climber. He spent 15 years ascending various routes on El Capitan, the Yosemite National Park mecca for big wall climbers, until he was finally ready to attempt a route christened 'The Dawn Wall'. The Dawn Wall is a 3000-foot ascent up sheer rock on the southeast face of El Capitan. It took T
Aug 19, 2025 · 51 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Vickie Roach's turbulent life in and out of strife
Vickie's police record began when she was just 2 years old, and followed her throughout her life. But as an adult she pushed back, challenging a federal law for the rights of prisoners. When Vickie was given a police record as a toddler, it enabled authorities to place her into the custody of a family she didn't know. She grew up in western Sydney, under the strict religious rule of her adoptive mother, with whom she clashed time and again. Vickie left school at 13., and in the same year she
Aug 17, 2025 · 51 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Born blind at the right time
Law Professor Ron McCallum was a premature baby in the 1940s. He completed his studies by recording people reading his textbooks aloud onto cassettes. Then an early version of text to speech opened up new possibilities for him. When Ron was born, prospects for blind people to have careers outside sheltered workshops were few. In the late 1970s enormous change swept into Ron’s life. He fell in love with fellow lawyer, Mary Crock, and they began a family. Ron became the first totally blind pro
Aug 14, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Brolga the 'kangaroo mum'
Aged 17, Chris 'Brolga' Barns was meant to be the 'bird guy' at a new zoo in Broome. A cough in his keeper's house alerted him to a kangaroo joey called Josie, who needed four-hourly feeds and help with the toilet. From then on he was hooked. Brolga knew early on he wanted to make a living working with animals. After meeting Josie he began to rescue other joeys left alive in their mothers' pouches after the large animals had been hit by cars. Word spread about his passion for orphaned joeys,
Aug 13, 2025 · 53 min
20th Anniversary Collection: Stan Grant on what his father taught him
The veteran Wiradjuri journalist spent his first year living in the wreck of a Model T Ford on a NSW mission. He has reported from China and North Korea, covered Nelson Mandela’s release, the death of Princess Diana, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and reported from outside Osama bin Laden’s house after he was killed. His father was a hard man and an itinerant sawmiller who taught Stan the lessons he would need to survive and thrive as he grew older. On the surface, Stan seemed disinterested
Aug 13, 2025 · 9 min
Conversations Live podcast extra: Bruce McAvaney
Sarah and Richard give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the Conversations Live Tour, Adelaide edition. Legendary sports broadcaster, Bruce McAvaney was one of the special guests who appeared on stage to share some photos close to his heart, and the stories attached to them. Further information To see Bruce'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 Fi