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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53 episodes
daily
Avg 51 min
English

Episodes 53

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August 24 · 52 min
Richard Flanagan on belonging in books and in Australia
For writer Richard Flanagan, the political belief that white Australians do not belong in this land is wrong and it's damaging any progress we might hope to make as a collective people. Richard has spent the last 30 years writing award-winning pieces of fiction and non-fiction, tackling the climate crisis, the meaning of art, free speech and the stubborn necessity of hope. Threaded through all of Richard's writing is a contempt for power and its acolytes, and a great tenderness for human strug
August 21 · 50 min
A Palestinian family story
Micaela Sahhar grew up hearing stories of her Palestinian family's life in Jerusalem before 1948, and what happened when they had to leave. There was her grandfather’s tourism business, her grandmother’s wedding necklace, and the dramatic circumstances of her father’s birth. Most of all there was the house, built by her grandfather for his extended family, at 8 Asa Street Jerusalem. This was the house her family had fled in 1948. And one midnight, many decades later, Micaela found herself st
August 20 · 52 min
Encore: Maggie Dent on guiding young girls to become confident young women
Raising girls in an age of smartphones and early sexualisation is tough and in this complex arena, parenting educator Maggie Dent says we can't leave these lessons to chance. Growing up Maggie was a tomboy and noticed when she was treated differently from little boys, who were allowed to be their exuberant selves when she was not. She can clearly recall her indignation at being made to wear a dress as a little girl. The process of raising girls has changed since Maggie was a child, but there
August 19 · 53 min
The three shocks that changed Australia
Political journalist, George Megalogenis has mapped key areas in our population, workforce and geopolitical standing in recent decades, and looks at how these shifts are impacting our collective political future. For the first time since Federation, Australia’s population is mostly made up of migrants and their children. Professional women have now replaced men doing blue collar jobs as the largest segment of the workforce. And on the world scale, Australia can no longer rely on our traditio
August 18 · 50 min
Encore: How a teen mum named Melissa proved everybody wrong
Melissa Redsell was in Year 12 when her doctor told her she was going to have a baby. After her baby was born, she was told she had 'ruined her life'. Then she set out to prove all her doubters wrong. When Mel broke the news to her parents, they were disappointed and at school, the Principal instructed her to not expect any special treatment. At 7 months pregnant, Mel graduated, and a little while later, her beautiful baby girl Breanna was born. Six weeks later, Mel moved out of home into a
August 17 · 51 min
The forensic psychiatrist fascinated with the minds of lone mass killers
Paul E Mullen has spent decades interviewing and studying men who have committed unthinkable acts of violence and says these tragic events represent the endpoint of a slow-building private narrative of resentment, isolation and rage. (CW: descriptions of violence) Now retired, Paul dedicated much of his life's work to the extreme end of the human condition. First focusing on victims, researching the psychology of stalking and domestic violence. But after he was caught up in the aftermath of a
August 14 · 52 min
The post-punk guitarist who decided to finally live openly as herself, a trans woman
Guitarist and engineer Josie Scott battled crippling gender dysphoria for decades before finally deciding to live openly as a trans woman in her 60s. In 1984 in Adelaide, two brothers formed a pioneering alternative rock band called The Mark of Cain. They wanted to make music that was heavy and intense with lyrics about war, and death, and being misunderstood. Over the years the band gained an international following and plenty of fans at home in Australia. Earlier this year, one of the band
August 13 · 52 min
Encore: Catching killers and breaking up bikie gangs
Former Detective Sergeant, Deb Wallace on policing the heroin hotspot of Cabramatta in the 1990s and how Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' gave her new ideas for clamping down on illegal gang activity. When Deb joined the NSW Police Force in 1983, there were very few women on the front line. She quickly discovered she had the cool-headed resilience ideal for police work, and she was determined to make a career of it. In the mid-1990s Deb was a junior Detective when she was given a tough assignme
August 12 · 53 min
Helping other people became my business success story
Mark Woodland is an unexpected CEO — he started his career in the Army as a tribute to his late brother, then went on to revolutionise his mum's paper-based childcare company. As a young man Mark Woodland was at a loss with what to do with his life. After years of moving around, the family — headed by Mark's single mum — settled in Ipswich, Queensland, where Mark showed himself to be a playful and enthusiastic boy, but school wasn't his first priority. When he graduated, Mark was most int
August 11 · 50 min
Encore: Falling in love with 'Mao's Last Dancer'
Mary Li was a star ballerina when she fell in love with her dance partner Li Cunxin. When their daughter Sophie was born profoundly deaf, Mary walked away from dance for many years. Mary says she was the least likely girl to grow up to be a ballerina, She grew up in a family of eight kids in the rough and tumble of the Queensland country town of Rockhampton. But in a little timber hall, with cattle trains rolling by outside, Mary discovered a talent for dance. That talent, and a huge amount
August 10 · 52 min
The doctor who learnt to walk again, using exercise
After a catastrophic car crash in the parking lot of her hospital, Dr Olivia Ong became a paraplegic. But her obsession with learning how to walk again was stronger than her incomplete spinal cord injury. When Olivia Ong was 28 years old, she had the world at her feet. She had recently qualified as a doctor, something she had dreamed of since she was a child growing up in Malaysia. She had married a man she loved deeply, and they were busy building their future together. Then, everything cha
August 7 · 52 min
Finding my mother alive and becoming invincible
Lynne Shori grew up with her hero dad, thinking her Papua New Guinean mother was dead. As an adult, she discovered the truth and set about finding her lost family. When Lynne was growing up, it was just her and her dad. Lynne's dad was her hero; he was different and adventurous but she always felt safe with him when they went on hair-raising adventures together in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. He had always told Lynne that her mum had died in childbirth. But when she became an adult, Ly
August 6 · 48 min
Encore: A parenting educator on making sense of his own childhood
Steve Biddulph spent decades working to understand what children need as they grow, but then in his mid-50s, Steve gained an insight that shifted almost everything about how he saw himself. Steve likes to remind us that humans are 'big sensitive mammals' with needs for connection and self awareness. As a psychologist (now retired) and parent educator, he has been at the forefront of an evolving conversation about masculinity, emotional intelligence, caring for our children and making sense of
August 5 · 51 min
Zoonoses — the diseases that jump from animals to people
Environmental journalist, Michael Dulaney looks at viruses and bacteria that can move between bats, horses, seals, pigs, voles and even polar bears, and the conditions that lead to human infection. These diseases are known as zoonoses. Michael says climate change, urban sprawl, animal farming and even homelessness contribute to wild animals coming into ever closer contact with people, leading these illnesses to move from creatures to us. To understand how this process works, Michael has re
August 4 · 49 min
Encore: The cop who stared down Peter Falconio's outback killer
Colleen Gwynne led the investigation into the murder of the British backpacker and eventually confronted his killer in prison. In 2001, Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were ambushed on a remote stretch of road in the outback and Peter was shot dead. Colleen was working as a cop in Alice Springs when she was asked to take over the complex murder case. With help from the F.B.I, her work saw Bradley John Murdoch arrested and charged. She confronted him in prison, and refused to be
August 3 · 52 min
What seven ancient traditions can teach us all about living a good life today
Nikki Goldstein was in a coma in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital when she first 'met' Rabbi Eli Schlanger. When she woke, the pair embarked together on a project to share the wisdom, compassion and universality of several Jewish teachings. Although they were from very different worlds, when Nikki gained consciousness and met Rabbi Eli properly the two became fast friends. Then, they started writing a book together - based on the deep and expansive conversations they began having about hope, p
July 31 · 52 min
Growing the goodness of the world—Hannah Moloney on why we garden
Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney on the heartwarming and heartbreaking reasons humans continue to lovingly tend to their gardens — for healing, beauty and joy. For thousands of years, tending to a garden or a small farm meant human survival. But now, with massive commercial farms, genetically modified crops, refrigerated freight and modern irrigation, we don't need to tend to our own gardens to survive. So why, then, do so many of us still lovingly plant, water and cultivate flowers, fru
July 30 · 52 min
Encore: How Zenith became a death walker, and her true self
Zenith Virago was a married mother of two, when she left her family to begin again as a lesbian. Then she found a new path as a death walker, helping people navigate their life's end. Zenith grew up in England, and she was still at school when she fell in love with another student. At seventeen, she married Richard, Head Boy of the local Comprehensive school. They had two children, Jodie and Todd. Then at 24, Zenith had a realisation about who she really was. She left her husband and chi
July 29 · 51 min
Rasputin's killer and the Australian conductor
Conductor Alexander Briger has led orchestras all over the world. But his niche occupation is not the only fascinating thing about him. Alex's family history is wild. Alexander Briger has stood in front of musicians all over the world, summoning a gigantic, beautiful noise from them. Classical music was a huge part of Alex’s story growing up. He is the nephew of the famous conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras; and descended from the so-called "father of Australian music", Isaac Nathan.
July 28 · 47 min
Encore: The compulsive and complex behaviour I kept hidden for years
Adele Dumont was a teenager when she first started pulling out her hair, an urge that became so uncontrollable she was left with a bald spot. She would sometimes enter a trancelike state, covertly sitting on her bathroom floor, picking at her scalp for hours on end. The urge to pull at her hair was uncontrollable, and secret. When Adele finally put a name to her behaviour, she learnt that trichotillomania has a complex history and psychological understanding, much of which remains unknown. T

Showing 21–40 of 53 episodes