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PODCAST

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

society & culture relationships

All Episodes

0:53:00

Encore: Nikki Gemmell's vivid life of love, grief and...

Conversations ·

2026/01/29

From Wollongong to London, via Alice Springs, this is writer Nikki Gemmell on her deeply romantic life, and how she defied expectations to become a famous author.Nikki grew up the daughter of a coalminer father who thought writers were a burden on society, while her mum taught Nikki that only success was worthy of love.So Nikki went above and beyond to prove her beloved father wrong, and to get the attention of her mother through her achievements, publishing 20 books in the

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0:53:01

How I went from young delinquent to running a university

Conversations ·

2026/01/28

Professor George Williams was uninterested in school, instead spending his time melting down lead to sell to a nearby scrap yard. Then a special primary school teacher gave him permanent detention, which changed his life.Growing up in Sydney, he was the rebellious child of a single mum who worked in a fruit shop to support the family.George was so disruptive at primary school that no teacher wanted him in class.At first he was flabbergasted at the unfairness of this punishment, but

en

0:53:05

What leaving my family’s Baha’i faith taught me about...

Conversations ·

2026/01/27

Brisbane teacher and author, Sita Walker on the strong, religious matriarchs who have helped her weather the storm of family tragedy, divorce and the beauty of a new love.Sita grew up in Toowoomba in Queensland, descended from five powerful women — three aunts, her grandmother and her mum.They were Baha’i women who came to Australia via Iran and India.Tragedy struck the family when Sita was a child, and her matriarchs descended on the home — to cook, clean, and comfort.Sita always

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0:50:10

Remembering Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst

Conversations ·

2026/01/26

Rob Hirst, the former drummer for the band Midnight Oil has died at age 70. In 2018 Sarah sat down with Rob for a wide-ranging conversation about music, nature and reconnecting with family (R)

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0:54:00

Encore: Melissa Lucashenko and the story of Edenglassie

Conversations ·

2026/01/23

Melissa Lucashenko grew up on the outskirts of Brisbane, where her Aboriginal mother grew plants and her Russian father built an improbable number of sheds in the backyard. Melissa worked as a motorcycle detailer, a house painter, a prison advocate, and a game show contestant before finding her way as a writer. Her novel, Edenglassie, imagines life in colonial Brisbane in the 1850s. In it, she tells the story of the Aboriginal warrior Dundalli who was the last man to be publicly

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0:52:42

From drug smuggling and opium dens to marching in the...

Conversations ·

2026/01/22

Kate Rowe's life has been full of wild adventures and hard living. But when she found sobriety, Kate discovered something big about herself. CW: This story contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and some strong language. Please take care when listening.Ever since she stepped off the boat at Circular Quay as a 20-something 10-pound Pom, Kate has run fearlessly toward outrageous adventure.As a young woman Kate travelled around Australia picking tobacco,

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0:52:16

I was a teenage Navy diver in the Iraq War. Then I...

Conversations ·

2026/01/21

Aaron Tait was 18 when he was deployed after September 11. His dad's guidance had set Aaron up with the grit he would need as an elite Navy diver, but it took him many years to forgive himself for his role in the war.Aaron comes from a long line of Navy men, and all through his childhood he was waiting until it was his turn to get stuck into life at sea.Aaron even got through the toughest training there is for elite Navy divers — then, following September 11 he was called to war in

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0:49:05

The secret life of a hostage negotiator

Conversations ·

2026/01/20

Hostage negotiation isn't at all like what you see in Hollywood blockbusters. There is no lying, no promise-making, not even any names. Vince Hurley has only one task—trying to make a deep, human connection with a complete stranger.Content Warning: this episode of Conversations contains strong language and descriptions of violent crime.Vince Hurley is a criminologist at Macquarie University and a passionate advocate for ending violence against women. He brings nearly three decades

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0:51:24

Upside down in Bass Strait

Conversations ·

2026/01/19

Navigator Will Oxley expected the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race to be a challenging one. But when he and his crew met with 12-metre waves and 80km/h winds in Bass Strait, Will knew something was about to go horribly wrong (R)Will Oxley learnt the art of celestial navigation in his 20s and he is now one of the world’s leading ocean race navigators.He has competed in the Sydney to Hobart race many times.He was navigating during the 1998 race when a freak storm hit off the coast of

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0:51:35

New Beginnings: How Rafael Bonachela let out his...

Conversations ·

2026/01/16

Rafael Bonachela was born in the dying years of Franco’s Spain, into a patriarchal culture that didn’t appreciate little boys who wanted to dance. As the eldest of four brothers, his father expected him to be an example of academic achievement and bravado.This hardline approach slowly drove his father away from the family, though when it came time to say goodbye, Rafael saw an unexpected side of him.At the age of 17, when the wide world beckoned, Rafael left his home country

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0:52:00

New Beginnings: Justin Heazlewood on swapping fame...

Conversations ·

2026/01/15

Justin Heazlewood fled a complicated early life in Tasmania searching for fame as an artist on the mainland but then moved back to his home town of Burnie, and realised community is where you find it.For years he imagined his hometown as somewhere he had to leave, especially if he was going to be any kind of artist.And there were other, more personal reasons that made staying in Burnie complicated.Justin's Mum has schizophrenia, and growing up he was often forced into the role of

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0:52:34

New Beginnings: When a sea change collides with messy...

Conversations ·

2026/01/14

For journalist Kate Halfpenny, moving to a beachside town during Melbourne's lockdowns seemed like the perfect way to unwind and escape her huge mortgage. Then she had to contend with the triple whammy of perimenopause, her husband's alcoholism and distance from family and friends.For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job commitments and no city life to distract her.She was able to indulge daily in her love of boogie boarding and surf-side walks with her dog,

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0:52:00

New Beginnings: Artist Loribelle Spirovski on finding...

Conversations ·

2026/01/13

The artist Loribelle Spirovski on her unusual childhood in the Philippines, meeting her father for the first time at 7 years old, and making her way as one of Australia's most exciting young painters.Loribelle Spirovski grew up in the Philippines, with her mum and her extended Filipino family.Her Serbian father, whom she had never met, was in Australia, driving taxis and waiting for the visa that would allow him to bring Loribelle and her mum to join him.Loribelle didn't meet her

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0:50:42

New Beginnings: Felicia Djamirze, beauty queen and...

Conversations ·

2026/01/12

Felicia Djamirze grew up in the criminal underworld, then became a beauty queen. But her life outside the pageant circuit was mired in the world of drugs, bikie gangs and violence.(CW: graphic discussion of domestic violence and crime) Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convicted drug trafficker.Felicia grew up surrounded by drug abuse and crime in a rough part of Sydney. Her family was marked by addiction and

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0:50:13

Holiday listening: Anh Nguyen Austen's story of...

Conversations ·

2026/01/06

When Anh Nguyen Austen was a small girl, her family fled South Vietnam on a boat which met a once-in-a-century storm in the South China sea. When all on board thought hope was lost, they were rescued.

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0:50:29

Holiday listening: the secret world of the human ear

Conversations ·

2026/01/05

For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ. Kelvin is a proud Worimi man and an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ.It's vital to how many of us understand each other, and how we understand ourselves.The proud Worimi man is the third doctor in his family, and is now an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.He performs highly intricate lifesaving procedures, and also more

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0:51:00

Holiday Listening: Birds, bees and intelligent machines

Conversations ·

2026/01/04

When Professor Mandyam Srinivasan began studying bees almost 35 years ago, we was interested in learning how bees landed so elegantly, and avoided colliding in mid-air.What Mandyam discovered was a complex and astounding system of vision and flight, which is now being applied to machine vision and robotics.He and his team at the Queensland Brain Institute built an autonomous aircraft, without GPS or radar, that flies like a bee.The technology could have widespread applications for

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0:52:00

Holiday Listening: Nerida's nudibranchs, sea dragons...

Conversations ·

2026/01/01

As a marine molecular biologist, Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea.From nudibranchs, to sea dragons and a UFO-looking spiral that's around 150 feet long, Nerida doesn't need to know why these weird and wonderful creatures exist, that they made it here in the first place is enough.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris and the Excecutive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It

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0:51:48

Holiday Listening: Lee Berger, the real-life Indiana...

Conversations ·

2025/12/31

When Lee Berger entered the field of palaeoanthropology there was a one in 10,000,000 chance he would discover anything 'worthwhile' digging around South Africa. But this real-life Indiana Jones kept bucking the odds.First, he found a pair of hominid teeth in southern Africa, and then after a fossil-hunting dry spell, his 9-year-old son Matthew found the jawbone of a completely new hominid species.A few years later came Lee's most extraordinary discovery yet: a nearly inaccessible

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0:50:17

Holiday Listening: Fishing for feelings -- the many...

Conversations ·

2025/12/30

Dr Culum Brown is a leading researcher in the field of fish cognition, his research has shown that even that smallest fish are capable of learning and can retain memories for months.His fascination for fish stems from growing up in parts of south-east Asia, where he would spend every possible hour in the ocean with a snorkel.As an adult, Culum's marine biology studies around the world have revealed many facts which challenge our common understanding of fish.Within schools of fish,

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