Conversations: Recent Episodes
ABC Radio
Spend an hour in someone else's life. Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met.
From the 1944 wartime referendum, to the 1999 vote on whether to become a republic, referenda always tell us things about Australia that aren't revealed in a normal federal election
Broadcaster Peter Goers was in his twenties when his parents died suddenly, in a plane crash outside New Orleans. Decades later, he's beginning to make sense of the loss
Writer Susan Johnson began an unexpected adventure when she moved to the Greek island of Kythera with her 85-year old mother Barbara (R)
When Kim Crotty was locked up in Dartmoor prison for growing marijuana, his two young sons were bereft. After he began writing bedtime stories for his boys from his cell, a new chapter opened up for him after he was released from jail (R)
After a serious brain operation, Anne Howell woke up in hospital with retrograde amnesia, thinking she was nine years old. With no real understanding of who she was or who she could trust, she set about rediscovering her identity (R)
The Tongan-Australian man on being privileged to see love in action in his grandparents, how a spiral into grief and anger led him to periodic detention, and how cutting hair today helps him steer young men away from a dark path (R)
Tom Nash was 19 when his limbs were amputated due to meningococcal septicaemia. After he began to navigate life with hooks for arms, he built a new life as a DJ (R)
Maggie Mackellar with stories from her life on a Merino wool farm on the east coast of Tasmania, and all of life and death that surrounds her through the cycle of lambing seasons
Dr Amy Clarke on the history of Big Things and our enduring fondness for kitsch and curious creations
Crispian Chan grew up in the shadow of a campaign of terror in Perth that engulfed his family restaurant and haunted him for years
The historical novelist has seen enough action to last a lifetime from her days as a Middle East correspondent, and it was her mother's imaginative influence that led her to turn her fascination with history into new interpretations (R)
Coalminer turned broadcaster Craig Hamilton was in his 30s when he had a psychotic episode on Broadmeadows train station. In the aftermath, his life was completely changed (CW: mentions suicide)
Bertie Blackman on her unconventional childhood with her father the artist Charles Blackman
In 1979, Julie Dolan was named as the inaugural captain of the Matildas. Ever since, she's helped build the juggernaut from the ground up
Broadcaster Michael Parkinson with the life story of his late father John William - Yorkshireman, miner, humourist and fast bowler (R)
Dr Maddy McAllister's job as a marine archaeologist involves diving into the deep to uncover the artefacts and human stories sunk in shipwrecks (R)
Anna Funder on unearthing the story of the talented and determined Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife
After arriving in Australia from Yugoslavia as a boy, Peter Stojanovic began working at a Melbourne meatworks. Decades on, he's now a counsellor helping violent men change their behaviour
Jana Pittman became one of Australia's most famous athletes as a young woman. Then at age 30, she found herself at a painful crossroads
David Harasti with the story of how he opened a chain of underwater seahorse hotels to save an endangered species
Sarah Donnelley on her life working at Wilcannia Central School, on Barkandji Country 950 kilometres west of Sydney (R)
Psychiatrist Dr Harry Freeman on the memorable patients, LSD, and medical epiphanies from his 50 years in psychiatry
Hung Le and his family made a terrifying escape from Saigon in 1975, carrying one suitcase, a box of biscuits and some seasick pills. Decades after they fled, Hung returned to Vietnam to honour his late father's wishes (R)
Brendan Watkins on his search to find the truth about his birth parents and the failings of the Catholic church his discoveries unveiled
Mark Brandi writes about people on the margins of life. These insights come from his time working in the prison system and from his early years, growing up in a pub in country Victoria, where the family’s Italian heritage was often the source of scorn and scrutiny
Voyager frontman Danny Estrin on his unconventional path from heavy metal to law and the Eurovision grand final
Rwandan-born comedian and playwright Oliver Twist on his years as a refugee and how his life as a storyteller began
The former captain of the Australian Women's cricket team shares what she's learned along the way, and how cricket has helped her in genetic counselling, her next career
When Tim Flannery was a boy he found a palm-sized fossilised tooth of a giant prehistoric shark.. The find changed the course of his life
Professor Toby Walsh on the rise of generative AI chatbots and their potential to overtake human intelligence
They have strange coats that look like they're painted on, and while their big Mickey Mouse ears are cute, their domestic dog-like looks aren't particularly exotic. But Africa's painted dogs are unlike any other carnivores on the planet
In 1966, Martin was 10 years old when he was sent to a Catholic Boarding school in North-West Tasmania. Decades later, he began his own reckoning with what had happened at the school (CW: discusses sexual abuse)
Wendy Liu has spent many years right up close to death. As a forensic counsellor she worked with families who had lost someone to an accident or violence, and as a grief counsellor she supports people surviving all kinds of losses. Wendy says her work brings her a keener appreciation of life
Maggie Beer started her working life at the age of 14 in a chenille bedspread factory. Two decades later, in a pheasant farm in the Barossa Valley, she found her dream job
An unexpected stroke temporarily robbed Ben Mckelvey of his ability to speak, write and understand words. Eventually, Ben re-learnt the art of language, but his brain, his identity and how he connected to others had changed forever
Writer Mark Dapin’s childhood was disrupted at the age of 10, when his mum fell in love with the lodger. He was then raised in an army town called Aldershot in the UK, which began his fascination with stories of crime and warfare
Anna McGahan was playing a prostitute on Australia's biggest television show when she found God, renounced nudity on screen and tried to become the perfect Christian woman
John Colapinto was singing a Beatles song in front of Bette Midler when he injured his vocal cords. The experience set him on the path to studying the human voice
Professor Mark Dadds has helped hundreds of troubled kids from his clinic at the University of Sydney. He feels an extra connection to them, as he was once a wild and rebellious boy himself
Marcia Hines arrived in Australia just 16 years old, and unknowingly pregnant. She planned to stay for six months, but 50 years later, she still calls Australia home
Dominic Riley on how a a chance encounter with a bookbinding monk named Brother Bede changed the course of his life
Nas Campanella grew up in a big Italian-Australian family, and she was six months old when she lost her sight. Nas then grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known TV and radio journalists
Frank Palmos arrived in Indonesia as a green journalist looking to make his mark. He walked straight into a pivotal moment in the nation's history, which would culminate in 'The Year of Living Dangerously'
Jessica Kirkness on her luminous childhood with her grandparents Melvyn and Phyllis, who were both profoundly deaf
Debra Dank walks and talks differently when she's at home on Gudanji country, because she comes with this place (R)
Dr John Paterson grew up in a tin hut in rural Darwin. He helped hold it down during Cyclone Tracy and has taken care of it so it still stands today. John learnt many lessons in that tin hut, which have followed him through life
Nova is a woman of many firsts — an Olympic gold medallist and Northern Territory Senator. She continues to strive for excellence while showing up for mob (R)
Leanne Liddle was just 18 years old when she became a policewoman, but after a brutal attack during a routine traffic stop left her unable to serve, she decided to fight for justice in a different way
Frances Peters-Little speaks about writing the story of her dad Jimmy's extraordinary career in music, and how he never lost his connection to his country.
For more than a decade now, Yolarnie Amepou has been navigating tribal conflicts along the Kikori River to help protect her beloved pig-nosed turtle. To everyone in this part of Papua New Guinea, she's known as "turtle lady"
Ruth Kissam was absent-mindedly perusing a noticeboard at a hospital in Papua New Guinea when she came across a flyer from the local morgue. That notice opened the door for Ruth into the world of sorcery and the plight of women accused of witchcraft
When Kaliopate Tavola retired from Fijian politics, he turned his attention to recording the fantastic stories of creation from his home island of Dravuni - tales of warlords, giant sea serpents and boats that could grow tall like a tree
Nunia Thomas-Moko grew up afraid of the reptilian creatures that lurked in Fiji's stunning forests. Ironically, she has become the country's leading expert in rare frogs and crested iguanas. She had to put on a brave face to catch them first
When Laisa Vulakoro was six years old she learnt the English words "famous" and "star". She would point to the night's sky on her tiny island, and tell its 300 residents that's where she was going
Author Michael Trant combines his love of the land with his passion for storytelling — writing his books while ploughing the paddock in a tractor
Sarah Davis on her journey from corporate risk management to the paddle-powered adventures in shark-infested waters
Campbell Costello has one of the world's largest and most exciting consulting rooms in the world, for his job as a vet in outback Queensland (R)
Fergus Hynes found his true calling in retirement: listening to prisoners and helping them with their problems
When Sonia Henry signed up to work as a GP in a remote mining town in the Pilbara, the experience changed almost everything she believed about medicine
Actor Heather Mitchell on the family secrets and the fortune teller's prophecy which shaped her life (CW: mentions suicide and cancer)
Cameron Carr was a rising star in Rugby League when a shocking accident changed everything. A few years later he found a new path, in a sport known as 'Murderball'
Ben Bravery tells the story of his childhood in Logan, Queensland, how he went from a career at KFC to studying male satin bowerbirds and why being a patient led him to study medicine (R)
How Kris Kneen learned to look unblinkingly at their fat body, and find a new courage to be in the world
Muzafar Ali is a football-loving photographer from Afghanistan, now living in Australia. When he discovered the long history of Afghan cameleers in the outback, he set off, with his camera, to find out more
Andy West on how his family story led him a life teaching philosophy inside some of Britain's toughest jails
Australian violinist Charmian Gadd was a wild musical prodigy from the Central Coast when a zipper-inventing musician changed the course of her life (R)
Food critic William Sitwell with stories of eating out in history, from the wine taverns of ancient Pompeii to today's molecular gastronomy
Sean Fong is a para world champion in jiu-jitsu. The 'gentle' martial has allowed Sean to shatter any illusions that society might have about people with physical differences
Chef Asma Khan uses cooking to connect with her family. After moving from Kolkata to England, she longed to return home to learn her mother's recipes. She did that, and brought them back to London, opening a restaurant called Darjeeling Express
Growing up in a country town, Mandy Nolan stood out for all kinds of reasons. But when she grew up to become a comedian, a political candidate and a mother of 5, her differences became her superpower
Former Detective Deb Wallace with stories from her working life in the NSW Police, where she was tasked with breaking up criminal gangs
Artist David Rankin grew up as the son of a bootmaker in suburban Sydney. He became a teacher in the outback, then a painter, before meeting the great love of his life, the writer Lily Brett
Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail. But it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about
Don Walker has written some of Australia's greatest songs, and they keep coming. But rock and roll's resident 'quiet bloke' could have led a very different life
Adventurers and extreme athletes, who jump off bridges and walk across deserts, have a reputation for being fearless daredevils who take unnecessary risks. But sport psychologist Dr Eric Brymer says feeling fear is vital to the mind of the adventurer
Two-time World Debating champion Bo Seo on how love and listening can improve how we disagree
The bull rider and horsewoman has lived a life full of danger and drama, at the rodeo and outside it. Di's incredible experiences have taught her to lean into fear, rather than avoid it
From the naked athletes of Ancient Greece to the Jane Fonda revolution of the last century, sport and exercise have had a surprising hold on humans
As a young woman craving adventure, Marele Day hitchhiked on a catamaran sailing across the Indian Ocean. After befriending the French skipper, Marele discovered years later that he was a fugitive on the run.
Ky Furneaux spent 16 years in Hollywood as a professional stunt performer, falling, fighting and breaking glass on cue. She has managed to make her next life even more extreme — surviving in the wild, sometimes with just a knife, often naked (R)
Damian Callinan with the grand love story of his parents Adrian and Kathleen, who met in 1946 at a football match. They were together for 62 years before a terrible accident changed everything (R)
Benjamin Dreyer has strong ideas about the English language, and how to transform books into the best possible versions of themselves. But he's not a member of the grammar police
Pádraig Ó Tuama survived conversion therapy and exorcism as a young gay man in a church in Ireland, then became a leading peace negotiator and a poet
Paul McVerry is an experienced cattleman and a stud breeder, who had a vision to fly a gift of cattle to India with the help of Dan Murphy
For Jenny Graves, the genetic history of Australia's unique wildlife holds a key to the future of human evolution.
Benjamin is an adventure paraglider and documentary maker. One day, while paragliding in central Mexico, he was forced to make a sudden landing in an isolated valley.There he encountered a vast swarm of millions of monarch butterflies, carpeting the forest floor and tree trunks.This experience led him to replicate the Herculean migration of this seemingly common butterfly.He launched his own flight along the thermal air currents which carried him all the way from Mexico to Canada.
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason on what it takes to keep up with her seven children — all of them gifted classical musicians (R)
The ABC Sports presenter describes his life at 17, a year dominated by football, girls, beer, and a serial killer stalking his neighbourhood (R)
Toni Jordan grew up working in a TAB and going to the greyhound races. Then she grew up to become a best-selling novelist
Sophie Matterson fell in love with camels at first sniff. After working with them for years, she hatched a plan to walk across the vast Australian continent with five humped companions - Jude, Delilah, Charlie, Clayton and Mac
Dean Laws was in his 50s when doctors told him he had Parkinson's disease. For a time, he was devastated. Then he formed a running crew with his friends called 'The Dean Team', and made a plan to run the Sydney Marathon
Barry Humphries was a legend of the screen and stage, but throughout his career, he remained astonished at the success of Dame Edna and her enduring appeal
Annette Trevitt with a tale of real estate, family and complicated grief set in the Pilbara mining town of Karratha
He's one of the world's most acclaimed opera stars, but Teddy Tahu Rhodes did everything he could, for a very long time, to avoid his destiny on stage (R)
Om Dhungel grew up in Bhutan, where his people became the target of a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign. Overnight Om became a refugee, eventually rebuilding his life and family in his beloved new home of Blacktown
Jackie Huggins with the story of her father Jack, who was a surf lifesaver, a rugby league player, a soldier taken prisoner in the Fall of Singapore, and the first Indigenous Australian to work in the post office (R)
Only six men, out of thousands, survived the horrors of the infamous Sandakan POW camp. Bill Sticpewich was one of them
When Bronwen Edward's big brother Mark took his own life, she decided to channel her grief into something much bigger than herself
Zoologist Milly Formby serendipitously became passionate about shorebirds while working as a tapestry weaver. She decided to learn how to fly, build her own plane and follow their path around Australia
High school English teacher, Brendan James Murray with funny, heartbreaking, inspirational and strange tales from his working life (R)
Danijel Malbasa grew up in an ethnically-mixed family in the former Yugoslavia. When the country was on the precipice of war, the Malbasa family was metaphorically and literally torn apart
Journalist Jackie Dent explores the the world of anatomists and dissectors, the people who open up human cadavers to uncover their secrets
Parenting expert Maggie Dent on on how parents can raise confident and well-adjusted girls
Writer Susan Johnson was in her 60s when she decided to make a new life on the Greek Island of Kythera, with her 85-year old mother Barbara along for the adventure
Matt Hall made his first solo flight at 15 years old and has been addicted to life in the air ever since. He became a top gun fighter pilot and after serving for more than 20 years, he still hasn't come down to earth
Phil Kafcaloudes grew up hearing stories about his legendary grandmother, who became a spy for the British in World War Two. It was even said she killed a man to protect her secret
From Charlie Brown to Franz Kafka, psychoanalyst Josh Cohen explores why being a loser can be a good thing
Billy Bragg grew up in working-class Barking, east of London.The expected path was to go from school to the local car factory, but Billy had his sights set further. After discovering punk as a teenager, Billy found a way to make his voice heard and even a brief stint in the army couldn’t keep him away from a life in music.
Gillian has the best job in the world — travelling overseas to bake sumptuous and heartfelt wedding cakes, using foraged and fresh produce to tell a couple's story through taste, texture and fragrance. Cake has been a staple in Gillian's life, through immigration, adventure and loss (R)
Micronations are home to fascinating, often eccentric characters who construct their self-declared countries in their own image, with pomp, pageantry and passports to boot.
Max Beck had a wild, lively and at times devastating childhood, growing up in Bendigo's old Crown Hotel
Roland Breckwoldt fell in love with the idea of being a cowboy as a child, so at 15 he railed against his strict German father's wishes, left home and found himself in the majesty of the Queensland outback
Over her many decades as a practising psychiatrist, Veronica O'Keane developed a fascination for our memory, how it functions in the brain, and the role it has in shaping our identity
Fungi have given us many gifts, from penicillin to food, but they can also be quite scary. Dr Alison Pouliot spends her time trying to explain these strange alien-like things
Justice advocate Keenan Mundine broke the cycle of crime and incarceration in his own life after a chance meeting at a birthday party (CW: mentions suicide, references to drug use. Strong language. Discretion advised) (R)
Saul Griffith believes that the key to solving the climate crisis is to electrify everything, starting with our homes. The inventor, engineer and entrepreneur is spearheading this mission in his own postcode with Electrify 2515, which aims to have all household machines powered by renewable energy
Sarah Holland-Batt's dad Tony was a loving father, her intellectual mentor and her friend. At 18, she became one of his carers. Later she battled an aged care system which let him down in the worst way possible (R)
Lee Berger, the National Geographic Explorer in Residence and real-life Indiana Jones, has found remarkable things underground. His discoveries are revolutionising what we understand about our own origins
John Simons is fascinated by the lives of animals which have become stars. From a famous hippo at London Zoo, to a wombat owned by a Pre-Raphaelite painter in England, these are the rock stars of the animal world
Briana Blackett was a journalist working in Qatar when she realised her baby son Max wasn't responding to his name. When Max was diagnosed with autism, and in time her second son Freddy was too, she left Doha to begin an entirely different life (R)
Neville White was trying to heal from the trauma of the Vietnam War when he travelled out to a remote community in Arnhem Land called Donydji. Their stories became increasingly intertwined as he spent more and more time there
Gail Jones grew up in an old quarantine station, wondering about the soldiers who stayed there on their way home from WWI. Her new novel imagines life on the eastern front in 1917
Alex Braczkowski is a big cat exert and National Geographic explorer. For years he's been following a rare group of tree-climbing lions, including the charismatic, enigmatic, three-legged Jacob
Writer Louise Kennedy spent her early childhood just outside of Belfast. It was the height of The Troubles and violence was ever-present. After that violence came too close to home, Louise’s family moved to the Republic of Ireland. After 3 decades working as a chef, a chance invitation to a writer's group lead to an unexpected new career.
Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett on his life in music, environmental action, and politics, and the end of The Oils.
Amar Singh's sense of belonging to Australia has only grown since he leant into his Sikh faith, growing out his beard and his hair, wearing a turban and committing himself to the service of his entire community
One of the most influential disability rights activists in history tells her story of her fight for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human (R)
Rodney Fox was torn apart by a great white shark and it took 462 stitches to put him back together again. He was then instrumental in filming Jaws, the most terrifying shark film of all time. But over time, this salty seadog has become the apex predator's fiercest protector (R)
Esther Freud has many famous men in her family, including psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. But it is her mother's story which has left the greatest mark on the writer
Fintan O’Toole grew up in an Ireland undergoing great change but before the country could move forward, it would have to deal with its sometimes dark past.
Once journalist and author Kate Legge recovered from the news her husband of 30 years was cheating on her, she uncovered four generations of infidelity through his family
Jess Johnston found skydiving after a tough few years, and while it might sound like a contradiction, plummeting towards the earth at 400 km/h saved her life
No, he's not 'that' Richie Ramone, but this Richie Ramone's passion for punk is just as fierce (R)
For a thousand years, Colditz Castle has existed in some form, perched on the edge of a cliff in eastern Germany. From a royal hunting lodge, to a madhouse, and then most famously as an inescapable prisoner of war camp during World War II
As a child, before she escaped communist Hungary, Bo Remenyi had no ambitions. But when she got to Australia all of that changed. She's gone from cruising the casino floor as a high-stakes professional poker player, to saving the lives of children in remote Australia (R)
When Margaret Humphreys received a letter from Australia, she had no idea it would unearth a huge, heartless scheme that forcibly removed children from their homeland and sent them alone, isolated and confused to the other side of the world
Darwin's Ben Graetz on becoming one of Australia's best-known Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Drag Queens (R)
Franceska Jordan with the story of her remarkable mother Isabella — a South African trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist who inspired her daughter to carry on her community work
Growing up in Wangaratta, Judy Ryan learned we all have a responsibility to look after each other. When she moved to inner-city Melbourne that meant caring for the injecting drug users dying in her neighbourhood
Mark Trevorrow on how the music of composers Anthony Newley and Paul Williams influenced the course of his life and began the evolution of his alter ego, Bob Downe (R)
Kris Helgen loves mammals and he's ventured to some dangerous, isolated places to find them. In fact, Kris has helped name and discover more than 100 magnificent mammals
The new chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, on the chair of spikes that accompanied his early musical career, and why he doesn't tone down his Italianness in Australia
Two years ago, Karin Bäumler found herself in the fight for her life after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In the thick of it all, making music with her husband Robert Forster became her refuge
After a serious brain operation, Anne Howell woke up in hospital with retrograde amnesia, thinking she was nine years old. With no real understanding of who she was or who she could trust, she set about rediscovering her identity
DNA expert Dr Jeremy Austin on his 14-year quest to help solve one of Australia's enduring military mysteries: the identity of the 'unknown sailor' (R)
Taranaki descendent Rachel Buchanan with the story of priceless Maori artwork and their role in the ransom of a child, kidnapped by Italian gangsters
How women cricket players saved the "gentleman's" game and repaired diplomatic relations between England and Australia
Melissa Redsell was 16 and in her last year of school when she found out she was pregnant. Although many people told her she'd 'ruined her life' she went on to prove everyone wrong
Firie Bronnie Mackintosh is built from tough stuff - she attends emergencies to cut people out of crushed cars and rescue them from burning buildings. Her strength was forged in Rotorua, New Zealand, where she experienced a violent undercurrent and the first frothy coffees, introduced by her parents
Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old (R)
Listened to around the world by locals, spies and military officials, Radio Australia has long been rated by its hundreds of thousands of global listeners as more informative than the BBC World Service. So why don't we know anything about it?
Hilton Koppe on how his life as a soccer-obsessed country GP changed forever when he became a patient himself
Deborah Lawrie had her first flying lesson at 16, then became a flying instructor herself. But when she applied for a job as a pilot, she found herself in the fight of her life (R)
Vic Simms, Jen Cloher, Vika and Linda Bull, Rob Hirst, Elena Kats-Chernin, William Barton with stories from their formative years
Novelist John Grisham with his life story; from his work as a trial lawyer, to writing, and how he became involved in a movement using DNA testing to exonerate the innocent (R)
Academic Danielle Celemajer on how the Black Summer bushfires brought she and her rescue pig Jimmy into a terrible proximity with the inferno, changing both of their lives forever
Valerie Browning moved to the northern deserts of Ethiopia as a naive young nurse in 1973. A chance meeting on the streets of neighbouring Djibouti changed her life, and women's health in the region
Dr Irving Finkel on the ghosts who joined the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians in their day to day lives (R)
Tim Ferguson was in the midst of a high-flying comedy career when he started experiencing 'whacky symptoms'. In his early 30s, doctors told him he had Multiple Sclerosis
When Dr Genevieve Campbell heard the intoxicating music of Tiwi songwomen, it made her hair stand on end. Immediately she knew she needed to meet the women, and these relationships have changed her ideas of what music is
Dave Gleeson is known for his blistering performances in The Screaming Jets and The Angels, but he grew up singing at Mass in Cardiff, with a mum who opened their home to hundreds of foster children
One of America's oldest lighthouses was built in 1716 and survived the Revolutionary War. Its first two keepers met dismal ends, but Sally Snowman was always enamoured by it. She is the first woman to care for the lighthouse, and now she will be the last (R)
When Cynthia Banham survived the unthinkable, she had to reinvent herself, with the support of her family, and the kindness of the Sydney Swans AFL team
Edita Mujkic fled the Bosnian War in Sarajevo with her two children, 50 American dollars in her pocket and no real plan. It took her almost two years to get her husband Goran out of the deadly siege situation, all the way from the Lakes District in England
Lifelong stutterer Jonty Claypole on how fluency can be a barrier to our creativity, authenticity and persuasiveness
At 90, Elizabeth Chong recalls the familiar abundance of the Queen Victoria Market of the 1930s, how her father popularised the dim sim in Australia and the 37,000 people she has taught to cook (R)
Tony spent three decades in and out of jail. Inside Hobart's Risdon Prison, he joined a debating club with Chopper Read, and found his voice for the first time. Then a few years ago, on a fishing trawler far out to sea, he began the painful process of changing his life (R)
Professor Kelvin Kong is one of Australia's leading ENT surgeons. The proud Worimi man changes the course of children's lives by looking inside their ears (R)
As a Chinese-Australian girl growing up in the era of the White Australia Policy, artist Lindy Lee always felt that she didn't belong. When she became a student of Zen Buddhism, big shifts began in her life, and her art (R)
Stephen Walker with the thrilling, surreal story of the loyal communist and father of two who became the first person to journey into space, in a capsule perched on top of a modified Soviet R-7 missile (R)
Artist Ken Done grew up in a country town in NSW, drawing, fishing and listening to the Argonauts. Before he became a became a full-time artist, he had a wild career in advertising in the 1960s
Greg Fisher, CEO of Sydney's first queer museum, wanted to replicate his family's warm, loving spirit with his own future family. He and his wife didn't see his being gay as an obstacle
Niki Savva has seen ten prime ministers move in and out of the lodge during her decades as a political reporter, but one of those leaders stood out to her from the rest
Linguist Kate Burridge with the story of how Old English began on a small, damp island on the periphery of the world (R)
Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith on the mystery of the octopus and giant cuttlefish, and why cephalopods are the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien
When Eva's parents fled from their home in communist Poland, she was told to "ask no questions". But once she got to the 'free world' she couldn't stop asking questions, trying to reclaim her stolen childhood
The actor on the late love of his life, his wife Joan Washington, and the final message she left him
Gruen's Dee Madigan on her turbulent early life as one of four children to a former Catholic Priest
Nick Cave on how living through addiction, love and unthinkable loss has changed his inner life
Michael's professional rugby career came to a brutal end after dozens of concussions took their toll on his brain
When acrobat and circus performer Anna Yen decided to become a playwright, in the process of finding out her family stories she unearthed a new facet of Australia’s Chinese history
Sarah Parry first saw a tall ship sailing into Sydney Harbour in 1965. Two decades later, in an abandoned Hobart warehouse, she began building her own full-sized Square Rigger from scratch. In the process, she realised it was time to change her own life
Hannah Kent with the true story of the Prussians who fled Europe for a new life in South Australia (R)
After the loss of his mum Carol, James Crawley tried to push down his own grief. Then he watched 35 hours of raw and turbulent footage of his Dad Richard grieving in real time (CW: loss, grief and drug use)
David Heilpern with stories of drama, crime and heartache from his 21 years as a country magistrate (CW: references to drug use and sexual assault) (R)
Heather Rose on her decades-long quest to make peace with life and loss after a tragedy befell her family when she was a girl (CW: grief and loss)
Paulie Stewart made a name for himself as the frontman of legendary Melbourne punk band Painters and Dockers, but he's also spent much of his life campaigning on behalf of the people of East Timor
The singer-songwriter shares memories of her mother's sacred, ancestral mountain, surviving childhood cancer and being rescued via a message on AM radio after a double volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea (R) (CW: Some listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening)
The Danish-British author and comedian on her father's laissez faire attitude to school, and how this opened her mind and brought her to NASA's mission control room for the moon landing of 1969
Diana Nguyen's mother would walk out of her performances at interval in protest of her career, but Diana forged on and in the process healed this mother-daughter relationship
Almost half of Australian adults struggle with some level of literacy — writing a shopping list, or reading a text message in private. This is how people have turned their lives around
The French horn is made up of metres and metres of brass coiled around and around until it opens into a big bell. Let Peter Luff lead you through the maze of this mysterious instrument
Peter FitzSimons has written many books on Australian military history, but pulling out the remarkable stories from the Battle of Long Tan was a long process, despite the fact that many of the participants in this great defining moment are still alive
Animal communication specialist, Justin Gregg on killer whales' grief behaviour, the Piping Plover's broken wing strategy, and what would happen if humans toned down the need to be 'why specialists'
When Lamorna Ash began to explore her Cornish ancestry she started work on a rusty yellow fishing trawler called the Filadelfia, scaling fish, gutting them and hauling in the nets (R)
When Carol, an Australian, and Buri Kidu, a young Papua New Guinea man, fell in love in the 1960s, their partnership defied convention (R)
Ray Seidler was a brilliant doctor and a family man, whose secret struggle with depression ultimately claimed his life. Now his son Jonathan is helping to change the story when it comes to his own mental illness (CW: mentions suicide, drug use)
Costa is the friendly face of Gardening Australia, a devotee of composting, keeping chickens and developing insect hotels (R)
Mat Rogers on football, family, stepping out of his Dad's shadow, and stealing the Queen's spoons (CW: mentions suicide)
Who was the legendary chair maker? An emancipated convict? An Irish refugee? A First Nations man? All we know is that he lived in a tree
Brisbane choir director, Astrid Jorgensen shares how she thinks in sound, and why it's not about you, darl, when you come to sing in a group
Aaron Fa’Aoso on the mistakes, heartaches, and lucky breaks on his path to success as an actor and producer
Dale Kent is an esteemed scholar of the Italian Renaissance who grew up in Australia. Rejecting her Christian Science upbringing, she forged an unapologetic life of her own design (R)
Crime writer, Peter Doyle delves into the notes and photographs kept by his uncle, Detective Sergeant Brian Doyle on the Kingsgrove Slasher and other cases that he helped crack
From Scotland's Orkney Islands, stories of how a chance meeting in a pub led Andrew Greig to climb the Himalayas, how golfing helped him recover from a near-death experience (R)
From walking alone across Antarctica, to crossing the Simpson Desert using wind, Geoff Wilson has led a life full of adventure. Content Warning: Graphic discussion of natural disaster death toll
Chris Pepin-Neff grew up as an identical twin in a small town in Connecticut. When he was four years old, his family suffered a terrible loss. Then Chris grew up to help change history (CW: loss and grief)
Recorded in 2013, celebrate the seven-decade long stage and screen career of the remarkable actor (R)
Dai Le tells the story of her family fleeing Saigon and travelling across 2 oceans to make it to Australia, and how a sense of fairness drew her into public life
Dr Christina Zdenek wants to change our minds about Australia’s deadly snakes, not just because their venom holds healing secrets
When cooking teacher Anna Kharzeeva began a quest to cook her way through an iconic Soviet-era book of recipes, her grandmother Lena became her guide
Joanne Petersen recalls working as a personal assistant to The Beatles' manager, the freedom of the Swinging Sixties in London and eloping to the Bahamas with a Bee Gee
The conservationist is on a quest to see all 2600 species native to Australia, before time runs out
David Read was one of the first doctors on the ground in Bali, 20 years ago and what he saw there turned him into a leading figure in disaster response
Kyra Maya Phillips on her family's search for home, from Morocco's Atlas Mountains, to Israel, then to Venezuela and beyond
Pauline Menzcer is one of the legends of Australian surfing, but she had to fight to get the recognition she deserved after leaving Hawaii as the 1993 World Champion with just a broken trophy in hand
The stage and screen actor looks back at his mother's magical influence on his childhood imagination, and his life in character
Palaeontologist John Long found his first fossil in a Melbourne quarry as a 7 year old. He grew up to unearth new clues as to how we became human (R)
The former captain of the Australian Women's cricket team shares what she's learned along the way, and how cricket has helped her in genetic counselling, her next career
How a bush kid from Magnetic Island graduated to an ashram in India and came to harvest cacao with an ancient, Indigenous tribe on the Amazon River
After Nova Weetman's partner died, the children's author started writing from and about grief
True crime journalist Jack Hoysted tells the story of the life and times of the man known as the 'Mr Big' of organised crime
Rachel Perkins' is one of the country's great storytellers, and now she's turned the lens on the bloody conflicts that broke out across the continent after the arrival of the British colonists
Reverend Bill Crews on the moment which changed how he saw his own life story, and his ideas on how we can all cultivate compassion, tolerance, empathy and love in difficult times.
Mike's evolution came as a shock, when he was fired from Columbia University and started working in a deli
The story of an Austin-driving Australian maverick who died in mysterious circumstances (R)
The former frontman recently uncovered boxes from his adolescence in his attic, and he was amazed at his early, detailed plans to take over the music industry
The author describes his early life during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war and how arthouse films and illegal street photography provided him with an escape
Uncle Jack was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby and denied his Aboriginality. A one-off trip to Fitzroy connected him with a family he didn’t know about, and promptly landed him in jail (R) (CW: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners please be aware — this interview contains the voice of someone who has died)
Sarah Donnelley on her life working at Wilcannia Central School, on Barkandji Country 950 kilometres west of Sydney
The outback vet with stories of treating racehorses, camels and the odd chimp as he zigzagged around the Pilbara from the 1970s onwards, and how he came to meet the legendary red kelpie
The Coast Watchers' story is little known, but these civilians played a crucial role in protecting Australia from the advance of the Japanese Empire
Deborah Prior was one of more than 2000 mixed-race babies born to white British women and black American GI's during WWII (R)
Tom Gleeson discovered and honed his distinctively caustic, laconic style of humour in some unlikely places
Early aviation's most dramatic event saw courage, tragedy and a miraculous rescue involving the whole town of Albury (R)
Right up until the very first game, Women's CEO at the Brisbane Lions, Breeanna Brock wasn't sure that the women's league would ever become a reality
Sam Vincent was a struggling writer when a freak accident led him to unexpectedly take over his family's farm
As a boy, Simon Longstaff's life was changed by one of the most searing ethical dilemmas imaginable (R)
Professor Kelvin Kong is one of Australia's leading ENT surgeons. The proud Worimi man changes the course of children's lives by looking inside their ears.
Lisa Blair navigated waves as tall as high-rise buildings, dodging cargo ships, icebergs and several near-death experiences to sail around Antarctica alone
Darryl Jones has an enthusiastic curiosity about wild birds that, against all odds, flourish in Australia's cities and towns
Alex Landragin was born into a champagne-making family in the French village of Verzenay. When he was five, his family began a new life in Australia. Then a freak accident changed everything (R)
Krissy Kneen grew up under the strict control of her grandmother, Lotty, who was the eccentric and sometimes cruel matriarch of her small family. Krissy was forbidden to investigate Lotty's past or ask why she'd come to Australia from Slovenia via Egypt. The extraordinary truth of Lotty's life could only be told after Lotty's death (R)
David Newheiser was raised in a fundamentalist Christian family. When he fell in love with a Buddhist, his parents cut him off and his Dad wrote a book called 'When Good Kids Make Bad Choices'. But then, unexpectedly, they reconciled
Being a single mother and student doctor in 1960s Ireland was merely the 'first act' in Caroline's gutsy adult life. She became a pioneering obstetrician, delivering sometimes contraband contraception, and babies, for fifty years (R)
Anthony Ham tells the dramatic story of Chris Clark, who made Brazil's Wild West his home, weathering death threats in response to his attempts at wildlife conservation
Andrew Quilty fell in love with Afghanistan for the sense of purpose it gave him as a photographer, but he watched it fall through the lens of his camera last August
Georgina Godwin grew up in Zimbabwe with a father who was the model of a British gentleman. Many years after she fled Africa for London, she discovered his secret identity (R)
When Kaya Wilson came out to his parents as transgender, after a near-death surfing accident and just weeks before his father's death, it revealed a cache of family secrets
Artist Judy Cotton reflects on the Australia that formed her, and the legacy of her exacting mother — a champion sheep breeder and passionate homemaker
Surfing writer Tim Baker on how the hormones which saved his life after a cancer diagnosis fundamentally changed his experience of being a man
The Australian author on the bedtime story she wrote for her young sons, to try to explain the grief and uncertainty of their father's leukaemia diagnosis
Christie splits her time between training for road and track wheelchair races, holding down several jobs, and raising her family. The Tokyo Paralympics will be her seventh as a competitor, but Christie almost gave up marathons after the 2013 Boston Marathon, and the most frightening experience of her life (CW: mention of suicide) (R)
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason on what it takes to keep up with her seven children — all of them gifted classical musicians.
Academic Will Visconti on the true history of the most famous cancan dancer in Paris at the turn of the century, and her later work taming lions
Tony Hoang was a teenage heroin dealer in Cabramatta at 13, grappling with addiction at 21, then cried out to God for a sign. What came next was more literal than he could have imagined
It was love at first sight, when Jack Ashby first set eyes upon a platypus specimen as a young university student
Historian Meredith Lake with the Bible's Australian history, from the convict era, to the Mabo land rights campaign, and the modern-day Pentecostal churches (R)
Documentary filmmaker Sharon Connolly has unearthed her family history of female whistling comedians, and how they changed ideas about how women should behave
Zayd Dohrn’s parents were militant left-wing revolutionaries, and he was born while they were living underground, fugitives from the FBI.
Gold Coast lawyer Chris Nyst on his 45 years in criminal law, defending career criminals, corrupt police, heroin addicts and a postcard bandit
Archie tells of writing Took the Children Away and playing it in public for the first time, of his belated reunion with his siblings, and his love story with Ruby Hunter (R) CW: For our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this program features the voice of someone who has died. Please take care when listening.
Australian violinist Charmian Gadd reflects on her 80 years, from her origins in the bush at Ourimbah on the NSW Central Coast, to her love affair with her teacher, the extraordinary Richard Goldner, who invented a zipper for the war effort
Tom Nash was 19 years old when he fell terribly ill with meningococcal septicemia, and all his limbs were amputated. After he learned to walk again on prosthetic legs and began to navigate life with hooks for arms, he built a new life as a nightclub DJ
Writer Susan Varga sees her life as full of hard joys - including her Hungarian Jewish family’s surviving WWII, her recovery from the stroke which destroyed her ability to write and speak, and finding the great love of her life in middle age
Sisonke Msimang fought hard to find a home. She was born in exile, the daughter of a freedom fighter who had fled South Africa during apartheid.
Even the cheapest guitars are made in part from trees which are becoming increasingly rare. Chris Gibson's curiosity about these timbers led him on a worldwide journey to understand the guitar's past and future (R)
Dr Campbell Costello (aka Dr Cozy) has probably the largest, and most exciting, consult room in the world
Maggie Beer started her working life at the age of 14 in a chenille bedspread factory. Two decades later, in a pheasant farm in the Barossa Valley, she found her dream job
Former narcotics agent, John Shobbrook battled corruption when investigating an audacious plan to air-drop heroin into Far North Queensland in the 1970s (R)
When Sally Warriner left behind the life she had built in the bush, it took her years to define herself as more than 'just the general manager's wife'
The podcaster and comedian on her early life in Queensland — reading Enid Blyton and yearning to wear a coat; what improv comedy taught her about human nature, and how eyebrows were the key in finding her biological family
(CW: Discussion of adoption. Please take care when listening)
The historical novelist has seen enough action to last a lifetime from her days as a Middle East correspondent, and it was her mother's imaginative influence that led her to turn her fascination with history into new interpretations
Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea
Debra Dank walks and talks differently when she's at home on Gudanji country, because she comes with this place. (Content warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners please take care when listening. Some elements of this program may be distressing)
Journalist Louisa Lim grew up in Hong Kong, surrounded by traces of a man, known first known as a crank, then an artist, and finally, a most unlikely icon. He called himself the King of Kowloon, and as she followed his trail, she uncovered a legacy of resistance, and found her city anew. Then she lost it forever.
Oceane was 18 when she attempted to take her own life. After a painstaking climb back into life, 20 years later she is a midwife, a writer and a mother of three (CW: mentions suicide and sexual assault)
The Tongan-Australian man on being privileged to see love in action in his grandparents, how a spiral into grief and anger led him to periodic detention, and how cutting hair today helps him steer young men away from a dark path
Scientists continue to discover the rarer and rarer objects which make up our universe. Why are we so obsessed with the particles around us?
Kate Forsyth on how revisiting the story of a bloodthirsty Minotaur lurking in a labyrinth in Crete made her realise how we all need monsters
Nova is a woman of many firsts — an Olympic gold medallist and Northern Territory Senator. She continues to strive for excellence while showing up for mob and standing with her people
Aunty Kath, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, was Valerie's godmother, and just one of many staunch political figures on both sides of her family. Val worked her way to becoming a powerful advocate for Aboriginal people and her family CW: ATSI listeners please use discretion when listening as the program references people who have died (R)
Torres Strait Islander man Thomas Mayor was working as a wharfie in Darwin when he became a union delegate, then an author, and a tireless advocate for Uluru Statement from the Heart
After years teaching in the remote Northern Territory, Julie began to trace her ancestry among the Darug people around the Hawkesbury River. Her most recent novel was written in response to Kate Grenville's The Secret River (R)
Gary is a Larrakia man from Darwin, whose dancing career has taken him from the early, bright lights of Glebe in Sydney, around the world, to the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. It all began with his mother in her wedding dress, dancing around the dining table. A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners: this conversation references people who have died
Dr Edmund Richardson tells the story of the East India Company deserter who went in search of one of Alexander the Great's lost cities, in Afghanistan (R)
Gordon Parker is the founder of the Black Dog Institute, which works to remove the stigma around mental illness. His latest focus is the phenomenon of burnout at home and at work (R)
Ben Bravery tells the story of his childhood in Logan, Queensland, how he went from a career at KFC to studying male satin bowerbirds and why being a patient led him to study medicine
Author Victoria Mackinlay with the story of how her grandfather, Francis came to have a pet lion, as a gift from an Indian Maharaja
Dr Tamara Keeley uses reproductive technology to help save rhinos, Tasmanian devils and koalas from extinction
No, he's not 'that' Richie Ramone, but this Richie Ramone's passion for punk is just as fierce.
Swimmer and entrepreneur Lisa on her life in and out of the pool, and how the loss of her daughter Jaimi has changed her
Zen priest and writer Ruth Ozeki takes us into world brimming with the voices of people and household objects, and her own experience of hearing her late father's voice in her ear (R)
Christine Ball is an anaesthetist at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne who chanced upon an old casebook of a doctor named Joseph Clover (R)
Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost
The Booker prize winning English novelist on disappointing his parents, the time before he was a writer, and his gift for unhappiness
When country woman Shanna Whan hit rock bottom in 2014 after a lifelong battle with alcohol addiction, she began a grassroots movement to tackle how we talk about booze in the bush
Frank Dell survived being shot down over Nazi Germany, with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters (R)
Louise Pryke returns with a cultural history of turtles, from ancient times to modern day, and from turtle tears to Al Capone, Lou attempts to understand why they are such a widely-loved creature (R)
Historian Antony Beevor depicts the conflict through the eyes of ordinary Russian workers to officers on the battlefield, to crystalise one of the most influential and devastating wars of the modern era
How a fashion-loving misfit from Sydney took over Hollywood with husband Baz Luhrmann, winning more Oscars than any other Australian
Guiding daughters to become confident young woman in an age of smartphones and early sexualisation is tough. The parenting expert says in this complex arena, we can't leave these lessons to chance
Three crooked cops. Four courageous women. A decades-long power struggle that remains full of mysteries to this day.
Professor George Paxinos has mapped more parts of the brain than anyone else in the world. He's been creating atlases of this most mysterious organ for more than 40 years, and is still journeying into unchartered cerebral territory
From working in a bank and behind a bar, to rowing solo across an ocean, the story of Michelle Lee's remarkable transformation and the voyage which made her reconsider her ideas about being alone (R)
Professor Toby Walsh is a world leader in AI research. He asks questions like, 'can we train machines to be fair?' and 'how do we resist the spread of lethal autonomous weapons?' His job is making sure the future of AI is for better, not worse
Rodney Fox was torn apart by a great white shark and it took 462 stitches to put him back together again. He was then instrumental in filming Jaws, the most terrifying shark film of all time. But over time, this salty seadog has become the apex predator's fiercest protector
After 50 years of marriage Ruth Wilson took some time alone. In a yellow cottage with a dogwood tree in the garden, she began re-reading the novels of Jane Austen. Eventually, Austen's heroines helped her seize a second chance at happiness
Gillian has the best job in the world — travelling overseas to bake sumptuous and heartfelt wedding cakes, using foraged and fresh produce to tell a couple's story through taste, texture and fragrance. Cake has been a staple in Gillian's life, through immigration, adventure and loss
Megan Davis was raised as a 'Queensland Rail kid', then in a book-loving household in a housing commission home. She grew up to become a lawyer at the UN, then began a history-making process of helping Australia's First Nations people speak the truth to power (R)
Mawunyo Gbogbo grew up in a church-going Ghanaian-Australian family in the mining town of Muswellbrook, NSW. As a young woman she grabbed the chance to further her media career in New York City at the Bible of Hip Hop, The Source
How a sheltered girl who grew up on a soldier settlement farm in country New South Wales grew up to become a feminist trailblazer
Ocean racing navigator Will Oxley first learned his trade through celestial navigation, using a sextant and the stars. He then began ocean racing around the world, and in 1998, he found himself upside down in a storm-wrecked Bass Strait (R)
Briana Blackett was a journalist working in Qatar when she realised her baby son Max wasn't responding to his name. When Max was diagnosed with autism, and in time her second son Freddy was too, she left Doha to begin an entirely different life
Dr Kira Westaway is a geochronologist who places modern and ancient humans in context by dating things found in caves. For Kira, how we understand ourselves now, is tied up in the past
Art detective Arthur Brand met neo-Nazis, billionaire collectors and underground art dealers on his hunt for the two enormous bronze horse sculptures once owned by Hitler. It was all part of his quest to find the criminal masterminds attempting to sell the artwork on the black market (R)
Wendy Liu has spent many years right up close to death. As a forensic counsellor she worked with families who had lost someone to an accident or violence, and as a grief counsellor she supports people surviving all kinds of losses. Wendy says her work brings her a keener appreciation of life
The folk singer on the songs in her blood and the intergenerational conflict between professional creativity and family
Avi Loeb was Harvard's top astronomer when he became intrigued by reports of a pancake-shaped object the size of a football field hurtling through our solar system (R)
Historian Gwynne Dyer on his search to understand whether war is embedded in human nature, and why things are changing, despite the world becoming less violent over the past seven decades
Anita Jacoby has spent decades uncovering the truth about other people, but when she turned the lens on her own father, she was shocked
A donation of land and $10 was all Australian-born Gemma needed to establish The School of St Jude in Tanzania (R)
Tom Tilley was raised in a loving Pentecostal family, but as he grew up he began to question the church's teachings, especially when it came to speaking in tongues
When teacher and actor Ned Manning lost his mother when he was 12 years old, he knew little about her life. So as an adult, he set off to re-imagine the life she shared with his father through WWII
From dodgy marathon runners to table tennis stars who 'dope' their paddles, there are few sports which can claim immunity from cheating
Louisa Lim with a history of the city of Hong Kong, including the true story of Tsang Tsou Choi, the 1950s graffiti artist who became a cultural icon
He's one of the world's most acclaimed opera stars, but Teddy Tahu Rhodes did everything he could, for a very long time, to avoid his destiny on stage
Wildlife biologist Jonathan Slaght on his adventurous quest to save the rare, shaggy fish owls of Russia's Far East (R)
Maggie grew up around boys, then raised four sons of her own. Now she helps parents understand the changes teenage boys are going through as they cross the bridge from boyhood to manhood (R)
Dr Irving Finkel on the ghosts who joined the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians in their day to day lives
Jackie Huggins with the story of her father Jack, who was a surf lifesaver, a rugby league player, a soldier taken prisoner in the Fall of Singapore, and the first Indigenous Australian to work in the post office
Tony spent three decades in and out of jail for property crimes and safecracking. When he joined an unusual club inside Hobart's Risdon Prison, he found his voice for the first time. Then a few years ago, on a fishing trawler far out to sea, he began the painful process of changing his life
Writer Sylvie Bigar thought her assignment was simple — cover the history of cassoulet, a French ancestral dish. What she discovered was a world of passion, disagreement and her own family's complicated tale
Ever since he was a boy, Paul Pritchard has been fascinated with climbing rocks. His compulsion took a terrible and beautiful turn on a matchstick of rock that sticks out of the Southern Ocean in Tasmania
Tom Gilling with the story of how a Scottish-born soldier named Jock McLaren became one of Australia's greatest World War II guerrilla fighters (R)
Betty O'Neill's father disappeared when she was a baby. Decades later, she opened a suitcase in Poland to find a series of clues to his secret life (R)
The US crime novelist on his unlikely career progression, and how he uses his books as a way of showing the human stories behind the headlines of the opioid epidemic in America
Di Morrissey grew up in a tiny village on the water, only accessible by rowboat, with film star Chips Rafferty and poet Dorothea Mackellar as her neighbours. When she was a young woman, a tragedy on the bay altered her life (R)
Dr Maddy McAllister's job as a marine archaeologist involves diving into the deep to uncover the artefacts and human stories sunk in shipwrecks
When he was a child in South Africa, Professor Mark Solms watched his older brother sustain a terrible brain injury. He then began his own path, to understand how a person's brain shapes them. CW: description of a medical procedure (R)
When journalist Jason Om turned his skills towards his own family story he began to understand the real story of his perfectionist Buddhist Cambodian father and his Catholic Eurasian mother, who was stricken with an inexplicable sadness
Tim Jarvis on his adventures following in the footsteps of explorer Ernest Shackleton, who tried valiantly to cross Antarctica from sea to sea, from 1914-17
Sara El Sayed on growing up Arab in South-East Queensland, while juggling conflicting expectations from her father to be a good Muslim girl, and from her grandmother who encouraged her to write, and not marry
Clinical pain neuroscientist Dr Tasha Stanton explains her studies into the power of the mind when it comes to coping with injury and illness
The bestselling author explores animal behaviour and grief — the loss we feel when a beloved pet dies, and how other species understand death (R)
After her younger sister died suddenly, broadcaster Indira Naidoo's world was shattered. Then she turned to her urban landscape for solace (CW: mentions suicide)
Novelist Kate Grenville on the story of love, grief and mental illness she unearthed when she revisited the letters of colonial gentlewoman Elizabeth Macarthur
Laurie Bateman went on an intense, lonely 18-month journey to become a Guinness World Record-holding sheep shearer, but it's not the accomplishment the Kamilaroi man is most proud of
The Australian comedian on Nanette, her 'farewell' to stand up comedy; being diagnosed with autism as an adult; and on Douglas, the show and the dog (R)
Sian Prior with the story of the years of longing and loss which marked her quest to become a mother, and what happened when she found herself childless at the age of 50
English author Patrick Gale finds inspiration in the endless sunset beyond his Cornish farm, old family letters and a pair of bearskin gloves from his childhood dress-up box
Arthur made his name escaping from a locked 44-gallon drum in a pool of sharks, and his death-defying escapes from the 1970s soon earned him the title of 'Australia's Houdini' (R)
J.C Faulk gives out over a million kilos of food each year to the hungry in his Baltimore food program. He tells how his own life story has guided him to the work
Big wave surfer Kerby Brown's obsessive quest to find 'slab waves' to ride, far off the Australian coast has almost cost him his life
Author Patrik Svensson was just a boy when his dad introduced him to the wonders of this enigmatic fish — their birthplace in the Sargasso Sea, their powers of navigation, and the ongoing secret of their reproduction
As a child, before she escaped communist Hungary, Bo Remenyi had no ambitions. But when she got to Australia all of that changed. She's gone from cruising the casino floor as a high-stakes professional poker player, to saving the lives of children in remote Australia.
War crimes investigator Brendan Rook on the case that was 'more frozen than cold', and his years with the International Criminal Court, scrutinising Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi
Thriller writer Helen Fitzgerald on her life as a social worker inside some of Scotland's toughest prisons (R)
As a Chinese-Australian girl growing up in the era of the White Australia Policy, artist Lindy Lee always felt that she didn't belong. When she began studying Zen Buddhism, some big shifts began to happen in her life, and her art
Northern Territory historian Derek Pugh recalls the 36,000 poles, undersea cable and sheer ingenuity that went into the greatest feat of engineering in 19th century Australia — the Overland Telegraph Line
Serafina Tane was born into a religious cult on New Zealand's South Island. The cult leader was a charismatic but abusive man named Douglas Metcalfe, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (R)
Dr Duane Hamacher on his study of Indigenous Astronomy, which covers 65,000 years of observation, deduction, and experimentation
Mark Trevorrow on how the music of composers Anthony Newley and Paul Williams influenced the course of his life and began the evolution of his alter ego, Bob Downe
The young naturalist shares his deep connection to the wild landscapes and creatures of Northern Ireland. Dara's first book has been highly awarded, and is all the more exceptional for his being just seventeen years of age (R)
When Kim Crotty was locked up in Dartmoor prison for growing marijuana, his two young sons were bereft. He began writing bedtime stories for them from his cell, as a way to reach them
The Mexican-American Mixed Martial artist and bare knuckle boxer on being smuggled into the US as a child in a pickup truck, and how almost losing his eye turned him toward the art of the city of his birth
At 90, Elizabeth Chong recalls the familiar abundance of the Queen Victoria Market of the 1930s, how her father popularised the dim sim in Australia and the 37,000 people she has taught to cook
Musician Eliza Hull has a condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth which affects her mobility, and for many years she tried to hide it. But after she had a daughter, she became proud of her disability
One of America's oldest lighthouses was built in 1716 and survived the Revolutionary War. Its first two keepers met dismal ends, but Sally Snowman was always enamoured by it. She is the first woman to care for the lighthouse, and now she will be the last
In 2019 Peter "Jack the Insider" Hoysted told Richard Fidler about one of the biggest scandals in Australian horseracing history on Conversations. The Fine Cotton Ring In was a plan to swap a slow horse with a much faster look-alike, involving a motley crew of small-time crooks, a couple of horses and a hell of a lot of women's hair dye. Now that story comes to life in Dig: The Ring In.
Dig is a history podcast with a fresh take on an iconic story from Australia's not-so-glorious past. The full series is ready to binge so listen to the first episode here then find Dig: The Ring In wherever you get your podcasts.
'Love on the Spectrum' star Jodi Rodgers on her life as a sexologist and relationship counsellor for people with Autism, and her unexpected chapter in reality TV (R)
Ben Macintyre with the true tale of 'Agent Sonya'; a housewife with 3 children and a Soviet super-spy. Sonya trained Communist rebels in Manchuria in the 1930s, arranged a plot to kill Hitler, and smuggled the plans for the atomic bomb to the Soviets
In 1973, Tana Douglas found her calling. She became the world's first woman roadie in rock and roll, touring with AC/DC, Iggy Pop and Elton John *CW: discussion of drugs and drug use (R)
In 1973, Tana Douglas found her calling. She became the world's first woman roadie in rock and roll, touring with AC/DC, Iggy Pop and Elton John *CW: discussion of drugs and drug use (R)
Claudia Chan Shaw’s life has been both bizarre and exquisite, moving from chronicling a man who collected his own belly button fluff, to unearthing her family's deep connection to fashion, told in three acts
Psychiatrist Dr Warren Ward treats patients who are severely ill with eating disorders. Understanding the mystery of human nature has driven him since he was a young doctor, and has led him down a strange path into examining the love lives of philosophers
Naomi Mourra grew up as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness and closeted lesbian. At 21, she realised Doomsday was not upon her, and left the religion for good
Durkhanai Ayubi and her family keep alive the stories and flavours they carried to Australia from Afghanistan, in the dining room of their 'accidental' and thriving restaurant (R)
Iain McCalman on the life of adventurer Delia Akeley, and her profound connection with a vervet monkey she named 'J.T'
Freediver Amber Bourke on the serene, otherworldly experience of floating down through crystal-clear water, with no oxygen tanks or fins, 70 metres below the surface of the sea
Stephen Walker with the thrilling, surreal story of the loyal communist and father of two who became the first person to journey into space, in a capsule perched on top of a modified Soviet R-7 missile
Dog trainer Neil McDonald and cattle wrangler Joni Hall on their loyal, emotionally intelligent charges: outback working dogs
Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett on his life in music, environmental action, and politics, and his life now on The Oils final tour
DNA expert Dr Jeremy Austin on his 14-year quest to help solve one of Australia's enduring military mysteries: the identity of the 'unknown sailor'
Gavin Pretor-Pinney loved gazing at clouds as a child. As an adult, his fascination with clouds drew him from England to Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria to see the Morning Glory, the world's most spectacular cloud formation (R)
Charlotte was Australia's first children's author. She came to the colony of NSW from London in 1826, and now her trailblazing, tragic and dramatic life story has been written by her descendants, Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell (R)
Mimi Wellisch on the tumultuous path that led her back to where their story started — a Danish milkbar in 1964
Damian Callinan with the grand love story of his parents Adrian and Kathleen, who met in 1946 at a football match. They were together for 62 years until a ridiculous, terrible accident brought their lives together to a close
John Colapinto was singing a Beatles song in front of Bette Midler when he injured his vocal cords. The experience set him on the path to investigating the miracle of the human voice
Ben works with athletes including the Richmond Football Club and surfer Steph Gilmore in a counter-intuitive way. He helps them own their flaws, and find an intrinsic purpose so they can take both wins and losses in their stride. Ash Barty credits Ben with helping her become World Number 1 (R)
Lisa Leong on her colourful and curious working life in radio, and how a personal crisis after the birth of her daughter upended almost everything she knew
Ecologist Katherine Moseby is helping Australia's bilbies, quolls, and stick-nest rats evolve to become tougher, faster and stronger, so they can survive the looming threat of more than 2 million feral cats
Mark May was a brilliant but troubled young man who made a decision to leave society altogether in the 1980s. He descended into a remote gorge in NSW and survived in the bush by hunting and living in rough camps for 35 years. Writer Tom Patterson tells his story
Historian Phillip Deery on how ASIO recruited ordinary people as secret agents, including a 'nice widow from Adelaide' named Anne Neill
Dr Andrew Browning first went to Ethiopia as a young medical student. He has now spent nearly two decades working with Africa’s most disadvantaged women
(CW: Andrew discusses the medical condition and treatment of some of his patients. Listener discretion required)
Dr Samantha Nixon used to be a quivering mess at the sight of a huntsman in the house. Today, she catches, cares for and milks tarantulas, funnel web and trapdoor spiders in a normal working day
Ky Furneaux spent 16 years in Hollywood as a professional stunt performer, falling, fighting and breaking glass on cue. She has managed to make her next life even more extreme — surviving in the wild, sometimes with just a knife, often naked
When Justin Carter crossed the Strzelecki Track by motorbike with his brother Chris and his aging father Neville, he knew he was in for an adventure. But then the odyssey changed his family in an unexpected way
When Wendy Sharpe read her late father's diaries, she began a new exploration of her Jewish family's history, including the story of her psychic grandmother, Bessie
When stripper and tattoo artist Ally Colquitt was arrested for drug dealing, it became a turning point. Inside her jail cell, she began reading, drawing, and embarked on the painstaking process of rebuilding her life from its ashes (CW: mentions suicide, grief and loss, drug use)
Joyce Morgan with the story of Elizabeth Von Arnim, the Australian-born literary sensation who captivated Victorian London
Entomologist Dr Trevor Lambkin says the main thing butterfly collectors need is a sense of adventure — something he has honed over 40 years of travel to the Torres Strait
After an early life spent surfing around the world, an Australian businessman got serious about his career and created a global tool for measuring peace in every country, and has since been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize
Paul is a musician, author and performer best known for his comedic alter-ego, Flacco. In recent years he's joined an eclectic band of people who ring the bells at his local church tower in inner Sydney. He's also been working as a volunteer, listening to and writing down the stories of people at the end of their lives (R)
Midwife Christian Wright with tales of emergency evacuations and surfing with crocodiles while working in remote Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land, helping Yolŋu women birth their babies (R)
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) (R)
When Sue-Ellen Kusher was growing up in Brisbane suburbia, behind closed doors her Dad was an ASIO spy, training his three children as foot soldiers in the Cold War (R)
Gurindji man and ABC presenter Charlie knew a little about his mum's life story as he grew up. But after she died, he began to reckon with what she had lived through as a child (CW: contains mention of ATSI people who have died; mentions of sexual violence) (R)
A cat, a hawk, a monkey, a crow and a lop-eared rabbit: animals who walked into the lives of five people leaving the humans to wonder, 'What am I to this creature?' (R)
William returns to reminisce about the Christmases of his childhood and his brief but brilliant stint as a department store Santa (R)
American novelist Ann Patchett reflects on the men who made her, going a year without shopping and her power to make herself invisible
As a child, Jamie Teh wanted a computer of his own so badly, he used to pretend, using his dad's business calculator. As an adult, he used this obsession to give online access to more than 100,000 blind computer users around the world, for free
Michael Curran met his friend Jamie at a music camp for blind children. Within a few years they had invented a free software to give more than 100,000 blind people around the world the power to use the internet
The Australian actor and writer measures the major events of his life against big moments in Australian cricket, including the nadir of his performing life when he was cast as an angry chicken
At 100cm tall, Rima is one of the smallest people in the world. But throughout her life, she's demanded to be heard (R)
Dennis Altman is an avowed Australian republican, but he can see the use of constitutional monarchies in times of transition. The question is: do they have the ability to withstand pressure from autocrats?
Kate Legge traces the lives of pioneering naturalists Kate Cowle and Gustav Weindorfer in Tasmania's sublime wilderness (R)
Jess Hill was a teenage magazine founder, a travel writer, a Middle East correspondent and a survivor of serious illness before she wrote her groundbreaking book on domestic violence
Novelist John Grisham with his life story; from his work as a trial lawyer, to writing, and how he became involved in a movement using DNA testing to exonerate the innocent
Abbas Nazari was a 7 year old refugee on a sinking fishing boat in the Indian Ocean when he was rescued by the MV Tampa, just as Australia closed its doors to asylum seekers. After being given a home in New Zealand, Abbas grew up to become a Fulbright scholar
The Mandandanji, Darambal and Wangan woman's career in theatre has taken her from Roma, in outback Queensland, around the world, with a brief break as a guard at a children's hospital
When Ken Henry was starting out in his career, Australia was known as the 'miracle economy'. Economics got inside him and Ken eventually helped the country sail through the 2008 global financial crisis
Linguist Kate Burridge with the story of how Old English began on a small, damp island on the periphery of the world
Harry Bowman tells adventurous tales from his three decades driving tour boats in the crocodile-infested Adelaide River, including the day he saved the life of a croc named Brutus (R)
Elizabeth Osborne with tales of struggle, love and grief from raising her five kids as a single mum, and the moment she saw her youngest, World Champion surfer Mick Fanning survive a shark attack on live TV
Joanne Petersen recalls working as a personal assistant to The Beatles' manager, the freedom of the Swinging Sixties in London and eloping to the Bahamas with a Bee Gee
Nadia Wheatley with the stories of two women ahead of their time: the writer Charmian Clift and her own mother Nina Watkin
Samantha Wheeler’s daughter Charlotte has Rett Syndrome, a rare ‘locked-in’ disorder (R)
Much-loved broadcaster and writer Wendy was born with a cleft lip and palate, into a struggling family. As a young journalist she saw an anarchic cabaret show which changed the course of her life
When Dr Catherine Crock saw her young leukemia patients suffering, she knew music would ease their pain, but she didn't know that years later she would be on the receiving end of the healing power of melody
Bronwyn Adcock with the story of one of the most terrifying episodes of Australia’s 2019 Black Summer: the Currowan fire
Meryl Broughton with stories from her work conducting autopsies at a country mortuary (CW: Graphic descriptions)
Robert Pekin lost his family’s 4th-generation farm, and in despair, walked away from everything and into the wilderness. After much soul-searching and trial and error, he developed a new way to link food producers more directly with those who eat the produce (R) CW: mentions suicide
Actor and writer Brendan Cowell with tender and funny tales from his boyhood as a child actor and a budding playwright
The critic on what he has learned from watching 25,000 films, and that time he peed on Federico Fellini
David Heilpern with stories of drama, crime and heartache from his 21 years as a country magistrate (CW: references to drug use and sexual assault)
Hannah Kent with the true story of the Prussians who fled Europe for a new life in South Australia in 1838, then met a malevolent doctor on board their ship
Megan Phelps-Roper grew up inside the notorious Westboro Baptist Church family. In 2012 she left the church, and her family, to live in the world she once reviled (R)
Deirdre O'Connell with a tale of music, race and a secret militia set in Australia's Jazz Age (CW: discretion is advised when listening)
As a child, ordinary sensations of clothes on her skin made Allison Davies feel as though her life was under threat. She recognised the life-changing power of sound when she became a music therapist — both for herself and others
Kylie Stevenson delves into the story of Paddy Moriarty, who went missing from Larrimah, an outback Northern Territory town known for a weird pink panther in a gyrocopter.
In 1942 three midget submarines armed with torpedoes made their way into Sydney Harbour to launch an attack on Allied warships. They were sent by the Imperial Japanese Navy (R)
Palaeontologist John Long found his first fossil in a Melbourne quarry as a 7 year old. He grew up to unearth new clues as to how we became human, and to the origins of sex
Former narcotics agent, John Shobbrook battled corruption when investigating an audacious plan to air-drop heroin into Far North Queensland in the 1970s
Roland de Chazal is best known for being the 81-year-old motorbike postie on Magnetic Island, but his earlier life in Rhodesia had its moments too — it was there he met the Queen Mother and kept his pet cheetah, Jackals
Judy on life with her late husband, the politician Tim Fischer, and how her son Harrison helped inspire a new beginning on her farm (R)
Stories from Dave Grohl about his life in music, including how he went from being "that guy from Nirvana” to a superstar rock star fronting the Foo Fighters
John Baker on hunting down a cache of rare and impossibly valuable French wine hidden away by Josef Stalin, deep in the Republic of Georgia (R)
Music was always a friend to Ed, but while he struggled to come to terms with being trans, he couldn't face his beloved instruments. Once he accepted himself, his relationship with sound flourished
Monica McInerney with tales from her childhood in a railway family in the South Australian town of Clare (R)
Australia's most famous landscape architect on learning from the garden, Greek school and his Yiayia
Philippe Sands on how a cache of letters sent him on the trail of Nazi war criminal Otto Von Wachter, who escaped to Rome on the 'Ratline' (R)
Designer Jenny Kee with the story of her wild and creative life, including how she and Linda Jackson began a movement which changed Australian fashion (CW: discretion required. Drug references, suicide and content that might be upsetting)
The ABC Sports presenter describes his life at 17, a year dominated by football, girls, beer, and a serial killer stalking his neighbourhood
While they greet one another with soft "woohoos", carefully feed their fat, fluffy babies and bleat at sunset, field naturalist Tanya Loos keeps an eye on the beautiful and ferocious population in her backyard
When an eruption began in 1994 in Papua New Guinea, the last thing singer-songwriter Ngaiire expected was a second volcano to begin spewing ash. Tuning in to the mystery and majesty of PNG has become a lifelong project (CW: Some listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening)
Zen priest and writer Ruth Ozeki takes us into world brimming with the voices of people and household objects, and her own experience of hearing her father's voice in her ear after he'd died
David Hepworth charts our fascination with that most earth-bound of gods, the rock star; and discusses some of music history's striking examples (R)
After Isaac Adams returned from Afghanistan struggling with anger and hypervigilance, he found that working with traumatised racehorses was helping him heal
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
'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)
Miriam Lancewood on her life roaming the New Zealand bush, hunting possums and goats to survive (CW: Graphic descriptions) (R)
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
Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher inspired his music (R)
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)
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)
Museum curator Imelda Miller on the history and vibrancy of Australian South Sea Islanders
Physicist Paul Davies on the mysteries of our universe, including the puzzle of the 'super-void' inside the constellation of Eridanus
Journalist Gary Nunn on what he learned about grief, comfort, and the influence of clairvoyants during his two year investigation of the supernatural industry
Kate Leaver became fascinated by the curative qualities of dogs after her Shih Tzu Bertie helped her through her darkest days (R)
Tobacco giant Philip Morris was financing what looked like anti-smoking initiatives around the world, but what they were advertising wasn't safe
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
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'
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)
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)
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on witnessing the events of September 11th, 2001 from the window of a Washington hotel room (R)
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
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
Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old
When Hayley moved to a cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, the rural idyll wasn't quite as she imagined (R)
Professor Pankaj Sah has a special interest in researching the amygdala and the possibility of treating PTSD to remove the fear and anxiety that come with it
As a young woman, Krystyna thought her father had taught her everything about Poland’s history, but she didn’t know that what he’d left out would become a focus of her life
One of the most influential disability rights activists in history tells her story of her fight for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human
Reverend Bill Crews on the moment which changed how he saw his own life story, and his ideas on how we can all cultivate compassion, tolerance, empathy and love in difficult times