Conversations

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 his sights set further, and even a brief stint in the army couldn’t keep him away from a life in music (R)

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.  At the make or break moment of his choreography career, the last person Rafael expected to hear from was Australia’s pop princess — Kylie Minogue As the eldest of four brothers, his father expected him to be an example of academic achievement and brava...

When Dugald Jellie was growing up in country Victoria, it was dads — his own and his friends' — who opened the world up for him, and as a father himself, today he is paying it forward

Firie Bronnie Mackintosh attends emergencies to cut people out of crushed cars and rescue them from burning buildings (R)

What happens when a man can't stop his drive and desire for more? Author Andrew O'Hagan dissects the pitfalls of more money, more success and more applause in his latest novel Andrew O’Hagan is the author of several highly acclaimed novels. His new book is a sweeping portrait of modern-day London, a city ‘levitating on a sea of dirty Russian money’.  The main character, Campbell Flynn, is much lik...

In the decades before Ruth Shaw became a bookseller in New Zealand's Fiordland, she lived the incredible stories of adventure, love and tragedy that now line the shelves in her shops

Artist Brigita Ozolins grew up hearing about the magic of her mother's home country, Latvia. It wasn't until she was in her 50s that Brigita understood why her mother fled that paradise, full of flowers and polite children

Astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths was making an atlas of our galaxy when she discovered an entirely new spiral arm of the Milky Way

Sean Fong is a para world champion in jiu-jitsu. The 'gentle' martial art has allowed Sean to shatter any illusions that society might have about people with physical differences (R)

From its surprising successes to its dismal failures, historian Frank Bongiorno takes you through the wild 130-year history of the Australian Labor Party

Troy Cassar-Daley grew up walking a tightrope between two worlds after his mum and dad broke up when he was small. As a grown man, a trip on a country music cruise began to change his story (CW: discussion of suicidal ideation and suicide)

Troy Cassar-Daley grew up walking a tightrope between two worlds after his mum and dad broke up when he was small. As a grown man, a trip on a country music cruise began to change his story (CW: discussion of suicidal ideation and suicide)

When Bonnie Hancock stumbled on a book in her local library, she got a gut feeling that refused to go away. And so she set off on a gruelling 12,700km journey around Australia on her surf ski

Cassandra Pybus exposes the secret trade of the skeletal remains of the first people of Tasmania. CW: This episode contains upsetting discussion about grave desecration and the trading of human remains

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, which do their most interesting work underground (R)

The Australian actor looks back at his riotous life on camera, from Newsfront to Muriel's Wedding

Hana Assafiri was a child bride in her teens when she fought her way free of her violent husband. Then she built a new life helping other marginalised women (CW: the conversation discusses physical and sexual violence against women)

Dr Margaret Moore is fascinated by our most mysterious organ - the brain. By looking at stroke survivors, she is trying to understand how brains work, how they don't, and how they predict the world around them

Nick Cave has lived through addiction, love and unthinkable loss. His experiences have changed how he understands hope, heartbreak and optimism (R)

Keri Kitay with the story of her devoted, outgoing mum Terry, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at 54 years old

How headmistress Manisha Gazula radically (and controversially) transformed the literacy, and life, outcomes for her students at Marsden Road Public School

Writer Colum McCann with the story of Diane Foley, whose son James was murdered by the Islamic State (CW: this episode contains descriptions of violent acts and terrorism)

For 100 years Australia has been collecting tens and thousands of letters and diaries from deployed service personnel. These are just some of the moving, beautiful and tragic stories among them

When Dr Rhonda Wilson was in year 10, she was told she should drop out of school and settle for becoming "just a mum". This is how Rhonda defied the expectations others, and she, had for herself

From muscle paralysis and sleepwalking, to the power of our subconscious, Dr Sutapa Mukherjee takes you into the secret world of sleep