Conversations

The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness — and how recognising his own led to true healing. To binge even more great episodes of the Conversation podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provok...

When Nadia Mahjouri travelled to Marrakech with her four-month-old baby to find her long lost father, she also underwent the process of matrescence — becoming a new version of herself as a mother. Nadia Mahjouri is a Moroccan-Australian author and counsellor. Growing up in Launceston, Tasmania, Nadia didn’t know anyone else who had her height, dark skin and curly hair. She knew her father was Moro...

Two of the most important men to Gus Worland departed his life in shocking and unexpected ways. Gus' grief led him to dig deeper into what it means to be a strong man and re-frame vulnerability as something powerful. TV and radio host Gus Worland grew up with some deeply rooted ideas about what it meant to be a man and a good bloke. When Gus was just 10 years old, his father left the family home f...

Brigitte Muir's dream to climb the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents took much longer and cost her more than she expected, but she also discovered more about herself than she could have imagined (R) Brigitte Muir fell in love with the outdoors and adventure as a teenager in Belgium. Initially she was exhilarated by going caving, deep in the earth, and then rock-climbing, unti...

For poet David Whyte, the power of poetry lies in its unmatched ability to meditate and focus on what's right in front of us -- whether it's a mountain, a loved one, or our own reflection. He explains how one line of poetry is enough to change your life. David grew up amongst the moors and fields of West Yorkshire, with an English father and an Irish mother who had a gift for lyricism and language...

When Dannielle Miller became a teacher, she was given the classes no one else could handle. She was given a whistle on her first day, to call for help. She didn’t need it — in fact, she had something in common with some of her students. Dannielle Miller is the CEO of Enlighten Education and Director of Education for Women's Community Shelter. As a young teacher, fresh from university, Dannielle wa...

Historian, Professor Clare Wright tells the story of a formative moment — before the Mabo decision — in Australia’s democracy that you may not have heard of. Historian Clare Wright moved her family to Yirrkala in North-East Arnhem land in 2010.  She became a part of the Yolngu community and kept in touch after the family returned to Melbourne. Little by little, Clare learned about an extraordinary...

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher opened up a door to music, and inspired his songwriting (R) Jimmy Webb grew up poor in Oklahoma, where his mother encouraged him to play the piano, revealing a prodigious musical talent. After moving to Los Angeles, Jimmy wrote his first hit for the Fifth Dimension: Up, Up And Away. Shortly after, he met Glen Campb...

When Linda Peek's mother Margaret died, Linda collected the scraps of handwritten notes strewn around the home and put together Margaret's remarkable tale of survival on Malta during WWII. When Linda was growing up, Margaret, would tell her these remarkable stories from her wartime childhood -- stories of survival, friendship and tragedy. Margaret had spent her most formative years on the island o...

Volcanologist Teresa Ubide opens volcanoes up from the outside, like a doll's house, searching for tiny crystal balls to help her predict when the next eruption might occur Humans have always had a complicated relationship with volcanoes — they are striking to look at and create fertile soils for farming, but they can be destructive and deadly. Today, around 10 per cent of the world's population l...

Warren Brown drove through 80 countries in searing heat and pouring rain in a vintage Bean car to recreate the 1927 world tour of Australian motorist, Francis Birtles. Today we bring you the next chapter in the adventurous exploits of author and cartoonist Warren Brown. Some years ago Warren Brown stumbled on the true story of a pioneering Australian motorist, Francis Birtles, who set out to drive...

Nazeem Hussain honed his comedy in Melbourne's suburbs in the 1990s. After his father left the family, his fearless mother taught Nazeem how to use humour to get bullies off his back. (R) Comedian, Nazeem Hussain honed his comedic chops in the suburbs of Melbourne in the 1990s. It was there, after his father left the family, that his fearless mother taught him how to use humour to get bullies off...

Lawyer turned journalist Eileen Ormsby on her journey deeper and deeper into the internet's 'evil twin', where, under the cloak of anonymity, people sell buy and share anything a person is willing to pay for.  Eileen Ormsby had just returned to university to study journalism when her friend told her about a website called The Silk Road. Created by American libertarian, Ross Ulbricht, it was essent...

Journalist Hedley Thomas grew up knowing that his grandmother Gladys had vanished in the sea off Sydney in the 1950s when she was just 35 years old. Decades later, her story spurred him on to begin a new life as a hugely successful true crime podcaster Hedley Thomas has had a storied career in journalism, which has seen him win many Walkley Awards and expose a lot of corruption and dodgy dealings....

Lucinda Light was running a speed dating company in Byron Bay when she auditioned for 'Married At First Sight'. While on the show, she became a huge hit with fans because of her emotional intelligence and open-hearted soul. When it ended, she embarked on an unexpected new life In 2024, a woman named Lucinda Light burst on to Australian TV screens on the reality show juggernaut 'Married at First Si...

Mark Balla was on a business trip to India when he met two young men on a train. They invited him back to see their home, one of the world's biggest slums. This meeting changed the course of Mark's life. (R) A former Lonely Planet writer and researcher, Mark was wary of participating in 'slum tourism', but something made him say yes to the invitation. That visit changed the course of his life: it...

Belinda Probert knew her father as an English war hero named Bill. What she didn't know, was that he was born Roy and that his spying did not end when the war did. Belinda Probert knew her father to be a decorated English war hero and successful businessman, whose family had all died long ago.  But a few months after Bill Probert died as an old man in France, a letter arrived at her mother’s house...

A chance find at age 14 at Flinders Street Station led Tim Chappel to a life of silver lamé, sequins, girdles, and an Oscar.  Costume designer, Tim Chappel can’t remember all the places he lived, growing up on Army bases around the country, and overseas.  His one constant interest was nature.  He’d look for stick insects to pin into his collection and draw endless terrestrial orchids.  Tim was rea...

The musician reflects on the epic evolution of her singing from practical childhood speech therapy to sacred musical fluency. Meg Washington was born in a musical home in Port Moresby, where her parents had met as Australian expats. Meg and her sister spent a lot of their time watching classic Hollywood musicals and also down at the local yacht club where their dad DJ'd every Saturday night. Singi...

Jelena Dokic on the trauma and violence which underscored her extraordinary life in tennis, and how she worked to change her own story(CW: discussion of family violence, eating disorders) (R) After arriving in Australia with her family as a refugee, Jelena Dokic became a tennis champion while still a teenager. But her father’s drunken outbursts at Jelena’s tournaments got even more headlines than...

Jayden Sheridan was just 17 years old when he found out he was going to be a father, and immediately he knew he needed to give his son better opportunities than he had. Growing up in regional Victoria, Jayden experienced homelessness, substance abuse, violence and a general lack of direction. He had no male role models in his life, but he did have the local skate park. It's where he went to feel s...

The first sound Claire Smith heard when she landed in Australia from the UK was the carolling song of a nearby magpie. That was enough to make her fall in love with Australian wildlife. Very quickly, Claire poured all her energy into looking after injured animals, which seemed funny for a girl who grew up in the English countryside the daughter of a hunting dog master. She began volunteering for w...

Dave Pearson runs Bite Club, a support service for anyone who has survived a shark attack. Dave’s own brush with death came in 2011, when a three-metre-long bull shark almost tore his arm off. Dave lived that day, but it’s what happened during his recovery that he didn’t see coming. Dave Pearson was with his mates on the NSW mid-north coast back in 2011, and couldn’t get in the water fast enough t...

Meet Doug Quin, sound designer and naturalist who makes field recordings all over the world. Hear what Doug heard when he got up close to emperor penguins, lions and vultures. (R) Sound designer and naturalist Doug Quin has been highly attuned to sound since he was a young child growing up in Algeria under the threat of bombing.  Through his family’s travels and his years at a Scottish boarding sc...

Conversations is bringing you a summer treat — a collection of Sarah's most memorable guests through out the years.  In 2018, Shanelle Dawson's family were the subject of a hit true crime podcast which helped convict her father Chris Dawson of her mother's murder. Now she's reclaiming her own story and the story of her mother Lynette. Help and support is always available by calling Lifeline on 13...