Conversations

ABC Australia

Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption.

Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.

Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.

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77 episodes
daily
Avg 50 min
English

Episodes 77

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Today · 47 min
Why Anthony LaPaglia is unapologetically irritable
Anthony talks about his turbulent childhood in Adelaide, escaping to a cocaine-fuelled New York in the 1980s to begin his life as an actor, and how writing his memoir helped him forgive his parents. Anthony grew up in the suburbs of Adelaide, in a house full of rage, disappointment and violence. He spent as much time as he could alone, reading books, watching classic Hollywood movies, and dreaming of another life. For a while he thought soccer might be his ticket to escape Adelaide, but it tu
Yesterday · 44 min
Encore: The incandescent life of fashion visionary Jenny Kee
Fashion designer Jenny Kee co-created a whole new era in Australian fashion in the 1970s. But nothing could have prepared her for her own next chapter. Jenny was born in Bondi in the 1950s, and left Australia for London when she was young. She began selling vintage clothes at the Chelsea markets, where she attracted attention for her stall and her brilliant style. When she returned to Australia in the early 70s Jenny met a gifted couturier named Linda Jackson. Together they embarked on
Wednesday · 51 min
Learning my family connection to the brutal history of Australia's pearling industry
When Edith Wright discovered the turbulent history of her great-grandfathers, who were some of the founders of the pearling industry in the waters off Broome, she knew she had to write down the story Edith is a Bardi Jawi woman from the saltwater country of Western Australia’s Dampier Peninsula. When she was a little girl growing up in the Kimberley, her dad would tell her stories about his two European grandfathers. Both men were pioneers in W.A's pearling industry, which required the skill
Tuesday · 52 min
Encore: My orgasm induced amnesia and other epic adventures
Dasha Ross tells the story of her bizarre brush with memory loss and what happened when she and her husband decided to takeover a rundown beachside hotel in Sri Lanka. Dasha has lived a life full of adventures, from nude modelling in Sydney and making films in Brazil, to renovating a nightclub in Harlem with a baby on her hip. But Dasha's most epic escapades were with her beloved husband John Pinder, including the time the two of them took up a surprising offer to revamp and manage a beachside
Monday · 45 min
Anthony Scaramucci on Trump, getting fired and owning his mistakes
Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci on his childhood, becoming a success on Wall Street and why backing Trump was a colossal error. Anthony grew up on Long Island, part of a large Italian-American community and far away from the world of money, power and influence. When he was accepted into a prestigious university, Anthony’s parents put their retirements savings on the line to make sure he was able to go. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he began his career on Wall Street, then into pol
October 16 · 51 min
How to keep living when life falls apart
When Robin Bailey’s husband and father of their three boys died by suicide, she had to figure out the best way to help her children work through their grief while also managing her own sadness and anger. (CW: this episode discusses suicide, please take care when listening) Robin is one of Brisbane’s best-known breakfast radio hosts, and she’s been in the business for decades. When she was 11, Robin’s father died suddenly, and her mother was left to raise Robin and her sister while forging on w
October 15 · 50 min
Encore: Inside the minds of the fish who sleep, have friends, and know it's the weekend
Dr Culum Brown's work on fish cognition has proven fish have long memories, sharks have friends, and sting rays know it's the weekend. Dr Culum Brown is a leading researcher in the field of fish cognition. He's based at Macquarie University where he runs the Fish Lab — the Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution of Fishes Laboratory. His fascination for fish stems from growing up in parts of south-east Asia, where he would spend every possible hour in the ocean with a snorkel. As an adult, Culum's m
October 14 · 53 min
How I decentred men and fell in love with my friends instead of another f*ckboy
Broadcaster and author Dee Salmin on how her parents' epic love story and dramatic relationship shaped her understanding of love and men; and how she eventually found healthy romance in life. When Dee was growing up in Perth, her father, a great Russian ballet dancer, was ‘the man of the house’. Life at home, and every choice that Dee, her siblings, and her mum made revolved around his whims and his moods. Dee worshipped her parents and all the opportunities they fought for her to have, so sh
October 13 · 49 min
A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART II]
Mimi Kwa tells her family’s saga, featuring her dad — the thirty-second child of a wealthy Chinese silk trader, and her mum, who survived decades of undiagnosed schizophrenia, and Mimi's glamorous other life in the intoxicating hubbub of Hong Kong. Mimi presented the news on ABC and Channel Nine, and worked in the newsroom for more than 20 years. Today she has four children with her loving husband, John. This is all a long way from Mimi’s early life in Perth, where she managed backpackers
October 12 · 48 min
A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART I]
Mimi Kwa tells her family’s saga, featuring her dad — the thirty-second child of a wealthy Chinese silk trader, and her mum, who survived decades of undiagnosed schizophrenia, and Mimi's glamorous other life in the intoxicating hubbub of Hong Kong. (CW: Discussion of mental illness and suicide attempt) Mimi presented the news on ABC and Channel Nine, and worked in the newsroom for more than 20 years. Today she has four children with her loving husband, John. This is all a long way from Mi
October 9 · 51 min
Mick Fanning on surfing, punching a great white shark, and losing three brothers
Mick won three world surfing titles, and famously fought off a great white shark in South Africa. But his life out of the water has been threaded through with devastating loss, after the death of his three older brothers. (CW: loss and grief) Mick Fanning grew up on the Gold Coast in a raucous, loving family of five kids, raised by his mum Elizabeth, a nurse who worked night shift. He and his brother Sean were talented young grommets who dreamed of becoming professional surfers. Then at 16, M
October 8 · 52 min
Encore: A family story of growing up poor in Outback Queensland
Journalist Rick Morton on how his mum raised three children in poverty and the class disparities in Australia. Rick's family come from the vast country of Outback Queensland, near the Birdsville Track. His grandfather, George Morton, was a wealthy landholder and he ruled over his family like a tyrant. When Rick was little, a terrible accident was followed by the break-up of his family and Rick, his mum, and his two siblings were driven out of the family home into crippling poverty. This led
October 7 · 49 min
My poo transplant, ayahuasca trip and other wellness quests
Judith Lucy is one of Australia's most loved comedians. Recently after years of tummy troubles, burnout, and a complicated relationship with alcohol, she began her mission to work on her health, in earnest. As well as being a beloved comic, Judith is also the author of four books and the presenter of several television series. For decades Judith has been busying herself with project after project after project, to distract herself from sitting with the truth of where her workaholism, insom
October 6 · 51 min
Encore: Why I became a teacher at the school where I was bullied
A portrait of one teacher and his class as they journey through the ups and downs of a school year. Brendan James Murrary has been a high school teacher for more than ten years and although his own experiences at school weren't great, he ended up taking a job back at the school where he was a bullied and unhappy student. During his time as a teacher he's seen hundreds of kids move through the same hallways and classrooms - boisterous, angry, shy, big-hearted, awkward - all of them on the journ
October 5 · 52 min
Richard Glover on the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking rules of Australian parenting
The instructions found in endorsed baby books over the last century could be, with hindsight, bizarre or cruel. And were most often given by “experts” with no children of their own. Journalist and broadcaster, Richard Glover tackles the changing landscape of parenting advice. He looks back at his own experience of being parented, which included having his ears sticky-taped while growing up in Papua New Guinea, and draws on modern day grand-parenthood to highlight the marked differences in
October 2 · 52 min
Monica McInerney's five year rollercoaster ride
The author on the diagnosis that floored her and the gifts that got her through harrowing treatment — including a cat named Nicholas. The Australian-Irish author was last on the program in 2020. She reflected on her childhood by the railway tracks in the Clare Valley, South Australia, where she grew up with her band of brothers and sisters. After she recorded that interview, Monica received a cancer diagnosis. International borders were closed due to covid, and Monica found herself stayin
October 1 · 52 min
Encore: The pilot shot down by enemy fire and how he survived
RAF pilot Frank Dell parachuted into Nazi occupied Holland after his plane was hit by cannon fire and with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters he got out alive. As a teenager, Frank saw the Battle of Britain played out in the skies above his village in the south of England. He joined the RAF and piloted a De Havilland Mosquito on bombing raids into Germany. In October 1944 Frank's plane was shot out of the sky and he parachuted into Nazi territory. Frank witnessed ex
September 30 · 52 min
Magda's mum, the tragic secret, and the moment of grace
When Magda Szubanski discovered what had happened to her mum as a child, she began to see her in an entirely new light (CW: discussion of sexual abuse, please take care when listening) Magda released her first memoir a few years ago, to widespread acclaim. It was the story of how Magda unearthed the life story of her Polish-born father and his role as an assassin during WWII. Magda's now written her second memoir which hinges on the life story of her charming and funny Scottish-born mother
September 29 · 52 min
Encore: The Olympic swim coach who spat on a silver medal, and how it changed him
Laurie Lawrence's obsession with winning Gold started when he was a small boy growing up above the Tobruk Pool in Townsville. When he became a coach, he had an epiphany about the nature of victory. When Laurie was a child, he had a chronic lung condition that meant he had to sleep sitting in a chair. Doctors advised his parents that an operation was necessary, and part of one of his lungs was removed. After the operation, Laurie's father took over the management of Townsville's Tobruk Pool, a
September 28 · 52 min
Caring for my fiercely strong-willed father
Kim Huynh on his family's remarkable journey from Vietnam to Australia. And taking on the role of carer for his fiercely strong-willed father, Thiet. Kim grew up in Canberra, arriving in Australia with his family as refugees from Vietnam. Like many migrant children, Kim is a very driven person and has taken on a lot of responsibilities in life. He is an academic, an ABC broadcaster, an author and a father. And when his 80-year-old father had a serious stroke, Kim also took on the role of car

Showing 1–20 of 77 episodes