Podcast
Conversations
Hosted by ABC Australia · EN
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.
196episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The mysteries, ghosts and healing powers of the Abbotsford Convent
2d ago00:48:46Tap to summarizeFor more than a century, Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent was occupied by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the "wayward" girls and orphans they took care of. Patricia Sykes was one of those girls.She was dropped off at the orphanage with her three sisters in the early 1950s after their mother died.Their father couldn't afford to take care of four girls at home, but wanted them to stay together, so an orphanage felt like his only option.As a girl, Patricia, a gifted student who loved music and words, desperately wanted to escape the convent.But later in life, after finally finishing school and then university as a mother and mature student, Patricia returned to Abbotsford Convent.As a poet in residence, Patricia went back on her own terms to hear and to tell the stories of dozens of women who passed through its doors, and to interrogate her own understanding of her time with the nuns.Patricia's collection of poetry is called The Abbotsford Mysteries.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.It explores religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Australia of yesteryear, modern history, Melbourne, Victoria, nunnery, orphanages, grief, sisterhood, education, women's rights, motherhood, losing a mother, the Queen, writing, books, late life career change.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations 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-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Transcribe →How limitations in life, love and creativity can actually set you free
5d ago00:51:00Tap to summarizeScience writer David Epstein on why freedom can be the enemy of success and how we can all benefit from less choice, not more.We live today with vastly more freedom of choice than our ancestors.But there’s also plenty of research telling us all this choice is making us more anxious, overwhelmed and less creative.In his book, Inside the Box, David makes the case for how constraints can unlock creativity and satisfaction.And why after writing this book he now believes that narrowing your options can truly set you free.Further InformationInside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better is published by MacmillanYou can learn more about David Epstein hereThis episode was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores creativity, innovation, creative burnout, relationships, technology, art, music, rules, deadlines, science, General Magic, Apple, Iphone, sport, choice, anxiety, creative thinking, rules.
Transcribe →Encore: The traits I was teased about are now my trademarks
6d ago00:51:00Tap to summarizeVeteran performer Paul Capsis on his strict upbringing and the strong female role models who helped him stay in school despite the brutality.A powerful and expressive voice, flamboyant physical presence, and mane of dark hair have become his trademarks as a performer.But when Paul was growing up in inner-city Sydney as the child of Greek and Maltese parents, these same qualities brought him a world of trouble. At school he was relentlessly ridiculed and beaten.The love of his Maltese grandmother, Angela, and other family members, helped Paul stay in school despite the brutality; as did immersing himself in the music of his favourite singers, Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2018The producer was Michelle Ransom Hughes and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.It explores performing, singing, homophobia, bullying, Maltese heritage, Greek heritage, strong female role models, Janis Joplin, cabaret, grandmas, women, inner-city Sydney.
Transcribe →The adoptive mum who now fights to keep families together
1w ago00:52:18Tap to summarizeAnna Dombkins was 25 years old, when she and her husband happened on a television program about adoption which would completely change their lives. CW: this episode of Conversations discusses adoption.It was a documentary investigating the unimaginable conditions of some orphanages in China.The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt children who had no other family support, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.While living in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for a number of years, Anna saw how many children were coming into local orphanages not because they were unwanted or because their biological parents had died, but because their families simply couldn't afford to take care of them.So, since returning to Australia and becoming a mother to her sixth child, Anna became the founding director of Forever Projects, a charity supporting Tanzanian women in poverty, so they can live independently, care for and keep their babies without having to resort to adoption.Forever Projects has since helped more than 3,000 babies remain with their families.Home Forever: Adoption, hope and the mountains we’re all climbing is published by Pepper Press, Fair Play Publishing.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores families, motherhood, fostering, overseas adoption, fatherhood, siblings, blended families, cultural awareness, Australian adoption policy, faith, religion, Christianity, serving the community, marriage, love, intergenerational, grandparents, grief, cancer, Moshi, Forever Angels Baby Home, five under five, lawyers, legal system.
Transcribe →Encore: How not to be a d***head with singer Kasey Chambers
1w ago00:51:00Tap to summarizeCountry music artist Kasey Chambers has spent her life making music and connecting with audiences. It’s what she believes she was put on the earth to do.Growing up Kasey and her family spent much of the year camping and roaming the Nullabor Plain where her dad would hunt for foxes and rabbits.She started singing around the campfire as a little girl and went to sleep to the sound of her father’s rifle as he worked through the night.Singing came naturally to Kasey, and she loved all the old country classics, as well as some Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen.The title of Kasey’s memoir is a tribute to her father and the most important piece of advice she’s ever received.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.Further Information Just Don't Be A D**khead is published by Hardie Grant.You can learn more about Kasey's music hereThis episode of Conversations explores family, childhood, growing up in rural Australia, music, singing, country music, camping, hunting foxes and rabbits, fathers, guitar, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, ARIA Hall of Fame, eating disorders, motherhood.To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations 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-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Transcribe →A race against time to help my friend dying from mesothelioma
1w ago00:51:58Tap to summarizeJames O'Loghlin had only just reconnected with one of his best and oldest friends, Jum Wallner, when Jum received some terrible news. What began next was a high stakes race with a fatal deadline.The two men had grown up in Canberra, where thousands of homes had been filled with asbestos, which was often carelessly installed and removed.Jum himself had grown up in one of these so-called "Mr Fluffy" homes, named after the local company that had installed the carcinogenic insulation.When Jum felt a pain in his side, it wasn't long before the father of two and husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given months to live.Jum had discovered that if you got sick from being exposed to asbestos in your workplace you were entitled to compensation, but if it came from your home, you got nothing.So Jum asked his old friend James for some help to petition the powers that be to help asbestos victims like himself and their families.James began a race against time, trying to convince both the ACT and Federal governments to help Jum and others, in the middle of a pandemic, before it was too late.Along the way, James and Jum reconnected deeply as friends who desperately wished they had more time together.The Missing Piece is published by Echo Publishing.More information about the Loose-Fill Asbestos Disease Support Scheme can be found at the ACT Government's website. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores friendship, male friendship, university days, terminal disease, James Hardie, cancer, terminal diagnosis, how to grieve a friend, activism, petition governments, Covid, pandemic, Greg Hunt, Angus Taylor, compensation, accidental activist, dying friends, mourning, funerals, Andrew Barr, ALP, Labor party, Liberals, bipartisan, Albanese, politics, Auspol, burnout, diagnosis.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations 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-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Transcribe →"ELVIS IS ALIVE AND RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT" The story behind the nonsensical Weekly World News
2w ago00:47:00Tap to summarizePeter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is back with a look at the humorous and bizarre stories of the newspaper founded in 1979 by a former CIA officer.“174 MPH SNEEZE BLOWS OFF WOMAN’S HAIR”, “BABY BORN WITH TATTOO”, “GARDEN OF EDEN FOUND!”These were some of the fantastical headlines that led the comedic black and white US tabloid, Weekly World News (WWN).Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is a true crime writer and a columnist for The Australian. He was a fan of the nonsensical reporting during its hard copy days, and even started his own journal along similar lines in Australia.Peter tells the story of Generoso Pope Jr, the ex-CIA officer who founded WWN in 1979 and entertained readers with fictional news stories, often with a paranormal slant.Further informationYou can read Weekly World News online.Listen to previous Conversations interviews with Jack the Insider: Chow Hayes, Australia's first gangster (2017), the Fine Cotton affair (2019) and the disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson (2024).This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.This episode covers aliens, alien love child, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, satirical news, fake news, comedy, giggle, Elvis, newspapers, newsgathering, bigfoot, mermaids, man-fish, CIA, conspiracy theory, David Icke, lizard people.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Transcribe →Encore: Darren Hayes on the dark side of his fame with Savage Garden
2w ago00:51:00Tap to summarizeDarren Hayes rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the musical duo Savage Garden but the scars of his violent childhood nearly ended everything.The band ended up selling 35 million albums and won numerous awards with hits like 'Truly Madly Deeply'.On the surface, Darren had achieved wealth, adoration and stardom —everything he dreamt of as a kid growing up in Logan, on the outskirts of Brisbane.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024Further informationUnlovable is published by Penguin Help and support is always available:Call 1800 737 732 (1800 Respect) to speak to a counsellor if you are experiencing domestic violence. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Transcribe →Why this private investigator loves the cases others have given up on
2w ago00:52:00Tap to summarizeKen Gamble is very good at spying on people doing the wrong thing but perhaps the investigations that have had the most impact are the missing person cases he's taken on pro bono.Ken spent part of his childhood living in a remote outback pub and by the age of 12, he was driving drunk jackaroos back to their stations.When his family moved to the Sunshine Coast, Ken took up boxing on the amateur circuit and left school in Year 10 to pursue the sport full time, until a savage injury ended his career before it had really begun.After stints in the Army Reserve and as a firefighter, Ken decided he wanted to be a private investigator and began working in personal injury insurance fraud where he became highly skilled in covert surveillance.And with the arrival of the internet, Ken turned his attention to tracking down the humans behind online scams.Ken has also been called on to help in some high-profile missing person cases, including that of Belgian backpacker, Celine Cremer.Further information This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, Nicola Harrison is the Executive ProducerIt explores criminals, cyber crime, insurance fraud, covert surveillance, private detectives, Mt Isa, alcoholism, violence, boxing, counterfeit products, boiler rooms, online scams, missing persons, mobile phone data, geospatial analytics, Eumundi, Celine Cremer, police, bikies.
Transcribe →Encore: My eerie week inside Kanye West's Hollywood mansion
2w ago00:50:00Tap to summarizeGonzo journalist and writer John Safran on why he decided to squat in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West.John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be, from breaking into Disney Land, to infiltrating fascist strongholds in Australia.A couple of years ago, one of his journalistic expeditions saw him squatting in an abandoned Hollywood mansion belonging Kanye West.John had seen a clip of the hip hop start denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because they are actually Jewish.His week writing and snooping in this strange house, with no running water and a vulture in the roof, made John go increasingly loopy as he tried to understand what pushed this critically acclaimed artist from celebrity eccentric to seriously 'out there'.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024It explores Kanye West, Judaism, antisemitism, Hollywood, hip hop, Christianity, Nazism, racism, hip hop, squatting, the Donda Academy, journalism, Adidas, money, fame, documentary, writing, the Holocaust, mental health, celebrity, mansionsFurther informationSquat is published by Penguin.
Transcribe →