Conversations: Archive: 2015-2017

Best of 2017: Candice Fox

15 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How to raise a bestselling crime writer (R)

Best of 2017: David George Haskell

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Listening to trees, nature's magnificent networkers (R)

Best of 2017: Michael Adams

13 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Learning to freedive helped one man explore life and death (R)

Best of 2017: Mary-Rose MacColl

12 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mary-Rose MacColl on betrayal, motherhood and letting go of secrets (R)

Best of 2017: Daniel Kish

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Kish uses a self-initiated sonar, called echolocation, to navigate the world as a blind person (R)

Best of 2017: Jimmy Webb

08 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Being raised as the son of an Oklahoma preacher inspired the American Songbook of this prolific singer-songwriter (R)

Graham Long and the 'quantum of compassion'

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Wild funerals, and staff who jump the counter: a day in the life of Graham Long and the Wayside Chapel

Turning to Beijing: Australia's future in the new Asia

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Hugh White says Australia faces a choice between the power keeping us safe, and the one making us rich

Wild and full of longing: Australia's definitive pop anthems

05 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

From Johnny O'Keefe to Sia, via AC/DC — Andrew P. Street counts down Australia's greatest pop songs

The struggle and the strife behind Steven Bradbury's race to Salt Lake City

04 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Australia's best-known Olympic skater nearly died on the ice when he was 20. Eight years later, he won history's most unexpected gold medal

Horses: a story collection

01 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Colin Friels, Zelie Bullen, Pip Courtney, and drover Bruce Simpson on their deep love of horses (R)

Love and family and Asperger's: Tony Attwood

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Tony draws on decades of clinical experience to help couples and individuals navigate dating and love with Asperger's

For better and for worse: becoming my wife’s carer

29 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How Bob and Jo’s married life changed course when Jo needed full-time care

The man behind the legend of 'Eternity'

28 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Roy Williams tells the story of Arthur Stace, who for decades rose before dawn to write a one-word sermon, in chalk on the footpaths of Sydney.

The morality of robots: Genevieve Bell's predictions for the future of AI

27 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Genevieve had never imagined a life in technology, until a chance meeting in a bar in Palo Alto

Reinventing Susan: a study in survival

24 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How high-flyer Susan Duncan completely remade her life after a series of losses (R)

Helen Garner at 75: still asking, what powers the human heart?

23 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A master storyteller reflects on stories she’s witnessed and crafted for the page

Nelson Mandela's archivist and the failings of South Africa

22 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Verne Harris on post-Apartheid South Africa, and life lessons from Madiba

Fabulous Ada Delroy: serpentine dancer and vaudevillian

21 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Cartoonist and author Kaz Cooke traces the dramatic life of a singular woman

Kevin Sheedy's fifty years in AFL

20 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A true champion of the game reflects on opening up the AFL, and his dream to sell it to the world

Bernard Fanning's Brisbane

17 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A suburban Brisbane childhood, a particularly determined nun and the Beatles all shaped Bernard Fanning's music

How Pixar became a creative powerhouse

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Lawrence Levy was hired by Steve Jobs in 1994, to save a struggling animation company with a secret project

Tony Martin and the comedy of suburbia

15 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Tales from one of Australia’s most prolific comedy writers and performers

Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton: breaking from the Brethren

14 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Rosemary Stanton and her family had to break free of a religious sect before she could attend university (R)

How friendly were the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne?

13 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Stories of subterfuge, tragedy and romance from the cold-war games

Fishing in Eden

10 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and fishing enthusiast Anna Clark on the story of fishing in Australia

A dynasty divided: the tragedy behind the Bradman of billiards

09 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Australia’s sporting Lindrum family was dogged by scandal and tragedy

The boy from Port Pirie who guided the Bee Gees to global fame

08 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Dando Collins returns with the story of Robert Stigwood

The story of Australian soccer, from ethnic clubs to the A-League

07 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sports writer Joe Gorman on the unique challenges facing Australia's 'beautiful game'

Phoenix of the working-class: Beatrix Campbell and the changing face of Britain

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Princess Diana, public housing and the patriarchy — politics is always personal for one of Britain's most influential thinkers

How the ocean liner changed the world

03 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Maritime historian Chris Frame unfolds the history of these engineering marvels (R)

Drawing magic from life and landscapes: Alison Lester

02 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An adventurous spirit and deep connection to the land fill the pages of the books of this prolific author and illustrator

The war of hearts and minds: Australia's Special Forces in Afghanistan

01 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Masters explains the fine balance between force and diplomacy in Uruzghan

Unlocking the secret life of Amelia

31 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Melinda Hildebrandt learned how to sign with her daughter Amelia, it began a new relationship between them

Irish novelist Marian Keyes

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Now a wildly popular author, for many years Marian doubted her ability to write

A mid-life love story which all changed, one morning in Lisbon

27 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Francis met the love of her life in her fifties. But her story with the miner named Wayne didn't turn out as she planned

Kayaking Sydney’s Harbour

26 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Bevan on the harbour’s vivid history, generous people and quiet pleasures

The boxer puppy and the bird of prey

25 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A shocking event in Peta Clarke's early life saw her become one of the world's most respected animal trainers

Seeing the world through a movie camera’s eye

24 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Pieter de Vries has filmed the Earth's most remote corners - from its deepest oceans, to the jungles of Papua New Guinea.

The mission of a flying midwife

23 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jan Becker is a helicopter pilot, and a midwife in Tanzania, where she teaches infant resuscitation

Masha Gessen: what the US can learn from Russia

20 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen believes Donald Trump is a threat to democracy

2017 Man Booker Prize winner George Saunders

19 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

George Saunders' first novel Lincoln in the Bardo centres around the grief that haunted Abraham Lincoln (R)

The strange life of the twitcher

18 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sean Dooley is a twitcher, recording the lives of birds like the Godwit, which flies from Alaska to New Zealand without stopping

Ears wide open: master field recordist Chris Watson

17 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Capturing the sounds of wildlife, natural phenomena and secret worlds

Friedrich and Flanagan: the con-man and his ghostwriter

16 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Flanagan recounts a strange chapter from early in his writing career

Acts of valour and the cost of bravery

13 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How police officer Allan Sparkes became one of Australia's most highly decorated people (R)

Times of horror and grace: a newsman's 40-year career

12 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The second of two episodes on Hugh Riminton's adventurous life in news reporting

Journalism rescued Hugh Riminton from a troubled adolescence

11 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The first of two episodes on Hugh Riminton’s adventurous life in news reporting  

The strange reality of life with severe OCD

10 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Lily Bailey spent years making lists of 400 things she'd done wrong each day (R)

Reconstructing a life after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder

09 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Anita Link experienced her first major psychotic episode shortly after the birth of her first child (R)

Leaping lexicons: David Astle and the joy of words

05 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Australia's most exuberant word nerd, cryptic crossword setter and lover of the English language returns

Inside The Family, the bizarre and brutal Australian cult

04 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Rosie Jones and Chris Johnston investigated the notorious cult, that operated in secret for more than two decades

Brylcreem, beehives and Devils on Horseback: the decade which changed Australia

03 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Noeline Brown remembers the sixties as the most important decade of her life.

The death of a neighbour which began an obsession

02 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Poe Ballantine tells the story of true mystery that will never be solved (R)

The mystery of Lasseter's Reef: greed, hardship and hope

29 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Warren Brown explores the fever sparked by claims of a gold reef in the Central Australian desert during the Great Depression (R)

Becoming Eddie Ayres

28 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Eddie left everything behind, moved to one of the most dangerous places on earth, and faced his true self

A daughter's drowning sent a family on wildly different paths

27 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jesse Blackadder was 12 when her youngest sister Lucie drowned in the family's pool. The tragedy began a whole new story for her family

Engineering myself: Mark Lesek and his bionic arm

26 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Brilliant medical technology and uncommon determination have restored the mobility Mark lost in a car accident

Australia's Romani Gypsies

25 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mandy Sayer has uncovered the history of a thriving Gypsy community

The former NSW Police detective who turned to crime (fiction)

22 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Karen M Davis's crime novels draw on her decades of experience as a NSW detective (R)

The politics of poker machines in Australia's poorest state

21 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How gambling in Tasmania came to be dominated by a single company

How Alexei Sayle blew up Britain's comedy scene

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Alexei Sayle brought a tough, political edge to his comedy, changing the landscape forever

The history of libraries from before stone tablets, to printed books

19 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Stuart Kells' life as a bibliophile began with one ancient, leather-bound, blue book

Treasures, trash and synchronicity: adventures in archaeology

18 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Nicholson Museum curator Jamie Fraser unwinds the stories of its treasures, including a rare, Egyptian temple priestess mummy

The Antarctic voyage which helped end a decade of silence

15 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A rare vocal condition left Robyn Mundy unable to speak for more than a decade

Utopia, now? A radical rethinking of work, wealth and freedom

14 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Author Rutger Bregman on a philosophy gaining broader support: universal basic income

Engineering a way to find meaningful work for young people

13 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Lawson applies an engineer's mind to solving social problems

The girl from Mount Druitt who became a remarkable comedy voice

12 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Playwright Nakkiah Lui was given a crucial early piece of advice: when telling stories, always try to offend your mother

How the Safe Schools Program began an ideological firestorm

11 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Benjamin Law looks behind the media scandal which engulfed an Australian anti-bullying program

The call of the road: how one woman took on the trucking world

08 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Heather Jones heads her own transport company, and still enjoys driving road trains in her home state of WA (R)

Why a Buddhist nun found her way to death row

07 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In 1977 Australian Robina Courtin became one of the first westerners to be ordained a Buddhist nun. Then she founded the Liberation Prison Project

From combat wounds, to shark attacks, to human error: a life in emergency medicine

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Turner's life in emergency medicine has seen him spend much of his life in war zones, and remote Australia

The boy who grew up on a junk and became a theatrical powerhouse

05 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Scott Rankin was a child he slept on a Chinese junk moored in Sydney's Lane Cove River, until the day six squad cars of police arrived

Tim Rogers and his struggles to quell his mind

04 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The frontman of You Am I on his life in music, his Kalgoorlie childhood, and his battles with anxiety

Bernie McKay helped Australia kick its smoking habit

01 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bernie is the man behind several massively influential public health campaigns, including 'Quit for Life', and AIDS awareness (R)

Robert Fisk: life as a war correspondent

31 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Fisk has spent his career reporting from war zones and interviewed one of the world's most infamous terrorists, Osama Bin Laden.

How a former drinking mate was unmasked as serial murderer

30 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Campbell McConachie befriended a man called Lindsey Rose at a Sydney pub, he didn't know Lindsey had already killed several people

The sexcapades and murders of the emperor Nero

29 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Shushma Malik on Emperor Nero's decadence, destruction and debauchery (R)

The stories told to Lindy Chamberlain, in more than 20,000 letters

28 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Alana Valentine on Lindy's letters of blame, hate and apology

What is fake news? Trump, Pizzagate and dumpsters on fire

25 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Buzzfeed's Craig Silverman explains where fake news comes from, who benefits, and how the average person might tell genuine news from fake

The rise and fall of the East India Company

24 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How a company legally formed a transcontinental private empire

Bad Behaviour: memories of bullying and boarding school

23 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How a 14 year old girl found herself on both sides of bullying

The cost of denying death

22 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Intensive care specialist Ken Hillman questions the use of life-prolonging treatments in acute hospital settings

After total amnesia, rebuilding an identity

21 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Robyn Pratt woke up in hospital after an operation, with no idea who she was (R)

The aerial view: how Angus Houston took to the skies

18 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston nearly missed out on a career in the military

Hannah Kent and the Good People of Ireland

17 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The fairies of Ireland's folk culture were capricious twilight creatures who could bestow favour or grave misfortune (R)

The snake man of La Perouse

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

John Cann's family performed snake shows in Sydney for almost a century (R)

The pirates of Somalia

15 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Percy on how piracy has become a lucrative business, funded by the insurance designed to protect ships against it

Lily Brett's portrait of New York

14 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A former Melbournian reflects on the characters and charms of her adopted city (R)

A history of two rascals: Prince Alfred and his assassin

11 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The attempted assassination of Queen Victoria’s son, at a picnic in 19th Century Sydney

Listening to trees: nature's magnificent networkers

10 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How biologist David George Haskell discovered the unique songs of trees, and the way they interconnect

The scorpion, the earth's most ancient, deadly creature

09 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Louise Pryke reveals the mysteries of the scorpion, an exceptional creature (R)

Richard Roxburgh: a resume of rogues

08 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

One of Australia's most recognisable actors, aka Rake's Cleaver Greene, reflects on his life on and off stage and screen

Making a good life in the aftermath of violence: Miroslav Volf

07 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up as a Pentecostal Christian in communist Yugoslavia, Miroslav experienced deep marginalisation (R)

John Maclean's 25-year journey to walk again

04 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

As a young man John was left an 'incomplete paraplegic'. He spent 25 years achieving extreme physical feats, before finally walking again (R)

Being raised as 'daughter number five' shaped Mei Fong's life

03 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

As the fifth girl in a Chinese-Malaysian family, Mei was given a freedom not granted to her sisters. She used it to become an internationally respect...

How the daughter of a Hindu brain surgeon made her mark on Guantanamo Bay

02 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Shankari Chandran grew up watching her father operate on the brain. But rather than following her parents into medicine, she chose an unexpected pat...

An expedition to a Eastern Antarctica turned into a fight for survival

01 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Scientist Chris Turney mounted a major expedition to Antarctica in 2013. Within months, extreme weather saw 52 people trapped, on a ship pinned in th...

Where inmates make the rules: Bolivia's cocaine-fuelled San Pedro prison

31 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Rusty Young met drug smuggler Thomas McFadden he became part of San Pedro's unique society

Mel Jacob: when my husband went to prison

28 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mel Jacob's enviable life was turned upside down when her husband went to jail (R)