Conversations: Archive: 2015-2017

Kumi Taguchi: daughter and journalist

02 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Kumi is a presenter on ABC News 24.

Stephen Davis: life as an international peace negotiator

01 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

His rescue mission to northern Nigeria to save the Chibok girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram

Malachy Tallack: around the world in search of home

28 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An adventure along the snowy sixtieth parallel of the globe in search of a sense of home

The Victorian-era matricide case which fascinates Kate Summerscale

27 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Summerscale and the story of Victorian child murderer Robert Coombes

Mei Fong on China's one-child policy: its callous implementation and troubling aftermath

24 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mei Fong explains how China's misguided population control scheme rendered it 'too old, too male, and too few'

Irish novelist Paedar O'Guilin weaves old myths into startling new stories

23 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Irish novelist Paedar O'Guilin weaves old myths into startling new stories

Alone With You story collection

22 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Unforgettable stories about moments of exquisite personal connection

Josh Richards plans to live on Mars by 2027

21 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Richards wants a one-way ticket to Mars

Who were the Romans? Mythbusting life in the ancient Empire

20 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Decadence and depravity: Shushma Malik debunks myths of the ancient Romans

Revolutionary plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, his RAF 'Guinea Pigs', and their village

17 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Who were the men with the terrible faces? Meeting WW2's plastic surgery 'guinea pigs' (R)

Jack Hoysted with the true story of Chow Hayes, Australia's first gangster

16 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

True crime writer Jack Hoysted sees Chow Hayes' life as a mirror of Depression-era Sydney

Corey Allen: making a difference with more personal urban policing

15 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How a Senior Sergeant's childhood gave him a unique approach to police work (R)

How Helen Razer blazed away a broken heart: 100 dates in a year

13 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Helen's radical plan to manage post-breakup heartbreak

Why school teacher Gabbie Stroud loved and left her career

10 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Former teacher Gabbie Stroud asks what's best for primary school students (R)

A severe spinal injury could not crush Dinesh Palipana's drive to become a doctor

09 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A severe spinal injury could not crush Dinesh Palipana's drive to become a doctor

The boy from the Congo who became an Australian playwright: Future D. Fidel

08 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How a Congolese childhood influenced the work of Future D. Fidel

Australia's gay hate crimes: Duncan McNab

07 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Former police detective Duncan McNab reveals the dark history of Australia's gay hate crimes

Forgotten feast: John Newton on the abundance of Australia's native foods

06 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Food writer John Newton on the history of our native foods

The man who saved a million brains: Creswell Eastman's pioneering work with iodine deficiency disorder

03 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Abolishing iodine deficiency throughout the world: Creswell Eastman's mission (R)

Biologist Tim Low describes another way of understanding Australia's plants and animals

02 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sharing a vast continent: Tim Low takes stock of nature's winners and losers

Rebecca Huntley: Still Lucky

01 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Huntley: an inside track to the Australian psyche

Paula Constant - Walking the Sahara: Part 2

31 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Walking the Sahara, towards the fabled city of Timbuktu and into Niger

Paula Constant's epic walk across the Sahara Desert: Part 1

30 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A breathtaking Saharan adventure: camels, bandits and one fearless woman

Masha Gessen on voicing dissent in Russia

27 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Masha Gessen is a Russian American journalist and author who strongly opposes Vladimir Putin's regime (R)

Neurobiologist Justin Marshall investigates the eyes of fish

26 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Better living through biology: what can be learned from the senses of marine life (R)

A cosmic tour of our solar system and beyond

25 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jonti Horner takes us from the beginnings of the solar system to the limits of interstellar space

Kylie Jones: saying goodbye to my husband, after he became a transgender woman

24 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Kylie Jones on living through her husband's decision to become a woman

Novelist Kate Forsyth on the dark and violent origins of beloved fairy tales

23 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Forysth returns: the gothic true stories behind beloved fairytales

Tim Ferguson: why comedy is not just for laughs

16 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Ferguson: why comedy is not just for laughs (R)

Christine Bryden is defying and re-defining dementia

15 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Christine Bryden: inside the experience of younger-onset dementia (R)

Alan Alda on bringing science to the stage

14 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Alan Alda has devoted his life to making science more broadly accessible (R)

Gregory Smith's re-introduction to the world

13 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After years of homelessness, and extreme seclusion, Gregory Smith walked himself into the wider world (R)

Author Jeanette Winterson on making peace with the past

12 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jeanette Winterson endured a difficult childhood to become one of Britain's most successful writers (R)

Exploring Byzantium, the world of Ghost Empire: Scott Stephens with Richard Fidler

11 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Stephens in a conversation with Richard Fidler

Julee-Anne Bell on seeing with sonar

09 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Julee-Anne Bell uses a form of echo-location to navigate her way around the world (R)

Kevin O'Hare's life in dance: from commanding the spotlight, to directing The Royal Ballet

08 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin O'Hare made the leap from ballet star to ballet company director

Mireille Juchau on her grandmother's escape from Nazi Germany

07 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mireille's grandmother fled Nazi Germany with a husband she barely knew.

Egyptologist Melanie Pitkin: unearthing the everyday lives of Ancient Egyptians

06 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Egyptologist Melanie Pitkin explains why archaeology is more grit than glamour

Carmel O'Brien: on the frontline of domestic violence

05 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Carmel O'Brien has spent decades on the frontline of domestic violence

Ross McKenzie: the role of plants in animal deaths and disease

02 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Veterinary pathologist Ross McKenzie studies the toxicity of plants

Shipwreck survivor Michael Doleman

01 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It took Michael Doleman more than 40 years to share his experience of surviving a shipwreck

Stan Grant's Australian dream

30 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Stan Grant returns with his vision for an integrated Australia

Mapping the miniscule: fly scientist Christine Lambkin

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mapping the miniscule: fly scientist Christine Lambkin

A late reunion: Susannah McFarlane and her mother Robin Leuba

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As an adult Susannah felt she needed to meet her birth mother, Robin

Jeff Kennett on the most important work of his life

25 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After leaving politics, Jeff Kennett began his work in mental health.

Horses: a story collection

24 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Exploring the bond between people and their horses

Bill Bailey: seriously funny amateur naturalist

23 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Bailey is a seriously funny amateur naturalist

Madeleine O'Dea: the rise of new China's subversive artists

22 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Madeleine O'Dea on the rise of new China's subversive artists

John Cann the snake man

21 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

John Cann has survived snake bites and crocodile-infested rivers

Jon Ronson: what it's like to be publicly shamed

18 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Ronson on public shaming in the digital age (R)

Jessica Grisham takes us inside Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

17 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Jessica Grisham: the torment of OCD is treatable

Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton on finding life outside a religious sect

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Rosemary Stanton and her family had to break from a religious sect before she could attend university.

Mary Norris: The New Yorker's queen of commas

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Norris: The New Yorker's queen of commas (R)

Mark Tedeschi on the man who fought for justice at Myall Creek

14 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Tedeschi has written a book about one of the most shocking crimes in Australian history, the Myall Creek Massacre.

Dick Braithwaite on coming to terms with his father's history

11 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dick Braithwaite's father survived the greatest single atrocity committed against Australians in war (R)

Birds, bees and intelligent machines

10 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mandyam Srinivasan: how the birds and the bees are revolutionising flying and robotics

Paul Stevenson's act of conscience: exposing Australia's detention centres on Nauru

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Stevenson's act of conscience: blowing the whistle on Australia's detention centres on Nauru

Susan Duncan: stories, secrets and a study in reinvention

07 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Duncan's life in Pittwater and country NSW is the stuff of her bestselling books

An unstoppable journalistic force: PM presenter Mark Colvin

03 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The second of two conversations with Mark Colvin, host of ABC Radio's PM program.

Journalist Mark Colvin reveals the secrets of his father's life as a senior British spy

02 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Colvin’s father, John Colvin was a senior figure in MI6, the UK's Foreign Intelligence Agency

Graham Long and Wayside: the perfect fit

01 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pastor Graham Long on God, life and death

Investigative journalist Charles Lewis and the price of the US presidency

31 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Investigative journalist Charles Lewis on why the average American can't be President

Cate Kennedy on her year in Vanuatu

28 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Author Cate Kennedy's adventures in Vanuatu (R)

Toby Walsh and Bruce Postle

27 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Paul Ham and the bloody futility of WWI's Battle of Passchendaele

26 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Paul Ham and the bloody futility of Passchendaele

Bruce Munday: if these (dry-stone) walls could talk

25 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce Munday: if these (dry-stone) walls could talk (R)

Martin McKenna's true story of living with street dogs

24 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As a boy Martin fled his family home and was adopted by a pack of dogs.

Shushma Malik: Ancient Rome's most loved and despised emperor, Nero

21 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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

Fred Smith: the musical diplomat

20 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Fred Smith: using music to open doors and tell the stories of war

Coral biologist Charlie Veron: the rise and fall of the Great Barrier Reef

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Life and death on the Great Barrier Reef: Charlie Veron

The evolution of the Great Barrier Reef's first scientist, Charlie Veron

18 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Reef scientist Charlie Veron: a naturalist's life

Liz Tynan on the lessons of Maralinga

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Tynan has written a history of the secrecy, aftershocks and contamination of British nuclear testing on Australian ground. (R)

Singer-songwriter Jen Cloher's rites of passage

14 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Music Friday: Jen Cloher

Pip Courtney: behind the smile and the Akubra

13 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pip Courtney is one of country Australia's most familiar faces and presents ABC TV's Landline. (R)

Craig Lawler: the bushrangers of New South Wales

12 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bushranger enthusiast Craig Lawler on catching the outlaw, Frank Gardiner.

The life of broadcaster Amanda Keller

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Amanda Keller is among Australia's most recognisable TV and radio entertainers. (R)

Greg de Moore: lithium, the penicillin of mental health

10 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Psychiatrist Greg de Moore and the forgotten story of Dr John Cade

Linda Burney on tracing her family and making history

07 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Australia's first female Indigenous MP Linda Burney

Richard King on the freedom of speech and the freedom to offend

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Richard King and the freedom to offend - or not. (R)

Vasily Sukhomlinsky: educating the heart, head and hands

05 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Cockerill explains the philosophy of educator, Vasily Sukhomlinsky

Tim Winton on firearms, the sea, and twists of fate

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Winton's life has been shaped by accidents and havoc.

Matthew Thompson: Christopher 'Badne$$' Binse's life of crime

03 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew has looked far back into the life of Australia's most notorious criminal Christopher 'Badne$$' Binse

David Walliams: sketching a career in comedy

30 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

David Walliams on comedy and children’s books

Rhoda Roberts: holding onto family

29 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Rhoda lives with strength of her father’s culture and the loss of her twin sister

Waleed Aly: out of the box

28 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Speaking his mind: Waleed Aly

Hannah Kent and the Good People of Ireland

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ancient historian Louise Pryke on the scorpion - myths, mysteries and survival

26 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Louise Pryke unravels the mysteries of the scorpion, an exceptional creature.

Investigating Scientology in Australia: Steve Cannane

23 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Cannane spent 4 years compiling evidence from former Scientologists.

Ben Goldacre: fighting bad science

22 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ben Goldacre is a doctor calling for transparency in drug trials, and an end to bad science

Live Stories Vol. 4 - Tales from the Territory

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

True tales from our Darwin storytelling event, 'This Territory Life'

Bunker Roy and Paul Bennett

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Today Richard brings you two separate conversations with people who have seen and done amazing things.

Felicity Kendal: a life in the spotlight

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Felicity Kendal on life in the spotlight

Tim Ferguson: why comedy is not just for laughs

16 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Ferguson: why comedy is not just for laughs

Mel Jacob's life was turned upside down when her husband was sent to jail

15 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mel Jacob's life was turned upside down when her husband was sent to jail

Finding home: Saroo Brierley's incredible search for his Indian family

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Finding home: Saroo Brierley's incredible search for his Indian family

How Alexei Sayle blew up Britain's comedy scene

13 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alexei Sayle brought a tough, political edge to his work which changed comedy forever.

Buzzfeed Australia's Mark Di Stefano follows the 2016 election campaign trail

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Di Stefano's unsanitised diary of the 2016 election campaign

Artist Christina Henri's memorial for female convicts

09 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Conceptual artist Christina Henri remembers Australia's female convicts

A C Grayling's theory of genius

08 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A C Grayling: tracing the birth of modern thought

Robert Forster tells the Forster-McLennan story

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Forster on his friend and Go-Betweens partner, Grant McLennan