Conversations: Archive: 2015-2017

Kate Grenville on meeting her mother through story

15 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Kate is one of Australia's most popular writers and her novels have won numerous awards in Australia and the UK, including the Orange Prize.

Dignifying body donation

14 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Anatomist Dr Walter Wood brought a new level of respect to the process of scientific body donation

Craig Franklin is finding the secrets to life in extreme climates

13 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Craig Franklin is a zoologist at the University of Queensland.

Dick Adams

12 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dick grew up on a farm and later became a meatworker and a shearer.

Christine Bryden is defying and re-defining dementia

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Christine Bryden became aware at an early age that she had a near-photographic memory and a brilliant intellect.

Remembering Bob Ellis

08 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Writer, critic and commentator Bob Ellis was a colourful, erudite and always provocative figure.

Great Australian swindler, Mrs Livesey - 8 marriages 40 aliases and a prolific fraudster

07 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Freda Marnie Nicholls reveals the life of a notorious fraudster and con-artist from 20th Century AustraliaFreda is a NSW sheep farmer and a former jo...

Publisher Nigel Newton on harnessing the Harry Potter effect

06 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Nigel founded the publishing house, Bloomsbury, in London during the 1980s.

Pyotr Patrushev's daring escape from the Soviet Union

05 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pyotr was determined to win his freedom

Trevor Jordan: adoption and the ethics of secrets

04 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Trevor was adopted in the 1950s, under a closed adoption system.

Wendy James' Darwin: transformed by disaster

01 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Wendy James has seen her home town re-made by war, and by natural disaster

Edmund Capon's Chinese affair

31 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Edmund was at the helm of the Art Gallery of NSW for 33 years.

Inside the bear's den

30 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Up close with bears, with zoologist Hank Harlow

Bill Lawson on engineering a fix for youth unemployment

29 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bill retired in 2014 from a long and successful engineering career in Tasmania.

Can science fiction work in the real world?

23 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sean Williams, aka the Emperor of Sci-fi, puts the viability of speculative fiction's imaginings to the test

The many lives of Jim Everett

22 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jim is a poet, playwright and Tasmanian Aboriginal elder, living on Cape Barren Island, where his parents and their parents lived before him.

Author Richard Flanagan on Syria's great exodus

21 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Richard was invited to witness the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe

Vrasidas Karalis asks what has become of contemporary Greece

18 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Vrasidas grew up in the Greek village of Olympia listening to his grandfather telling stories of ancient times.

Somali-born Leila Abukar spent her teenage years in refugee camps

17 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Somali-born Leila Abukar spent her teenage years in refugee camps

The rise and ruin of Russia's Romanov dynasty

16 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Sebag Montefiore charts the history of Russia's greatest modern dynasty

Alan Alda on bringing science to the stage

15 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alan is well-known and much-loved for his performances in M.A.S.H. and The West Wing, as well as his roles in many Hollywood films.

Mark Cross: changing minds and normalising mental health care

14 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Mark Cross is senior psychiatrist at Campbelltown Hospital, where he runs the youth ward and the community team.

Showman Fred Brophy's life inside the boxing tent

11 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Raised by a side-show operator and a trapeze artist, Fred is now the last boxing tent showman in the world (R)

John Zeleznikow and Cafe Scheherazade

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

John's parents, Polish Jews, survived the holocaust and escaped after the Second World War to Australia, which was as far from Europe as they could g...

How Ruth Clare's father brought home his Vietnam war

09 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ruth was raised in suburban Brisbane, and then Rockhampton, in what seemed from the outside to be a very straightforward family.

Elizabeth Gilbert's keys to a big, creative life

08 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Liz is probably best known for her international best-seller Eat, Pray, Love.

Andrew Harper: walking Australia's deserts

07 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew has walked across the Simpson Desert many times, accompanied only by his camels, and his dog.

Musicians Vic Simms and Luke Peacock bring new life to 'The Loner'

04 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Vic Simms grew up on an Aboriginal mission in Sydney's La Perouse in the 1950s.

The science of Lisa Genova's fiction

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa is a Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling writer.

Josh Richards wants a one-way ticket to Mars

02 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Richards is one of the remaining 'Mars 100' from an initial field of 200,000 applicants.

Masha Gessen on voicing dissent in Russia

01 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Masha's life has been divided between Russia, where she was born, and the United States.

Eoin Cameron: stepping away from the microphone

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Eoin is one of the most outspoken, profane and vulnerable broadcasters at the ABC.

Muttaburra Stories: Conversations in the shearing shed

26 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In July 2014, Acacia Downs owners David and Sarah Fysh kindly allowed us to record a special night of stories and conversations in their shearing she...

Rayya Elias: rising up from addiction and life on the streets of New York

25 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How one Syrian-born post-punk hairdressing rocker remade her life

Military strategist David Kilcullen: why the war on terror has failed

24 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

David is an Australian but has been based in the US for many years.

Andrew Denton asks, can Australia legislate for better death?

23 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Years ago, Andrew watched his father, Kit Denton, suffer a painful and protracted death in hospital.

Israeli writer Etgar Keret's seven good years

22 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Etgar is famous at home, and increasingly around the world, for his warm, funny and surreal stories.

Simon Winchester's Pacific tales

19 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Exploring the Pacific Ocean - its geology, transformative events, and strange life forms

Truck driver Heather Jones and the call of the road

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In an industry where women make up only 5% of drivers, Heather Jones is respected as an experienced voice and astute operator.

Peter Coghlan: surviving locked-in syndrome

17 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Perth tradesman and former British soldier, Peter Coghlan, suffered a major stroke in his early 30s.

The adventures of Tim Cope: Part 2

16 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 2004 Tim set out on horseback from the ancient capital of Mongolia.

The adventures of Tim Cope: Part 1

15 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After wondering what life would have been like for a young soldier in the army of Genghis Khan, Tim challenged himself to find out.

A lion named Christian: Anthony 'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall

12 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ace and John named the cub Christian, and lived with him in their Chelsea flat above a furniture shop.

Loren O'Keeffe put the search for her missing brother at the centre of her life

11 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Loren O'Keeffe's brother Dan was 24 at the time he disappeared, and seemed to be managing his recently diagnosed depression.

Why school teacher Gabbie Stroud loved and left her career

10 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Teaching was a vocation for Gabbie and she taught in primary schools for fifteen years in NSW and the UK.

Chris Murphy on the making of INXS

09 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 1979 an up-and-coming band called INXS played a gig at a Sydney club.

Judy Sharp and the remarkable rise of Laser Beak Man

08 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Judy's eldest son, Tim, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old.

Spotlight on Julia Zemiro

05 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Watching Julia, a French-born Australian performer, present SBS TV's RocKwiz has been a Saturday night staple for many over the past 11 years.

Bruce White's 63 years of beekeeping

04 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce became fascinated with bees when he was in primary school, and his father got him his first hive when he was 13.

Amanda McClelland: nursing communities to health after disaster

03 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While Richard is away for a couple of days, Ellen Fanning replays some of her favourite interviews from last year.

John Howard: guns, politics and power

02 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

20 years ago, a gunman armed with two semi automatic weapons massacred 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania.

Bruce Pascoe on the complex question of Aboriginal agriculture

01 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Reconsidering the complex question of Aboriginal agriculture

The story of Stan 'The Man' Smith, one of Australia's most feared gangsters

29 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Hoysted writes a true crime column under the name of 'Jack the Insider'.

Stan Grant's long road to recognition

28 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Stan Grant began his career with the ABC, moved to Channel 7 and later to CNN.

Former Islamist Maajid Nawaz and his challenge to extremism

27 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Maajid grew up in Essex in the UK and was an excellent student.

Kate Forsyth on the tangled roots of fairytales

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A book of Grimm's fairytales given to her by her mother, provided comfort and escape during the long days and nights Kate spent in hospital as a youn...

Brian Freeman: uncovering the lost battlefield of Kokoda

22 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As a soldier, Brian's imagination was fired by stories of Australians fighting in New Guinea during WWII. They were trying desperately to stall the J...

Pip Courtney: bearing witness to country Australia

21 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

During her 21 years as a rural reporter, Pip's seen 3 drought cycles, and dramatic changes to farming practices and land use.

Naomi Speakman on the splendour and terror of medieval Europe

20 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Naomi is a specialist in objects from late medieval Europe, and curator at the British Museum.

Kylie Bullo: returning orangutans to the wild

19 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Kylie is the senior orangutan keeper at Perth Zoo.

Live Stories Vol. 9 — Bad Behaviour

18 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jean Kittson, Ellen Fanning, and H.G. Nelson share stories of Bad Behaviour with Richard in front of a live audience

Best of 2015: Live Stories Volume 8 'Faking It'.

11 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

These stories couldn't be more diverse - from a bitter-sweet hospital prank and the desperate, profane fakery of a fly-in fly-out worker, to a father...

Best of 2015: Magda Szubanski

10 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Magda is well known for her roles in Kath & Kim and Fast Forward; and gained international attention in the film, Babe.

Best of 2015: Elizabeth Gilbert

09 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Before writing her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Liz wrote almost exclusively about men.

Best of 2015: the Fine Cotton Affair

08 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Hoysted writes a column under the name of 'Jack the Insider' and tells the incredibly strange story of the Fine Cotton affair: where a group of...

Deborah MacMillan: love, art, and a ballet legacy

04 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Deborah grew up in Sydney and trained as a visual artist.

Mary Norris: The New Yorker's queen of commas

03 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When Mary lucked her way into a job in The New Yorker's editorial library in 1978, she promptly abandoned her plans to own a dairy farm.

How Creswell Eastman saved a million brains

02 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Creswell (Cres) Eastman has led projects to abolish Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) throughout the developing world.

RAF Pilot Frank Dell's story of survival in Nazi occupied Holland

01 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Frank was shot down over Nazi territory, and his war changed immeasurably

The life of broadcaster Amanda Keller

30 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Amanda is among Australia's most recognisable TV and radio entertainers.

Bill Hauritz: creating a folk-music institution

27 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bill fell in love with folk music when he was left in charge of a pub in Ireland.

Pip Courtney: behind the smile and the Akubra

26 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Tasmanian-born Pip Courtney reports for and presents ABC TV's Landline.

Novelist Kate Forsyth: bringing centuries-old stories to new readers

25 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Forsyth is a best-selling and prolific novelist and poet, who writes across genres, and for all ages.

Curious minds: Robyn Williams, Fran Kelly, Phillip Adams

24 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Together Robyn, Fran and Phillip have been in broadcasting for more than 75 years.

David Astle: the world's most puzzling riddles

23 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

David Astle, aka DA, or 'Don't Attempt', has been delving into the history of riddles.

Indigenous storyteller Bob Randall

20 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Randall's early childhood was spent in the shadow of Uluru, and his extended family introduced him into the traditional way of life for desert pe...

Stage and screen actor Brenda Blethyn

20 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Brenda's critically acclaimed career started almost by accident and she enjoys every role, major or minor.

Ian Brown: raising his profoundly disabled son Walker

19 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ian is a well-known Canadian newspaper journalist and television presenter who admits he once had a reputation as an impatient and difficult man.

Marcus Westbury: returning cities to their people

18 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Founder of the National Young Writers' Festival, Marcus was in his home town of Newcastle, NSW, looking to open a bar.

Jessica Grisham: helping hoarders let go

17 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Grisham is a clinical and research psychologist at the University of New South Wales.

Glenn MacFadyen's astonishing ocean voyage

16 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Some years after migrating to Newcastle, New South Wales, Glenn's British parents became homesick.

Photographer Palani Mohan captures the eagle hunters of Mongolia

12 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Palani is a renowned, Hong-Kong based Australian photojournalist and portraitist.

Exploring Judy Waugh's trench art collection

11 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Judy is a collector of 'trench art', little objects made by Australian soldiers on the Western Front during World War One.

Louise Williams: Uncle John's audacious escape from Stalag Luft III

10 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Louise Williams is an Australian journalist who's spent the past few years buried in the story of her larrikin uncle, John.

Frank Bongiorno: revisiting 1980s Australia

09 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Frank is an Australian labour, political and cultural historian.

Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch: 3000 years of Christian history in an hour

06 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Diarmaid's childhood was steeped in the teachings of the Anglican Church, in which his father and grandfather were clergymen.

Paul Kelly on the Whitlam dismissal: a deeper understanding

05 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Kelly, editor-at-large of The Australian newspaper, was a young journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery at the time of the dismissal.

Mark Tedeschi: the crime that shocked the nation

04 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In 1960, the New South Wales Government initiated a lottery to help raise money for the the construction of the Sydney Opera House.

Barbara Heath: making new jewellery from old stories

03 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Barbara is regarded as one of Australia's best contemporary jewellers.

Jaky Troy: awakening Australia's sleeping languages

02 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jaky is a Ngarigu woman whose country is the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales.

Ken and Patricia Taylor tell the true story behind the film 'Argo'

30 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In 1979 Ken was the Canadian Ambassador to Iran. He and his wife Pat had a front row seat for the Iranian revolution.

Michael Ware on the creator of IS, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

29 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael has more personal knowledge than most of this extremist leader

Jenni Brammall on opals, fossils and living in Lightning Ridge

28 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jenni is the manager of the Australian Opal Centre at Lightning Ridge, in northern New South Wales.

Larry Writer: Australia at the infamous 'Nazi' Olympics of 1936

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The 1936 Summer Olympics signalled Germany's return to the world community after WWI.

Cinematographer Michael Dillon's adventures on the roof of the world

26 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael is a pioneering adventure cinematographer whose many films encompass the world's most spectacular destinations, from the Himalayas, and the A...

Shannon Logan's lucky life: from the tennis circuit to the record store

23 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Shannon runs Jet Black Cat Music in the inner-Brisbane suburb of West End.

Baby Love author Robin Barker

22 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On fiction, feminism and the pleasures of the sea

Martin McKenna's true story of living with street dogs

21 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Martin calls himself the 'runt of the litter', as he was born the smallest of triplets in Ireland, in the 70s.

Cheryl Koenig's family was founded on love, war and coincidence

20 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In pre-WWII Romania, two young boys, a Jew called Frici and a Catholic called Istvan, grew up just a few streets from each other.

Justice Roslyn Atkinson: the view from the bench

19 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

After spurning the advice of her high school career counsellor that she should go in to law, Roslyn made her first career as an actor and theatre-mak...