Conversations
Episodes
"ELVIS IS ALIVE AND RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT" The story behind the nonsensical Weekly World News
19 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Peter 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....
Encore: Darren Hayes on the dark side of his fame with Savage Garden
18 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Darren 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 ba...
Why this private investigator loves the cases others have given up solving
17 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ken 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...
Encore: My eerie week inside Kanye West's Hollywood mansion
16 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Gonzo 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 o...
How one Australian woman survived the sinking of the Titanic and why no one knows about her
15 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. But one quintessentially Australian story of survival, love and adventure lay dormant for more than a centur...
From party trick to pop star — meet Molly Lewis, professional whistler
12 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Molly's niche career began over a decade ago when she entered a whistling competition on a whim and she now performs all over the world. Her music s...
Encore: My adventures on the high seas with a fugitive on the run
11 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Marele Day is a novelist, but as a young woman looking for adventure, she hitchhiked on a catamaran sailing from Darwin to Sri Lanka.The skipper was ...
Algorithms, accountability and the 'manosphere'—empowering men to be the solution
10 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Clinical psychologist and men's mental health researcher Zac Seidler on how boys are being fed increasingly inflammatory content online, and what men...
Encore: The remarkable life of Professor Richard Scolyer
09 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The former Australian of the Year and pioneering cancer researcher, passed away from brain cancer on Sunday evening.Richard was a world-leading melan...
How Japanese spirituality can help make everyday life more beautiful
08 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in Tokyo, Hiroko Yoda never thought of herself as religious, but after her mother died, she began exploring the spiritual traditions of ...
Hip Hop, home, and humanity—'Trials' on reckoning with his origin story
05 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Rankine (aka 'Trials') was the only little Aboriginal boy living in his rural Welsh village when he woke up shaking from a nightmare. That's when...
Learning from the mighty matriarchs of the animal kingdom
04 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. She ignored practical jokes from her male colleagu...
Brooke Boney quit her ideal job to pursue her secret dream
03 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Gamilaroi journalist on the tiny coalmining town that made her and still sustains her, how eating worms led to a job on breakfast TV, and why she...
Encore: Australia's TV mum Noni Hazlehurst on her life on stage and screen
02 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The much loved actor has been on Australian TV screens and theatres for nearly 50 years.Noni Hazlehurst comes from a long line of performers, her par...
'Angertainment', algorithms and the online outrage industry
01 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Political advisor Ed Coper on the cold-blooded machine that is feeding angry people angry content online to make them even angrier, and what we can d...
Luke Bateman on surviving a gambling addiction and the magic of his mum’s love
29 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The former Canberra Raiders player on hiding his fantasy reading habits as a kid in Western Queensland, the joy of doing hard things, and how books b...
How a teen father used the local skate park to change the world
28 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jayden Sheridan was just 17 years old when he found out he was going to be a father, and immediately Jayden knew he needed to give his son better opp...
Jimmy Wales says it is possible to have a collaborative, trusting world online
27 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Wikipedia co-founder has developed seven rules for building trust to create a better world, both on the internet and IRL.Growing up in Huntsville...
Changing prisoners' minds with Vedic meditation at Rikers Island
26 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Joh Jarvis was a high-flying boss when grief from a terrible loss began to overwhelm her. She tried therapy, exercise and healthy eating. Then she fo...
Inside the mysterious death of a young man posing as the son of a Russian oligarch
25 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into...
Special Collection: Alain de Botton on the true hardwork of love and relationships
22 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The philosopher argues that as a culture, we'd be happier and saner if we re-examined our view of love, because our romantic notions can actually wor...
Special Collection: Transforming trauma with Gabor Mate
21 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness, and how recognising hi...
Special Collection: How I made peace with my mother and our complicated relationship
20 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Diana Nguyen's mother would walk out of her performances at interval in protest of her career, but Diana forged on and in the process healed this mot...
Special Collection: An unexpected later in life love story
19 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At 48, Bill Hayes moved to New York. He took up photography, and fell in love with his neighbour, Dr Oliver Sacks.Doctor Oliver Sacks was a neurologi...
Special Collection: The teenage TV star who feels 'lucky to be paraplegic'
18 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Louise Philip had just scored her breakout role on Australian television, in Bellbird, when a horrific car crash threatened to derail the life she wa...
Lindy Lee on how Zen Buddhism changed her life and art
15 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Lindy Lee is Chinese-Australian artist and zen practitioner.As a little girl growing up in Brisbane in the era of the White Australia policy, Lindy l...
Encore: My parents died in a plane crash and what came next
14 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At 25, Peter Goers lost both of his parents after the commercial plane they were travelling in crashed into a suburb of New Orleans shortly after tak...
The secret obsession of a Supreme Court Justice
13 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For 45 years, George Palmer harboured a secret. He spent every spare moment composing classical music, and then shoving his scores in his bottom draw...
Encore: How to sleep well and what can get in the way
12 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From muscle paralysis and sleepwalking, to the power of our subconscious, Dr Sutapa Mukherjee takes you into the secret world of sleep.Dr Sutapa Mukh...
Moana Hope on a life spent caring for others and re-learning how to love
11 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Former AFLW star Moana Hope has spent her life caring for others, including her dying father and her beloved sister Vinny, who has an intellectual di...
Prolonged old age, the sandwich generation and biohacking—the realities of an aging Australia
08 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Australians are living longer and longer, which is on one hand a beautiful thing. But on the other, prolonged old age is wreaking havoc. So how might...
Encore: The misfit mammal that defies biological conventions
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It was love at first sight, when Jack Ashby first set eyes upon a platypus specimen as a young university student.The introduction set him on a lif...
Lessons in living, grief and love from the Lebanese Civil War
06 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Antoun Issa grew up quietly aware of a profound grief in his mother's eyes. As an adult, after living and working in the Middle East, he finally knew...
Encore: Colm Toibin on his early life and running away to Barcelona, Brooklyn and beyond
05 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish novelist has always been open to where life can unexpectedly take him, and the excitement that comes with that kind of freedom.Colm Toibin'...
'Propeller vs forearm, croc vs leg': The incredible job of a remote bush doctor
04 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Specialist rural doctor, Damien Brown on dramatic rescues, slow interventions and the cases that moved him, including attending to two badly burnt me...
A journey to help thousands of horses and revive an ancient tradition
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Filmmaker Kasimir Burgess travelled to Mongolia to follow two young men on their gruelling journey to bring 2000 horses across the Steppes to fresh p...
Encore: David Malouf on growing up in Brisbane and his life of letters
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning Australian author, poet and essayist David Malouf died last week at the age of 92, he spoke with Richard in 2014.The first son of a L...
Matt Bevan on the history you think you know
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The ABC journalist explains how competing, overlapping narratives and outright myths form our understanding of events of the past, featuring an imper...
Encore: My year circumnavigating Australia on a surf ski
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Bonnie Hancock got the idea to paddle around Australia after she stumbled on a book in her local library, the wild adventure ended being a gruelling ...
The improbable life of 'The Pinching Padre', a vicar with a thirst for adventure and theft
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Daniel Reynaud on the incredible true story of an assuming vicar who turned out to be the most decorated military chaplain in Australian hi...
Surviving White Island and what happened next — Stephanie Browitt's story
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At 23 years old, Stephanie Browitt willed herself to stay awake long enough to survive a volcano eruption on New Zealand's Whakaari / White Island. M...
Sandi Toksvig's bright side
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Danish-British author, broadcaster and comedian recalls her unusual early life with glee, including how she came to be holding the hand of Neil A...
The real Rudolf Nureyev — a volatile but vulnerable genius
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When the world's most famous dancer offered a young sailor a job as his assistant, Blue Robinson thought it was a joke at first. But what followed wa...
Encore: How I came to work with the lions who live in trees
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Braczkowski is a big cat expert and for years he's been following a rare group of tree-climbing lions, including the charismatic, enigmatic, thr...
My best friend was killed by her ex-husband — this is the message I want men to hear
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah Clarke and her three children were killed in an horrific attack that shocked Australia but for Dave Kramer their deaths were personal, he was ...
The story behind Sydney’s Luna Park and its impact on the city
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Author Helen Pitt has written a history of the iconic fun park and it's a tale bound up with con men, crooked cops, and developers who have long want...
Encore: What I learnt about Australia as an Outback GP
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When Sonia Henry signed up to work as a GP in a remote mining town in the Pilbara, the experience changed almost everything she believed about Austra...
Why my father was abandoned and the empathy I now have for his mother
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Messer grew up with a loving father who never really understood why as a child his mother left him and his older sister at a boarding school, so...
Encore: The hidden corners of Emma's Hong Kong — fishing villages, beaches and ancestral graveyards
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist Emma Pei Yin ran away from Hong Kong as a teenager to start fresh in Australia. But she found herself repeatedly drawn back home whenever sh...
'The century of foundlings'—what Cynthia found when she went looking maternal family secrets
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Cynthia Banham on discovering the shocking truth about her great-grandmother, reckoning with buried family secrets, and the criticisms mothers...
Spotting the psychopaths, sadists and narcissists in our lives and how to get rid of them
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Toxic people are around us in our workplaces, our families and our dating lives. Research psychologist Leanne ten Brinke is here to tell you how to s...
Encore: How his ex-wife's hidden letter changed Teddy Tahu Rhodes
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Born with a magnificent voice, Opera star Teddy Tahu Rhodes fought against his destiny for years until a letter he'd been avoiding reading changed ev...
The GP clinic for patients often overlooked by society
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Nada Andric wants to improve the health of people who are marginalised in the community and their access to healthcare.She works at the Reverend B...
Encore: Bo Seo on good arguments and the power of disagreement
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Two-time World Debating champion Bo Seo on how love and listening can improve how we disagree, so we're not at each other's throats online and offlin...
Exploring loss, love and meaning with psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Grosz has welcomed people into his office for more than 40 years, and believes our greatest task in life is to see ourselves and others with ...
When the magical worlds of Alice Springs and Prague collided
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Tanya Heaslip on swapping life on an Alice Springs station for the fairytale streets of Prague, and the remarkable parallels she found between...
Encore: Remembering cultural leader and storyteller Rhoda Roberts
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The late Widjabul Wieybal woman of the Bundjalung Nation Rhoda Roberts lived through great loss and grief, in the midst of becoming one of Australia'...
Burnout and the 'Bureaucrapper' — how Nick went from homelessness to helping others
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Orchard on how a tough childhood, mental health issues, couch surfing and hip hop have helped him learn how to help others recover from burnout ...
Encore: The real story behind the Australian classic, 'Looking for Alibrandi'
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Melina Marchetta grew up in Sydney in a close-knit Sicilian family, but she never wanted to be seen as 'that Italian girl'. Years later though, she d...
The giant spacecraft on its way to Jupiter's icy moon
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy Drain is Chief Engineer of the Europa Clipper, a NASA spacecraft currently travelling to Jupiter on a journey that will take six years.Europa i...
The secret life of a matchmaker—love, listening and telling the truth
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Together with his husband, Vinko Anthony runs a matchmaking agency for gay men looking for the type of enduring commitment and love that they found. ...
Encore: falling in love with a charming fake farmer
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stephanie Wood was new to online dating when she met a sweet man named Joe. But within weeks, she realised 'farmer' Joe was not who he claimed to be ...
Encore: Barber Charles Lomu and the meaning of love
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When Charles Lomu was born, he was lovingly given to his grandparents, in the Tongan adoption custom of pusiaki.He lived a gentle, religious life in ...
Encore: After triple zero — a paramedic's tale
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Gilmour describes the hectic work of saving lives, and what it's like to bring people back from the brink of suicide. (R)Ben was been a para...
Anna the anxiety coach on surviving a roller coaster accident and healing her nervous system
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When Anna Ferguson was a little girl she was badly hurt in a roller coaster accident. Although she made a full physical recovery, emotionally everyth...
Iran's position of power in the Strait of Hormuz
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Military strategist Jennifer Parker on the story behind the biggest disruption to oil supplies in world history, happening now in the Strait of Hormu...
Encore: How Jenny upended the Australian way of death
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jenny Briscoe-Hough on the uncomfortable truths which saw her set up Australia's first ever not-for-profit funeral home (R).After her mother died, Je...
Deciding on a big, bold life
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From wearing red stilettos on her first day of university and travelling solo into rural Egypt, to relocating to the United States with four kids in ...
Encore: Tony Birch — op shop fever and old Fitzroy
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the...
The ordinary and extraordinary lives of women, artists and mothers
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Drusilla Modjeska has built a career exploring the extraordinary lives of pioneering women writers and artists, who have never stopped asking ...
Is America sliding into autocratic rule under Trump?
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
New York Times columnist and author M.Gessen on the slow strangulation of democracy, happening right now in Trump's America.M Gessen grew up in the S...
Encore: Colin Hay's wild ride to fame with Men at Work, and the heartbreak in the aftermath
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Colin's band, Men At Work, was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s. Their first album shot the band to international fame. Then quite quickly, every...
Loneliness, isolation and falling behind—What happens to kids when they can't go to school?
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When Megan Gilmour's son was 10 years old, he spent nearly two years in isolation at the Sydney Children’s Hospital. The months he missed at school...
Encore: Is there a cheating gene?
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It was a Sunday night in the garage of their family home when journalist and author Kate Legge found out her husband of 30 years had been cheating on...
How I use touch to tell stories — my work as an intimacy director
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Petty began her dance career in 1980s New York, intoxicated by the grime and flamboyant life of the city. She witnessed countless friends lose t...
The decline of modern Britain — where did it all go so wrong?
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For the last decade or so we’ve looked on as the United States has radically changed itself, but the UK has been changing too as it continues to st...
Encore: climbing back into life after a schizophrenia diagnosis
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1990s, Glenn Jarvis was living in London working for a very powerful American corporation called Enron. He was under a huge amount of stress a...
John Howard's toy poodle epiphany
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The former Kings Cross street kid on his time in prison, recovering from an alcohol-induced brain injury, the puppy called Sunny who showed him what ...
Encore: The fearless Kate McClymont — weathering death threats and court cases for work
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, she has won 10 Walkley Awards for her work on some of the biggest crime...
Drought, depression and asking for help—how an Outback farmer found peace in the ocean
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For years, Brendan Cullen was known around Broken Hill as the happy man who ran thousands of ewes across tens of thousands of hectares with a smile. ...
Where do we go when we die? Looking for answers in psychedelics
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Filmmaker Lynette Wallworth on how nearly dying as a little girl set her on a lifelong path to interrogate out-of-body experiences, spirituality and ...
Encore: The spiked chair which began conductor Umberto Clerici's life in music
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, on the chair of spikes that accompanied his early musical career, and why he doesn't tone d...
How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an worldwide, anonymous restaurant critic
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Besha Rodell started her career in hospitality waitressing in North Carolina. The act of care and service through food has been incredibly important ...
How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an an anonymous restaurant critic, worldwide
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The act of care and service through food has been incredibly important to Besha Rodell throughout her life, from her first, euphoric experience of a ...
From child preacher to wicked defector — leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Naomi Mourra grew up as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness but at 21, she realised Doomsday was not upon her, and left the religion for good.But as a ...
A boy called Little Chilli — how flavour and migration led to unexpected love
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Tan’s parents pinned their hopes on him when they sent him from home in Malaysia to Melbourne to become a white collar professional in the 197...
A short history of the innovations that have shaped human progress
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We rarely stop to wonder who invented the wheel, the alphabet or the printing press but so much of what feels fundamental to daily life was once a bo...
Encore: the Nyamal woman from the Pilbara transforming how we think about trauma
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Dr Tracey Westerman on her groundbreaking work transforming mental health outcomes for Aboriginal communities (R)Dr Tracy Westerman grew...
Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, an indestructible Nashville studio and the DNA of folk music
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The iconic folk duo met at an audition for the only country music band at a prestigious jazz school in Boston. They immediately clicked, and joined t...
Encore: the life and legacy of author John Marsden
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up, John Marsden found school incredibly difficult and, as a teenager, spent time in hospital after a breakdown. This difficult early life pr...
There is magic to be found when the world goes dark
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Being stuck overnight on the side of a Swiss mountain led writer and broadcaster, Dan Richards' into an investigation of the night-time. Since then h...
Losing three mothers in one lifetime—Layne Beachley's drive to win
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The legendary surfer has grieved the deaths of her adoptive mother, stepmother and birth mother. Only later in life did she realise her drive to win ...
Encore: A 'hopeless romantic' on divorce, dating apps, and curing a broken heart
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After a painful divorce, Charlotte Ree began to piece her broken heart back together by cooking for her neighbours (R)Charlotte Ree grew up in a fami...
You're not alone or broken—the pursuit of happiness is making us miserable
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Philosopher and writer Eamon Evans on humanity's relentless and impossible pursuit of happiness through materialism, social media and self help, and ...
Encore: Judy Brewer on country love, deb balls and understanding autism
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Judy grew up on a farm in north-east Victoria.When she was seventeen, a family tragedy saw her thrust into life as a farmer for the first time.Being ...
A man, his gum trees, and a "second education"
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The world's leading eucalyptus expert, Professor Steve Hopper, on what science and culture say about these spectacular trees, and how Noongar elders ...
Zadie Smith on 'being on the side of life' at 50
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The UK writer Zadie Smith became a world-wide sensation with the publication of her first novel, White Teeth, when she was just 24, and now aged 50, ...
Encore: Jessica's life as a GODA - the grandchild of deaf adults
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Kirkness with the story of her grandparents, who both grew up profoundly deaf in a hearing world. (R)Jessica grew up in the outer suburbs wit...
'Come to orgy, wife wrote to friend' discovering the truth behind why I was adopted
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Saul Eskake grew up knowing he was adopted and for a long time felt content knowing nothing about his biological parents, but when Saul and his wife ...
Encore: My shark attack, and the aftermath
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Pearson runs Bite Club, a support service for anyone who has survived a shark attack. Dave’s own brush with death came in 2011, when a three-m...