Conversations

Hidden histories of Chinese Australia

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Watts MP has a deeply personal reason for wanting to resurface stories about Chinese migrants to Australia. From pre-Federation, to the Kelly gan...

Capturing the souls of abandoned pets

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Peter Sharp's severe back pain forced him to give up work, he believed he was unemployable. Then began photographing lost and abandoned dogs, ca...

Ray Bonner, Bolivia and the big risk

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

New York Times journalist Ray Bonner spent decades reporting from some of the world's most dangerous places. Then he moved to Australia, and made one...

Postcards from God — artist William Robinson

15 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

William is considered one of Australia's greatest living artists. But it took years for his work to be recognised as brilliant

The ferocious power of Rebekah

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At the age of 2, Rebekah Robertson's son George calmly explained to his mum that he was a girl. After years of turmoil in the family, Rebekah began d...

Clare Bowditch and the breakthrough

13 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How Clare overcame grief she'd stored away since childhood, found a way to manage anxiety, and embraced a joyful, messy life

Inside the dictator's mind

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Frank Dikotter on the common personality traits of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao and other twentieth century dictators

Armistice: The Good Friends

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The story of two men who fought for different sides on the western front, and an unexpected friendship between their descendants (R)

Animal Behaviouralist: Talking magpies, grieving tawny frogmouths and canny galahs

08 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when hand-rearing a magpie nestling. After it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers...

Finding new ways to grow old

07 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After both her parents died young, Charlotte Wood grew up believing she would never grow old. When she reached her 50s, she began to ask some big que...

My second family is in Vanuatu

06 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Physiotherapist Sky Fosbrooke’s stint as a volunteer health worker led to a deep attachment to the people of a small South Santo village

A life in dance after being told he wouldn't make it with David McAllister

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When David McAllister was a little boy growing up in Perth he would tuck tea towels into his undies and dance around in front of the TV.He watched hi...

William Dalrymple on the ruthless rise of the British East India Company

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The outrageous story of a group of financiers from a poor and damp island on the outer rim of Europe, who created a private company that became the b...

Archie Roach: turning spirit into song and connecting with family

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Archie tells of writing Took the Children Away and playing it in public for the first time, of his belated reunion with his siblings, and his love st...

Di Morrissey and the tragedy on Lovett Bay

31 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Di Morrissey grew up in a tiny village only accessible by rowboat, with film star Chips Rafferty and poet Dorothea Mackellar as her neighbours. In 19...

The writer and the Prince

30 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

While fleeing the aftermath of a failed marriage, Hilary McPhee accepted a job in Jordan to write the autobiography of a Hashemite Prince. Living alo...

Murgon's shining star: Leah Purcell

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leah was a teenager working in a small-town meatworks when she discovered her true path in life (R)

The force of Will

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Winemaker Will Rikard-Bell was working at Hunter Valley winery when a catastrophic explosion knocked him off his feet. He sustained burns to 70% of ...

In the shadowlands: McMafia author Misha Glenny on organised crime

25 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a young man studying in Europe, Misha formed underground links that would propel his whole career. The former BBC correspondent interviews crimin...

Que Minh Luu doesn’t need a hug

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How hot young widows, perceptive friends and twitter kept television executive Que afloat after the death of her husband

Tara Westover's escape from ignorance

23 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tara was raised by parents who were radical Mormon survivalists, preparing for the End of Days. Although they didn't believe in traditional schooling...

Life in the shadow of Long Bay

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Kennedy on growing up next door to some of Australia's most violent criminals (R)

Surviving kidnap in Sierra Leone

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Aminata Conteh-Biger was kidnapped by rebel militia when they stormed her village and ransacked her family home. A strange series of events saw her r...

The chair with five legs

18 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a girl, Davida Allen was brought up to be a proper young lady. Instead, she covered her naked body in paint and rolled around to make art. She gre...

Child convicts, lost boys and the murder at Point Puer

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

British boys as young as nine were transported to Van Diemen's Land for petty crime. 3000 of them were incarcerated at Point Puer, the first prison i...

Strange rescuers: my father's Holocaust

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Juliet Rieden traces the story of her Czech father, who was taken as a child refugee to Britain a week before the Nazis arrived in Prague, and thus s...

Kumi’s Japanese inheritance

15 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Australian journalist Kumi Taguchi grapples with divided loyalties after the death of her father

Story of a blood red rose

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Forsyth tells the origin story of a fairy tale staple, the ever-flowering red rose. Her version has its roots in Imperial China, and arrives via...

Dear Dolly Doctor, Am I normal?

11 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Melissa Kang explained sex, puberty and periods to teen girls in her role as Dolly magazine's ‘Dolly Doctor’. She spent 23 years answering qu...

Dinosaur fields: finding fossils on the family farm

10 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The random find of a dinosaur bone on her Queensland property led Robyn Mackenzie to develop an outback museum of international importance, and a dee...

Chasing the dream that was Prague

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author Favel Parrett’s grandmother escaped from Czechoslovakia as a teenager, but her sister stayed behind - suffering the twin nightmares of Nazis...

Finding the right formula with Eddie Woo

08 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Waiting in line to enrol for a teaching degree in history and English, Eddie was persuaded to pursue maths instead. Despite never really liking maths...

The lucky accident of Sydney's Opera House

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Pitt on how the luminous shells of Australia's most loved building nearly didn't make it off the drawing board (R)

Discovering my father's secret life in France

04 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up, Louisa Deasey knew very little about her late father's life. Then she found a bundle of his lost love letters (R)

The sex life of brains

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Neuropsychologist Dr Amee Baird on the mysterious connections between our brains and our desires

What's next for the Greens?

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From the party of protest to the balance of power, journalist Paddy Manning looks at the history of Australia's most successful third party

Bill Bryson and the wonders of the human body

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why is scratching an itch so pleasurable? How can someone leap from a burning plane in the sky and survive with a few bumps and scratches? Take a jou...

Nursing on Sydney’s streets

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When working with people experiencing homelessness, Erin Longbottom looks to their strengths to help them find their way to health and a home

A friendship and a giant literary hoax

27 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Hoddinott and Gwen Harwood were great friends with a shared love of English, family, and thumbing their noses at convention (R)

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

26 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

School was nearly the undoing of the intensely curious child who went on to discover nearly a quarter of the world's coral species, and be awarded th...

A vibrant life - Kath Venn at 84

25 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The late Kath Venn was a powerhouse of community spirit. After serving in Tasmania's parliament, she was State President of the Housewives Associatio...

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

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In October 1944 Frank's De Havilland Mosquito was shot out of the sky and he parachuted into Nazi territory (R)

Secret of the native hibiscus: western science meets Indigenous knowledge

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Botanist and Dharawal elder Fran Bodkin uses western science to explain up to 80,000 years of Australian Indigenous plant knowledge (R)

Why is so little known about women’s bodies?

20 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After attending a conference on endometriosis in 2015, journalist Gabrielle Jackson broke down in tears. She realised she knew nothing about the dise...

One hundred acres of bamboo

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Durnford Dart longed to return to life on the land, where he’d spent his best childhood years. He went on to pioneer bamboo farming in Australia 

The tangled web of spirituality

18 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Seeking a connection with a higher power led Rob Donnelly into the Catholic priesthood, but the reality of a religious life was not what he expected

Ben Folds' dream about lightning bugs

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ben on his musical career, the art of song writing and his brief stint as a one-man polka band in a German restaurant

The indestructible nature of Corey White

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A childhood of abuse and neglect led Corey to an unusual place - the stage. His wit and resilience make his stand-up comedy sharply observed and dark...

Nat Young is still in search of the perfect wave

13 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For four-time world champion surfer Nat, surfing is about more than competition or exercise, it's a religion

Keeping Mum: love and dementia

12 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Daughter Nia tells how early-onset dementia has reshaped the powerful partnership of her parents, Moira and Leon Pericles

Why don’t more dads take parental leave?

11 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Annabel Crabb on the inequity between parents of different genders, prompted by the hullabaloo surrounding New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’...

Prepping for the apocalypse: bunkers, bullets and billionaires

10 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bradley Garrett explores ‘doomsday prepping’, a multi-billion dollar industry driven by dread (R)

Akmal Saleh really doesn't like the jungle

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

An impulse decision to buy a home in the rainforest launches a comedy of errors involving a python in the roof, a half-finished home, an unexpected t...

The greatest air race: twenty planes, London to Melbourne, 1934

06 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Early aviation's most dramatic event saw courage, tragedy and a miraculous rescue involving the whole town of Albury

Sex, death and the northern quoll

05 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Overcoming breast cancer in the first year of her daughter's life led scientist Amanda Niehaus to a deeper study of reproduction and death

The life of Antarctic icebreaker Aurora Australis

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When the ship starts to cut through the ice, marine biologist Sarah Laverick feels the vibrations rumble through her body like a thunderstorm

The art of precision engineering with Simon Winchester

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The modern world functions on precision - phones, computers, cameras that operate with exactness. But in the quest for perfection, have we lost the a...

The first foreign lawyer to practice in Afghanistan

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lawyer Kimberley Motley took a nine-month assignment in Kabul, and never looked back, becoming the first foreign litigator to practice in Afghanistan...

On the trail of Candidate Trump: Katy Tur

30 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Katy was described by Donald Trump as disgraceful, a liar, and 'third-rate' during her coverage of his successful Presidential campaign (R)

Bangarra's bold leader: Stephen Page

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When they were kids, Stephen and his brothers would climb onto the laundry roof and put on a show for their neighbourhood. Stephen's since made an ex...

Tim Fischer's 1000 days in the Eternal City

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We reprise the former Deputy Prime Minister's account of his time as Australia's representative to the Vatican (R)

The travails of travelling with a parent

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Adam Rozenbachs booked his father on the trip of a lifetime. But it turns out his Dad doesn't like museums or monuments, galleries or landma...

The insatiable curiosity of Phillip Adams

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Broadcaster Phillip Adams is a filmmaker, former ad man and author - and he’s just celebrated his 80th birthday

Min Jin Lee's good fortune

23 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The author of bestselling novel, Pachinko, explores the lives of generations of Koreans in Japan

Unlocking the mystery of human remains

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Forensic anthropologist Lucina Hackman uses scientific evidence and rational deduction to identify the dead, and return the missing to their loved on...

Uncle Jack Charles: not true blue, true blak

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Uncle Jack was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby and denied his Aboriginality. A one-off trip to Fitzroy connected him with a family he didn...

Fine Cotton Fiasco bonus episode

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

One of the all time greatest and silliest stories in Australian history

Peter Hoysted: The Fine Cotton affair, a racing fraud fiasco

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The farcical events that unfolded when a group of conspirators hatched a plot to defraud bookmakers of millions of dollars (R)

Dr Anne Aly is comfortable being the outsider

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Anne was ten, she walked onto the school playground and a girl spat in her face after calling her ‘a dirty, Arab Muslim’. To her shock, the ...

Pygmy dinosaurs and blue-eyed Neanderthals: Europe's startling deep past

16 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Flannery on the bizarre geography of prehistoric Europe, and how an asteroid the size of Manhattan ruptured everything

Discovering a partner’s secret: online child sexual exploitation material

15 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Natalie Walker supports the innocent partners and families of perpetrators of online child sex offences. She founded an organisation to provide peer ...

The sculptor's son

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hung Le and his family made a terrifying escape from Saigon in 1975. All they had with them was one suitcase, a box of biscuits and some seasick pill...

Jurors behaving badly

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Law Professor Jeremy Gans with stories of jurors using ouija boards in court, falling in love with advocates and snoozing through proceedings (R)

How brutal politics and righteous prayers toppled a Prime Minister

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Niki Savva on the bungled coup which ousted Malcolm Turnbull and installed his surprise successor, Scott Morrison

Actor Bryan Brown’s ticket from Bankstown to Palm Beach

09 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bryan’s played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been h...

Tommy Caldwell: born to climb the Dawn Wall

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Yosemite’s most punishing climb is the 3000ft sheer face of El Capitan mountain called the Dawn Wall. Tommy grew up exploring Yosemite and in 2015 ...

A heartbreaking, Machiavellian drama: what went on inside the Banking Royal Commission

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Ziffer had a front row seat for the testimony of victims, financial advisors and bankers offered up to Australia's Banking Royal Commission

Exposing the banks: the journalist who sparked a royal commission

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Adele Ferguson on the dishonest dealings of Australia's banks and financial institutions, and the damage done to customers and whistleblowers

Peter Bell and the singular quest of Kyung Ae

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Peter's Korean birth mother spent years searching for her son in America. Then she discovered an AFL star living in Perth (R)

The Lumiere brothers, Louise Brooks, and The Humorous Rollerskater

02 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Dominic Smith on the glittering, perplexing history of the silent film era

When a strong man broke

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Grant Edwards won the title of The Strongest Man in Australia for four years in a row by pulling trains, planes, trucks and ships. At work, he fought...

The man with five lives

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Roger Pulvers lived an adventurous life in the Soviet Union, Japan and Poland, before he chose a whole new identity in 1976

The determination of Dr Dinesh Palipana

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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

The arachnologist with a fear of spiders

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Raven puts aside his long-held fear of spiders to collect them and uncover hundreds of new species. (R)

Candy Devine: from a cabaret in Cairns to Belfast's Downtown Radio

26 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Faye McLeod took on a stage name when she became a performer, and followed her star to the UK in the 1960s (R)

Against the death penalty: barrister Julian McMahon

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by the Indonesian Government, their lawyer of 9 years was not far away. Theirs are among the deat...

The deep time dreaming of an ancient continent

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Billy Griffiths on the complex history of Australia's indigenous archaeology

John Marsden's manifesto on teaching and raising children

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John on what he's learned in more than 30 years as an educator, parent, and founder and principal of Candlebark and Alice Miller schools

Micro-dosing, magic mushrooms, and Michael Pollan

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At 59, Michael became a 'reluctant psychonaut'. While on LSD he felt his sense of self disintegrate into a storm of Post-it notes

The silver medal that changed Laurie Lawrence

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a child, the superstar swim coach lived with a chronic lung condition, and had part of a lung removed. In 1956, a huge event held in his family's ...

Nursing at altitude: the story of a Royal Flying Doctor flight nurse 

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Louise Burton has worked with the Royal Flying Doctor Service Qld for twenty years

Why Australia should prepare to fight alone

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hugh White on the conundrum of how Australia can defend itself in the Asian century

Helping hoarders let go

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Psychologist Jessica Grisham on working with people whose wellbeing is threatened by their attachment to 'stuff' (R)

Voicing velociraptors and capturing the dawn chorus

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sound designer and naturalist Douglas Quin makes field recordings from everywhere on Earth and uses them to create soundscapes for film and tv, galle...

A magical country childhood: Alison Lester

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From Antarctica to Arnhem Land, the pages of the books of this prolific author and illustrator are fuelled by adventure (R)

Backing the wild dreams of youth: Jan Owen

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jan’s work as a champion of young people has its roots in her own story (R)

A Hong Kong childhood during WWII

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Barbara Laidlaw pieces together the mystery of what her parents endured as internees in Hong Kong (R)

Helping troubled kids find a way back: Bernie Shakeshaft

09 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bernie was a wild teenager who became a jackeroo and a dingo trapper. Then he began helping kids in trouble (R)

Trent Dalton: the rise of a watchful boy

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a child Trent was a quiet observer of the drama of his family and his neighbourhood. He grew up to become an award-winning writer (R)

International brickie 

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bricklaying takes him around the world as a teacher and expert, but Troy Everett still finds deep satisfaction in laying bricks