Conversations
Episodes
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)
Rugby League's greatest ever grand final upset
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The 1969 final between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Balmain Tigers is the stuff of footy legend
From Winston Churchill's waiter to anaesthetist in Australia
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Atkinson's appetite for mischief and knack for being in the right place at the right time have delivered him a colourful life (R)
Etgar Keret's seven good years
25 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A writer recalls the precious stretch of time between the birth of his son, and the death of his father (R)
How to spot a psychopath and toxic people
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Understanding and managing the psychopaths in our midst at work and at homeDavid Gillespie is a former corporate lawyer and investor and the author o...
The world's most puzzling riddles
21 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptic crossword compiler, David Astle, untangles the history of riddles (R)
Fighting the wars of others: mercenaries and private armies
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Percy explains the history and motivations of unconventional combatants
Beyond the canvas: the vivid, bohemian world of the Pre-Raphaelites
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Kate Forsyth has an enduring fascination with the Pre-Raphaelites, the rebellious and progressive artists of Victorian-era Britain
How a young physicist witnessed some of the most dramatic scenes of WWII
18 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick has pieced together the story of her late husband's life as a young man in war-torn Europe
Michael Robotham's fiction of fear: how true crime informs a bestseller's work
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ghost-writing and true crime: how a journo cracked the thriller market
Great Barrier Reef tales: seafarers, scientists and castaways
14 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Iain McCalman shares extraordinary stories from the history of human contact with the reef (R)
Making mischief: the invention of Old Tom, Mr Chicken and Leigh Hobbs
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's Children's Laureate creates scruffy, anarchic characters beloved by children and adults
A criminal psychologist's fall from grace
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Watson-Munro's addiction derailed his life for a time, and nearly ended his illustrious career
Into the deep, cool blue: the fine line between life and death while freediving
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How freediving helped Michael Adams understand his father's suicide
Driving while female: the defiance of Manal Al-Sharif
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What happened when a woman openly opposed the Saudi cultural ban against female drivers
Rhoda Roberts: holding onto family
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rhoda lives with strength of her father’s culture and the loss of her twin sister (R)
How Allan Langer and the Gospel of Matthew shaped a childhood
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lech Blaine grew up in a raucous family of foster siblings. But when he was ten years old, it all changed
The charlatan who mesmerised gold-rush era Australia
05 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Catherine Jinks became fascinated by the true story of a famous charlatan, Thomas Carr, who mesmerised and fought with audiences from the 1860...
Linda Burney on tracing her family, and making history
04 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The first Indigenous woman elected to Australia's House of Representatives on her life in politics and her search for her father (R)
Sami Shah asks what Islam looks like in Australia
03 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sami is a writer, a comedian and an atheist who was raised in a Shia Muslim family
Ten billion rabbits
30 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The paradoxical story of Australia's rabbit plague, as told by Bruce Munday
Musician Jen Cloher's rites of passage
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Giving proper, loving time to her parents changed the course of Jen's life (R)
Unfinished business: toward national pride without prejudice
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Yettica-Paulson travels the country talking about the place of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our constitution
Coal vs coral: plunging into Australia's climate wars
27 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Krien examines the climate wars playing out on the Great Barrier Reef
The greatest escape
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
WWII's largest mass escape of Allied POWs, as told by Stephen Dando-Collins
Behind the cake and the rain: the life of Jimmy Webb
23 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher inspired his music
The lessons of Maralinga
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Liz Tynan explains how Australia became the toxic testing ground for Britain's nuclear program (R)
Tiger Moths, textbooks and the joys of flight
21 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bob Tait’s enduring love of aviation has launched thousands of pilots to the skies
A good daughter defines her faith for herself
20 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Amal Awad was her Arab-Australian family's only daughter. As a teenager, so much was 'haram', or forbidden. But later in life, she surprised everyone...
Terrible treasure: 75 000 convict stories housed in a Hobart basement
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Deep in Tasmania’s convict archives, Maxwell Hamish Stewart pieces together life stories from meticulously recorded details
Songs of darkness with Brian Ritchie
16 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian introduces a collection of the deepest, darkest tunes he knows
Workplace bullying: recognising and surviving it
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The maximum security prisoners in Caroline Dean's workplace were the least of her troubles
How a child became the primary carer for her family
14 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ellen Holmes became the full-time carer for her mother and her two brothers while she was at high school (R)
The unexpected history of artists' paints
13 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David Coles is one of very few colourmen or 'pigment-whisperers' in the world