Conversations
Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption. Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.
Episodes
Encore: Inside the minds of the fish who sleep, have friends, and know it's the weekend
Dr Culum Brown's work on fish cognition has proven fish have long memories, sharks have friends, and sting rays know it's the weekend.Dr Culum Brown is a leading researcher in the field of fish cognition. He's based at Macquarie University where he runs the Fish Lab — the Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution of Fishes Laboratory.His fascination for fish stems from growing up in parts
How I decentred men and fell in love with my friends instead of another f*ckboy
Broadcaster and author Dee Salmin on how her parents' epic love story and dramatic relationship shaped her understanding of love and men; and how she eventually found healthy romance in life.When Dee was growing up in Perth, her father, a great Russian ballet dancer, was ‘the man of the house’.Life at home, and every choice that Dee, her siblings, and her mum made revolved around
![A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART II]](https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/a8a1f3aba35d1444f95c8898e38fdc1c.jpg?src)
A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART II]
Mimi Kwa tells her family’s saga, featuring her dad — the thirty-second child of a wealthy Chinese silk trader, and her mum, who survived decades of undiagnosed schizophrenia, and Mimi's glamorous other life in the intoxicating hubbub of Hong Kong.Mimi presented the news on ABC and Channel Nine, and worked in the newsroom for more than 20 years. Today she has four children with h
![A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART I]](https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/dbfb6ae6b409d71782d852cb49dcfd87.jpg?src)
A little girl with a life split in three — how Mimi made it [PART I]
Mimi Kwa tells her family’s saga, featuring her dad — the thirty-second child of a wealthy Chinese silk trader, and her mum, who survived decades of undiagnosed schizophrenia, and Mimi's glamorous other life in the intoxicating hubbub of Hong Kong. (CW: Discussion of mental illness and suicide attempt)Mimi presented the news on ABC and Channel Nine, and worked in the newsroom for
Mick Fanning on surfing, punching a great white shark, and losing three brothers
Mick won three world surfing titles, and famously fought off a great white shark in South Africa. But his life out of the water has been threaded through with devastating loss, after the death of his three older brothers. (CW: loss and grief)Mick Fanning grew up on the Gold Coast in a raucous, loving family of five kids, raised by his mum Elizabeth, a nurse who worked night shift
Encore: A family story of growing up poor in Outback Queensland
Journalist Rick Morton on how his mum raised three children in poverty and the class disparities in Australia.Rick's family come from the vast country of Outback Queensland, near the Birdsville Track.His grandfather, George Morton, was a wealthy landholder and he ruled over his family like a tyrant.When Rick was little, a terrible accident was followed by the break-up of his fami
My poo transplant, ayahuasca trip and other wellness quests
Judith Lucy is one of Australia's most loved comedians. Recently after years of tummy troubles, burnout, and a complicated relationship with alcohol, she began her mission to work on her health, in earnest. As well as being a beloved comic, Judith is also the author of four books and the presenter of several television series.For decades Judith has been busying herself with proje
Encore: Why I became a teacher at the school where I was bullied
A portrait of one teacher and his class as they journey through the ups and downs of a school year.Brendan James Murrary has been a high school teacher for more than ten years and although his own experiences at school weren't great, he ended up taking a job back at the school where he was a bullied and unhappy student.During his time as a teacher he's seen hundreds of kids move
Richard Glover on the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking rules of Australian parenting
The instructions found in endorsed baby books over the last century could be, with hindsight, bizarre or cruel. And were most often given by “experts” with no children of their own. Journalist and broadcaster, Richard Glover tackles the changing landscape of parenting advice.He looks back at his own experience of being parented, which included having his ears sticky-taped while g
Monica McInerney's five year rollercoaster ride
The author on the diagnosis that floored her and the gifts that got her through harrowing treatment — including a cat named Nicholas.The Australian-Irish author was last on the program in 2020.She reflected on her childhood by the railway tracks in the Clare Valley, South Australia, where she grew up with her band of brothers and sisters.After she recorded that interview, Monica
Encore: The pilot shot down by enemy fire and how he survived
RAF pilot Frank Dell parachuted into Nazi occupied Holland after his plane was hit by cannon fire and with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters he got out alive.As a teenager, Frank saw the Battle of Britain played out in the skies above his village in the south of England.He joined the RAF and piloted a De Havilland Mosquito on bombing raids into Germany.
Magda's mum, the tragic secret, and the moment of grace
When Magda Szubanski discovered what had happened to her mum as a child, she began to see her in an entirely new light (CW: discussion of sexual abuse, please take care when listening)Magda released her first memoir a few years ago, to widespread acclaim.It was the story of how Magda unearthed the life story of her Polish-born father and his role as an assassin during WWII.Magda'
Encore: The Olympic swim coach who spat on a silver medal, and how it changed him
Laurie Lawrence's obsession with winning Gold started when he was a small boy growing up above the Tobruk Pool in Townsville. When he became a coach, he had an epiphany about the nature of victory.When Laurie was a child, he had a chronic lung condition that meant he had to sleep sitting in a chair.Doctors advised his parents that an operation was necessary, and part of one of hi
Caring for my fiercely strong-willed father
Kim Huynh on his family's remarkable journey from Vietnam to Australia. And taking on the role of carer for his fiercely strong-willed father, Thiet.Kim grew up in Canberra, arriving in Australia with his family as refugees from Vietnam.Like many migrant children, Kim is a very driven person and has taken on a lot of responsibilities in life.He is an academic, an ABC broadcaster,
Stories from our elders: how Jane Fonda changed her life in her third act
The legendary actress Jane Fonda on her activism, her hair epiphanies and why older women are often fearless.Jane has lived her entire life in the public eye, as the daughter of acting aristocracy.Her father Henry Fonda was a Hollywood legend by the time she was born.Jane grew up to study acting with Lee Strasberg, and Marilyn Monroe was a classmate.But behind the public adoratio
Remembering Angry Anderson: rock n' roll animal and incurable romantic
Iconic Australian musician, actor, youth advocate and charity ambassador Angry Anderson has died at the age of 79.Angry spent 50 years in the music industry with his legendary rock band, Rose Tattoo, and the band was due to return to the stage this month for another Australian tour.But Angry was much more than a raging rock n' roll animal.He was an incurable romantic, despite his
Stories from our Elders: My passionate friendship with a rebel poet
Alison Hoddinot was one of the first Australian women to study at Oxford University, but one of her lecturers, J.R.R Tolkein, refused to take on a woman PhD student. Alison was born in Tasmania in 1931.As a young woman she won a scholarship to study at Oxford University.But when she arrived, none of the male professors including J.R.R Tolkien, would take on a woman PhD student.Ba
Stories from our Elders: the chef who taught 37,000 Australians how to cook
Elizabeth Chong didn't cook her first meal until she was a newlywed. Six decades later, the owner of a cooking school specialising in Chinese cuisine, she had taught more than 37,000 people how to cook.Chef, author and teacher Elizabeth Chong was born in China's Guangdong Province in 1931.When her heavily pregnant mother was expelled from Victoria under the White Australia Policy
Stories from our Elders: Bryan Brown's road from Bankstown to Hollywood
Bryan Brown has played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world.In our week of stories from our elders, we begin with the life of Bryan Brown.Now aged 79, Bryan has had more film and television acting roles than he’s had birthdays, and is an instantly recognisable fig
The radical history of personal computing—looms, coding, beige boxes and AI
Mel Huang Buntine on how computers started entering our homes, and the beige box of a machine that changed her own life.Personal computers are so ubiquitous now, it's hard to imagine a time when computers were inaccessible to everyday people.For decades, computers were the size of rooms, and they were used for specialist tasks like processing large data sets for researchers, or s
Encore: Vickie's turbulent life in and out of prison, and how she reclaimed her power
Prisoner advocate Vickie Roach spent decades in and out of jail but after studying for her masters degree, she helped change the story for thousands of other prisoners.When Vicki was just two years old, she was given a police record, which enabled authorities to place her into the custody of a family she didn't know.She grew up under the strict religious rule of her adoptive moth
My dad Jim Henson, the creative genius behind 'The Muppets'
Growing up Lisa Henson and her siblings spent a lot of time in their father's workshop and studio, watching puppets get drawn, sculpted and brought to life.Jim Henson first started messing around with puppets as a teenager, and not long afterwards he began collaborating with his wife Jane. Together they founded Muppets Incorporated.Puppets became a way for Jim to share his extrao
Encore: What happened when I tried MDMA therapy
Author Rebecca Huntley used supervised MDMA therapy to help her with complex PTSD and the legacy of childhood trauma.Rebecca's public life as a broadcaster, an author and a social researcher made her well-known to many Australians.But in private, Rebecca spent years grappling with complex PTSD and childhood trauma.At 50, while walking the Camino, she realised that despite decades
Healing intergenerational trauma and epigenetics—the children of the Third Reich
Catrine Clay with the story of the children of Nazi perpetrators and Holocaust survivors came together under extraordinary circumstances to come to terms with their dark past.In the early 1990s, historian and author Catrine Clay was working at the BBC, making a documentary about a woman named Renate.Renate had been born in Germany in 1941, and grew up in the postwar years as the
Comedian Urzila Carlson regrets nothing
Urzila Carlson grew up in South Africa. Her father threatened the family with a gun when she was 6, and he walked out on the family soon afterwards.Urzila's mum, who she describes as a 'warrior woman', raised Urzila and her sister.When she was in primary school, one of Urzila's teachers taught her a big lesson about regret, which has stayed with her for life.Urzila moved to New Z
Encore: Meg Washington on the magic of music
The singer-songwriter on her early introduction to musicals in Port Moresby, how singing became a form of speech therapy for her stutter and also a path into her life’s work.Meg Washington was born in a musical home in Port Moresby, where her parents had met as Australian expats.Meg and her sister spent a lot of their time watching classic Hollywood musicals and also down at the
Louise Adler on why she questions everything
Louise Adler has been one of the biggest and most controversial names in Australian publishing for decades. This is the story of how she fell in love with the world of books.An asthmatic child, she spent most of Melbourne’s winters in bed with nothing else to do but read novels.But it wasn't until her parents intervened in Louise's obsession with Enid Blyton’s boarding school se
Encore: The beautiful questions your intellectual mind can't answer
Acclaimed poet and philosopher David Whyte has come to believe a single line of poetry is enough to change your life. David grew up amongst the moors and fields of West Yorkshire, with an English father and an Irish mother who had a gift for lyricism and language.He started writing poems at just seven years old, but it wasn't until he was working as a guide in the Galapagos Islan
Black ops and human shields—the secrets on board Flight 149
Why were 400 civilians allowed to fly into a war zone as Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait? What really happened to them when they were held as hostages? And why has the British government fought for so long to keep it all a secret?Stephen Davis is an investigative journalist who has been following a story, within a story, within a story for more than 30 years.It starts on 2 August,
From the Nazis to the Stasi, how ordinary citizens live through extraordinary times
Historian Katja Hoyer was born in 1985, under the old regime of the GDR and grew up in the 1990s, watching many former East Germans struggle in the years after reunification.Learning about the Nazi era was a big part of her education but Katja left school feeling unsatisfied about what she’d been taught about the period when the Nazis rose to power.She knew about all the big poli
Encore: The family secret which inspired 'The Teacher's Pet'
Journalist Hedley Thomas grew up knowing that his grandmother Gladys had vanished in the sea off Sydney in the 1950s. The mystery of what happened to Gladys helped to inspire his hit podcast 'The Teacher's Pet'.Hedley has had a storied career in journalism which has seen him win many Walkley Awards and expose a lot of corruption and dodgy dealings.But it has also placed Hedley an
Loving my dad, who has younger-onset Alzheimer's
Millie Robinson’s family had been through enough as it was before her devoted dad Jim Rogers received his diagnosis in 2021. Today they navigate the unknown together and stay in the moment to enjoy their tight-knit community.Millie is a celebrant, mum and author living in Brisbane.She also supports her dad, Jim, who has younger-onset Alzheimer’s. Millie started life in the UK, in
Encore: An infamous WWII prison and the soldiers who tried to escape
British writer Ben Macintyre on the eerie history of Colditz Castle which the Germans used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.Since the Middle Ages, Colditz Castle has existed in some form, perched on the edge of a cliff in eastern Germany.Colditz has served as a royal hunting lodge, a madhouse, and most famously as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.It was sai
The day my big, fat Egyptian wedding went pear-shaped
Author Tess Woods had always dreamed of her big day, growing up watching her beloved Nana create in-demand bridal gowns. The stories of these dresses became a way for Tess to understand her family’s origins in North Africa, which she left in the late 1970s. (Warning: This episode references the loss of a child.)Tess moved to Melbourne from Egypt when she was five years old.At lar
The Kennedys—inside the infamous political dynasty and their summertime secrets
Who are the Kennedys, really? And what has made the legacy of America's political dynasty so famous, divisive and enduring? The Kennedys are often described as the closest thing the United States has to a royal family, with fiercely competitive and divisive figures taking up space in American political and public life for generations.Even now, the influence of the Kennedy family
Encore: My beloved husband's path to Voluntary Assisted Dying
After Pauline McGrath's husband David was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he chose to use Voluntary Assisted Dying. Pauline supported him through the journey as he took the steps to end his life.A few years ago, Pauline came home from work and found the lights on and the dog already fed.This was something which had never happened in her 30-year marriage to David, a director of pa
Top-secret cake recipes and a 'Garden of Eden'—nourishing the soul with homestyle Jewish cooking
Monday Morning Cooking Club's Merelyn Chalmers her family's story of survival, and piecing together hundreds of treasured family recipes from Jewish communities around the world, including her mother's top-secret yellow cake recipe.Merelyn grew up tied to the apron strings of her mother, an Hungarian Jew who had survived Auschwitz and eventually ended up in Western Australia.In P
Encore: A father and a son and The Odyssey
Author and classicist Daniel Mendelsohn was teaching a university class on Homer's The Odyssey, when his elderly father decided to enrol in it.Daniel became fascinated by the stories of the ancient world as a child and grew up to study the classics and then write books and essays to share his knowledge with the wider world.Eventually he began teaching the Ancient Greek epic, The
Richard Flanagan on belonging in books and in Australia
For writer Richard Flanagan, the political belief that white Australians do not belong in this land is wrong and it's damaging any progress we might hope to make as a collective people.Richard has spent the last 30 years writing award-winning pieces of fiction and non-fiction, tackling the climate crisis, the meaning of art, free speech and the stubborn necessity of hope.Threaded
A Palestinian family story
Micaela Sahhar grew up hearing stories of her Palestinian family's life in Jerusalem before 1948, and what happened when they had to leave.There was her grandfather’s tourism business, her grandmother’s wedding necklace, and the dramatic circumstances of her father’s birth.Most of all there was the house, built by her grandfather for his extended family, at 8 Asa Street Jerusalem
Encore: Maggie Dent on guiding young girls to become confident young women
Raising girls in an age of smartphones and early sexualisation is tough and in this complex arena, parenting educator Maggie Dent says we can't leave these lessons to chance.Growing up Maggie was a tomboy and noticed when she was treated differently from little boys, who were allowed to be their exuberant selves when she was not.She can clearly recall her indignation at being mad
The three shocks that changed Australia
Political journalist, George Megalogenis has mapped key areas in our population, workforce and geopolitical standing in recent decades, and looks at how these shifts are impacting our collective political future.For the first time since Federation, Australia’s population is mostly made up of migrants and their children. Professional women have now replaced men doing blue collar j
Encore: How a teen mum named Melissa proved everybody wrong
Melissa Redsell was in Year 12 when her doctor told her she was going to have a baby. After her baby was born, she was told she had 'ruined her life'. Then she set out to prove all her doubters wrong.When Mel broke the news to her parents, they were disappointed and at school, the Principal instructed her to not expect any special treatment.At 7 months pregnant, Mel graduated, a
The forensic psychiatrist fascinated with the minds of lone mass killers
Paul E Mullen has spent decades interviewing and studying men who have committed unthinkable acts of violence and says these tragic events represent the endpoint of a slow-building private narrative of resentment, isolation and rage. (CW: descriptions of violence)Now retired, Paul dedicated much of his life's work to the extreme end of the human condition.First focusing on victim
The post-punk guitarist who decided to finally live openly as herself, a trans woman
Guitarist and engineer Josie Scott battled crippling gender dysphoria for decades before finally deciding to live openly as a trans woman in her 60s.In 1984 in Adelaide, two brothers formed a pioneering alternative rock band called The Mark of Cain.They wanted to make music that was heavy and intense with lyrics about war, and death, and being misunderstood.Over the years the ban
Encore: Catching killers and breaking up bikie gangs
Former Detective Sergeant, Deb Wallace on policing the heroin hotspot of Cabramatta in the 1990s and how Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' gave her new ideas for clamping down on illegal gang activity.When Deb joined the NSW Police Force in 1983, there were very few women on the front line. She quickly discovered she had the cool-headed resilience ideal for police work, and she was dete
Helping other people became my business success story
Mark Woodland is an unexpected CEO — he started his career in the Army as a tribute to his late brother, then went on to revolutionise his mum's paper-based childcare company.As a young man Mark Woodland was at a loss with what to do with his life.After years of moving around, the family — headed by Mark's single mum — settled in Ipswich, Queensland, where Mark showed himself to
Encore: Falling in love with 'Mao's Last Dancer'
Mary Li was a star ballerina when she fell in love with her dance partner Li Cunxin. When their daughter Sophie was born profoundly deaf, Mary walked away from dance for many years.Mary says she was the least likely girl to grow up to be a ballerina,She grew up in a family of eight kids in the rough and tumble of the Queensland country town of Rockhampton.But in a little timber
The doctor who learnt to walk again, using exercise
After a catastrophic car crash in the parking lot of her hospital, Dr Olivia Ong became a paraplegic. But her obsession with learning how to walk again was stronger than her incomplete spinal cord injury.When Olivia Ong was 28 years old, she had the world at her feet.She had recently qualified as a doctor, something she had dreamed of since she was a child growing up in Malaysia.
Finding my mother alive and becoming invincible
Lynne Shori grew up with her hero dad, thinking her Papua New Guinean mother was dead. As an adult, she discovered the truth and set about finding her lost family.When Lynne was growing up, it was just her and her dad.Lynne's dad was her hero; he was different and adventurous but she always felt safe with him when they went on hair-raising adventures together in the Highlands of
Encore: A parenting educator on making sense of his own childhood
Steve Biddulph spent decades working to understand what children need as they grow, but then in his mid-50s, Steve gained an insight that shifted almost everything about how he saw himself.Steve likes to remind us that humans are 'big sensitive mammals' with needs for connection and self awareness.As a psychologist (now retired) and parent educator, he has been at the forefront o
Zoonoses — the diseases that jump from animals to people
Environmental journalist, Michael Dulaney looks at viruses and bacteria that can move between bats, horses, seals, pigs, voles and even polar bears, and the conditions that lead to human infection.These diseases are known as zoonoses.Michael says climate change, urban sprawl, animal farming and even homelessness contribute to wild animals coming into ever closer contact with peop
Encore: The cop who stared down Peter Falconio's outback killer
Colleen Gwynne led the investigation into the murder of the British backpacker and eventually confronted his killer in prison.In 2001, Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were ambushed on a remote stretch of road in the outback and Peter was shot dead.Colleen was working as a cop in Alice Springs when she was asked to take over the complex murder case.With help from the
What seven ancient traditions can teach us all about living a good life today
Nikki Goldstein was in a coma in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital when she first 'met' Rabbi Eli Schlanger. When she woke, the pair embarked together on a project to share the wisdom, compassion and universality of several Jewish teachings.Although they were from very different worlds, when Nikki gained consciousness and met Rabbi Eli properly the two became fast friends.Then, th
Growing the goodness of the world—Hannah Moloney on why we garden
Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney on the heartwarming and heartbreaking reasons humans continue to lovingly tend to their gardens — for healing, beauty and joy.For thousands of years, tending to a garden or a small farm meant human survival. But now, with massive commercial farms, genetically modified crops, refrigerated freight and modern irrigation, we don't need to tend to
Encore: How Zenith became a death walker, and her true self
Zenith Virago was a married mother of two, when she left her family to begin again as a lesbian. Then she found a new path as a death walker, helping people navigate their life's end. Zenith grew up in England, and she was still at school when she fell in love with another student. At seventeen, she married Richard, Head Boy of the local Comprehensive school. They had two childr
Rasputin's killer and the Australian conductor
Conductor Alexander Briger has led orchestras all over the world. But his niche occupation is not the only fascinating thing about him. Alex's family history is wild.Alexander Briger has stood in front of musicians all over the world, summoning a gigantic, beautiful noise from them.Classical music was a huge part of Alex’s story growing up.He is the nephew of the famous conductor
Encore: The compulsive and complex behaviour I kept hidden for years
Adele Dumont was a teenager when she first started pulling out her hair, an urge that became so uncontrollable she was left with a bald spot.She would sometimes enter a trancelike state, covertly sitting on her bathroom floor, picking at her scalp for hours on end.The urge to pull at her hair was uncontrollable, and secret.When Adele finally put a name to her behaviour, she learn
Teaching boys behind the razor wire, inside Australia's juvenile detention system
Ralph Jackman was a sports journalist who retrained as a teacher in midlife, and got his first job at Melbourne’s Parkville Youth Detention Centre, where he was tested by the troubled and bright, charismatic young men.At the centre he found students who struggled with basic literacy, and he also met boys who were yearning for more than juvenile justice could provide.Ralph created
The doctor, the near-death experience, and the saint-in-waiting
After a near-death experience, Kate Clinch became drawn into the astonishing, Gothic story of a young Australian woman named Eileen O'Connor, who is buried under the floorboards of a home in Coogee.Kate was working as a GP in country South Australia when an ectopic pregnancy nearly killed her.She had a vivid near death experience, which prompted her to start interrogating inexpli
Encore: Designing for the drag queens in 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'
Costume designer Tim Chappel on the chance discovery at a train station that led him into a life of designing for films and the stage.Tim can’t remember all the places he lived, growing up on Army bases around the country, and overseas. His one constant as a kid was nature. He’d look for stick insects to pin into his collection and draw endless terrestrial orchids. Tim was ready
Australia’s ‘Bench Queen’ on her salvation — the gym
Growing up, para powerlifter, Hani Watson’s passion for lifting had been ignited by her dad and the pack of Arnold Schwarzenegger-types in their string singlets who would accompany him to lift weights. The gym has seen Hani through agonising moments in life, and all the way to the Paralympic Games. Warning: discussion of sexual assault.Throughout her childhood she was having oper
Encore: Jarvis Cocker and the Pulp masterplan
At just 15 years old, Jarvis Cocker wrote a manifesto that laid out his vision for a band he hoped would take over the music industry.Jarvis discovered the document while sorting through the boxes of stuff from his early life that he’d stashed away in his attic.It was in an an old school exercise book from when he was a fifteen-year-old schoolboy in Sheffield.He'd filled it with
Hannah Richell: loving my husband Matt, and finding my way after his death
Hannah had a beautiful love story with her husband Matt. After he died in a surfing accident, grief broke her open and changed her life in unexpected ways As a young couple, writer Hannah Richell and her husband Matt left London for a new life in Australia. They loved the ocean, the sun, and the people.Then one morning before work, Matt went for a surf at Bronte Beach, and, in a
Jacinda Ardern on her life as the ex-Mormon girl who became New Zealand's Prime Minister
During her two terms as PM, Jacinda gained global attention for her response to the terror attack in Christchurch and for giving birth at the same time as running the country.Jacinda grew up as a good Mormon girl who planned on making a difference behind the scenes.But when she unexpectedly became head of the Labor Party, only weeks away from a federal election, Jacinda discovere
Remembering Sam Neill, the shy boy from Dunedin who became a movie star
The much-loved actor Sam Neill had an unusual path into acting. Raised in New Zealand as a shy boy with a stutter named Nigel, he was 30 when he got his big break (R) Sam, who has died at the age of 78, was an acclaimed actor, a winemaker, an author, a cancer survivor and a Dad to four children. In recent years he had cared for cows, pigs, ducks and horses on his farm in New Zeal
Everyday magic, witch hunts and fairies in medieval Scotland
Fairytale expert, Kate Forsyth travels back in time to the stories of her youth, to a dark, fantastical and eerie world where cruelty and mischief abound.As a young girl, Kate was sent to stay with her great aunts in Newcastle and there was introduced to the darkness, magic and mystery of Scottish folklore.These stories lit Kate’s imagination on fire, and let to a lifetime of stu
Encore: My year in Japan, in stillness and silence
Travel writer Pico Iyer was at the peak of his career when an accidental layover at Narita airport saw him begin to question everything.Pico began flying around the world solo at the age of nine.His parents lived in America and he had become a boarder at the Dragon School in Oxford.To get to school and from school he took several flights each year alone.The formative experience o
How the Liberal Party lost its hold on Australia
Paul Kelly, Editor-at-Large of The Australian, investigates how the country went from the great reform age under Hawke, Keating and Howard, into the tumultuous Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison era of prime ministers, and arrived at the current existential crisis facing the Liberal Party.Paul started his career as a political journalist in the 1970s and was at old Parliament House when Go
NAIDOC 2026: From an iron lung to the page — Gayle’s life in comics and words
Wongaibon woman, Gayle Kennedy tells the story of her childhood, punctuated by years of treatment for polio. A bright child, she blitzed school and was drawn to comic book writing, which led to an award-winning career as an author.Gayle was two when she contracted polio. The family was living in a camp outside Condobolin when little Gayle collapsed at her aunt’s house.Gayle’s mot
NAIDOC 2026: Troy Cassar-Daley: the boy from Halfway Creek
Troy grew up travelling between two very different worlds with his Indigenous mum and his Maltese Dad. At just 17 he started on his path to becoming one of Australia's biggest country music stars (R) CW: Mentions suicide, please take care when listeningTroy Cassar-Daley is a proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man, and one of Australia's most beloved country music stars.As a 17-yea
NAIDOC 2026: Anita Heiss with stories of love and war from the Wiradjuri people
Writer Anita Heiss has based her novel Dirrayawadha on stories from the 1800s during the frontier wars in Bathurst, when martial law was declared.
NAIDOC 2026: Rachel Perkins on 'The Australian Wars'
The filmmaker on her series which documents a period some historians call the most important war Australia has ever fought in.Rachel Perkins is one of this country's great storytellers, translating distinctively Australian stories for the screen, including a television series first released in 2022 called The Australian Wars.It tracks the bloody conflicts that broke out across th
NAIDOC 2026: Victor the fire man on burning country to heal it
Tagalaka man, Victor Steffensen on the ‘walking encyclopedias’ — dear old men he met who entrusted him with their decades of cultural knowledge and taught him to apply the right traditional burn for the right environment, so Country can thrive. Victor advocates for small, cool fires that emit white smoke. This is something Indigenous people have done for tens of thousands of year
Finding love, compassion and God after a lifetime of drugs and crime
For 40 years, crime was the only constant in Lincoln Lynch’s life, until a prison stint forced him to look inward and change the trajectory of his life for good.His young mum went to prison for dealing drugs when Lincoln was little, and eventually he followed in her footsteps.Lincoln endured periods of homelessness and institutionalised abuse as a teenager, and he became a teen f
Encore: Gina Chick's wild grandmother, and embracing her life as 'an element'
The inaugural winner of Alone Australia on her life as a creative, outrageous, nature-loving misfit who grew up to live through great depths of love and grief. Warning: Discusses the death of a child.In 2023, Gina Chick spent 67 days by herself, in the wilderness of Tasmania’s West Coast, surviving on worms, fish, and one unlucky wallaby.After those 67 days, Gina became the first
Nuking the moon and mirrors in space—man's wildest attempts to control the weather
Nuking the moon, putting mirrors in space and blowing up the Polar ice caps are just some of history's hairbrained schemes to control the weather, an obsession man has had since the dawn of time.As a major heatwave tears through Europe, millions of people are frantically trying to stay cool, or praying for some relief. Their desperation is not new.For thousands of years, human ci
Encore: A brother's insight into the genius of artist David Hockney
John Hockney's memoir gives a rare insight into the unusual life of one of the world's most famous artists.He grew up in the industrial town of Bradford in Northern England and was one of five children in a creative household, led by his iconoclastic father Kenneth, a conscientious objector who always told his children to 'never worry what the neighbours think'.During the war, th
The mysteries, ghosts and healing powers of the Abbotsford Convent
For more than a century, Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent was occupied by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the "wayward" girls and orphans they took care of. Patricia Sykes was one of those girls.She was dropped off at the orphanage with her three sisters in the early 1950s after their mother died.Their father couldn't afford to take care of four girls at home, but wanted them
How limitations in life, love and creativity can actually set you free
Science writer David Epstein on why freedom can be the enemy of success and how we can all benefit from less choice, not more.We live today with vastly more freedom of choice than our ancestors.But there’s also plenty of research telling us all this choice is making us more anxious, overwhelmed and less creative.In his book, Inside the Box, David makes the case for how constraint
