Conversations ABC listen

Firie Bronnie Mackintosh attends emergencies to cut people out of crushed cars and rescue them from burning buildings. Her strength was forged in Rotorua, New Zealand, where she experienced a violent undercurrent and the region's first frothy coffees, introduced by her parents (R)

What happens when a man can't stop his drive and desire for more? Author Andrew O'Hagan dissects the pitfalls of more money, more success and more applause in his latest novel

In the decades before Ruth Shaw became a bookseller in New Zealand's Fiordland, she lived the incredible stories of adventure, love and tragedy that now line the shelves in her shops

Artist Brigita Ozolins grew up hearing about the magic of her mother's home country, Latvia. It wasn't until she was in her 50s that Brigita understood why her mother fled that paradise, full of flowers and polite children

Astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths was making an atlas of our galaxy when she discovered an entirely new spiral arm of the Milky Way

Sean Fong is a para world champion in jiu-jitsu. The 'gentle' martial art has allowed Sean to shatter any illusions that society might have about people with physical differences (R)