Conversations

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Updated 14 Sept
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Updated 28 Sept
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Updated 05/12/2014
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Updated 18 Sept
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Updated 24 Sept
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Updated 15/12/2017

5 days ago

Anthony Scaramucci on Trump, getting fired and owning his mistakes

Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci on his childhood, becoming a success on Wall Street and why backing Trump was a colossal error.Anthony grew up on Long Island, part of a large Italian-American community and far away from the world of money, power and influence. When he was accepted into a prestigious university, Anthony’s parents put their retirements savings on the line to make sure he was able to go. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he began his career on Wall Street, then into political fundraising as a way to network and meet new clients. Famously, he would come to global notoriety when he was fired 11 days into his stint as White House spokesman during Donald Trump’s first term as US President.Since then he has distanced himself from Trump and the MAGA movement and built a reputation as a sharp observer of US politics.Anthony's latest book All the Wrong Moves: how three catastrophic decisions led to the rise of Trump is published by Penguin. This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores US politics, US history, Italian migration to American, poverty, Pennsylvania, Long Island, sand mining, family, middle class America, working class, elite universities, Harvard Law School, Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, Donald Trump, The White House, getting fired, MAGA, the Republican Party, Barack Obama,
15 Oct

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 of south-east Asia, where he would spend every possible hour in the ocean with a snorkel. As an adult, Culum's marine biology studies around the world (including the UK and Finland) have revealed many facts which up-end the basis of our common understanding of fish. His research has shown that even the smallest fish are capable of learning and can retain memories for months. Within schools of fish, there is often a strict social hierarchy which can include forms of bullying. His research into Port Jackson sharks has revealed a lot about their social lives as 'puppies of the sea'. He work has also revealed that sting rays have especially good memories and can distinguish days of the week. Learn more about Culum's work at The Fish Lab. First broadcast in 2020. This episode of Conversations explores
9 Sept

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 series that her deep pleasure in the world of books began in earnest.⁠Shaped by her family's story of surviving World War Two, Louise grew up in questioning everything. She was 15 years old when she went to her first Vietnam moratorium and was locked up for her role in the protests.⁠ She travelled to Israel at the age of 17, which was a transformative experience for her.⁠⁠Back in Australia, Louise began her career in publishing, backing some unconventional and headline-grabbing authors from Tony Abbott and Mark Latham to Louise Milligan and Mick Gatto.⁠Louise was Director of Adelaide Writers’ Week from 2023, until the dramatic collapse of the 2026 festival.⁠ This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It was recorded live at the Byron Writers Festival. It explores writing, writers, books, Australian literature, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Israel, Palestine, Anti-Semitism commission, Judaism, WWII, Holocaust survivors, Adelaide Writers Festival, Byron Writers Festival, freedom of speech, Australian literary scene, origin story, Auspol, politics, big ideas, memoir, love, marriage, safe spaces, Grace Tame.
26/03/2025

Loneliness — it's not only you

Loneliness is a universal experience, for each of us at some point in our lives. Journalist Ros Thomas travelled the world to investigate, and find the antidote. To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversation podcast' with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities. Ros spent a year travelling around the world to research something all of us have experienced — loneliness. She met an old man who had learned to thrive through crushing grief with the help of a small, desktop robot. Ros visited a share house in Sweden where pensioners live with young asylum seekers, who care for each other like grandparents and grandchildren. And she explored her own early and devastating experience of loneliness — when her father abandoned the family when Ros was a tiny child. This episode of Conversations touches on loneliness, isolation, being a friend, social connection, community modern history, life story, fatherhood, absent fathers, personal stories, family dynamics, fathers, solutions to loneliness, the loneliness epidemic, Churchill Fellowship and connection.
10 Sept

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 local yacht club where their dad DJ'd every Saturday night. Singing became something Meg was encouraged to do herself after she developed a stutter as a little girl. And eventually it grew from a therapy into a thrill. Meg's stutter was something she did her best to disguise while building her career as a singer and songwriter in Australia. But after going public about her speech impediment in a TedX Talk, Meg realised she no longer cared about hiding who she was. This honesty led to a whole host of exciting new opportunities – including becoming the voice of Calypso in Bluey, and making a film with her husband based on the iconic Paul Kelly song, “How To Make Gravy”. More information This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. The Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney. It explores Papua New Guinea, DJ, filmmaker, being expelled from high school, creative arts, performance camps, eisteddfods, Rodgers and Hammerstein, love at first sight, quick wedding, spirituality, Christianity, Brisbane. To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
16/04/2019

How the iPhone rewrote the teenage brain

David Gillespie on how Fortnite and Instagram are altering the neural pathways of a generation
12/07/2013

Singer Shellie Morris on the beauty of Indigenous language

Broadcast date: Friday 12 July 2013
21/07/2014

Dennis McIntosh's story: Part 1

Broadcast date: Monday 21 July 2014
11/07/2013

Storyteller Bob Randall: child of the stolen generation

Broadcast date: Thursday 11 July 2013
21/08/2015

Paul Grundy: leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses

Paul was raised as a Jehovah's Witness in a loving family in Hobart.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.