Conversations

Conversations
Conversations
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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. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.

  1. 9 hr ago

    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, the late Sir Charles Mackerras; and descended from the so-called "father of Australian music", Isaac Nathan. Another branch of Alex's family tree astonishingly connects him to the man who murdered Rasputin. Rasputin was a Russian peasant and mystic, whose abilities as a faith healer drew him into the inner circle of the Russian Tzars. Fearing his destructive grip on the monarchy, a posse of aristocrats led by Alex’s ancestor, Prince Felix Yusupov, drew Rasputin into a trap, luring him to his death in a Saint Petersburg basement in 1916. In recent years, Alex was invited to Russia to conduct a modern opera, coincidentally called and about Rasputin, in a full circle moment. Alex is back in Australia right now as the chief conductor and artistic director of the Australian World Orchestra, the only ensemble of its kind in the world. The Australian World Orchestra is playing in Melbourne on 19 August and in Sydney on 20 August. You can find out more about the orchestra and its performances online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores classical music, Russian revolution, family history, Paris, Munich, Berlin Philharmonic, conducting, symphony, Mahler, the great Western composers, Wagner, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Jewish Australians, whacky history, Yusupov, how did Rasputin die, European politics, Bolshevik Revolution, the October Revolution, exile, ballet, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australian classical music, Australian expats. 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.

  2. 1 day ago

    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 learnt that trichotillomania has a complex history and psychological understanding, much of which remains unknown. This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024 The producer was Meggie Morris and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney Further information The Pulling is published by Scribe Some helpful resources on trichotillomania include Trich Stop and The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours

  3. 2 days ago

    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 bonds with some of the boys that proved his teaching was making a connection.  But he also saw how hours of isolation in their cells stamped the hope out of the young men, despite the committed teachers’ best efforts. Further information Detention is published by Allen & Unwin. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Research by Alice Moldovan. This episode covers incarceration, troubled youth, youth work,  behind bars, youth detention, Tony Abbott, Hugh Jackman,  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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

  4. 5 days ago

    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 inexplicable and miraculous events. Kate hadn't grown up Catholic, or even religious, but years after her near death experience, she was drawn into the story of a young Australian saint-in-waiting named Eileen O'Connor. Eileen lived in Sydney at the turn of the 20th century. She lived with profound physical disabilities, standing at only 115cm tall, but somehow she managed to head up a group of nurses who delivered free medical care to people living in the slums of Sydney. Eileen's story is an astounding collection of ups and downs - suffering, tragedy, a scandalous relationship with a young priest, threats of excommunication, a wartime sea voyage to Rome and a meeting with the Pope. And she is currently being scrutinised by the Vatican for possible canonisation, which would make Eileen Australia's second saint. Every Inch a Saint is published by Monkfish. Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor has been caring for the sick and disadvantaged in their own homes for more than 100 years. You can read more about the religious order and the lay nurses who work with the nuns - colloquially known as the Brown Nurses - online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores spirituality, dying, sickness, religion, faith, Christianity, Catholic Church, World War One, Spanish Influenza, TB, Tuberculosis, history, Australian history, nuns, priests, scandal, people living with disability, sainthood, miracles, near death experiences, metaphysical experiences, motherhood, doctoring, medicine, modern medicine, x-rays, medical history, resilience, divinity, holy, the divine, sainthood, how does someone become a saint, what is a miracle, living with disability, spinal deformity, grief, death. 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.

  5. 6 days ago

    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 to focus his life on botany when he found a copy of French Vogue at Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. He was entranced by the glamour of the clothes and felt an instant connection to the tailoring. Tim was creating shorts for bartenders and costumes for drag queens at Sydney's Albury Hotel when he got a new job offer. That's when he signed up to design the costumes for an Australian film called Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, work which would later win him an Oscar. More information There is a sequel in the works for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Read more about it here

  6. 22 Jul

    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 operation after painful operation, to try to straighten her bowed legs. After each surgery, the metal pins and screws would wreak havoc in Hani’s legs, and they resumed growing in the same way they always had. In high school, ruptures at home meant Hani had to move out and support herself, and she lost touch with her mum.  During this distressing time, a kindly school principal gave Hani the keys to the school gym, and that place became an anchor once more. After another unsuccessful surgery in her 30s, Hani was enjoying the freedom of a wheelchair, compared to the agonising and exhausting effort of walking. She turned to powerlifting to recover, which led her to worldwide competitions, eventually earning a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.  Hani also competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Further information If you need support, you can chat online with someone at Lifeline, or call on 13 11 14. Hani won a bronze medal for Australia in Glasgow at this year’s Commonwealth Games! Read more here. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode covers weightlifting, powerlifting, para-powerlifting, paralympian, disability, athlete, bowed legs, osteotomies, plates and screws in your leg, divorce, marriage, trauma, domestic violence, family violence, mental health, mental illness, psychosis, weight training, drugs, drug mule, marijuana, high school, bullying, popular kids, assault, sexual assault, competition, bunnings, wheelchair, VAD, QVAD, voluntary assisted dying and chores.  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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

  7. 21 Jul

    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 detailed plans to form a band called Pulp that would storm the music industry. But it took fourteen years for his 'Pulp Masterplan' to come to fruition, when his song ‘Common People’ went to the top of the UK charts. This interview was first broadcast in 2023  Further information This interview was recorded at the 2023 Melbourne Writers Festival  Good Pop Bad Pop is published by Random House

  8. 20 Jul

    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 tragic accident, drowned. Hannah was lost to grief....and overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for their two little children all alone. But, painstaking, day by day, month by month, year by year she found her way back to life. Hannah discovered that her heart could expand to include all of it - the joy and the heartbreak, the sweetness and the pain, the love and the loss. Further information:   An Ocean And A Day is published by HarperCollins

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Hosts & Guests

About

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. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.

Information

  • Channel
    Conversations
  • Creator
    ABC Australia
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    2.9k
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Conversations

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