Conversations
ABC Australia
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 14, 2026 • 51min
Encore: My parents died in a plane crash and what came next
Peter Goers, retired ABC broadcaster, theatre director and author of a memoir about losing his parents in a 1982 plane crash. He recounts the shock of the crash, frantic travel to New Orleans and the identification ordeal. He describes Pan Am’s tactics, years of self-destructive grief and the slow recovery that followed. He reflects on memory, companionship and small moments of love that endure.
10 snips
May 13, 2026 • 54min
The secret obsession of a Supreme Court Justice
George Palmer, a retired NSW Supreme Court judge who secretly spent decades composing classical music, tells of a double life. He discusses choosing law over music, hidden composing, a chance public reveal, hearing loss, and creating operas including an adaptation of Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife. Short reflections on wartime roots, adoption cases and a late-life musical flourishing round out the conversation.
May 12, 2026 • 48min
Encore: How to sleep well and what can get in the way
Dr Sutapa Mukherjee, a sleep specialist and professor who studies insomnia, narcolepsy and sleepwalking, guides us through the secret life of sleep. She talks about REM and memory, parasomnias like sleepwalking and cataplexy, why naps and sleep timing matter, links between sleep and immunity, and practical strategies for insomnia and undiagnosed sleep apnoea.
May 11, 2026 • 54min
Moana Hope on a life spent caring for others and re-learning how to love
Moana Hope, former AFLW marquee and community footballer who cared for family while building a life beyond sport. She talks about growing up in a crowded home, shouldering caregiving roles, returning to footy and the realities of semi‑pro life. She also explores motherhood, therapy and relearning how to love and set boundaries.
15 snips
May 8, 2026 • 47min
Prolonged old age, the sandwich generation and biohacking—the realities of an aging Australia
Lucinda Holdforth, writer who explores what makes societies flourish, talks about the realities of extended longevity and caring for the elderly. She discusses the sandwich generation and the burden on women carers. She examines biohacking and longevity trends, the economic and political strains of an ageing population, and practical choices around ageing, care and end-of-life planning.
11 snips
May 7, 2026 • 51min
Encore: The misfit mammal that defies biological conventions
Jack Ashby, British zoologist and Assistant Director at Cambridge Museum of Zoology, and author of Platypus Matters. He tells vivid stories about first encountering platypus specimens and seeing wild platypuses in Tasmania. He explains the platypus’s weird anatomy—electroreceptive bill, cheek pouches, webbed digging feet and venomous spurs. He also reflects on echidnas, historical reactions to Australian mammals, and conservation concerns.
May 6, 2026 • 53min
Lessons in living, grief and love from the Lebanese Civil War
Antoun Issa, journalist and author who grew up in Melbourne to Lebanese civil war survivors, explores his mother’s hidden grief and family history. He recounts life in Craigieburn, returning to Lebanon as a reporter, wartime violence, loss and resilience. The conversation traces memory, migration and the personal costs of conflict.
May 5, 2026 • 52min
Encore: Colm Toibin on his early life and running away to Barcelona, Brooklyn and beyond
Colm Toibin, Irish novelist and essayist behind Brooklyn and Long Island, reflects on leaving Ireland for Barcelona and beyond. He recalls childhood memory, Catholic upbringing, post‑Franco sexual freedom, travels from Sudan to LA, and how small details and family life surface in his fiction. The conversation traces origins, reinvention, and the curious moments that feed his novels.
May 4, 2026 • 53min
'Propeller vs forearm, croc vs leg': The incredible job of a remote bush doctor
Damien Brown, a specialist rural doctor and author who worked with Médecins Sans Frontières and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, recounts dramatic rescues and life in conflict zones and remote Australia. He talks about treating severe burns after a fuel-tank blast, working amid gunfire, the struggles of chronic disease in Indigenous communities, and the slow, vital power of incremental care.
May 1, 2026 • 51min
A journey to help thousands of horses and revive an ancient tradition
Kasimir Burgess, filmmaker who directed Iron Winter documenting Mongolia’s winter horse migration. He recounts discovering the story, tracking a massive moving herd across frozen steppes, and the mythic rite of passage for two young herders. He discusses filming hardships, brutal zud storms, the herd’s care rituals, and how the community responded to the finished film.
