Conversations

While they greet one another with soft "woohoos", carefully feed their fat, fluffy babies and bleat at sunset, field naturalist Tanya Loos keeps an eye on the beautiful and ferocious population in her backyard

When an eruption began in 1994 in Papua New Guinea, the last thing singer-songwriter Ngaiire expected was a second volcano to begin spewing ash. Tuning in to the mystery and majesty of PNG has become a lifelong project (CW: Some listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening)Throughout her childhood, singing was something Ngaiire did at church, somewhat begrudgingly, because her dad told her to.The singer-songwriter grew up between Palmerston North in New Zealand and her father's home in Rabaul, a volcanic hot spot on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea.As a child, she and her family survived a double volcanic eruption in 1994, and the chain of events that followed pulled Ngaiire to Wenamo, her mother's ancestral home in the Highlands.Amongst the mountains, Ngaiire leaned into quiet spirituality and connected with her ancestors, both living and deceased.Music is a delight and a necessity for Ngaiire, but in the past she tried to separate her Papua New Guinean heritage from her music career in Australia.That changed in 2017 when she made a pilgrimage to her mother's mountain.Further informationSome listeners may find parts of this conversation upsetting. Please use discretion when listening.The following songs have been edited for the podcast:ShiverHim 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.

Zen priest and writer Ruth Ozeki takes us into world brimming with the voices of people and household objects, and her own experience of hearing her father's voice in her ear after he'd died

David Hepworth charts our fascination with that most earth-bound of gods, the rock star; and discusses some of music history's striking examples (R)

After Isaac Adams returned from Afghanistan struggling with anger and hypervigilance, he found that working with traumatised racehorses was helping him heal

Lynn Rainbow grew up in a castle in one of Australia’s most theatrical families. In the 1970s she became a famous actress, before she began a new life as a philanthropist

'Jack the Insider' returns with the story of Neddy Smith, the violent criminal and heroin dealer who became an enforcer for a cabal of corrupt police detectives in the 1980s (CW: discussion of violent acts)

Miriam Lancewood on her life roaming the New Zealand bush, hunting possums and goats to survive (CW: Graphic descriptions) (R)

Miriam was conceived in an air raid during WWII and brought up in a nice Jewish home with a charismatic mother. She became the naughtiest girl at Oxford High School and then grew up to be one of the world's best known actors

How the 'Men at Work' front man managed the trip to mega-stardom and back again (R)