Conversations

Mandy's life changed completely in 2013 when she fell terribly ill with sepsis. Since then, with prosthetic replacements for all four limbs, she has learned to walk and drive again, and she doesn't want applause for living her life like everyone else (CW: mention of suicide)

Claire Nelson was in the Joshua Tree National Park hiking alone when she strayed from the trail and slipped, shattering her pelvis. Her phone was out of range, and she knew she had to stay alive long enough for someone to realise she was missing (R)

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on witnessing the events of September 11th, 2001 from the window of a Washington hotel room (R)

Debra Gavranich with the story of her mother Marija, who left her tiny Croatian island to make a life with a man she’d never met, in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Valley

When the red-headed Englishman deserted the East India Company in 1827 to conduct his own archaeological digs in Afghanistan, he never imagined the Company would find him again, or try to blackmail him into spyingDr Edmund Richardson tells the story of Charles Masson, a red-headed Englishman, who embarked on a series of adventures and misadventures in Afghanistan after deserting from the East India Company Army in 1827.When Charles arrived in Kabul it was one of the wonders of the world, a wealthy and tolerant city in Asia and he fell in love with its bazaars, its fruit orchards, and its storytellers.Charles was on the trail of Alexander the Great.He set out to find one of Alexander’s lost cities, "Alexandria Beneath the Mountains".Along the way, Charles uncovered many treasures from Afghanistan’s Buddhist past.He visited the giant Bamiyan Buddhas (since destroyed by the Taliban) and discovered a 2000-year-old golden casket, which featured the earliest known face of the Buddha.And while Charles was digging up the past, the East India Company was tightening its net around him.Further informationAlexandria: The Quest for the Lost City is published by BloomsburyTo 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.

Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old

When Hayley moved to a cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, the rural idyll wasn't quite as she imagined (R)

Professor Pankaj Sah has a special interest in researching the amygdala and the possibility of treating PTSD to remove the fear and anxiety that come with it

As a young woman, Krystyna thought her father had taught her everything about Poland’s history, but she didn’t know that what he’d left out would become a focus of her life

One of the most influential disability rights activists in history tells her story of her fight for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human