Conversations

When Danna Young's husband Mike received a terrible diagnosis, she found herself drawn to conspiracy theories in the search to find someone, or something to blame

Australian comedian on Nanette, her 'farewell' to stand up comedy; being diagnosed with high-functioning autism as an adult; and on Douglas, the show and the dogHannah made an instant impression with her first comedy set, winning a national contest in 2006. She quickly became a regular on the Australian and UK festival circuits, and on television shows including Adam Hills Tonight and Please Like Me.After a decade of consistent work, Hannah wrote a show called Nanette, which she billed as her 'farewell' to comedy. In it, Hannah used the familiar context of stand-up to talk powerfully about trauma, her own trauma, and what her life's been like from the inside. It was confronting and raw, as well as tough for Hannah to perform, and made a huge impact with audiences, critics and other comedians.Nanette was filmed for a Netflix comedy special, becoming one of the most popular ever. It earned Hannah prestigious Peabody and Emmy awards and a level of fame she never expected.Hannah's most recent show was Douglas. In Douglas, Hannah explains that shortly before writing Nanette she received a diagnosis of high-functioning autism.Further informationDouglas and Nanette are available on NetflixTo 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.

When Pasi was a boy he would sneak into his father's empty schoolroom in northern Finland and pretend to be a teacher. Now he's one of the world's leading voices in education, encouraging schools to help kids find their passion in life, and to follow it

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when she hand-reared a magpie nestling. When it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers to study avian behaviour. Her books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking (R)

Meet a sound designer and naturalist who makes field recordings all over the world. He then puts them to use in soundscapes for film and television, galleries, museums and apps (R)

Uncle Jack was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby and denied his Aboriginality. A one-off trip to Fitzroy connected him with a family he didn’t know about, and promptly landed him in jail (R)

Europe's startling deep past explained: pygmy dinosaurs, blue-eyed Neanderthals; and how an asteroid the size of Manhattan ruptured everything (R)

The Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less was working as an odd-jobs man for an Italian Baroness when a phone call upended his life (R)

Walking through grief and facing up to life on the Pacific Crest Trail, the true story of Wild (R)

Celebrated British poet Lemn Sissay grew up not knowing his given name or his Ethiopian parents. His life was shaped by being adopted, and then raised in state care (R)