Conversations

A portrait of one teacher and his class as they journey through the ups and downs of a school year.

Brendan James Murrary has been a high school teacher for more than ten years and although his own experiences at school weren't great, he ended up taking a job back at the school where he was a bullied and unhappy student.

During his time as a teacher he's seen hundreds of kids move through the same hallways and classrooms - boisterous, angry, shy, big-hearted, awkward - all of them on the journey to adulthood.

He's also discovered that what makes a good teacher has more to do with generosity and empathy than he first realised.

His memoir The School is both a tribute to the teacher who inspired him and a celebration of the kids who shape his career.

First broadcast in 2021 

The producer was Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

Further information

The School is published by Pan MacMillanThis episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores teaching, high school, bullying, school refusal, self harm, anxiety, teachers, mentors, empathy, generosity, regional high school, students, classrooms, support, mental health.

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.

The instructions found in endorsed baby books over the last century could be, with hindsight, bizarre or cruel. And were most often given by “experts” with no children of their own. 

Journalist and broadcaster, Richard Glover tackles the changing landscape of parenting advice.

He looks back at his own experience of being parented, which included having his ears sticky-taped while growing up in Papua New Guinea, and draws on modern day grand-parenthood to highlight the marked differences in how we raise our children.

Richard has delved into the archives to draw out the strangest, sometimes hilarious and rather heartbreaking pieces of parenting advice given to Australians over the last century. 

He finds advice on toilet training babies when they are weeks-old, and recalls the rich and practically disappeared language of corporal punishment.

Further information

How to Ruin a Child: A journey into the alarming, hilarious and ever-changing advice given to Australian parents is published by HarperCollins.

This episode was made on Gadigal country. It was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.

It explores caning, the cane, smacking, discipline, raising boys, raising girls, Truby King, family planning, Marie Stopes, eugenics, empire, blame the parents, sleeping through the night, breastfeeding, birth, childbirth, bonding, cuddling, skin on skin, manipulative baby, Hobbes, Rousseau, routine for baby, awake window.

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.

The author on the diagnosis that floored her and the gifts that got her through harrowing treatment — including a cat named Nicholas.

The Australian-Irish author was last on the program in 2020.

She reflected on her childhood by the railway tracks in the Clare Valley, South Australia, where she grew up with her band of brothers and sisters.

After she recorded that interview, Monica received a cancer diagnosis.

International borders were closed due to covid, and Monica found herself staying in a tiny unit with her mum and a cat they named Nicholas.

She didn't see her beloved husband John for almost a year.

Monica was prescribed a chemotherapy drug known as the 'red devil', and lost her thick, lustrous hair. And she survived.

It was 18-months later, back home in Dublin, when Monica could finally confront what had happened to her, and start to climb out of the deep anxiety and depression that marked her experience.

Further information

When Sullivan Met Lola is published by Penguin Random House.

This episode was made of Turrbal and Jaggera lands. The producer was Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores grief, cancer, Invasive ductal carcinoma, breast cancer, aggressive cancer, novels, characters, dread, anti-anxiety medication, antidepressant, near death experience, book tour, death of a sibling, chemo, support system, friends, chemo presents, large family, sibling love, long distance relationship.

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.

RAF pilot Frank Dell parachuted into Nazi occupied Holland after his plane was hit by cannon fire and with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters he got out alive.As a teenager, Frank saw the Battle of Britain played out in the skies above his village in the south of England.

He joined the RAF and piloted a De Havilland Mosquito on bombing raids into Germany.

In October 1944 Frank's plane was shot out of the sky and he parachuted into Nazi territory.

Frank witnessed extraordinary scenes as he walked his way through the countryside into occupied Holland.

It was there he joined the Dutch Resistance, and his war shifted to the fields, hay sheds and village lanes of the Netherlands.

This episode was first broadcast in 2014.

Further information

Frank Dell passed away peacefully in 2022 at the age of 98.

His family say that Frank had fond memories of meeting Richard and the chance to tell his story on Conversations.  A photo of Richard and Frank was included in a memorial sideshow at his funeral.

Mosquito Down (by Frank Dell with Brett Piper) is published by Fighting High

This episode of Conversations was produced By Michelle Ransom-Hughes and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.

It explores WWII, RAF, Nazi occupied Holland, Dutch resistance, the Battle of Britain, cannon fire, parachute emergency, support, survival, undercover, Nazi Germany, rescue, history, memoir, bombing raids, De Havilland Mosquito, 1944

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.

When Magda Szubanski discovered what had happened to her mum as a child, she began to see her in an entirely new light (CW: discussion of sexual abuse, please take care when listening)

Magda released her first memoir a few years ago, to widespread acclaim.

It was the story of how Magda unearthed the life story of her Polish-born father and his role as an assassin during WWII.

Magda's now written her second memoir which hinges on the life story of her charming and funny Scottish-born mother, Margaret.

Magda had a complicated and deeply loving relationship with her mum, who sometimes lashed out at her daughter in devastating ways.

Two years after Margaret died, Magda found out a tragic secret about her life.

The revelation explained so much, and Magda later began to re-examine specific events in her own childhood with a new understanding.

Content warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse.

I Can't Tell You But I Will is published by Text Publishing.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Elizabeth Kulas. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores Australian actors, Australian comedians, Australian television, Australian cinema, Kath and Kim, mothers and daughters, childhood abuse, child on child abuse, sexuality, queerness, queer actors, gay marriage referendum, intergenerational trauma, coming out, famous lesbians, Sharon Strzelecki, Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet, Heath Ledger, youngest children, cancer diagnosis, Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Maggie Smith, memoir, writing, books, Australian literature, family origin stories, nervous system, fight, flight, freeze, fawn, Catholic school, George Orwell, mental health, university, shame, pray the gay away, suicidal thoughts, LGBT rights, same-sex marriage, George Miller, domestic violence, violence against women, group think, free bleeding, activism, Madrid, Spain, grief, Catholicism.

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.

Laurie Lawrence's obsession with winning Gold started when he was a small boy growing up above the Tobruk Pool in Townsville. When he became a coach, he had an epiphany about the nature of victory.

When Laurie was a child, he had a chronic lung condition that meant he had to sleep sitting in a chair.

Doctors advised his parents that an operation was necessary, and part of one of his lungs was removed.

After the operation, Laurie's father took over the management of Townsville's Tobruk Pool, and the family lived in an apartment overlooking the lanes. 

In 1956 the Australian Olympic team came to the pool to train there.

A short time later, Laurie's mother fled the marriage and took her children to live in Brisbane where she ran a boarding house 'full of inebriates'.

Laurie grew up to become a teacher, and won a place on the Australian Rugby Team. 

Then he moved back to Townsville to start a new career as a swimming coach.

In 1970, a 13-year-old girl Laurie was coaching named Helen Gray won a silver medal at the Queensland Championships.

When she presented him with it, Laurie spat on the medal and threw it over the pool fence. 

What he did that day eventually saw him ask himself big questions about the meaning of victory in the pool.

Learn more about Laurie Lawrence at his website.

Read about Laurie resources and programs to keep kids safe in the water: Kids Alive is supported by the Federal Government; World Wide Swim School is for teachers, parents, coaches and swim schools.

Laurie has also released a new online interactive baby swimming resource.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores sports, sporting life of Australia, being competitive, Australian Olympic team, drownings in Australia, why everyone learns to swim in Australia, equitable access to water, winning at all costs, learning to swim, when should my child learn to swim, Australian icons. Rugby Union, Wallabies, Australian sporting icons, water safety, water education, pool gates.

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.

Kim Huynh on his family's remarkable journey from Vietnam to Australia. And taking on the role of carer for his fiercely strong-willed father, Thiet.

Kim grew up in Canberra, arriving in Australia with his family as refugees from Vietnam.

Like many migrant children, Kim is a very driven person and has taken on a lot of responsibilities in life.

He is an academic, an ABC broadcaster, an author and a father.

And when his 80-year-old father had a serious stroke, Kim also took on the role of carer.

He had to find a way to help look after his dad, with whom he was living, continue working, bringing in an income, and help raise his own son.

As he continued to care for his father, Kim had to come to terms with the conflict between his dad's increasingly frail body and his still-fierce willpower; the same willpower that got his family to safety some 45 years earlier.

As a carer and a father, Kim has also had to navigate the complexities of giving his whole self to the people he loves, while still feeling like he wasn't doing enough for anyone.

My Old Man and Me is published by HarperCollins.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores family history, family origin stories, carers, stroke, Vietnamese refugees, Vietnamese in Australia, Vietnamese boat people, refugee crisis, migration, political asylum, fall of Saigon, Vietnam War, re-education camps, Indochina refugee crisis, Hoa people, fatherhood, intergenerational trauma, the body keeps the score, epigenetics, books, writing, memoir, taking care of your parents, fathers and sons.

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.

The legendary actress Jane Fonda on her activism, her hair epiphanies and why older women are often fearless.

Jane has lived her entire life in the public eye, as the daughter of acting aristocracy.

Her father Henry Fonda was a Hollywood legend by the time she was born.

Jane grew up to study acting with Lee Strasberg, and Marilyn Monroe was a classmate.

But behind the public adoration, Jane was battling some big personal demons, including bulimia and the legacy of a shocking family tragedy.

In her 30s she began re-assessing her life and work, and became a leader of the anti-Vietnam War movement, earning her the nickname of Hanoi Jane from the American Press.

After the Vietnam War ended, she remained committed to political activism, so she released a series of work-out videos to help fund change in America.

After two more marriages, Jane had an epiphany about her 'third act' of life.

She decided to devote it to helping change the world, and now at 88 years old, she is still spending much of her time raising awareness about climate change and other social issues.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores Hollywood, Hollyweird, celebrity culture, activism, climate change, the climate crisis, women's rights, women's empowerment, second wave feminism, intersectional feminism, Dolly Parton, 9 to 5, Gracie and Frankie, tech bros, oligarchs and billionaires, life lessons, old school Hollywood, Hollywood royalty, motherhood, parenting, Donald Trump, blacklist.

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.

Iconic Australian musician, actor, youth advocate and charity ambassador Angry Anderson has died at the age of 79.

Angry spent 50 years in the music industry with his legendary rock band, Rose Tattoo, and the band was due to return to the stage this month for another Australian tour.

But Angry was much more than a raging rock n' roll animal.

He was an incurable romantic, despite his violent childhood in Melbourne. 

He was a loyal, devoted father of four, and Angry was always a friend to the little guy.

You can read more about Angry Anderson's remarkable life at the ABC News website.

Originally broadcast in January 2007.

Angry's youngest son, Liam Anderson, died in 2018.

This episode of Conversations explores Australian music, celebrity deaths, cardiac arrest, Obituaries, fatherhood, childhood abuse, pub rock, Countdown, musical controversies, Sharpies, modern fatherhood, substance abuse, television, Australian television, Kylie Minogue, Neighbours, Ray Martin, politics, Australian icons, Australian legends, Australian kitsch, RIP Angry Anderson.

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.

Alison Hoddinot was one of the first Australian women to study at Oxford University, but one of her lecturers, J.R.R Tolkein, refused to take on a woman PhD student. 

Alison was born in Tasmania in 1931.

As a young woman she won a scholarship to study at Oxford University.

But when she arrived, none of the male professors including J.R.R Tolkien, would take on a woman PhD student.

Back in Tasmania Alison became great friends with the poet Gwen Harwood.

The two shared recipes, letters, and the challenges of combining work and motherhood.

During their friendship Gwen shocked the nation when she used acrostic sonnets to pull a wild hoax on The Bulletin magazine in 1961.

First broadcast in 2018

Further information

In 2022 Alison Hoddinot passed away after a short illness

Women, Oxford and Novels of Crime and Gwen Harwood: Idle Talk - Letters 1960-1964 are published by Brandl and Schlesinger

Read more about Gwen and Alison's friendship and their letters