Conversations

By ABC Radio

Society & Culture

What's Conversations about?

Spend an hour in someone else's life. 'Conversations with Richard Fidler' draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met.

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LAST EPISODE

Inside the Robbers Cave: te...

05.24.2019

Gina Perry uncovers the strange story behind a controversial psychological experiment (R)

Conversations episodes:

05.24.2019 Inside the Robbers Cave: testing tribal loyalties at a boys summer camp Gina Perry uncovers the strange story behind a controversial psychological experiment (R)
05.23.2019 The great dogs of Australian history Dog whisperer Guy Hull on remarkable dogs, from life-saving kangaroo dogs to plane-flying Alsatians (R)
05.22.2019 In and out of strife: Vickie Roach's turbulent life Vickie's met with trouble all through her life, starting with a police record at the age of two. She went on to challenge a Federal law on the rights of prisoners
05.21.2019 Bob Hawke on a life in power The late Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke on his life before politics, and his years at The Lodge (R)
05.20.2019 How Australian Labor lost 'the unlosable election' Social Researcher Rebecca Huntley on Australia's new political landscape
05.17.2019 Jessie Cole's survival story After two suicides within her family, Jessie returned to Northern NSW to begin again. (R)
05.16.2019 How to change a mind Eleanor Gordon-Smith on how one night in King's Cross upended her belief in the power of reason
05.15.2019 Irvine Welsh: the origins of Trainspotting As a young man, Irvine Welsh fell off a double-decker bus and won a tidy sum in compensation. Then he began to write 'Trainspotting'
05.14.2019 The story of The Snowy Siobhan McHugh wrote a history of the Snowy Scheme and discovered tales of drowned towns, pugnacious unionists, terrifying brumbies and a love story in a laundry floor
05.13.2019 Revealing the scars: the life of Kate Mulvany Kate has used tragic events in her own life as creative fuel to write more than 25 plays (R)
05.10.2019 When the library burned Susan Orlean on the mystery of who set fire to the Los Angeles Central Library
05.09.2019 The brutal and beautiful world of Australia's native bees Toby Smith takes us into the hives of Australia's native bees
05.08.2019 How a milkmaid with cowpox changed history David Isaacs on the surprising history of human vaccination
05.07.2019 This is your captain speaking On 9/11 Captain Beverley Bass diverted her American Airlines jet to a tiny town in Newfoundland, along with thousands of other airspace refugees
05.06.2019 Monsters and morals: Sarah Perry Sarah’s life took a gothic turn as she crafted her version of Melmoth
05.03.2019 The power of Less: Andrew Sean Greer The Pulitzer Prize winner was working as an odd-jobs man for an Italian Baroness when a phone call upended his life
05.02.2019 How George Saunders became 'a genuinely freaky person' George Saunders was a knuckle puller in a slaughterhouse and drove a chicken delivery van before he became a writer
05.01.2019 Hunting the turquoise-blooded frog Biologist Jodi Rowley has identified 26 new species of frogs in South-East Asia and Australia (R)
04.30.2019 Taking the pulse of a dopesick nation The opioid crisis is destroying hundreds of thousands of American lives and Beth Macy has been up close to it
04.29.2019 An erratic family saga Vicki Laveau-Harvie was estranged from her parents for decades, before she was summoned to their isolated ranch on the Canadian prairies (R)
04.26.2019 Mary Bryant: no ordinary highwaywoman The epic life story of a First Fleet rebel as told by Meg Keneally
04.25.2019 Questioning the line of duty Why Gwen Cherne became an advocate for war widows after the death of her husband Pete (R)
04.24.2019 Listening to China Professor David Walker on the history of the Australia-China relationship
04.23.2019 Stan Grant on Australia Day Reflections on what it means to be Australian
04.22.2019 Vasilisa the Wise and the witch Baba Yaga Kate Forsyth explores a classic Russian folk tale and delves into the romantic life of the Brothers Grimm (R)
04.19.2019 Diving bells, gangsters and the women of the Brooklyn Navy Yards Acclaimed novelist Jennifer Egan dives into the chaos, romance, and hard graft of the old Navy Yards (R)
04.18.2019 Melina Marchetta: that Italian girl The real story behind Looking for Alibrandi
04.17.2019 Mark Scott on stepping outside the echo chamber Mark led the ABC through a decade of dramatic change. Now he's on a quest for digital minimalism
04.16.2019 How the iPhone rewrote the teenage brain David Gillespie on how Fortnite and Instagram are altering the neural pathways of a generation
04.15.2019 The ethics of everything: Simon Longstaff Simon Longstaff's life was changed by one of the most searing ethical dilemmas imaginable
04.12.2019 Climbing K2, custody and other extreme challenges Adventurer Adrian Hayes on what he learned while attempting the world’s second tallest summit
04.11.2019 Sam Thaiday: how to build a Bronco An NRL champion talks candidly about his challenges on the road to football fame
04.10.2019 The truth about space junk Space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman on the unexpected artefacts of the space age
04.09.2019 The secret life of the 'Beauty Queen Killer' Duncan McNab on how Australian-born criminal Christopher Wilder became America's most wanted
04.08.2019 A mountaineer's reckoning Mountaineer Neill Johanson was trekking near Everest Base Camp when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the roof of the world
04.05.2019 Fearless Alice Anderson and her all-girl garage The story of an Austin-driving Australian maverick who died in mysterious circumstances
04.04.2019 Mamma Simba: love and Tanzania Donna Duggan fell in love with a Tanzanian man and together they built a safari company
04.03.2019 Unlocking the mystery of Motor Neurone Disease Dominic Rowe is asking how common degenerative brain diseases begin (R)
04.02.2019 Finding Mer-Neith-it-es When archaeologist Dr Jamie Fraser opened an 'empty' Egyptian sarcophagus, he found a 2600 year old mummy of a temple Priestess inside
04.01.2019 Letters to a serial killer Crime writer Candice Fox began exchanging letters with a serial killer on death row. Then he asked to meet her in person
03.29.2019 Prisoner to PhD: the rise of Kerry Tucker An opportunity to further her education while serving time proved the making of Kerry (R)
03.28.2019 Felafel and fatherhood John Birmingham on rebuilding his life after devastating loss, years after he wrote his 90s cult novel
03.27.2019 More than kindness: compassion and its uses Paul Gilbert on how our brains are wired for inner conflict and possible cruelty, and what to do about it
03.26.2019 Anton Enus, son of the Masked Marvel Journalist Anton Enus grew up as the son of a professional wrestler, in apartheid-era South Africa
03.25.2019 Death on the summit of Mount Kosciuszko Historian Nick Brodie on how a 1928 adventure on the slopes of Australia's highest mountain went horribly wrong
03.22.2019 Disrupting forensic science and playing with fire Chemist and fire scene investigator Niamh Nic Daeid on doing science in the service of justice
03.21.2019 Cradle Mountain's great love story Kate Legge traces the lives of pioneering naturalists Kate Cowle and Gustav Weindorfer in Tasmania's sublime wilderness
03.20.2019 Women of the American heartland Sarah Smarsh on the idiosyncratic women who raised her in Kansas
03.19.2019 Dr Budgerigar Bob Doneley is one of the only Australian vets specialising in the health of budgerigars (R)
03.18.2019 Going back to Baghdad Doctor Munjed Al Muderis on returning to Iraq to operate on soldiers and civilians wounded in the war against ISIS

Older episodes

Conversations

What's Conversations about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Conversations episodes:

Inside the Robbers Cave: testing tribal loyalties at a boys summer camp

The great dogs of Australian history

In and out of strife: Vickie Roach's turbulent life

Bob Hawke on a life in power

How Australian Labor lost 'the unlosable election'

Jessie Cole's survival story

How to change a mind

Irvine Welsh: the origins of Trainspotting

The story of The Snowy

Revealing the scars: the life of Kate Mulvany

When the library burned

The brutal and beautiful world of Australia's native bees

How a milkmaid with cowpox changed history

This is your captain speaking

Monsters and morals: Sarah Perry

The power of Less: Andrew Sean Greer

How George Saunders became 'a genuinely freaky person'

Hunting the turquoise-blooded frog

Taking the pulse of a dopesick nation

An erratic family saga

Mary Bryant: no ordinary highwaywoman

Questioning the line of duty

Listening to China

Stan Grant on Australia Day

Vasilisa the Wise and the witch Baba Yaga

Diving bells, gangsters and the women of the Brooklyn Navy Yards

Melina Marchetta: that Italian girl

Mark Scott on stepping outside the echo chamber

How the iPhone rewrote the teenage brain

The ethics of everything: Simon Longstaff

Climbing K2, custody and other extreme challenges

Sam Thaiday: how to build a Bronco

The truth about space junk

The secret life of the 'Beauty Queen Killer'

A mountaineer's reckoning

Fearless Alice Anderson and her all-girl garage

Mamma Simba: love and Tanzania

Unlocking the mystery of Motor Neurone Disease

Finding Mer-Neith-it-es

Letters to a serial killer

Prisoner to PhD: the rise of Kerry Tucker

Felafel and fatherhood

More than kindness: compassion and its uses

Anton Enus, son of the Masked Marvel

Death on the summit of Mount Kosciuszko

Disrupting forensic science and playing with fire

Cradle Mountain's great love story

Women of the American heartland

Dr Budgerigar

Going back to Baghdad

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