Taranaki descendent Rachel Buchanan with the story of priceless Maori artwork and their role in the ransom of a child, kidnapped by Italian gangsters

How women cricket players saved the "gentleman's" game and repaired diplomatic relations between England and Australia

Melissa Redsell was 16 and in her last year of school when she found out she was pregnant. Although many people told her she'd 'ruined her life' she went on to prove everyone wrong

Firie Bronnie Mackintosh is built from tough stuff - she attends emergencies to cut people out of crushed cars and rescue them from burning buildings. Her strength was forged in Rotorua, New Zealand, where she experienced a violent undercurrent and the first frothy coffees, introduced by her parents

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 (R)

Listened to around the world by locals, spies and military officials, Radio Australia has long been rated by its hundreds of thousands of global listeners as more informative than the BBC World Service. So why don't we know anything about it?

Hilton Koppe on how his life as a soccer-obsessed country GP changed forever when he became a patient himself

Hilton Koppe grew up knowing his parents wanted him to become a doctor. When he got the marks to make it into medicine, they were overjoyed.

By the time he was 30, he'd started working as a country GP.  Hilton then became a beloved local doctor in Northern NSW, and he worked there for more than 3 decades.

But a few years ago, Hilton's own health suddenly went awry. He started experiencing constant neck pain, and then the side of his face went numb.

He was sent him for an MRI, which revealed nothing.

But then his own GP gave him an unexpected diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, related in part to his work as a doctor.

This news up-ended almost everything about Hilton's life.

Further information

Hilton's memoir is called One Curious Doctor

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.

Deborah Lawrie had her first flying lesson at 16, then became a flying instructor herself. But when she applied for a job as a pilot, she found herself in the fight of her life (R)

Vic Simms, Jen Cloher, Vika and Linda Bull, Rob Hirst, Elena Kats-Chernin, William Barton with stories from their formative years

Novelist John Grisham with his life story; from his work as a trial lawyer, to writing, and how he became involved in a movement using DNA testing to exonerate the innocent (R)