From his daily coffee addiction to the 'war on drugs', science writer Michael Pollan's research into three psychoactive substances derived from plants was broad in scope. In this episode he talks about how caffeine, opium and mescaline affect our brains, change us as people, and make a profound impact on societies that use them

(CW: Drug references)

Getting psychoactive — plant-derived drugs that change our minds

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

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Relationships

For 100 years Australia has been collecting tens and thousands of letters and diaries from deployed service personnel. These are just some of the moving, beautiful and tragic stories among them

ANZAC Day: letters from the front

When Dr Rhonda Wilson was in year 10, she was told she should drop out of school and settle for becoming "just a mum". This is how Rhonda defied the expectations others, and she, had for herself

How Rhonda defied expectations

From muscle paralysis and sleepwalking, to the power of our subconscious, Dr Sutapa Mukherjee takes you into the secret world of sleep

Dr Sutapa Mukherjee on how to sleep well

When Ray Kelly Snr's grandfather was asked to translate "telephone" into Gumbayngirr, he responded with “muuya barrigi”, or flying breath (CW: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners please be advised this program contains discussion of people who have died. Please take care when listening)

Ray and the great language recovery

Pádraig Ó Tuama survived conversion therapy and exorcism as a young gay man in a church in Ireland, then became a leading peace negotiator and a poet (R)

Getting psychoactive — plant-derived drugs that change our minds

Download our free app to listen on your phone