Conversations

Mark Woodland is an unexpected CEO — he started his career in the Army as a tribute to his late brother, then went on to revolutionise his mum's paper-based childcare company. As a young man Mark Woodland was at a loss with what to do with his life. After years of moving around, the family — headed by Mark's single mum — settled in Ipswich, Queensland, where Mark showed himself to be a playful and enthusiastic boy, but school wasn't his first priority. When he graduated, Mark was most interested in driving around with his friends, playing music loudly with the windows down. When he needed money to fill the tank, Mark found a job at McDonald's. His younger brother was a new recruit to the Army when he was killed in a car accident. Ben was just 18. Mark decided to honour his brother by keeping Ben's wish alive, and so Mark joined the army, and served for 10 years. He left to help his mum run her childcare business, and Mark revolutionised the business' administrative system, moving from paper to a digital world. Today Mark is the founder and CEO of tech healthcare company Kismet. Further information Read more about the short film, Versa. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It covers infant loss, NDIS, digitisation, childcare subsidy, daycare, family business, Army, Navy, not giving up, not quitting, car accident, morgue, Ipswich, Brisbane, Puckapunyal, Albury-Wodonga. 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.

Mary Li was a star ballerina when she fell in love with her dance partner Li Cunxin. When their daughter Sophie was born profoundly deaf, Mary walked away from dance for many years. Mary says she was the least likely girl to grow up to be a ballerina, She grew up in a family of eight kids in the rough and tumble of the Queensland country town of Rockhampton. But in a little timber hall, with cattle trains rolling by outside, Mary discovered a talent for dance. That talent, and a huge amount of hard work and family support took her to the Royal Ballet School in London at sixteen. She then became the principal dancer with the London Festival Ballet, then the Houston ballet. There in Houston Mary fell in love with her dance partner Li Cunxin. Li had also come a long way from his home in rural China, defecting to the U.S. as an adult and then becoming an internationally celebrated dancer. In Houston Li and Mary married and had their first child, a beautiful daughter named Sophie. But when Sophie was 16 months old their lives were turned upside down. This episode was first broadcast in 2020 Further information Mary's Last Dance is published by Penguin

After a catastrophic car crash in the parking lot of her hospital, Dr Olivia Ong became a paraplegic. But her obsession with learning how to walk again was stronger than her incomplete spinal cord injury. When Olivia Ong was 28 years old, she had the world at her feet. She had recently qualified as a doctor, something she had dreamed of since she was a child growing up in Malaysia. She had married a man she loved deeply, and they were busy building their future together. Then, everything changed after a car crashed into her in the parking lot of the hospital she worked in. Olivia now refers to herself as a 'walking paraplegic'. She spent years working hard to walk again, using simple exercise therapies she discovered in the United States. Back On My Feet: From Doctor to Patient is published by HarperCollins. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores medicine, university, love, faith, spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, car crashes, from doctor to patient, marriage, love, motherhood, pain specialist, rehab specialist, California, Project Walk, exercise therapy, surgery, wheelchair user, people living with disability, parenting with disability, accessibility. 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.

Lynne Shori grew up with her hero dad, thinking her Papua New Guinean mother was dead. As an adult, she discovered the truth and set about finding her lost family. When Lynne was growing up, it was just her and her dad. Lynne's dad was her hero; he was different and adventurous but she always felt safe with him when they went on hair-raising adventures together in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. He had always told Lynne that her mum had died in childbirth. But when she became an adult, Lynne discovered this wasn't true. Just as she turned 40, Lynne set off to a remote island in northern Papua New Guinea to discover the truth of her family story. Once she started gathering all the answers to her lifelong questions, Lynne and her father then set about healing their own, very special relationship. Find out more about Wantaim PNG, and the work they're doing across remote Papua New Guinea, online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores the Pacific, Pasifika, family origin stories, Stolen Generations, charity work, tok Pisin, Manus Island, father daughter relationships, mixed race children, Australia's relationship with PNG, sanitation, education, discovering your truth, mental health, mother daughter relationship, Melanesian culture, family, siblings, blended families, Oceania, geopolitics, knowing your parents, therapy, estrangement, reunion, forgiveness, grief, identity, Sydney, finance, mid-life crisis, rehab, sense of community, family secrets. 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.

Steve Biddulph spent decades working to understand what children need as they grow, but then in his mid-50s, Steve gained an insight that shifted almost everything about how he saw himself. Steve likes to remind us that humans are 'big sensitive mammals' with needs for connection and self awareness. As a psychologist (now retired) and parent educator, he has been at the forefront of an evolving conversation about masculinity, emotional intelligence, caring for our children and making sense of our own childhoods. His best-selling books include The Secret of Happy Children, Raising Boys, Raising Girls and Manhood. But it wasn't until he was in his mid-50s that Steve gained an insight into a huge facet of his own story. He was having a lunch with a friend, a psychiatrist, who began asking him a series of pointed questions. That conversation shifted almost everything about how Steve saw himself. This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2021 The producer was Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney. Further information Fully Human: A New Way of Using Your Mind is published by Pan Macmillan

Environmental journalist, Michael Dulaney looks at viruses and bacteria that can move between bats, horses, seals, pigs, voles and even polar bears, and the conditions that lead to human infection. These diseases are known as zoonoses. Michael says climate change, urban sprawl, animal farming and even homelessness contribute to wild animals coming into ever closer contact with people, leading these illnesses to move from creatures to us. To understand how this process works, Michael has researched the volunteers dedicating their lives to conservation. He has camped out on a freezing Victorian night to try to catch ducks with a net shot from a cannon, to test them for bird flu. He has gone frog hunting in the jungles of Indonesia, and he’s visited a suburban Melbourne apartment where a dedicated citizen gives up her master bedroom to a collection of injured flying foxes, while she sleeps in the spare room. Michael also explains how the curious case of Trench Fever fits into the zoonotic puzzle. It was found first in Edmonton, Canada in 2022, when patients developed a serious heart condition after they were given organs donated by homeless victims of the opioid crisis. Further information Sentinels: When diseases spread between animals and humans is published by Scribe. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode covers H5N1 bird flu, covid-19, pandemic, lockdown, flu, cat flu, swine flu, hendra virus, horse racing, horse trainer, fly by night bat clinic, Werribee poo ponds, necropsy, chicken farms, disease-proof pigs, PRRS, CRISPR, vaccines, vaccination, smallpox, pox virus, borealpox and northern red-backed vole. 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.

Colleen Gwynne led the investigation into the murder of the British backpacker and eventually confronted his killer in prison. In 2001, Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were ambushed on a remote stretch of road in the outback and Peter was shot dead. Colleen was working as a cop in Alice Springs when she was asked to take over the complex murder case. With help from the F.B.I, her work saw Bradley John Murdoch arrested and charged. She confronted him in prison, and refused to be intimidated, despite his intense aggression towards her. Murdoch was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in 2025. After leaving the police force, Colleen took up another challenging job. She became the Northern Territory Children's Commissioner, tasked with protecting vulnerable children. Colleen's own story mean she brings a unique understanding to the work. This episode was first broadcast in 2018 The producer was Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.

Nikki Goldstein was in a coma in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital when she first 'met' Rabbi Eli Schlanger. When she woke, the pair embarked together on a project to share the wisdom, compassion and universality of several Jewish teachings. Although they were from very different worlds, when Nikki gained consciousness and met Rabbi Eli properly the two became fast friends. Then, they started writing a book together - based on the deep and expansive conversations they began having about hope, personal growth, spirituality and modern life. Rabbi Eli wanted Nikki's help to share seven ancient Jewish guidelines on living a good life, which he believed could be helpful to anyone, Jewish or not, who was looking for a way to live in a world that feels increasingly chaotic. While Nikki and Rabbi Eli didn't agree on everything all the time, they did both believe these teachings to be universal in their compassion and wisdom. The pair had just recorded their last conversation for the project in December last year, when Rabbi Eli was one of 15 people killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack. Nikki decided to honour his memory by finishing their book alone. Conversations with My Rabbi is published by HarperCollins. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores religion, faith, modern living, disconnection, hope, radical empathy, togetherness, multiculturalism, learning from others, spiritual, family, near-death experiences, autoimmune disease, anti-Semitism, terrorism, grief, tragedy, suffering, meaning of life, spiritual teachings, friendship, prayer, meditation, Judaism, secularism. 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.

Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney on the heartwarming and heartbreaking reasons humans continue to lovingly tend to their gardens — for healing, beauty and joy. For thousands of years, tending to a garden or a small farm meant human survival. But now, with massive commercial farms, genetically modified crops, refrigerated freight and modern irrigation, we don't need to tend to our own gardens to survive. So why, then, do so many of us still lovingly plant, water and cultivate flowers, fruits and vegetables? Or watch 'lawn porn' to relax? It's a question that Hannah Moloney has asked thousands of gardeners from around the world. Hannah is a permaculture educator, landscape designer and the Tasmanian presenter for ABC TV's Gardening Australia. Gardening is in Hannah's blood, having grown up in a herb nursery run by her green-thumbed father in the Brisbane suburbs. For Hannah, gardening remains a lifeline, a way to bond with her family and a joyful act of protest. Why We Garden is published by Simon & Schuster. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores gardening, hobbies, outdoor activities, mental health, grief gardening, why we like being outdoors, gardening as meditation, the beauty of our gardens, Australian native gardens, vegetable patches, how to grow your own vegetables, fruit trees, family origin stories, losing a parent, pregnancy, motherhood, postpartum depression, gardening for healing, creative inspiration, human history, horticulture, climate change, global warming, food scarcity, food supply, drought, flood, famine, Costa Georgiadis, green thumb, meditation. 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.

Zenith Virago was a married mother of two, when she left her family to begin again as a lesbian. Then she found a new path as a death walker, helping people navigate their life's end. Zenith grew up in England, and she was still at school when she fell in love with another student. At seventeen, she married Richard, Head Boy of the local Comprehensive school. They had two children, Jodie and Todd. Then at 24, Zenith had a realisation about who she really was. She left her husband and children to begin a new life as a lesbian in New Zealand, Eventually she arrived in Byron Bay, where she met a community of people who inspired her. One day, Zenith's dear friend Sylvia died unexpectedly doing yoga in her garden. Rather than outsourcing to the funeral industry, Sylvia's loved ones took over her funeral and cremation themselves. This experience launched a new path for Zenith, and she became a ‘death walker’, helping people navigate the end of life with reverence and calm. In the midst of her new chapter, the death of a former lover brought her third son Tane back into her life unexpectedly. Further information Original broadcast February 2019 Learn about Zenith Virago's Natural Death Care Centre Help and information are always available Lifeline 13 11 14 24 hour counselling Beyond Blue's telephone and online counselling 1300 22 4636

Conductor Alexander Briger has led orchestras all over the world. But his niche occupation is not the only fascinating thing about him. Alex's family history is wild. Alexander Briger has stood in front of musicians all over the world, summoning a gigantic, beautiful noise from them. Classical music was a huge part of Alex’s story growing up. He is the nephew of the famous conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras; and descended from the so-called "father of Australian music", Isaac Nathan. Another branch of Alex's family tree astonishingly connects him to the man who murdered Rasputin. Rasputin was a Russian peasant and mystic, whose abilities as a faith healer drew him into the inner circle of the Russian Tzars. Fearing his destructive grip on the monarchy, a posse of aristocrats led by Alex’s ancestor, Prince Felix Yusupov, drew Rasputin into a trap, luring him to his death in a Saint Petersburg basement in 1916. In recent years, Alex was invited to Russia to conduct a modern opera, coincidentally called and about Rasputin, in a full circle moment. Alex is back in Australia right now as the chief conductor and artistic director of the Australian World Orchestra, the only ensemble of its kind in the world. The Australian World Orchestra is playing in Melbourne on 19 August and in Sydney on 20 August. You can find out more about the orchestra and its performances online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores classical music, Russian revolution, family history, Paris, Munich, Berlin Philharmonic, conducting, symphony, Mahler, the great Western composers, Wagner, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Jewish Australians, whacky history, Yusupov, how did Rasputin die, European politics, Bolshevik Revolution, the October Revolution, exile, ballet, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australian classical music, Australian expats. 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.

Adele Dumont was a teenager when she first started pulling out her hair, an urge that became so uncontrollable she was left with a bald spot. She would sometimes enter a trancelike state, covertly sitting on her bathroom floor, picking at her scalp for hours on end. The urge to pull at her hair was uncontrollable, and secret. When Adele finally put a name to her behaviour, she learnt that trichotillomania has a complex history and psychological understanding, much of which remains unknown. This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024 The producer was Meggie Morris and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney Further information The Pulling is published by Scribe Some helpful resources on trichotillomania include Trich Stop and The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours

Ralph Jackman was a sports journalist who retrained as a teacher in midlife, and got his first job at Melbourne’s Parkville Youth Detention Centre, where he was tested by the troubled and bright, charismatic young men. At the centre he found students who struggled with basic literacy, and he also met boys who were yearning for more than juvenile justice could provide. Ralph created bonds with some of the boys that proved his teaching was making a connection. But he also saw how hours of isolation in their cells stamped the hope out of the young men, despite the committed teachers’ best efforts. Further information Detention is published by Allen & Unwin. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Research by Alice Moldovan. This episode covers incarceration, troubled youth, youth work, behind bars, youth detention, Tony Abbott, Hugh Jackman, 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

After a near-death experience, Kate Clinch became drawn into the astonishing, Gothic story of a young Australian woman named Eileen O'Connor, who is buried under the floorboards of a home in Coogee. Kate was working as a GP in country South Australia when an ectopic pregnancy nearly killed her. She had a vivid near death experience, which prompted her to start interrogating inexplicable and miraculous events. Kate hadn't grown up Catholic, or even religious, but years after her near death experience, she was drawn into the story of a young Australian saint-in-waiting named Eileen O'Connor. Eileen lived in Sydney at the turn of the 20th century. She lived with profound physical disabilities, standing at only 115cm tall, but somehow she managed to head up a group of nurses who delivered free medical care to people living in the slums of Sydney. Eileen's story is an astounding collection of ups and downs - suffering, tragedy, a scandalous relationship with a young priest, threats of excommunication, a wartime sea voyage to Rome and a meeting with the Pope. And she is currently being scrutinised by the Vatican for possible canonisation, which would make Eileen Australia's second saint. Every Inch a Saint is published by Monkfish. Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor has been caring for the sick and disadvantaged in their own homes for more than 100 years. You can read more about the religious order and the lay nurses who work with the nuns - colloquially known as the Brown Nurses - online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores spirituality, dying, sickness, religion, faith, Christianity, Catholic Church, World War One, Spanish Influenza, TB, Tuberculosis, history, Australian history, nuns, priests, scandal, people living with disability, sainthood, miracles, near death experiences, metaphysical experiences, motherhood, doctoring, medicine, modern medicine, x-rays, medical history, resilience, divinity, holy, the divine, sainthood, how does someone become a saint, what is a miracle, living with disability, spinal deformity, grief, death. 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.

Costume designer Tim Chappel on the chance discovery at a train station that led him into a life of designing for films and the stage. Tim can’t remember all the places he lived, growing up on Army bases around the country, and overseas. His one constant as a kid was nature. He’d look for stick insects to pin into his collection and draw endless terrestrial orchids. Tim was ready to focus his life on botany when he found a copy of French Vogue at Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. He was entranced by the glamour of the clothes and felt an instant connection to the tailoring. Tim was creating shorts for bartenders and costumes for drag queens at Sydney's Albury Hotel when he got a new job offer. That's when he signed up to design the costumes for an Australian film called Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, work which would later win him an Oscar. More information There is a sequel in the works for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Read more about it here

Growing up, para powerlifter, Hani Watson’s passion for lifting had been ignited by her dad and the pack of Arnold Schwarzenegger-types in their string singlets who would accompany him to lift weights. The gym has seen Hani through agonising moments in life, and all the way to the Paralympic Games. Warning: discussion of sexual assault. Throughout her childhood she was having operation after painful operation, to try to straighten her bowed legs. After each surgery, the metal pins and screws would wreak havoc in Hani’s legs, and they resumed growing in the same way they always had. In high school, ruptures at home meant Hani had to move out and support herself, and she lost touch with her mum. During this distressing time, a kindly school principal gave Hani the keys to the school gym, and that place became an anchor once more. After another unsuccessful surgery in her 30s, Hani was enjoying the freedom of a wheelchair, compared to the agonising and exhausting effort of walking. She turned to powerlifting to recover, which led her to worldwide competitions, eventually earning a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. Hani also competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Further information If you need support, you can chat online with someone at Lifeline, or call on 13 11 14. Hani won a bronze medal for Australia in Glasgow at this year’s Commonwealth Games! Read more here. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode covers weightlifting, powerlifting, para-powerlifting, paralympian, disability, athlete, bowed legs, osteotomies, plates and screws in your leg, divorce, marriage, trauma, domestic violence, family violence, mental health, mental illness, psychosis, weight training, drugs, drug mule, marijuana, high school, bullying, popular kids, assault, sexual assault, competition, bunnings, wheelchair, VAD, QVAD, voluntary assisted dying and chores. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

At just 15 years old, Jarvis Cocker wrote a manifesto that laid out his vision for a band he hoped would take over the music industry. Jarvis discovered the document while sorting through the boxes of stuff from his early life that he’d stashed away in his attic. It was in an an old school exercise book from when he was a fifteen-year-old schoolboy in Sheffield. He'd filled it with detailed plans to form a band called Pulp that would storm the music industry. But it took fourteen years for his 'Pulp Masterplan' to come to fruition, when his song ‘Common People’ went to the top of the UK charts. This interview was first broadcast in 2023 Further information This interview was recorded at the 2023 Melbourne Writers Festival Good Pop Bad Pop is published by Random House

Hannah had a beautiful love story with her husband Matt. After he died in a surfing accident, grief broke her open and changed her life in unexpected ways As a young couple, writer Hannah Richell and her husband Matt left London for a new life in Australia. They loved the ocean, the sun, and the people. Then one morning before work, Matt went for a surf at Bronte Beach, and, in a tragic accident, drowned. Hannah was lost to grief....and overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for their two little children all alone. But, painstaking, day by day, month by month, year by year she found her way back to life. Hannah discovered that her heart could expand to include all of it - the joy and the heartbreak, the sweetness and the pain, the love and the loss. Further information: An Ocean And A Day is published by HarperCollins

During her two terms as PM, Jacinda gained global attention for her response to the terror attack in Christchurch and for giving birth at the same time as running the country. Jacinda grew up as a good Mormon girl who planned on making a difference behind the scenes. But when she unexpectedly became head of the Labor Party, only weeks away from a federal election, Jacinda discovered she had a talent for leadership. Jacinda's memoir about her time as PM and her life before and after is called A Different Kind of Power. This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake and Nicola Harrison is the Executive Producer. Further Information A Different Kind of Power is published by Penguin. For more information, Penguin authors Jacinda Ardern

The much-loved actor Sam Neill had an unusual path into acting. Raised in New Zealand as a shy boy with a stutter named Nigel, he was 30 when he got his big break (R) Sam, who has died at the age of 78, was an acclaimed actor, a winemaker, an author, a cancer survivor and a Dad to four children. In recent years he had cared for cows, pigs, ducks and horses on his farm in New Zealand while making Pinot Noir. In his remarkable career as an actor he starred in more than 100 films including Jurassic Park, My Brilliant Career, and The Piano. A few years ago, stuck in Sydney while undergoing treatment for cancer, Sam found himself with a lot of time on his hands to reflect on his eclectic life. Sarah spoke to him in 2023 after the release of his quirky, funny and life-affirming memoir. Further information: Did I Ever Tell You This is published by Text