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ABC Australia

Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption.

Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.

Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.

Conversations

For 40 years, crime was the only constant in Lincoln Lynch’s life, until a prison stint forced him to look inward and change the trajectory of his life for good.

His young mum went to prison for dealing drugs when Lincoln was little, and eventually he followed in her footsteps.

Lincoln endured periods of homelessness and institutionalised abuse as a teenager, and he became a teen father, before winding up in prison himself.

There, in his cell, Lincoln discovered God’s teachings about compassion and forgiveness, and he resolved to leave prison a different man.

On the outside, he was given practical, real-life support to re-establish his life at a halfway house in Sydney called Rainbow Lodge.

With new-found confidence and purpose, Lincoln started studying psychology, fell in love and is now working at the lodge, helping other men find their way outside of prison.

Content Warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion about childhood abuse and sexual assault.

More information about Rainbow Lodge can be found online.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Rebecca McLaren and Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.

It explores judicial system, justice system, recidivism, substance abuse, heroin, meth, speed, homelessness, sleeping rough, childhood abuse, sexual assault, sexuality, institutional abuse, mother son relationships, grief, drug dealing, crime, guilty verdict, prison system, prison sentence, serving time, changing your life, turning your life around, love, relationships, fatherhood, psychology, Vince Hurley, policing, criminology, intergenerational trauma, God, spirituality, reform.

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.

Finding love, compassion and God after a lifetime of drugs and crime

The inaugural winner of Alone Australia on her life as a creative, outrageous, nature-loving misfit who grew up to live through great depths of love and grief. Warning: Discusses the death of a child.

In 2023, Gina Chick spent 67 days by herself, in the wilderness of Tasmania’s West Coast, surviving on worms, fish, and one unlucky wallaby.

After those 67 days, Gina became the first-ever winner of a reality show on SBS called Alone Australia, but her approach to the competition was very different from the other contestants.

For Gina, the wild was not an enemy to be overcome but a place with no hierarchy, where she feels completely herself.

It’s always been that way, since she was a 'weird' little girl with a rare affinity with birds and nature.

As an adult, Gina spent years inside Sydney’s queer club scene and working for an all-girl security firm, but life changed completely for Gina when she became a mother herself.

Further information

If you need support after listening to this story, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Gina's book We are the Stars was published by Simon & Schuster in 2024.

The Executive Producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.

This episode explores motherhood, parenting, reality television, Alone Australia, winner of Alone, hunting, survival, did Gina catch the wallaby? adoption, adoptees, Kiama, South Coast NSW, ADHD, birds, neurodiversity, bad boyfriends, debt, sexually transmitted debt, scent, pheromones, younger men, Oxford Street, survival, nightclubs, podium dancing, synaesthesia, breast cancer.

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.

Encore: Gina Chick's wild grandmother, and embracing her life as 'an element'

Nuking the moon, putting mirrors in space and blowing up the Polar ice caps are just some of history's hairbrained schemes to control the weather, an obsession man has had since the dawn of time.

As a major heatwave tears through Europe, millions of people are frantically trying to stay cool, or praying for some relief. Their desperation is not new.

For thousands of years, human civilisations have been obsessed with trying to control the weather, to stave off drought and famine, in order to survive.

There are ancient tales of great kings who could part the oceans, and deities who would bring down the rain if they were presented with the right kind of sacrifice.

But it wasn’t until the last century that we suddenly had the technology to actually do these kinds of things, or at least attempt to do them.

Some of these wild ideas - to bring water to the desert, drain the Mediterranean Sea to make farmlands, simply make Russia a warmer place to live - have involved blowing up the Polar ice caps, putting mirrors in space, and nuking the moon.

They sound dangerous and unlikely, but some of them have come true.

And now, many people are at work on brand new gigantic geo-engineering solutions to counteract the effects of the warming planet.

Palaeontologist and explorer, Tim Flannery, has been tracking the progress of some of these schemes.

A Brief History of Climate Folly, written with Emma Flannery, is published by Text Publishing.

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

It explores weird science, crazy science, Elon Musk, China, Trump, feats of engineering, space exploration, the human ego, wild weather events, magic, supernatural, religion, God, divinity, human sacrifice, famine, starvation, migration, global warming, climate change, European heatwave, Paris heatwave, fossil fuel, deforestation, COP, climate change policy, sea levels, floods, Summer, water, gas, electricity, solar power, politics, renewables.

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.

Nuking the moon and mirrors in space—man's wildest attempts to control the weather

John Hockney's memoir gives a rare insight into the unusual life of one of the world's most famous artists.

He grew up in the industrial town of Bradford in Northern England and was one of five children in a creative household, led by his iconoclastic father Kenneth, a conscientious objector who always told his children to 'never worry what the neighbours think'.

During the war, there were many shortages. As child, John's brother David would creep downstairs in the morning and draw on whatever paper was available.

He drew figures, streets, houses, landscapes and cartoons on the white edge of the newspaper, his mother's magazines, or whatever comics arrived that day.

When David got his first sketchbook at the age of 10, his parents realised his drawing was much more than compulsive doodling.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2020

Further Information

John Hockney's memoir is called The Hockneys: Never Worry About What the Neighbours Think

Encore: A brother's insight into the genius of artist David Hockney

For more than a century, Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent was occupied by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the "wayward" girls and orphans they took care of. Patricia Sykes was one of those girls.

She was dropped off at the orphanage with her three sisters in the early 1950s after their mother died.

Their father couldn't afford to take care of four girls at home, but wanted them to stay together, so an orphanage felt like his only option.

As a girl, Patricia, a gifted student who loved music and words, desperately wanted to escape the convent.

But later in life, after finally finishing school and then university as a mother and mature student, Patricia returned to Abbotsford Convent.

As a poet in residence, Patricia went back on her own terms to hear and to tell the stories of dozens of women who passed through its doors, and to interrogate her own understanding of her time with the nuns.

Patricia's collection of poetry is called The Abbotsford Mysteries. You can find information about all of Patricia's books online.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.

It explores religion, Christianity, Catholicism, Australia of yesteryear, modern history, Melbourne, Victoria, nunnery, orphanages, grief, sisterhood, education, women's rights, motherhood, losing a mother, the Queen, writing, books, late life career change.

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 mysteries, ghosts and healing powers of the Abbotsford Convent

Science writer David Epstein on why freedom can be the enemy of success and how we can all benefit from less choice, not more.

We live today with vastly more freedom of choice than our ancestors.But there’s also plenty of research telling us all this choice is making us more anxious, overwhelmed and less creative.In his book, Inside the Box, David makes the case for how constraints can unlock creativity and satisfaction.

And why after writing this book he now believes that narrowing your options can truly set you free.

Further Information

Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better is published by Macmillan

You can learn more about David Epstein here

This episode was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores creativity, innovation, creative burnout, relationships, technology, art, music, rules, deadlines, science, General Magic, Apple, Iphone, sport, choice, anxiety, creative thinking, rules.

How limitations in life, love and creativity can actually set you free

Veteran performer Paul Capsis on his strict upbringing and the strong female role models who helped him stay in school despite the brutality.

A powerful and expressive voice, flamboyant physical presence, and mane of dark hair have become his trademarks as a performer.

But when Paul was growing up in inner-city Sydney as the child of Greek and Maltese parents, these same qualities brought him a world of trouble. At school he was relentlessly ridiculed and beaten.

The love of his Maltese grandmother, Angela, and other family members, helped Paul stay in school despite the brutality; as did immersing himself in the music of his favourite singers, Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2018

The producer was Michelle Ransom Hughes and the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.

It explores performing, singing, homophobia, bullying, Maltese heritage, Greek heritage, strong female role models, Janis Joplin, cabaret, grandmas, women, inner-city Sydney.

Encore: The traits I was teased about are now my trademarks

Anna Dombkins was 25 years old, when she and her husband happened on a television program about adoption which would completely change their lives. CW: this episode of Conversations discusses adoption.

It was a documentary investigating the unimaginable conditions of some orphanages in China.

The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.

The newly married couple felt compelled to adopt children who had no other family support, but because they already had biological children, it was near impossible to adopt in Australia.

While living in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for a number of years, Anna saw how many children were coming into local orphanages not because they were unwanted or because their biological parents had died, but because their families simply couldn't afford to take care of them.

So, since returning to Australia and becoming a mother to her sixth child, Anna became the founding director of Forever Projects, a charity supporting Tanzanian women in poverty, so they can live independently, care for and keep their babies without having to resort to adoption.

Forever Projects has since helped more than 3,000 babies remain with their families.

Home Forever: Adoption, hope and the mountains we’re all climbing is published by Pepper Press, Fair Play Publishing.

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

It explores families, motherhood, fostering, overseas adoption, fatherhood, siblings, blended families, cultural awareness, Australian adoption policy, faith, religion, Christianity, serving the community, marriage, love, intergenerational, grandparents, grief, cancer, Moshi, Forever Angels Baby Home, five under five, lawyers, legal system.

The adoptive mum who now fights to keep families together

Country music artist Kasey Chambers has spent her life making music and connecting with audiences. It’s what she believes she was put on the earth to do.

Growing up Kasey and her family spent much of the year camping and roaming the Nullabor Plain where her dad would hunt for foxes and rabbits.

She started singing around the campfire as a little girl and went to sleep to the sound of her father’s rifle as he worked through the night.

Singing came naturally to Kasey, and she loved all the old country classics, as well as some Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen.

The title of Kasey’s memoir is a tribute to her father and the most important piece of advice she’s ever received.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.

Further Information 

Just Don't Be A D**khead is published by Hardie Grant.

You can learn more about Kasey's music here

This episode of Conversations explores family, childhood, growing up in rural Australia, music, singing, country music, camping, hunting foxes and rabbits, fathers, guitar, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, ARIA Hall of Fame, eating disorders, motherhood.

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.

Encore: How not to be a d***head with singer Kasey Chambers

James O'Loghlin had only just reconnected with one of his best and oldest friends, Jum Wallner, when Jum received some terrible news. What began next was a high stakes race with a fatal deadline.

The two men had grown up in Canberra, where thousands of homes had been filled with asbestos, which was often carelessly installed and removed.

Jum himself had grown up in one of these so-called "Mr Fluffy" homes, named after the local company that had installed the carcinogenic insulation.

When Jum felt a pain in his side, it wasn't long before the father of two and husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given months to live.

Jum had discovered that if you got sick from being exposed to asbestos in your workplace you were entitled to compensation, but if it came from your home, you got nothing.

So Jum asked his old friend James for some help to petition the powers that be to help asbestos victims like himself and their families.

James began a race against time, trying to convince both the ACT and Federal governments to help Jum and others, in the middle of a pandemic, before it was too late.

Along the way, James and Jum reconnected deeply as friends who desperately wished they had more time together.

The Missing Piece is published by Echo Publishing.

More information about the Loose-Fill Asbestos Disease Support Scheme can be found at the ACT Government's website. 

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

It explores friendship, male friendship, university days, terminal disease, James Hardie, cancer, terminal diagnosis, how to grieve a friend, activism, petition governments, Covid, pandemic, Greg Hunt, Angus Taylor, compensation, accidental activist, dying friends, mourning, funerals, Andrew Barr, ALP, Labor party, Liberals, bipartisan, Albanese, politics, Auspol, burnout, diagnosis.

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.

A race against time to help my friend dying from mesothelioma

Gonzo journalist and writer John Safran on why he decided to squat in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West.John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be, from breaking into Disney Land, to infiltrating fascist strongholds in Australia.

A couple of years ago, one of his journalistic expeditions saw him squatting in an abandoned Hollywood mansion belonging Kanye West.

John had seen a clip of the hip hop start denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because they are actually Jewish.

His week writing and snooping in this strange house, with no running water and a vulture in the roof, made John go increasingly loopy as he tried to understand what pushed this critically acclaimed artist from celebrity eccentric to seriously 'out there'.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024

It explores Kanye West, Judaism, antisemitism, Hollywood, hip hop, Christianity, Nazism, racism, hip hop, squatting, the Donda Academy, journalism, Adidas, money, fame, documentary, writing, the Holocaust, mental health, celebrity, mansions

Further information

Squat is published by Penguin.

Encore: My eerie week inside Kanye West's Hollywood mansion

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