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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

When Anh Nguyen Austen was a small girl, her family fled South Vietnam on a boat which met a once-in-a-century storm in the South China sea. When all on board thought hope was lost, they were rescued.

Holiday listening: Anh Nguyen Austen's story of rescue and reinvention

For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ. Kelvin is a proud Worimi man and an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.

For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ.

It's vital to how many of us understand each other, and how we understand ourselves.

The proud Worimi man is the third doctor in his family, and is now an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.

He performs highly intricate lifesaving procedures, and also more simple medical interventions that are equally as impactful, because by tending to untreated ear disease in children, he can change the entire trajectory of their lives. 

Further information

Originally broadcast in September 2022.

In 2023, Professor Kong was named NAIDOC Person of the year for his work treating the ear disease Otitis Media amongst children in indigenous communities

Holiday listening: the secret world of the human ear

When Professor Mandyam Srinivasan began studying bees almost 35 years ago, we was interested in learning how bees landed so elegantly, and avoided colliding in mid-air.

What Mandyam discovered was a complex and astounding system of vision and flight, which is now being applied to machine vision and robotics.

He and his team at the Queensland Brain Institute built an autonomous aircraft, without GPS or radar, that flies like a bee.

The technology could have widespread applications for surveillance, rescue operations, defence, and planetary exploration.

Further information

Mandyam Srinivasan is now Emeritus Professor at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

The episode of Conversations covers neuroscience, bees, sensory neuroscience, the study of bees, intelligent machines,

Holiday Listening: Birds, bees and intelligent machines

As a marine molecular biologist, Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea.

From nudibranchs, to sea dragons and a UFO-looking spiral that's around 150 feet long, Nerida doesn't need to know why these weird and wonderful creatures exist, that they made it here in the first place is enough.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris and the Excecutive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It covers marine life, research, science, nudibranch, sea horse, oceans, discovery, deep sea life and exploration.

Holiday Listening: Nerida's nudibranchs, sea dragons and siphonophores

When Lee Berger entered the field of palaeoanthropology there was a one in 10,000,000 chance he would discover anything 'worthwhile' digging around South Africa. But this real-life Indiana Jones kept bucking the odds.

First, he found a pair of hominid teeth in southern Africa, and then after a fossil-hunting dry spell, his 9-year-old son Matthew found the jawbone of a completely new hominid species.

A few years later came Lee's most extraordinary discovery yet: a nearly inaccessible cave filled with skeletons of another new hominid species, which seemed to be violating all the rules.

The story of what happened in this cave revolutionises what we understand about the origins of our own human species.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores human history, archaeology, Africa, caving, exploration, science, modern history, evolution, biology, bones, forensics, media, journalism, what to study, curious kids, curiosity, podcasts for kids, fascinating science, fascinating history, research, human mysteries, anthropology.

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.

Holiday Listening: Lee Berger, the real-life Indiana Jones, and the Case of the Lost Hominids

Dr Culum Brown is a leading researcher in the field of fish cognition, his research has shown that even that smallest fish are capable of learning and can retain memories for months.

His fascination for fish stems from growing up in parts of south-east Asia, where he would spend every possible hour in the ocean with a snorkel.

As an adult, Culum's marine biology studies around the world have revealed many facts which challenge our common understanding of fish.

Within schools of fish, there is often a strict social hierarchy which can include forms of bullying.

His research into Port Jackson sharks has revealed a lot about their social lives as 'puppies of the sea'.

He work has also revealed that sting rays have especially good memories and can distinguish days of the week.

Further information

Find out more about Culum's work

Holiday Listening: Fishing for feelings -- the many ways fish are smarter than you think

Dr Campbell Costello's work as a vet has taken him out of his family's station in North Queensland to places as far flung as Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Patagonia.

He's acted as the official vet for a sled race in Alaska, for epic horse races in Mongolia and Argentina, and he has run a cattle station in the former Soviet Union.

But after a family tragedy, Dr Costello got his pilot's licence so he could service Australian communities and stations in the country's most remote corners.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the executive producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores animals, adventure, veterinarians, animal welfare, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, the Andes, Central Asia, horses, dogs, flying, getting your pilot's licence, learning to fly, outback Australia, top end, Northern territory, Queensland, travel, travel for work, death of a parent, farm accidents, grief, loss, love, family, Middle East, South America, far flung places, places less travelled, vet mental health, podcasts for kids, kids who love animals.

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.

Holiday Listening: The flying vet from Outback Queensland

Dr Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail, but it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about.

Tanya studies the behaviour of ants and bees and she's particularly interested in their ability to work effectively as a team to achieve a common goal.

But her pet project is focused on a creature that defies classification.

Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. They can move, but they don't have legs or wings.

They appear to make complex decisions, often motivated by the promise of food. Yet they don't have a stomach or a brain.

Despite slime moulds' unique biology, Tanya was struck by their apparent intelligence and by similarities in their patterns of behaviour to ants and bees.

Tanya believes the knowledge gained from studying the behaviour of slime moulds and insects could help to solve complex organisational problems in the human world.

For more information on Dr Latty’s research head to the Invertebrate behaviour and ecology lab website.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Sinead Lee, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores strange science, weird science, hives, bees, insect behaviour, single cell organisms, biology, science for kids, podcasts for kids, the blob, flubber.

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.

Holiday Listening: Slime moulds—the brainless blobs that can move and solve mazes

When his elders named him Bindi, David Hudson had no idea his future would involve performing with his didgeridoo at the Taj Mahal, or a role in a film starring Marlin Brando 

Western Yalanji and Ewamian man David Bindi Hudson is a performing artist and musician.

His parents were born on Mona Mona mission, near Cairns.

David's mother didn't like being told what to do, and so in 1956 she walked off the mission with her three children, and made it 18km away to look for work at a local pub.

Her ingenuity led the family to Spring Creek Station, where David’s elders taught him traditional dance and named him Bindi, which means "always looking forward".

Since then, David has toured the world with his didgeridoo, playing to huge audiences in the Acropolis, the Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City.

He also played a part in a disastrous Hollywood movie, which gave him the chance to bring Marlon Brando home to have dinner with his Mum.

Content warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners: this episode contains the name of someone who has died.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan and the executive producer was Carmel Rooney.

It covers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, didgerodoos, the Taj Mahal, Spring Creek Station, Marlon Brando, Hollywood, Mona Mona mission, Cairns, family history, Aboriginal elders, traditional dance and music.

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.

Holiday Listening: David Bindi Hudson on playing his didgeridoo at the Taj Mahal

Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. Despite practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, Erna kept her nerve.

She was born in The Netherlands, to parents who were involved in the Dutch resistance during World War II.

Erna's love of languages took her to Spain, where she lived for many years with her widowed sister and young nephew.

It was there she met a penniless Australian backpacker and fell in love, starting Erna on the path to the rest of her life.

Erna's memoir Hear Me Roar is published by Affirm Press.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison

It covers mothers, animals, sex, mating behaviours, feminism, animal kingdom, Dutch resistance, world war 2, Taronga Zoo, Spain, sisters, family, memoir, writing, The Netherlands, grief, zoology, animal behaviour, offspring, nature, zoos

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.

Holiday Listening: Learning from the mighty matriarchs of the animal kingdom

Helen Vatsikopoulos' family never spoke about what happened to her aunt, Aspasia after the Greek Civil War. She uncovered a story of secret evacuation, exile and unknown family members.

Helen Vatsikopoulos was born in a little mountain village on the northern border of Greece.

She came to Adelaide as a young girl and grew up to become a TV journalist, covering big international stories for the ABC and SBS.

When she was in her 30s, Helen and her husband were visiting her parents when her father started telling stories she had never heard before.

He remembered what happened in their village during the Greek Civil War and how Helen’s aunt Aspasia, along with thousands of other Greeks, were smuggled by Stalin to a new life in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The family didn't know what became of Aspasia, so Helen got to work to find out.

This episode touches on family history, communism, memoir, life stories, ancestry, modern history, mountains, origin stories, personal stories, epic storytelling, reflection, grief, loss, exploration and memory.

My aunt was smuggled to Tashkent by Stalin

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