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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

For journalist Kate Halfpenny, moving to a beachside town during Melbourne's lockdowns seemed like the perfect way to unwind and escape her huge mortgage. Then she had to contend with the triple whammy of perimenopause, her husband's alcoholism and distance from family and friends.

For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job commitments and no city life to distract her.

She was able to indulge daily in her love of boogie boarding and surf-side walks with her dog, Maggie.

One day at the beach, Kate saw her elderly father struggling in the surf.

Kate's husband Chris was in the water next to him, but was acting strangely and couldn’t manage to haul him out of the dangerous water.

That evening, Chris confessed his alcoholism to Kate and the couple faced the inevitable decisions they would have to navigate, together and apart.

Further information

Boogie Wonderland is published by Affirm Press.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan.

Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode of Conversations deals with good divorce, Melbourne covid lockdowns, seachange, addiction, alcoholism, supporting an alcoholic, women in media, perimenopause, midlife, being alone, boogie boarding and relationships.

New Beginnings: When a sea change collides with messy midlife

The artist Loribelle Spirovski on her unusual childhood in the Philippines, meeting her father for the first time at 7 years old, and making her way as one of Australia's most exciting young painters.

Loribelle Spirovski grew up in the Philippines, with her mum and her extended Filipino family.

Her Serbian father, whom she had never met, was in Australia, driving taxis and waiting for the visa that would allow him to bring Loribelle and her mum to join him.

Loribelle didn't meet her father until she was 7 years old, and when she saw him for the first time at Manila Airport, she was shocked by how hairy his arms were and the way he smelled just like she did.

Eventually, the family was properly reunited in Sydney, Australia, where Loribelle had to navigate family and cultural ties, where she found love and where she made her way as one of Australia's most exciting young artists.

This episode of Conversations explores painting, creativity, writing, books, love, marriage, Simon Tedeschi, William Barton, the Archibald Prize, art education, art teaching, chronic pain, chronic injury, identity, memoir, family dynamics, origin stories, refugees, Serbia, former Yugoslavia, music, piano, singing, language, mothers, fathers, long-distance relationships.

White Hibiscus is published by Upswell.

You can see some of Loribelle's art at her website and on her Instagram page.

In July, 2025 Loribelle won the People's Choice Award for the 2025 Archibald Prize for a portrait she painted with her fingers of Kalkadunga musician William Barton.

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.

New Beginnings: Artist Loribelle Spirovski on finding family and love

Felicia Djamirze grew up in the criminal underworld, then became a beauty queen. But her life outside the pageant circuit was mired in the world of drugs, bikie gangs and violence.(CW: graphic discussion of domestic violence and crime) 

Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convicted drug trafficker.

Felicia grew up surrounded by drug abuse and crime in a rough part of Sydney. Her family was marked by addiction and connections to the criminal underworld.

As she got older, Felicia attracted a lot of attention for her looks, eventually finding the world of beauty pageants, which she thought was her way out.

But behind the scenes, Felicia's life was far from glamorous.

While living with a partner who was in a bikie gang, she survived severe domestic violence. Then, during her next relationship she was caught up in an horrifically violent encounter with the Queensland Police when they burst into her home to arrest her partner for dealing meth.

Felicia admitted her involvement and was convicted for drug trafficking. In the aftermath, she retrained as a counsellor and mental health advocate. 

She now aims to use her experiences to help others find a way out of the justice system and re-enter, unashamedly, into the real world.

Further information

Content warning: this episode of Conversations contains descriptions of domestic violence. 

Help and Support is always available.

If you are experiencing Domestic Violence 1800 Respect is available 24 hours a day on 1800 737 732.

For support with PTSD in Australia, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467) offer crisis support.

Accessory, written with Erin O'Dwyer, is published by Affirm Press.

This episode of Conversations was produced my Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores crime, conviction history, police brutality, bikies, meth, substance abuse, epic origin stories, family dynamics, relationships, prison, outlaw motorcycle gangs, arms dealing, ice, Russian mafia, Hells Angels, Bandidos, Rebels, Comancheros, Finks, and Mongols.

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.

New Beginnings: Felicia Djamirze, beauty queen and drug dealer

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

Irish journalist and author, Fintan O'Toole on how the Victorians changed the meaning of Shakespeare's plays, and how we can bring them back to life.

Fintan O'Toole is an Irish journalist and author who writes on politics and history for the New York Review of Books and the Irish Times.

He wants to change the way we think about Shakespeare's plays, because the way many of us are introduced to Shakespeare is wrong and boring.

Fintan says Shakespeare’s work is wrongly presented as a delivery system for simple moral instruction — a hangover from the Victorian era, which wanted to turn Shakespeare into a form of "mental muesli".

According to Fintan, the genius of Shakespeare is that his characters keep escaping narrow moral categories, just as people do in real life.

This episode of Conversations deals with Shakespeare's epic plays, life, death, betrayal, history, kings, royalty, motherhood, fatherhood, grief, life processes, making meaning of life and morality, Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare's stories aren't boring — we are teaching them wrong way

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