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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

Filmmaker Lynette Wallworth on how nearly dying as a little girl set her on a lifelong path to interrogate out-of-body experiences, spirituality and what really happens to us when we die.

When Lynette was a little girl, she had a near death experience on her grandparents' property.

Her father brought her back from the brink and what she saw and experienced there, on the edge of death, came back with her.

For years, Lynette struggled to talk about what happened so she made paintings and artworks trying to make sense of this experience.

But when she started visiting remote Indigenous communities here in Australia and abroad, in the Amazon, that she finally found some sort of language for describing the scientifically unprovable. 

There, in cultures where out of body experiences are accepted as either spiritual or possible through the use of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and ayahuasca, Lynette stopped feeling weird.

Her latest film investigates how doctors in Melbourne are turning to psychedelic drugs to help ease their terminally ill patients towards death, and in the process learn that "we weren't put on earth to run around in fear".

Edge of Life will be available to stream on Binge from 28 March.

Currently, you can watch it via Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Fetch and YouTubel; or organise your own cinema screening via Fan Force.

You can find more information about Lynette and her films at her website.

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

It explores death, dying, grief, medical trials, shamans, hallucinogens, science, psychology, psychiatry, acceptance, palliative care, caring for the dying, nursing, art, filmmaking, philosophy, shrooms, magic mushrooms, the immortality key, religion, spiritualty, quacks, health and wellness industry, tripping, epiphanies, film.

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.

Where do we go when we die? Looking for answers in psychedelics

The chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on the chair of spikes which accompanied his early musical career, and why he doesn't tone down his Italian self for work (R)

During his Suzuki lessons in Turin, Italy, a young Umberto Clerici was sitting up straight on a chair full of spikes, lest his posture slip.

Umberto chose the cello as his instrument, mainly because it wasn’t the violin, which sounded like a cat in a washing machine when played by the older students in his neighbourhood.

Throughout his career playing in orchestras around the world, Umberto has gone to great lengths to let the music filter through him, to embody the meaning behind the notes, to learn what the composer thought or felt.

Today Umberto Clerici is the chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

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: The spiked chair which began conductor Umberto Clerici's life in music

The act of care and service through food has been incredibly important to Besha Rodell throughout her life, from her first, euphoric experience of a fancy restaurant at age eight, to the aftermath of September 11.

Today Besha is the chief restaurant critic at The Age.

The thrill of a fancy restaurant first imprinted itself on her psyche when she was a girl, treated to dinner at Stephanie's iconic spot in Melbourne.

As a teenager, Besha was transplanted to her mother's native USA and got her first job in hospitality — and found her people — in North Carolina.

A stint in New York followed, where Besha witnessed September 11 in real time.

Eventually Besha started a family with her boyfriend, Ryan, in North Carolina and the family found they were living under the poverty line. 

They got by thanks to a government food voucher program.

Shortly after, Besha's blog posts, written for fun, gained traction and she was given her first assignment in food writing.

Further information

Hunger Like A Thirst is published by HardieGrant.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode covers food, restaurants, restaurant critic, Stephanie's, Stephanie Alexander, Narnia, Melbourne, North Carolina, 9/11, September 11, migrant, not fitting in, government cheese, hospo, acts of service, behind the pass, line cook, pastry chef, methadone, coming off methadone, heroin, addiction, loving an addict, New York Times, food reviewing.

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.

How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an anonymous restaurant critic, worldwide

Naomi Mourra grew up as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness but at 21, she realised Doomsday was not upon her, and left the religion for good.

As a child, Naomi thought she was going to live forever.

She was told the end of the world was coming, but she would survive the apocalypse and live in paradise for eternity, because she was special.

She spent her youth in Western Sydney, preaching these same beliefs to neighbours, strangers, and classmates because Naomi was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness.

Now, though, she describes herself as the city's only Lebanese, lesbian, ex-Jehovah’s Witness.

Naomi says she “woke up”, and it wasn’t until she realised Armageddon was not actually coming, that she truly started to live.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores religion, Jehovah's Witnesses, dogma, family, Western Sydney, Armageddon, faith, leaving a religion, culture, sexuality, stand up comedy, lesbian, Lebanese culture, apocalypse, school, education, strangers, freedom, neighbours, strangers

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.

From child preacher to wicked defector — leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Tony Tan’s parents pinned their hopes on him when they sent him from home in Malaysia to Melbourne to become a white collar professional in the 1970s. There he found “funny smelling cigarettes”, a lovely man called Terry and a destiny he couldn’t escape.

Tony was exposed to deep, rich flavour and the precision of cooking from a young age.

His mother was a chef in Malaysian colonial kitchens and Tony would often accompany her to work, where he would sometimes receive a single golden, dripping roasted potato, or pinch the meat from a leftover kitchen carcass.

He was a precocious child — known as Little Chilli — always wanting to know how certain cooking techniques worked. 

His parents didn’t want him to follow them into the world of food, so they sent him to study at university in Melbourne, with hopes that he would ascend to the world of white collar work on behalf of the family.

He had his first introduction to Lygon Street in the 1970s, and university couldn’t keep him away from the world of food.

Further information

Tony Tan's most recent cook book, Tony Tan's Asian Cooking Class is published by Murdoch Books.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode covers food tours, Kuantan, SBS, Shakahari, Stephanie Alexander, char siu, Tatler's, cooking school, Asian cooking class, roast chicken with soy sauce, recipes, sexual awakening, gay marriage, Trentham, regional Victoria.

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 boy called Little Chilli — how flavour and migration led to unexpected love

We rarely stop to wonder who invented the wheel, the alphabet or the printing press but so much of what feels fundamental to daily life was once a bold, untested idea, and someone had to think it up first.

In The Shortest History of Innovation, Andrew Leigh traces that long thread of human ingenuity from ancient breakthroughs through to the inventions reshaping our world today like the car, social media and artificial intelligence. 

He also debunks some of the myths about how these things into the word and what happens when they collide with humanity.

The Shortest History of Innovation is published by Black Inc Books.

The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison

This episode of Conversations explores history, ancient civilisation, the industrial revolution, medical breakthrough, human progress, invention, innovation, human psychology, AI, penicillin, the wheel, cutlery, vaccines, nuclear bomb, nuclear energy, medieval history

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 short history of the innovations that have shaped human progress

Psychologist Dr Tracey Westerman on her groundbreaking work transforming mental health outcomes for Aboriginal communities (R)

Dr Tracy Westerman grew up in the Pilbara, where suicide and mental health issues have deeply scarred Indigenous communities. So this Nyamal woman decided to do something about it.

Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman grew up in some of the most remote parts of Western Australia, moving from a station to a town called Useless Loop, eventually landing in the mining town of Tom Price.

Tracy, the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and a white father, became the first person educated entirely in Tom Price to go on to University.

When she arrived in Perth, she had never been on a bus or on an escalator, but she was fired up to study psychology.

Tracy wanted to use the skills she learned in the city to deliver practical mental health care to Aboriginal people, and to help entire communities reeling from the impact of suicide and other mental health issues.

Along the way to obtaining her doctorate, Tracy has become a business person, the WA Australian of the year, and she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.

Her next mission is to build an army of Indigenous psychologists to continue the work she's already started.

Further information

Jilya is published by University of Queensland Press.

You can learn more about Dr Westerman's work here.

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: the Nyamal woman from the Pilbara transforming how we think about trauma

The iconic folk duo met at an audition for the only country music band at a prestigious jazz school in Boston. They immediately clicked, and joined the rich lineage of Americana artists that stretches back centuries.

In their 20s, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings discovered they had something special when they sang together, a sort of eerie emotional resonance that is usually confined to the blood harmonies produced when siblings sing together.

Ever since they've been making music together which draws on the bluegrass, country and folk traditions they love.

In their historic recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee (which has withstood three tornadoes in the last century), they craft haunting songs about the ugly and beautiful parts of humanity.

For Gill and Dave, the DNA of folk music is something we can all contribute to, and which contributes to all of us.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are currently touring Australia's eastern states. You can find information about where and when they are playing on their website.

Their seventh studio album is called Woodland, named after their indestructible studio.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

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

It explores music, recording, career musicians, Woody Guthrie, The Carter Family, Lead Belly, revival folk, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Emmy Lou, Dolly Parton, Southern America, United States, Pete Seeger, Love, relationship, natural disaster, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Odetta, Harry Belafonte, Rhiannon Giddens, banjo, guitar, mandolin, true crime, murder ballad, Revival, Time (The Revelator), Soul Journey, The Harrow & The Harvest, All the Good Times (Are Past & Gone), Grammy Awards, Grammys, songwriting, Coen Brothers, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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.

Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, an indestructible Nashville studio and the DNA of folk music

Growing up, John Marsden found school incredibly difficult and, as a teenager, spent time in hospital after a breakdown. This difficult early life profoundly shaped his work as a writer and educator of young people.

With the help of a therapist, he began to recover, but it took him many years to find his place in the world.

Eventually he studied teaching, then in his mid-thirties John began to write.

John wrote over 40 best-selling novels for young adults and used his profits to buy bushland on the edge of Melbourne and open a primary school.

At Candlebark, students call teachers by their first names, and are encouraged to take risks, John also founded a high school called Alice Miller.

In 2024, John Marsden died at the age of 74, this interview was recorded in 2018.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.

it explores education, strict parenting, teaching, all boys private school education, emotional breakdown, psychiatric care, therapy, counselling, studying teaching, writing, writing for young adults, running an independent school, risk taking, being an author, legacy.

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.

Encore: the life and legacy of author John Marsden

Dan Richards investigates the multifaceted realm of night-time. Hear about when he survived a brush with death, a treacherous journey on a Scottish ferry, shadowing a search and rescue team, and the comfort and exquisite agony of new parenthood.

The writer and broadcaster argues that night-time is universal in that everyone goes through it, but there are so many different experiences of the dark.

He has met the many people who work, helping others and doing the invisible organising that keeps our communal world turning while others rest.

Dan says the night is a place of encounters — both magical and disturbing.

Further information

Dan's book Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark is published by Allen & Unwin.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode touches on sleep, covid, COVID, covid-19, hospital, emergency workers, NHS, ICU, frontline workers, search and rescue, dreams, outreach workers, homelessness, moominland, the shipping forecast, BBC, new fatherhood.

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.

There is magic to be found when the world goes dark

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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