Conversations

Latest Episodes:

The Needle in the Tofu Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Zen priest and writer Ruth Ozeki takes us into world brimming with the voices of people and household objects, and her own experience of hearing her late father's voice in her ear (R)

The Chloroformist — extraordinary Doctor Joseph Clover Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

Christine Ball is an anaesthetist at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne who chanced upon an old casebook of a doctor named Joseph Clover (R)

A daring escape from Vietnam, and a brilliant career Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost. Anh is an academic and community volunteer. She grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family.

Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe.

But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war. In the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape.

Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hoped would take them to the Philippines.

They intended to bring 40 people with them, but on the day of departure 101 people crowded on board, before the boat sailed into a once-in-a-century storm on the South China Sea.

Years later, Anh found film footage of their rescue, at a moment when almost all hope was lost.

After their rescue, her family made it to a refugee camp in the Philippines, then to America, where Anh grew up to attend some of the world's most prestigious universities before she became an academic herself.

Further information

The rescue of 101 Boat was filmed for Medecins du Monde

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.

Howard Jacobson and the rocky path to writing Jun 17, 2022

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The Booker prize winning English novelist on disappointing his parents, the time before he was a writer, and his gift for unhappiness

Shanna Whan's best sober life Jun 16, 2022

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When country woman Shanna Whan hit rock bottom in 2014 after a lifelong battle with alcohol addiction, she began a grassroots movement to tackle how we talk about booze in the bush

RAF Pilot Frank Dell's story of survival in Nazi occupied Holland Jun 15, 2022

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Frank Dell survived being shot down over Nazi Germany, with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters (R)

The turtle effect — their mysterious allure and surprising history Jun 14, 2022

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Louise Pryke returns with a cultural history of turtles, from ancient times to modern day, and from turtle tears to Al Capone, Lou attempts to understand why they are such a widely-loved creature (R)

Understanding Russia's 1917 Revolution and Civil War Jun 13, 2022

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Historian Antony Beevor depicts the conflict through the eyes of ordinary Russian workers to officers on the battlefield, to crystalise one of the most influential and devastating wars of the modern era

Catherine Martin: making Elvis and loving Baz Jun 10, 2022

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How a fashion-loving misfit from Sydney took over Hollywood with husband Baz Luhrmann, winning more Oscars than any other Australian

Maggie Dent — raising strong girls Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Guiding daughters to become confident young woman in an age of smartphones and early sexualisation is tough. The parenting expert says in this complex arena, we can't leave these lessons to chance

Maggie Dent can clearly recall her indignation at being made to wear a dress as a little girl.

She was a tomboy and noticed when she was treated differently from little boys, who were allowed to be their exuberant selves when she was not.

The process of raising girls has changed since Maggie was a child, but there are new challenges today — smartphone usage and unwanted sexualisation of young girls, among others.

She says there are core lessons we can learn to face these challenges and raise confident and well-adjusted girls.

Further information

Girlhood: raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard is published by Pan Macmillan

Listen to Maggie's ABC Podcast Parental as Anything

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