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Latest Episodes:

The healing power of dogs Sep 14, 2021

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Kate Leaver became fascinated by the curative qualities of dogs after her Shih Tzu Bertie helped her through her darkest days (R)

John Safran and the truth behind the push to 'unsmoke the world' Sep 13, 2021

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Tobacco giant Philip Morris was financing what looked like anti-smoking initiatives around the world, but what they were advertising wasn't safe

How Nicole Highet helps new mothers cope Sep 10, 2021

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She didn't know it at the time, but religiously eavesdropping on her mother's phone conversations and counselling her grandmother through a breakup made her the psychologist she is today

Canopy Meg: the Arbornaut Sep 09, 2021

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Treetop scientist Meg Lowman on her working life among the leaves, birds and insects in the world's forest canopies, which she calls the '8th continent'

Life as a quadruple amputee and more – Mandy McCracken Sep 08, 2021

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Mandy's life changed completely in 2013 when she fell terribly ill with sepsis. Since then, with prosthetic replacements for all four limbs, she has learned to walk and drive again, and she doesn't want applause for living her life like everyone else (CW: mention of suicide)

Stranded - what Claire learned from falling Sep 07, 2021

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Claire Nelson was in the Joshua Tree National Park hiking alone when she strayed from the trail and slipped, shattering her pelvis. Her phone was out of range, and she knew she had to stay alive long enough for someone to realise she was missing (R)

John Howard recounts being in Washington on September 11, 2001 Sep 06, 2021

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Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on witnessing the events of September 11th, 2001 from the window of a Washington hotel room (R)

From Croatia to the Canefields: a love story Sep 03, 2021

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Debra Gavranich with the story of her mother Marija, who left her tiny Croatian island to make a life with a man she’d never met, in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Valley

Deserter, archaeologist and spy – the extraordinary adventures of Charles Masson Sep 02, 2021

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When the red-headed Englishman deserted the East India Company in 1827 to conduct his own archaeological digs in Afghanistan, he never imagined the Company would find him again, or try to blackmail him into spying

Dr Edmund Richardson tells the story of Charles Masson, a red-headed Englishman, who embarked on a series of adventures and misadventures in Afghanistan after deserting from the East India Company Army in 1827.

When Charles arrived in Kabul it was one of the wonders of the world, a wealthy and tolerant city in Asia and he fell in love with its bazaars, its fruit orchards, and its storytellers.

Charles was on the trail of Alexander the Great.

He set out to find one of Alexander’s lost cities, "Alexandria Beneath the Mountains".

Along the way, Charles uncovered many treasures from Afghanistan’s Buddhist past.

He visited the giant Bamiyan Buddhas (since destroyed by the Taliban) and discovered a 2000-year-old golden casket, which featured the earliest known face of the Buddha.

And while Charles was digging up the past, the East India Company was tightening its net around him.

Further information

Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City is published by Bloomsbury

To binge even more great episodes of the 'Conversation 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 boy with op shop fever Sep 01, 2021

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Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old

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