Conversations

Latest Episodes:

Opium everywhere — on the trail of the 'Milk of Paradise' Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

Historian Lucy Inglis on humankind's greatest painkiller and how its trade and cultivation are threaded through the story of civilisation, and the lives of every one of us

The comic genius of Jennifer Saunders Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

The co-creator of Absolutely Fabulous says her success rests on a series of happy accidents and calls herself an extreme procrastinator (R)

Conspiracy theories and me Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

When Danna Young's husband Mike received a terrible diagnosis, she found herself drawn to conspiracy theories in the search to find someone, or something to blame

Comedian Hannah Gadsby on trauma, critics and the point of no return Jun 05, 2020

Show notes

Australian comedian on Nanette, her 'farewell' to stand up comedy; being diagnosed with high-functioning autism as an adult; and on Douglas, the show and the dog

Hannah made an instant impression with her first comedy set, winning a national contest in 2006. She quickly became a regular on the Australian and UK festival circuits, and on television shows including Adam Hills Tonight and Please Like Me.

After a decade of consistent work, Hannah wrote a show called Nanette, which she billed as her 'farewell' to comedy. In it, Hannah used the familiar context of stand-up to talk powerfully about trauma, her own trauma, and what her life's been like from the inside. It was confronting and raw, as well as tough for Hannah to perform, and made a huge impact with audiences, critics and other comedians.

Nanette was filmed for a Netflix comedy special, becoming one of the most popular ever. It earned Hannah prestigious Peabody and Emmy awards and a level of fame she never expected.

Hannah's most recent show was Douglas. In Douglas, Hannah explains that shortly before writing Nanette she received a diagnosis of high-functioning autism.

Further information

Douglas and Nanette are available on Netflix

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.

Pasi Sahlberg — making school the happiest place to be Jun 04, 2020

Show notes

When Pasi was a boy he would sneak into his father's empty schoolroom in northern Finland and pretend to be a teacher. Now he's one of the world's leading voices in education, encouraging schools to help kids find their passion in life, and to follow it

Talking magpies, grieving tawny frogmouths and canny galahs Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when she hand-reared a magpie nestling. When it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers to study avian behaviour. Her books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking (R)

Voicing velociraptors and capturing the dawn chorus — the soundscapes of Douglas Quin Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

Meet a sound designer and naturalist who makes field recordings all over the world. He then puts them to use in soundscapes for film and television, galleries, museums and apps (R)

Uncle Jack Charles — not true blue, true blak Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

Uncle Jack was forcibly removed from his mother as a baby and denied his Aboriginality. A one-off trip to Fitzroy connected him with a family he didn’t know about, and promptly landed him in jail (R)

From the Festivals — Tim Flannery on Europe's bizarre prehistory May 29, 2020

Show notes

Europe's startling deep past explained: pygmy dinosaurs, blue-eyed Neanderthals; and how an asteroid the size of Manhattan ruptured everything (R)

From the Festivals — Andrew Sean Greer May 28, 2020

Show notes

The Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less was working as an odd-jobs man for an Italian Baroness when a phone call upended his life (R)