Conversations

Latest Episodes:

The memory whisperer Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

Lynne Kelly became a senior memory champion after she began researching ancient ways of transforming landscapes, objects and the human body into 'memory palaces.'

Operation Babylift May 31, 2019

Show notes

In the dying days of the Vietnam War, hundreds of orphans were airlifted from Saigon to safety. Ian Shaw tells the story of two Australian women at the heart of Operation Babylift

Psychotherapy on the couch May 30, 2019

Show notes

Demystifying the art of talk therapy and the complex relationship between therapist and patient

Psychotherapy, also known as 'the talking cure', is based on a profound and usually ongoing connection between a person and their therapist.

This type of work, often dealing with long buried events or feelings, can be transformative for patients.

Gill Straker has a lifetime of experience as a psychotherapist, in Australia and in her birthplace, South Africa.

Her work counselling victims of brutality and trauma during the apartheid regime was fundamental to her ongoing practice.

At the heart of every successful therapeutic session, says Gill, is a willingness to be present, open, and to learn from each other.

She encourages people to include the health of their minds as well as their bodies, when looking to improve their wellbeing.

Further information

The Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship is published by Macmillan

Gill is a clinical professor in the School of Psychology at Sydney University

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.

Behind the sequins: the Tony Sheldon story May 29, 2019

Show notes

Tony became an actor against his mother's wishes. Three decades later, he won the part of a lifetime (R)

Helen Zaltzman is the Allusionist May 28, 2019

Show notes

Travelling the world in pursuit of language and exploring its uses, abuses and transformation

The iron law of newspapers May 27, 2019

Show notes

Sally Young unearthed a culture of 'dog does not eat dog' as she wrote a history of Australia's newspaper barons

Inside the Robbers Cave: testing tribal loyalties at a boys summer camp May 24, 2019

Show notes

Gina Perry uncovers the strange story behind a controversial psychological experiment (R)

The great dogs of Australian history May 23, 2019

Show notes

Dog whisperer Guy Hull on remarkable dogs, from life-saving kangaroo dogs to plane-flying Alsatians (R)

In and out of strife: Vickie Roach's turbulent life May 22, 2019

Show notes

Vickie's met with trouble all through her life, starting with a police record at the age of two. She went on to challenge a Federal law on the rights of prisoners

Bob Hawke on a life in power May 21, 2019

Show notes

The late Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke on his life before politics, and his years at The Lodge (R)