Conversations

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Teaching Nina Simone how to love me: a daughter's story Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Singer Lisa Simone is the only person in the world who can call Nina Simone 'mommy'. Lisa was the beneficiary of Nina's incredible talent and her affection, but she was also at the mercy of her mother's erratic moods.

Lisa is the only child of the legendary singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist Nina Simone.

As a little girl, Lisa loved trying on her mum’s stage costumes and singing with her at the piano at home.

But after her parents divorced, Nina’s moods became erratic, and Lisa was often the target of her mother's violent outbursts.

Lisa escaped back to New York, then into the United States Air Force, and then onto Broadway, finally launching her own musical career.

It was only after she had her own daughter that Lisa found a way to reconnect with her mother on her own terms.

Further information

Lisa is on tour in Australia at the moment with her show, A Daughter's Tribute to Nina Simone

She is performing at the QPAC in Brisbane on Wednesday 23 July and at Adelaide's Her Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday 26 July.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores family dynamics, jazz music, motherhood, therapy, songwriting, mental health, mental illness, bipolar, performance, Dublin Jazz Festival, mother daughter relationships, epic origin stories, the military, the US military, veterans, musical theatre.

Encore: The secret world of servos after dark Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

David Goodwin spent years working the graveyard shift at his local service station in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The grungy work quickly took over his life (R).

He took the job to support his university studies, but working overnight made study impossible and soon the work took over.

From his brightly lit perch behind the anti-jump wires, David saw a collection of very strange people come through the auto-doors.

There was the man dressed as a giant bee, a woman who offered to pay for her fuel with a half-eaten pizza, and a psychotic man covered in blood. There were self-appointed wizards and speed-addicted truckies, as well as football hooligans who loved singing.

The unusual work changed David from a shy and naive teenager into someone with more street smarts, but it also thwarted his true ambitions for years.

Further information

SERVO is published by Hachette.

Content Warning: This episode of Conversations contains discussion of drug use.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris.

It explores gritty cities, grungy, writing, books, dreams, psychedelics, shrooms, mushrooms, travel, strange jobs, odd jobs, Melbourne's underbelly, memoir, origin story, finding yourself, young men, growing up, raising boys, forging your own path, shiftwork, student job.

Dr Rangan Chatterjee on health and healing in a hectic world Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

As a boy, Dr Rangan Chatterjee saw his dad work day and night as a doctor before succumbing to an auto-immune disease. After his father's death in 2013, Rangan had an epiphany about his own future.

Rangan rew up watching his workaholic father come home from his first job in a hospital, have dinner, shave and leave for his night shift as a home-visiting GP.

It was normal for his dad to only sleep three nights a week, for 30 years.

This sort of lifestyle eventually caught up with Rangan's father, who developed an auto-immune disease and spent the last 15 years of his life being cared for by his son while undergoing dialysis.

Rangan was on a similar path as a doctor himself: working long hours, plus acclimatising to life as a young father and a carer.

He realised that so many health issues for modern people stem from modern life -- racing around, chasing success by any means possible.

And so Rangan started to try to turn his patients' lives around through very simple lifestyle changes.

Ironically, his style of doctoring took him to national television screens and radio airwaves via the BBC, and then to international audiences through his best-selling books and his own podcast, Feel Better, Live More.

Further information

Learn more about Rangan's books and podcast at his website.

Rangan is currently touring Australia, speaking in Sydney on Thursday 17 July and Brisbane on Wednesday 23 July.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris and presented by Sarah Kanowski, the executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores health, doctors, GPs, lifestyle medicine, Gabor Mate, Schwartz, IFS, therapy, stress, anxiety, success, family, overwork, modern life, diet, nutrition, exercise, simple medicine, glucose, lupus, grief.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

The hidden corners of Emma's Hong Kong — fishing villages, beaches and ancestral graveyards Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Novelist Emma Pei Yin ran away from Hong Kong as a teenager to start fresh in Australia. But she found herself repeatedly drawn back home whenever she put pen to paper.

Emma grew up in England and Hong Kong. But her life in Hong Kong wasn’t so much about the neon skyscrapers as it was about her family’s ancestral village, tucked away in the New Territories.

Emma spent her school holidays there with her grandparents, learning how to take care of the family cemetery and joining in Chinese Festivals.

Sometimes her grandfather would share his memories of the Second World War, when the Japanese military invaded and occupied Hong Kong.

As Emma became into a teenager, her relationship with her parents deteriorated. She eventually decided to leave them and Hong Kong, coming to Australia to make a life for herself as a writer.

But whenever she wrote, Emma found herself drawn back to Hong Kong; to the hundreds of islands, the fishing villages on stilts, the mountains, woodlands and beaches – all the things that tourists who think of Hong Kong as a city of neon lights and free Wi-fi don’t know about.

Content warning: This episode of Conversations contains discussion about sexual assault.

Further information

When Sleeping Women Wake, is published by Hachette and has been awarded best Debut Fiction in the 2026 Indie Book Awards.

Help and support is always available. You can call Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13 11 14.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores family dynamics, multiculturalism, China, Hong Kong, modern history, writing, books, literature, historical fiction, Japanese occupation, World War 2, assault, victim-blaming, abortion, filmmaking, black sheep, family honour, London, forgiveness.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

AFL star Zach Tuohy on his silent struggles as a young father and life after footy Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

Zach was still a teen when he was scouted by the AFL in Ireland, beginning a great adventure in Australia, where he fell in love and unexpectedly became a dad. On his way home from training, a 24-year-old Zach would have to pull over on the side of the road to cry before he got home to his young family.

Zach Tuohy was just 17 years old when he was scouted by the Carlton Football Club at a Gaelic football tournament in his home country of Ireland.

He did two trials for the club before taking the plunge, leaving his family behind in Portlaoise and moving to Australia to become a professional footballer, first for Carlton and then for the Cats in Geelong.

By the time Zach retired from the AFL in 2024, he had accumulated an astonishing 288 games, a premiership title, a loving Aussie wife and two beautiful sons.

But Zach's great Irish-Australian adventure wasn't always a dream run.

He struggled as a young, first-time dad, and didn't know who to turn to.

On the way home from training, Zach would feel compelled to pull over on the side of the road and cry, alone in his car before coming home to his young family, pretending everything was ok.

Further information

The Irish Experiment is co-authored by Catherine Murphy and published by Simon and Schuster.

Keep up to date with Zach's post-footy exploits on his Instagram page.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris and presented by Sarah Kanowski. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison

It explores the AFL, Carlton, Geelong Cats, Premiership, Grand Final, West Coast Eagles, fatherhood, post postpartum depression, postnatal depression in men, young fathers, migration, Irish in Australia, Aussie Rules, hurling, grandma's love, relationships, raising children, life after sport, professional athletes, Sydney Swans, Grand Final, footy.

Encore: Janty Blair is the BMW of standup comics Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

After a lifetime of nursing and midwifery, Janty Blair discovered her funny bone in her late 50s, following a serendipitous Bumble date (R).

Janty's father, Bob, was a staff sergeant in the Australian Army, and so she grew up moving around the country.

Home for Janty, a Butchulla, Mununjhali and Woppaburra woman, was really Hervey Bay in Queensland, where she would go on trips every year to visit her aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents, all of whom were stomach-achingly funny.

While Janty loved performing in the school musicals, she was quite a serious child and didn't find her funny bone until later in life.

Instead of following her childhood dream of becoming an actress, Janty became a nurse and then a midwife.

But in her 50s, Janty went on a serendipitous date.

Two days later, she was performing in her first stand-up open mic night, and just a few months later she was crowned the winner of the biggest First Nations comedy competition in the country.

Further information

You can keep up to date with Janty's tour schedule by visiting her website.

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

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations explores NAIDOC week, comedy, black comedians, military life, the Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, Wayne Blair, hospital, medical profession, health industry, birthing, motherhood, military family, Aboriginal, Indigenous, First Nations, online dating, dating in your 50s, Byron Bay, bumble, Sapphires, Jessica Mauboy, deadly funny, blak humour.

Leah Purcell's meteoric rise, from the Murgon meatworks to centre stage Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Leah Purcell grew up in a small town caring for her mum Florence. Her options after graduation were nursing or working at the meatworks. But after a push from her meatworks boss, Leah defied her own expectations for herself (R).

Leah is now an acclaimed actor, playwright, and stage and film director.

She grew up in the Queensland country town of Murgon. Although she came from a big family, it was just her and her mum for most of her childhood.

Her dad lived in town, but didn’t acknowledge her as his daughter.

Leah's mum Flo was well respected. For a time she was the only Aboriginal woman allowed in the lounge area of the pub, which was a whites-only zone.

Leah grew up with her Aunties and Uncles yarning around the kitchen table, and became a vivid storyteller herself.

When she left school, it was expected she would go to work in the local meatworks, or become a nurse.

But one of Leah's bosses at the meatworks refused to give her a permanent position, because he'd seen her in the local high school musical.

When he told Leah she had a real talent, it helped change Leah's idea of herself.

And so after her mum passed away, Leah left her small town.

In Sydney she set off on her path to becoming an actor, a playwright and eventually a film director.

Her first play 'Box the Pony' was inspired by her mother and grandmother's life story, and it became a huge hit.

Today Leah is recognised as one of Australia's most important voices in the performing arts.

Further information

Leah was awarded an Order of Australia in 2021 for her services to the performing arts. She released her feature film, The Drover's Wife in 2022. Leah played the lead role and also wrote and directed the film.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations explores parentification of children, children raising parents, mixed families, racism, rural Australia, family dynamics, writing, books, plays, theatre, Andrew Denton, fathers and daughters, NAIDOC, Aboriginal, Indigenous, talent, film industry, acting, love, origin stories, life story.

How a boy from Balmain made caring cool Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

Bundjalung man, Jack Manning Bancroft's scholarship to a prestigious Sydney University college showed him a rarefied world that shocked him, and he used his childhood grit to channel his energy into a world-changing project.

Jack's mother is Bundjalung artist, Bronwyn Bancroft.

Growing up in inner-Sydney, he was intimidated by her artistic drive and threw himself into sport, because that was the only way a young Jack thought a man could have influence in the world.

When he was ten the family moved to Bundjalung country to spend time with his mum's side of the family.

The local kids refused to accept that Jack was Aboriginal.

He escaped into fantasy books and wrote long letters home to his dad, Ned Manning, in Sydney.

Jack received a scholarship to St Paul's College at the University of Sydney and vowed to use his opportunity to increase the number of Indigenous kids at university.

The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) was born and Jack has since used his position to forge connections between communities to foster understanding across the world.

Further information

Watch Australian Story featuring Jack and his partner, Yael Stone on iview.

Listen to Jack's dad, Ned Manning, on Conversations in 2022.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. The presenter was Rudi Bremer.

This episode of Conversations touches on Aboriginal culture, mentoring, changing the world, personal story, epic life story, family dynamics, Aboriginal excellence, grief, loss, depression, failure and painting.

A family secret unearths connection to country Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

Yvonne Orley grew up on Aboriginal missions in NSW as the child of the matron and manager. But it turned out that Yvonne had much deeper connections to the country, and the people, that she knew at the time.

Although her mother had tried to hide this part of the family story, it turned out that Yvonne herself was a Kamilaroi woman and this was her mother’s traditional country.

Yvonne’s life took another unexpected turn 25 years ago when her sister asked if she would allow a group of high needs mentally disabled adults move into her home, and Yvonne said yes.

Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Jennifer Leake.

This episode of Conversations touches on Aboriginal missions, migration to Australia, racial prejudice, grief, family secrets, family history, secrets, caring for people, supported accommodation, disability care, Aboriginal identity

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

Encore: Love, jail, Jesus, and pubs — a tangled tale of four very different parents Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

Lech Blaine with the strange true story of his childhood, shaped by love, religious zealotry, and four wildly different parents. CW: descriptions of foster care and child removal.

Lech grew up in a big family in country Queensland, where his dad Tom ran pubs for a living.

He had six older siblings, who had come to the family as foster kids before he was born.

It was a happy, knockabout, sports-obsessed childhood. But in the midst of all the love and warmth, Lech's mum Lenore lived with a creeping sense of dread.

She knew that one day, the troubled biological parents of three of the children in the family would appear in their lives.

Michael and Mary Shelley were Christian fanatics wandering from place to place, in and out of jail and psychiatric hospitals, and notorious for stalking politicians and judges.

One evening, when Lenore was at home with some of the children, Mary Shelley knocked on her door, changing the family's life forever.

This episode of Conversations explores family, origin stories, adoption, foster care, religion, Christianity, mental health, mental illness, family dynamics, parenting.

Further information

Australian Gospel is published by Black Inc.

Help and support is always available. You can call Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13 11 14.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison and presented by Sarah Kanowski.

It explores family dynamics, origin stories, adoption, foster care, religion, Christianity, mental health, mental illness, parenting, blended families, biological children, adoption, Australia, books, writing, journalism, memoir.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

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