Conversations

Latest Episodes:

Jo Medlin teaches adults to read and write Nov 10, 2022

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Almost half of Australian adults struggle with some level of literacy — writing a shopping list, or reading a text message in private. Jo helps her students turn their lives around

The most perplexing musical instrument Nov 09, 2022

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The French horn is made up of metres and metres of brass coiled around and around until it opens into a big bell. Let Peter Luff lead you through the maze of this mysterious instrument

The untold stories of the Battle of Long Tan Nov 08, 2022

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Peter FitzSimons has written many books on Australian military history, but pulling out the remarkable stories from the Battle of Long Tan was a long process, despite the fact that many of the participants in this great defining moment are still alive

What humans can learn from animals Nov 07, 2022

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Animal communication specialist, Justin Gregg on killer whales' grief behaviour, the Piping Plover's broken wing strategy, and what would happen if humans toned down the need to be 'why specialists'

Lamorna and the sea Nov 04, 2022

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When Lamorna Ash began to explore her Cornish ancestry she started work on a rusty yellow fishing trawler called the Filadelfia, scaling fish, gutting them and hauling in the nets (R)

Love, power, and my PNG family — Dame Carol Kidu Nov 03, 2022

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When Carol, an Australian, and Buri Kidu, a young Papua New Guinea man, fell in love in the 1960s, their partnership defied convention (R)

Jonno Seidler: breaking the silence around men's mental health Nov 02, 2022

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Ray Seidler was a brilliant doctor and a family man, whose secret struggle with depression ultimately claimed his life. Now his son Jonathan is helping to change the story when it comes to his own mental illness (CW: mentions suicide, drug use)

When Ray Seidler would walk through the streets of Kings Cross, everyone wanted to stop and have a chat - from homeless people, to sex workers, film actors and lawyers.

Ray was one of Sydney's most loved doctors, and a man of great compassion and charm. He had set up his his practice in the late 1970s and stayed committed to the neighbourhood for the next 35 years.

To outsiders, it may have looked as if Ray had a lucky life.

He lived in a wealthy area of the city with his beautiful wife and four children and he was the nephew of the famous architect Harry Seidler.

But behind closed doors Ray was locked in a herculean struggle with his own mental health. His regular bouts of depression caused him to regularly 'run away' from his own home and family, and eventually led to his suicide.

Ray's son Jonno has written about his father's life, and his own mental health diagnosis, which he's been determined not to keep secret.

Further information

It's a Shame about Ray is published by Allen and Unwin

Presenter: Sarah Kanowski

Producer: Nicola Harrison

Executive producer: Carmel Rooney

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.

Costa Georgiadis: Heart and Soil Nov 01, 2022

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Costa is the friendly face of Gardening Australia, a devotee of composting, keeping chickens and developing insect hotels (R)

Mat Rogers finds his own game Oct 31, 2022

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Mat Rogers on football, family, stepping out of his Dad's shadow, and stealing the Queen's spoons (CW: mentions suicide)

The enigmatic legend of Jimmy Possum Oct 28, 2022

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Who was the legendary chair maker? An emancipated convict? An Irish refugee? A First Nations man? All we know is that he lived in a tree