Conversations

Writer Tanya Heaslip on swapping life on an Alice Springs station for the fairytale streets of Prague, and the remarkable parallels she found between these two magical worlds.
Tanya was in a pub in London in 1989 when she watched on the television as the Berlin Wall came down.
She was the tail end of a solo backpacking trip, which didn’t quite live up to what she’d imagined it might be as a little girl growing up on a remote cattle station near Alice Springs.
But Tanya booked to go to Berlin the very next day, beginning an obsession with learning about what life was like behind the Iron Curtain.
Several years later she would return to Europe, this time to the East, to the Czech Republic.
There in fairytale Prague, not long after the Velvet Revolution, Tanya would fall in love with the city and into a relationship with an older man.
And she would draw unexpected parallels between the magic and isolation of Prague and that of Central Australia – their people and their stories.
Tanya has written several memoirs about her life from the great expanse of the Northern Territory, to the cobbled streets of Prague.
Alice to Prague, An Alice Girl and Beyond Alice are published by Allen & Unwin.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores country Australia, rural Australia, boarding school, Northern Territory, mustering cattle, expat Australians, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Fall of the Wall, travelling Australians, falling in love, grief, grieving, relationships, love for country, central Australia, Adelaide, bullying, studying law, working in the legal system, teaching English abroad.

The late Widjabul Wieybal woman of the Bundjalung Nation Rhoda Roberts lived through great loss and grief, in the midst of becoming one of Australia's most influential cultural leaders in the arts (R). Content Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are warned that this episode of Conversations includes the names and voice of someone who has died, used in accordance with the wishes of their family.
Aunty Rhoda Roberts AO, a guiding force in Australia's arts scene and the woman who coined the term "Welcome to Country", died in March at the age of 66 after being diagnosed with cancer.
Rhoda grew up with the lessons her father taught her and her siblings about ignoring racism in their town and not allowing themselves to become victims.
Rhoda is a member of the Bundjalung nation, Widjabul clan of Northern New South Wales and South East Queensland; and her father grew up on a mission near Lismore, where his family fought to maintain their language and culture.
Rhoda had a twin sister called Lois, but their relationship was shattered just days before their 21st birthday, when Lois was left with a brain injury in an horrific car crash.
Rhoda went on to become an actor, journalist, broadcaster, director and festival programmer.
It was during her role as creative director of the Awakening segment of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremony that her sister Lois went missing.
Six months later, Rhoda's fears were realised when a hiker found a body in the bush.
Originally broadcast in September 2016.
Listen to Rudi Bremer's episode of Awaye about the legacy of Rhoda Roberts.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Pam O'Brien.
It explores grief, death, tragedy, traumatic brain injury, TBI, First Nations, Aboriginal Australians, racism, prejudice, fathers and daughters, sibling relationships, losing a sister, performing arts, Aboriginal arts, race relations, family trauma, Lismore, Northern Rivers.
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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Nick Orchard on how a tough childhood, mental health issues, couch surfing and hip hop have helped him learn how to help others recover from burnout and impostor syndrome.
When Nick was growing up, his mum struggled with her mental health and when he was on a date as a teenager he got the worst call of his life, and went to be with his mum when she needed him most.
Nick turned to the Melbourne hip hop scene for a sense of community and purpose.
It’s also where Nick would go looking for a couch to sleep on after he found himself with no permanent home to go to.
Just when things hit rock bottom, a call from a stranger helped turn his life around.
Nick eventually landed a very big job in government, but that imploded in burnout and he found himself in a different, despondent place - driving 130km down a deserted road, with no memory of how he got there.
That experience flicked a switch in him, and today he uses what he has learned to help others as a burnout coach.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores mental wellbeing, executive burnout, bouncing back, mental health, mental illness, childhood trauma, boxing, purpose, meaning, life, counselling, boxing, professional coach, senior management, anxiety, impostor syndrome, leadership.
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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Melina Marchetta grew up in Sydney in a close-knit Sicilian family, but she never wanted to be seen as 'that Italian girl'. Years later, she drew on her story to write an Australian classic (R).
Growing up, Melina lied about the fact she was forbidden to go out on the weekends, and instead told her friends she had to attend lots of weddings.
At 19 years old, she visited Italy for the first time and met her great aunts, still grieving the siblings who had left for Australia decades earlier.
Melina was working in the Commonwealth Bank when she began writing the novel inspired by her family's story.
Looking for Alibrandi was rejected five times before it was published some years later.
Then it became an Australian classic.
Originally broadcast in April 2019.
Melina's latest novel The Place on Dalhousie was published by Penguin in 2019.
And her latest children's book in the What Zola Did series, was published in 2022.
This Conversation was produced by Nicola Harrison. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
It explores Australian literature, writing, books, memoir, semi-autobiographical, novels, youth literature, teen literature, romance, coming of age, migrant stories, Italian-Australian stories, movie adaptation, Pia Miranda, Kick Gurry, Anthony LaPaglia.
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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Tracy Drain is Chief Engineer of the Europa Clipper, a NASA spacecraft currently travelling to Jupiter on a journey that will take six years.
Europa is one of Jupiter’s four largest moons, and scientists believe there could be an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust.Having water would make Europa one of the best places to look for signs of life in the solar system.
Tracy Drain has worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab for more than two decades.
She is also a National Geographic Explorer and was in Australia for the World Science Festival in Brisbane.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the executive producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores NASA, robotic space travel, Jupiter, Jupiter's moons, Europa, The Europa Clipper, mechanical engineering, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols, Uhura, solar system, mechanical engineering, AI, Mars Reconnaisssance Oribter, Keiper Project, Alien life, Earth-like planets, asteroids, moon landing, the space race, SpaceX, Elon Musk.
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, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.