Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures...
43 carolling magpies, CPR on a blue tongue lizard and Claire's animal ambulance
The first sound Claire Smith heard when she landed in Australia from the UK was the carolling song of a nearby magpie. That was enough to make her fall in love with Australian wildlife.Very quickly, Claire poured all her energy into looking after injured animals, which seemed funny for a girl who grew up in the English countryside the daughter of a hunting dog master.She began volunteering for wildlife rescue groups, and caring for animals at home, where at one stage she had 43 baby birds in her garage.Claire went on to build the first kangaroo hospital in Queensland, and created the state's first volunteer-run 24-hour wildlife rescue service.Claire Smith has been named the 2025 Local Hero for Queensland, in the Australian of the Year Awards.This episode of Conversations touches on conservation, the environment, wildlife carers, kangaroos on the road, what to do when you hit a kangaroo, birding, birds, foxhunting, hunting, native wildlife, pests, animal husbandry.
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53:30
Bite Club: Surviving a shark attack, and the aftermath
Dave Pearson runs Bite Club, a support service for anyone who has survived a shark attack. Dave’s own brush with death came in 2011, when a three-metre-long bull shark almost tore his arm off. Dave lived that day, but it’s what happened during his recovery that he didn’t see coming.Dave Pearson was with his mates on the NSW mid-north coast back in 2011, and couldn’t get in the water fast enough to try out his brand new surfboard.He’d caught a few ripper waves when he was slammed by what felt like a freight train.Under the water, through the bubbles and the shock, Dave saw something huge, brown and grey.Dave survived that day, but it’s what happened during his recovery that he didn’t see coming.He founded Bite Club to support survivors through the mental heath challenges following their shark attacks.This episode of Conversations touches on an epic personal story, grief, shark attacks, PTSD, surfing, and mental health.
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52:30
Voicing velociraptors and capturing the dawn chorus
Meet Doug Quin, sound designer and naturalist who makes field recordings all over the world. Hear what Doug heard when he got up close to emperor penguins, lions and vultures. (R)Sound designer and naturalist Doug Quin has been highly attuned to sound since he was a young child growing up in Algeria under the threat of bombing. Through his family’s travels and his years at a Scottish boarding school, Doug fell in love with the outdoors, and especially with wintery landscapes. He later transformed his deep curiosity about nature and skills in music and art into a prolific career. Since the early 1980s Doug has been making field recordings in every corner of the Earth, and putting them to use in work spanning all media. His extensive credits include designing sound for films such as Jurassic Park 3 and countless nature documentaries, collaborating with the Kronos Quartet, composing soundscapes for museums and art galleries, releasing albums, and contributing planetary ambiences to the score of the game Spore. This episode of Conversations touches on the natural world, Jurassic Park 3, animals, nature, silence, Antarctica, origin stories, Scotland, Algeria, birding, birdsong, war, bombing, resilience and family.
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Sarah's Most Memorable Guests — Shanelle Dawson
Conversations is bringing you a summer treat — a collection of Sarah's most memorable guests through out the years. In 2018, Shanelle Dawson's family were the subject of a hit true crime podcast which helped convict her father Chris Dawson of her mother's murder. Now she's reclaiming her own story and the story of her mother Lynette.Help and support is always available by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14Shanelle Dawson was four years old when her mother Lynette disappeared from the family home. Shanelle's teenage babysitter, a former student of her father's was moved into the family home soon afterwards. She began wearing Lynette's wedding ring, and her clothes, and became a reluctant stepmother to her two daughters.Shanelle was raised believing her mother had abandoned her. But over 30 years later, after the family was the subject of a hit true crime podcast called The Teacher's Pet, in 2022 Chris Dawson was found guilty of his wife's murder and sentenced to 24 years in prison.Throughout her life, Shanelle was dealing with the aftermath of trauma, lies and family violence.But she also found the strength to confront her father and to create an entirely new life for herself and her own daughter.This episode of Conversations contains discussion about family history, family secrets, domestic violence, murder, grooming, missing people, mother-daughter relationships, crime, cold cases, crime reporting, podcasts, true crime podcasts, media, Northern Beaches, Sydney, NSW, Australia, The Australian, Hedley Thomas, The Teacher's Pet, Lynne Dawson, Chris Dawson, Lynette Dawson murder, family violence, victims, childhood trauma, teachers, high school, emotional violence, psychological violence, domestic abuse, babysitter, cover-up, missing bodies, stepmothers, step sisters, extended families, autobiographies, deception, misogyny, law, court cases, criminal courts, convictions, sentencing, victim impact statements.
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53:00
Sarah's Most Memorable Guests — Tony Bull
Conversations is bringing you a summer treat — a collection of Sarah's most memorable guests through out the years. Tony spent three decades in and out of jail for property crimes and safecracking. When he joined an unusual club inside Hobart's Risdon Prison, he found his voice for the first time. Then a few years ago, on a fishing trawler far out to sea, he began the painful process of changing his life.Tony Bull grew up across the road from Hobart's Risdon Prison.As child he started running with a crowd of boys who stole money for the woodman and the milkman from people's front doorsteps.In late primary school he found himself in trouble with the law for the first time.He was 17 when he first went to jail, in Queensland's Boggo Road after a car chase with the police in Cairns.A year later, he was back in Tasmania, and inside Risdon Prison for the first time.It was a scary experience because he'd heard so many unsettling sounds coming from inside the prison walls when he was a child.In his 20s, Tony joined the Spartan Debating Club inside the jail. The prisoners, including Chopper Read, often debated teams from outside the jail, and their families were sometimes allowed in to watch the debates.Learning to debate changed how Tony used his voice. He eventually became yard boss, a conduit between the prisoners and the Superintendent.Some years later he was out of jail and working on a fishing boat called the 'Diana' when he had a pre-dawn epiphany far out at sea.He realised it was finally time for him to break the cycle of crime and incarceration in his own life.Tony worked incredibly hard to unlearn some of his old habits which had previously led him straight back into jail.Today he lives in his own unit with his beloved dog Princess and runs a home maintenance business.This episode of Conversations contains discussion around prison, jail, incarceration, youth detention, youth crime, burglary, break and enter, safe cracking, criminals, inmates, Hobart, Risdon Prison, Tasmania, Queensland, Cairns, Brisbane, police, corrections, debating, inmate reform, prison reform, Chopper Reid, family relationships, fishing, boating, Salvation army, rehabilitation, crime prevention, fishing trawlers, crime and punishment, safecracker, lighthouse, swimming, ocean swimming, The Diana, living alone, relationships.
Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption.
Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.
Whether it's an exploration of Australian and American politics, the intricacies of mental health, or the mysteries of ancestry and origin stories, our episodes offer a conversational approach that brings topics to life.
We uncover epic tales of war and peace, the complex dynamics of relationships and family, and the profound impact of grief and loss.
Follow Conversations for thought-provoking discussions, heartfelt stories, and a deeper understanding of the world around us.
Conversations explores the meaning of life, history, relationships, motherhood and fatherhood, love, religion and the origins of human life through a contemporary and conversational Australian lens.
From distinctive accounts of crime, mental health, ancestry, cults, grief, family and parenting, to discussions about science, books, art, music, war, spies and economics, Conversations traverses myriad topics.
Our interviews focus on pioneers of the natural world, wildlife, oceans, fungi, archaeology, palaeontology and megafauna.
Our guests speak about geopolitics, being a refugee and the experience of migration. They come from all walks of life — First Nations, Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples, CALD communities and ancestors of Australia's first fleeters. We explore Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu faith traditions, among other beliefs, including atheism.
We look at social history as well — close encounters with the ancient world, the Stolen Generations, and adventurers on an explorative odyssey.
In a Conversations interview, you will hear personal stories of secrets, lies, adoption, and living with disability, neurodiversity or chronic illness.
We traverse a person's life story, full of human interest topics, including redemption, love at first sight, spirituality, poverty, having children, family dynamics and even hidden families.
We hear from individuals who have struggled with drug addiction, jail, family violence, political imprisonment, persecution, abuse, depression, anxiety and mental health issues.
Conversations also speak to the public figures of Australian and international society — leaders, artists, politicians, authors, sports stars, actors and musicians.
A writer, a builder, a neurologist, a Paralympian, an Olympian, an amputee, a historian, a comedian, a funeral director, a bird photographer, an ethicist, a doctor, a spy, a pilot, a choreographer, a firefighter, a bookseller, an astrophysicist, a martial artist, a principal, an oud virtuoso, an ecologist, a carer, a demographer, a chess master, a forensic archaeologist, a biologist, a chef, a surfer, a button shop owner, a costume and set designer, a boxer, a drummer, a conductor, a dog behaviourist, an AFL player, a longevity expert, a barber, a Matilda, and a psychologist have all appeared on our program.
Stories make us who we are. Join Conversations for an hour of diverting listening, to transport, touch and uplift you. Our guided storytelling will teach you something new, introduce you to someone extraordinary and take you away to a different place or time in history.
After almost 20 years of digging into the lives, stories and worlds of thousands of people, Conversations continues as the ABC's most popular podcast, providing Australians with a social history of our country and paying close attention to the small, personal details that make up a life.
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