Conversations

When Ben Gillies was 15 he began touring around the world in his band called Silverchair. After the band broke up, Ben had to work through anxiety and addiction to make an entirely new life for himself.Silverchair toured America, supporting the Ramones and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They played on the roof of the Radio City Music Hall during the MTV awards.And when they weren't working, they were back at high school, at Newcastle High.Silverchair made 5 albums together, all of which debuted at Number 1 on the Australian charts.But being a teenager rock god wasn't all roses, and through the years, and especially after the break-up of the band, Ben had to work through anxiety and addiction to make a good life for himself as a grown up.This episode explores Silverchair, teenagers, rock music, guitar, male friendship, record deal, live music, mental health, fame, touring, Newcastle, money, anxiety, family, recoveryTo 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.

How does Ben Crowe get elite athletes to the top of their game? What he asks footballers, surfers and tennis players to do seems counter intuitive, and a lot of the work happens off the field. (R)Ben Crowe is a mindset coach who has worked with elite athletes like surfer Steph Gilmore, tennis superstar Ash Barty, and the Richmond Football Club.But Ben's method of coaching seems counter-intuitive.Rather than telling these athletes they're the best, he encourages them to own their flaws, make sense of their life stories off the field, prioritising vulnerability and human connection, so they can take both wins and losses in their stride. Further informationOriginally broadcast in July 2021.Ben Crowe's new book, Where the Light Gets In, will be published by HarperCollins in January 2026.This episode of Conversations was produced by Michelle Ransom Hughes, executive producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores sport, NBA, basketball, football, Bayern, David Beckham, Hawks, Tigers, Magpies, Warriors, Tottenham, Jake Weatherald, Champions League, Wimbledon, Tennis Open, US Open, Australian Open, Arsenal, UCL, sports trading, UEFA, FIFA, mindset coaching, positive, books, writing, origin story, grief, death of a father, josh giddey.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.

Actor and author Tasma Walton was enjoying her big break on TV show Blue Heelers in the 1990s in Melbourne when a transformative visit from her grandmother launched her in a new direction.Boonwurrung/Bunurong woman, Tasma grew up in windy Geraldton, in Western Australia in the 1970s, hearing stories from her grandmother about baby whales and women who lived in kelp forests. These stories always featured a bay and very cold water — neither of which were in Geraldton.Many years later, while Tasma was filming Blue Heelers and living in St Kilda in Melbourne, her grandmother came to stay, and the stories she had told Tasma over and over again started to make sense.Except for one tale that had been sanitised for children’s ears — a supposed love story between Tasma's great-great-great grandmother, Nannertgarrook, and a vicious sealer man.As an adult, Tasma started to research the truth of what had happened to Nannertgarrook, generations ago.Further informationIf you need help, you can call the National domestic family and sexual violence counselling service on 1800-RESPECT — 1800 737 732.I Am Nannertgarrook is published by Simon & Schuster Bundyi.Tasma was named joint winner, with Robbie Arnott, of the $100,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize for 2025.Watch Reckless on SBS from Wednesday 12 November on SBS, NITV, and SBS ON DEMAND.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.This episode explores heritage, ancestral legacy, inherited trauma, intergenerational trauma, DV, family violence, method acting, mob, Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, slavery, blak, blak mothers, reconnecting with culture, bunurong strong, Nerrm, Narrm, Wilsons Prom, Wilsons Promontory, mermaids, dolphins, asthma, asthma attacks, medea, monologue, auditions, acting auditions, SBS, reckless, St Kilda, Blue Heelers, Luna Park.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.

Historian William Dalrymple had a rarefied childhood on the windswept coast of Scotland. As an adult he fell in love with India, and later discovered his family's own deep ties to the country.Born into the Scottish aristocracy, William followed his three older brothers and left for boarding school at just 8 years old.  While still an university William set off to follow Marco Polo's journey across the width of Asia and he wrote a best-selling book about that adventure.But after then moving to India, William started to see the many gaps and biases in his understanding of history and ever since he's been working to find the stories and people his education had left out.William also began uncovering his own family’s connections to India which stretched back generations and eventually a discovery relating to his own father's experience in India as a young man.  It seemed to answer the question of why his Dad chose never to go back.The episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores history, Scotland, North Berwick, Marco Polo's journey to South Asia, India, Delhi, archaeology, witches, family history, aristocracy, partition, history writing, large families, family secrets, the golden road, Palestine, Ampleforth College, Catholic Education, Robbie Burns, travel writing, Scottish history. 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.

Ten years ago, Michelle Payne became the first woman to win The Melbourne Cup but in the years since she's had to face many challenges, including a life threatening injury and family heartbreak.  Fortunately if there is one thing Michelle knows a lot about, it's how to get back up.Michelle Payne grew up on a farm, the youngest of ten kids, in a family were everyone was mad about horses and horse racing.  Her dad always said girls could be great jockeys if they were given the opportunity and she was determined to prove him right, despite some big challenges.She won her first race at age 15 and in 2015 became the first woman to win The Melbourne Cup and her beloved brother Stevie was her strapper for the race.Michelle Payne's memoir is called Ride OnThe executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.It explores horse racing, the Melbourne Cup, female jockey, large families, grief, death, animals, disability, training, injuring, horses, gambling, physical endurance, extreme weight loss, women, head injury, life threatening injuries, horses, recovery, resilience.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.

Writer, Ianto Ware on growing up in the suburbs of Adelaide in a single-parent, single-child family, when such an experience was rare. (R)Ianto Ware was raised in the suburbs of Adelaide in a house surrounded by a tangled garden of oak trees and vegetables, and furniture foraged from hard rubbish.Aside from the family pets, it was just Ianto and Dimity at home.His family was different to most in his street, as his mother Dimity described herself as a 'radical feminist socialist lesbian'.Dimity wore dungarees, and for some of Ianto's childhood, she drove a campervan with a yellow kayak on the roof, with a rainbow cat sticker on the bonnet of the van.As she was raising Ianto alone, Dimity knew that it was very likely she would not live to old age, because of a health condition she was born with.Ianto has written down the story his mother's remarkable life, and her legacy.Further informationOriginally broadcast June 2021. This episode was recorded remotely, during COVID.Mother and I: The fable of a wilful family was published by Hunter Publishing.Read more about Ianto on his website.https://iantoware.com.au/about/This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison. The Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.This episode explores single mothers, queer mothers, lesbian, gardening, rainbow families, unusual families, being different, how it feels to be different, when you don't fit in, is it ok to be different, Adelaide, Dunstan, mother and son, single parent family, single parent, single child family, kidney disease, kidney transplant, death of a mother, death of a parent, orphan, strong mothers, only child, one and done, amicable separation, amicable divorce, good divorce, adult son and chronic illness.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.

Kate Reid inherited her love of Formula 1 from her dad. She put her heart and soul into qualifying for a job with the renowned racing team, Williams, but her dream job turned out very differently to what she expected. Then, a public library turned out to be a bridge to Kate's recovery.Growing up in Melbourne, Kate was an asthmatic child who developed an extremely close bond with her dad.He would care for Kate during her frequent asthma attacks by operating a whirring nebuliser, staying next to her as she regained her breath in her bed.Kate became obsessed with her dad’s favourite sport — Formula 1 racing. Once Kate experienced the vibration ripping through her body at a race, she decided she would become an aerospace engineer and work in the area she and her dad loved so much.When her dream job turned turned sour, Kate’s life took a dangerous turn and she developed depression and anorexia.Kate returned to Australia for treatment, and it was thanks to a public library in Melbourne that she started on the next obsession, the one that would heal her.Kate's croissanterie, Lune, is now a thriving business.Further informationDestination Moon is published by Simon & Schuster.If you need support with an eating disorder, you can visit the Butterfly Foundation or call on 1800 33 4673.https://butterfly.org.au/This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores eating disorders, disordered eating, pain au chocolat, Paris, Ousia, hospitality, hospo, cafe culture, croissants, start up, self made, CEO, life of a CEO, France, pastry chef, laminated pastries, obsession, control, perfection, perfectionism, tin tin, sibling love, family support, tight family unit, Du Pain et des Idées, boulangerie, Christophe Vasseur, changing careers, formula 1, formula one, racing, motorsports, pit crew and Monaco.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.

Walter Marsh with the surreal tale of Colin Wyatt, the ski champion, mountaineer, wartime camouflage expert, artist, and naturalist who committed one of the world's biggest-ever museum heists in the 1940s.In January 1947, by chance, it was found that over 3,000 rare and precious specimens of butterflies had vanished from museums in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Alarmingly, the missing insects included many priceless ‘holotypes’ — the first specimen of a given species to be identified, against which all others are compared.On the other side of the world, New Scotland Yard descended on a nondescript country house in Surrey, where they found a trove of over 40,000 butterfly specimens. The culprit was Colin Wyatt, a Cambridge-educated ski champion, mountaineer, wartime camouflage expert, artist, and amateur naturalist whose high-flying exploits cut a path from the Alps of Europe to a London court room to a final expedition to the jungles of Guatemala.Walter Marsh has written down the strange and confounding tale of the gentleman butterfly thief in his new book.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jennifer Leake, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores museum heists, museum thefts, gentlemen criminals, natural history, lepidopterists, butterflies, butterfly stealing,adventurers, skiing, mountaineering, war, WWII, alps, london, stealing from a museum, theft from museum, famous museum heists, strange criminals, smooth criminals, why do people commit crime, collectors, the collector, extreme collections.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.

Katie Treble grew up crying at about how all the king's horses and men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. It was that compassion that made her the perfect candidate for doctoring during war as an adult.When Dr Katie Treble decided to swap the good vibes and beautiful beaches of Byron Bay for work with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) she knew she would be in for a shock. Nothing could have prepared her for the desperate need she encountered in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the midst of a civil war.But Katie was even more affected by the courage and kindness of her colleagues.She came away from her months in Bria, CAR knowing that her time as a humanitarian doctor would change her own life in deep ways, and so when she got back to Australia she started the work of trying to make sense of it all.Field Notes from Death's Door is published by HarperCollins.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores medicine, university, war, civil war, Africa, humanitarian crisis, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, MSF, doctors without borders, access to medicine, hospital, conflict zones, PTSD, malaria, defence, navy, Kenya, France, Jamaica, Haiti, natural disaster, murder, infant mortality rate, vaccination, religious war, Islam, Christianity, genocide, MDMA therapy, psychology, recovery, healing.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.

Aaron was living on the tip of Cape York when he borrowed his uncle’s dinghy to make it to his first acting audition on nearby Thursday Island.He won the role that day in a TV show called Remote Area Nurse, and many other TV series followed, including the crime dramas The Straits and East West 101.He also presented the Torres Strait Island Cooking show, Strait to the Plate, and he was one of the stars of the comedy show Black Comedy.Today Aaron is not just an actor, he's a director and producer as well and as he writes about in his memoir So Far, So Good, there have been many setbacks and some heartbreak on his path to success.Further informationSo Far, So Good is published by Pantera PressThis episode of Conversations explores Cape York, acting, writing, producing, television, film, domestic violence, children, rejection, family, domestic violence protection order, logie awards, masculinity, relationships, racism.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.

The singer, podcaster, writer and comedian on living big with neurodivergence, and owning her manic, creative energy.Growing up in Melbourne in the 1980s, Em was a serious young athlete, focused on hurdles, when a high kick up-ended her ambitions.  She was a creative, energetic child who seemed to always be busier than everyone else. As a young, stay-at-home mum, Em appeared on Australian Idol, having never performed on stage before, and this opportunity launched her career in radio.Em and her husband had two more children and she found herself at a loss during COVID lockdowns.Em felt she was drowning, and couldn’t work out why things had always seemed so much harder for her than for those around her.As an adult, Em received two life-changing diagnoses, all while being put through the wringer of perimenopause.Em's book Blood, Sweat and Glitter: A Coming of Middle Age Story is published by Pantera Press.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.This episode explores ADHD, neurodivergence, autism, diamond creek, emsolation, emsolation extra, outgrown, diagnostic trifecta, Anomalous, podcast, rage against the vagine, covid lockdowns, melbourne lockdowns, DSM 5, neuropsychologist, National Press Club, National Press Club address, impostor syndrome, sensory issues, autistic females, Quinni, Heartbreak High, jumping on the bandwagon, menopause, perimenopause, hormones, hormonal shift, executive function, autistic, hormone treatment, iron deficient, low iron and middle age women.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.

From fairground palmistry to the science of fingerprinting, historian Alison Bashford explores the secrets, history and psychology of the hand.Alison was in a London library when she discovered a ginormous palm print of a gorilla, taken two days after it died at London Zoo in the 1930s.She had no idea whatsoever about why someone had made this mysterious print, or why it had been kept in pristine condition for all these years.Alison plunged into researching the history of the hand, from fairground palm reading to Jungian analysis.She was transported into the magical, scientific and pseudo-scientific attitudes to markings on the body.She encountered Victorian wellness entrepreneurs, how Down Syndrome was first diagnosed in neonates, and celebrity palm readers whose influence reached all the way to former British Prime Minister, William Gladstone.Further informationAlison's book Decoding The Hand: A History of Science, Medicine, and Magic is published by The University of Chicago Press.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.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.This episode explores gypsies, Roma, palm reading, fortune telling, psychology, psychoanalysis, Charlotte Wolff, Carl Jung, Weimar Germany, Nazi Germany, Brahmin, palmistry, cheiromancy, Cheiro, writing a book, university, Hollywood, 1930s Hollywood, celebrity, Down Syndrome, diagnosis, genetics, eugenics, Lionel Penrose, BBC, simian line, occult, Francis Galton, Ellis Family and British Institute for Mental Science.

Helen Goh's life story began with a complicated childhood — and blossomed into one about culture, cake and the meaning of life.Helen was born in Malaysia in the year of the Fire Horse. This zodiac birth year was a big threat to the Gohs, and her parents had to make a heartbreaking decision that would affect the family for a generation.The Gohs eventually immigrated to Australia, and Helen went on to sell pharmaceuticals to doctors, before she pursued her honours in psychology.A stint as a cafe owner followed, then Helen went back to basics as a chef's apprentice in Melbourne.She followed her heart to London, and encountered an 'Aladdin's cave' of goodies in a deli in Notting Hill, which was owned by Yotam Ottolenghi.Helen has come to understand the psychological benefits of baking, and now interweaves two of her life's enduring interests.Helen's book Baking and The Meaning of Life is published by Murdoch Books.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.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.This episode explores insecure attachment, attachment styles, coherence, purpose and significance in life, so you think horse, Yotam Ottolenghi, Year of the Fire horse, Notting Hill, Helen Goh's chocolate cake, Helen Goh recipes, baking for charity, raising money, bake sales, two careers, how to have two careers, baker, baker and psychologist, studying psychology, lemon curd, Women's Weekly, Malaysia, Nonya, Nyonya, foster child, fostering children, complicated family, raising Jewish boys, sweet, cookbook and cooking. 

Wendy Harmer has enjoyed huge success over four decades as a comedian, tv host and as a radio presenter.  A long way from her origins in country Victoria, where she was born with a facial disfigurement, into a struggling family.When her mother left, Wendy often had to look after her young siblings.After her talent for writing was spotted by a lecturer at Deakin University, Wendy became a cadet journalist at the Geelong Advertiser.And then Wendy's life was transformed one night in Melbourne when she saw stand-up comedy for the first time and decided to try it herself.She bought records of Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg and Woody Allen, and studied their acts.The first night she stood up at an open mic night for her 5 minute set, she knew it was the perfect role for her.Soon she was headlining her own shows at the Melbourne comedy venue the Last Laugh, and her life set off on a completely different path.Further informationWendy's memoir is called Lies My Mirror Told MeThis episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores family, separation, cleft lip and palate, facial surgery, siblings, poverty, alcoholism, physical abuse, journalism, comedy, broadcasting, writing for children, country Victoria, stand up comedy, television, memoir.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.

Historian and bookseller Edmund Goldrick on the hair-raising, forgotten tale of the escaped Australian prisoners of war who stumbled into another, hidden genocide, and tried to stop it.Early in the World War Two, Australian soldiers who had been captured by the Germans escaped by leaping from a moving train.They found themselves in unfamiliar territory, in the lands of Yugoslavia.The Australians on the run found themselves in the company of dangerous men, who planned to use the cover of war to commit genocide.One of the Australians fell in with a Serbian Royalist group, and when he discovered their leader’s plans, he acted as a double agent in their ranks, determined to find a way to warn the Allies that their man in Serbia was determined to conduct mass murder.Anzac Guerillas is published by Hachette.Edmund will be giving a talk on Remembrance Day at the Goulburn Library, and again on Saturday, 6 December at Sydney's Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores war, POWs, Germany, former Yugoslavia, Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Catholic, Orthodox, Roma people, Jewish, Islamic, Chetniks, Partisans, genocide, civil war, death, escape, spies, double agents, allied forces, war crimes, international war tribunal, guerilla warfare, murder, assassination, holocaust, Italy, Greece, fascism, tyranny, Bosnia, Nazi, Hitler.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.

Journalist Ariel Bogle takes us inside the rallies, homes, courtrooms, secret chat rooms and $2000 Byron Bay luxury retreats where Australia’s conspiracy theories spread.Ariel has been investigating conspiracy theories and those who follow them for her new book.When things feel wrong and unfair, sometimes people look for answers in some of the more febrile corners of the internet.Add political fragmentation and the megaphone of the internet to the mix, and many conspiracy theories are fast gaining traction Australia.Some of these beliefs are imported from America; others are home-grown. In researching her book, Ariel met people who believe there are microchips in vaccines, and that the law isn’t real, but QAnon is.She also met those drawn into the cult-like world of sovereign citizens and tried to understand what lured them there in the first place.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.Further information:Conspiracy Nation, co-authored with Cam Wilson is published by Hardie Grant.Listen to David Heilpern's interview with Sarah Kanowski https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/david-heilpern-magistrate-drug-driving-laws-ptsd-justice-system/14103618It explores conspiracy theories, 5G, vaccines, vaccine refusal, traffic fines, QAnon, 15 minute cities, sovereign citizens, pseudo law, legal system, relationships, conferences, podcasters, influential conspiracy theorists, Bill Heffernan, sheeple, Port Arthur, Wieambilla murders, Port Arthur, what pushes people into conspiracy theories, David Heilpern, do conspiracy theorists change their minds, families, fractured families, going no contact, Dezi Freeman, the hunt for Dezi Freeman, sovcit movement, propaganda, powerful cabals, strange conspiracy theories, australian economy, .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.

Griffin Dunne's acting career was just taking off when his sister was brutally attacked by an ex-boyfriend, and the outcome of the infamous murder trial that followed was devastating for his family.As a child his parents threw legendary parties, including one where Sean Connery saved him from drowning in the family pool in Beverly Hills and when he was a teenager, he hung out with famous actors and directors at his aunty's place, the legendary writer Joan Didion.Then as a struggling actor in his 20s, he shared a Manhattan apartment with his best friend, the actress Carrie Fisher.And Griffin went on to achieve his own success, including a starring role in the cult horror film An American Werewolf in London.But after the murder of his younger sister Dominique, Griffin lost interest in his acting career.And his father Dominick Dunne  who wrote about his daughter's trial for Vanity Fair, went on to cover other high profile murder cases for the magazine, including the Menendez Brothers and OJ Simpson.Griffin's memoir is called The Friday Afternoon ClubThis episode of Conversations explores Hollywood history, family, memoir, fame, domestic abuse, murder, legal system, relationships, acting, producing, New York City, alcohol abuse, writing, divorce, homosexuality, writers, directors, horror films.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.

Ben Lee on life as a teen rock prodigy, Hollywood fame, living in an Ashram in India, and exploring his subconscious through ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic from the Amazon (R).Ben Lee grew up in Bondi in the 1980s when it was a place of bikie gangs, Yiddish-speaking grandmas and tribes of kids living next to one of the world's most beautiful beaches. He was educated at a local Jewish school where he confounded his Rabbi by asking some surprising questions about Moses.Ben was always a seeker, and even as a boy, he also possessed a whole lot of chutzpah.At the age of 14 he saw Nirvana play at the Big Day Out. The next day he started his own band and just two years later Ben was flying to America to support Sonic Youth.After many wild years, Ben emerged with a crucial realisation about his life story.  He is now living back in Australia with his wife Ione and their teenage daughter.This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores music, songwriting, drugs, drug taking, ayahuasca, what does ayahuasca feel like, ecstasy, do drugs change your brain, your brain on drugs, your subconscious mind, Claire Danes, how to be famous, what it feels like to be famous, mental health, identity crisis, seasons of life, rock star wife, rock star husband, Evan Dando, Evan Dando drug addiction, Lemonheads, ego, big ego, tall poppy syndrome, catch my disease, gamble everything for love, fame, rock music, singing, Bondi, Noise Addict, Sonic Youth, alternative spirituality, Judaism, Australian music, celebrity, Ione Skye.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.

Historian Tom Trumble tells the story of the cunning World War II Australian sabotage mission known as Operation Jaywick, and how two survivors outsmarted the Imperial Japanese Army police, the Kempeh Tai.Deep in the years of World War II, Australian commandos in the Pacific theatre executed a cunning plan to sneak up on Japanese warships in the occupied Singapore Harbour.They managed to get away with an incredible operation, but in doing so, triggered intense paranoia and embarrassment for Japan.The Japanese were furious, and were convinced Chinese-Singaporeans were behind this humiliating setback.They enacted a terrifying regime of massacres, arrests and torture.Japanese authorities suspected Elizabeth Choy and Robert Heatlie Scott were involved with the sabotage, and the two paid dearly for that assumption during their time in prison.Further informationSurvival in Singapore: The triumph and tragedy of Australia's greatest commando operation is published by Penguin Random House.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan, Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores Changi, Changi Prison, smuggling money, the double tenth incident, sook ching massacre, fall of Singapore, WWII, military history, WWII history, fishing vessel, sabotage, commando operation, Australian commandos, Ivan Lyon, SOE, Special Operations Executive, revenge, Sumida Haruzo and spies.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.

Fran Harding was a stay-at-home mother of eight children when her pharmacist husband came home one night with the news that the family were moving to Charleville in Western Queensland to run a pub.Gordan had spontaneously leased a pub, and Fran was to be its new publican.So, with their kids in tow (including a little baby), they set off.Fran set up her sewing machine behind the bar and did her best to work out how to pull beers, understand what the locals were saying and keep tabs on her brood.Then Fran’s husband fell in love with the pub across the street – the once grand hotel, The Corones.The Harding family moved in, learning about its history as ‘The Taj Mahal of the Warrego’ and doing their best to return the pub to its former glory.Fran has published two books about her life and about the Corones Hotel, called The Accidental Australians and The Accidental Publican.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores Australian history, stories, outback, the bush, Queensland, Quilpie, Migration, Great Australians, 1990 flood, recovering after natural disasters, social history, outback characters, hospitality, running a business, big families, motherhood, historic hotels, writing, books, memoir, Greek-Australians, small town Australia, working mothers, how to run a pub, renovating historic buildings, Harry Corones, Kythira, Poppa, Greece, Mediterranean Islands, Greek Orthodox, Greek diaspora, Australian pioneers.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.