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Jelena Dokic overcame adversity, poverty and violence to rise to the top of the tennis world. Years later, her revelations about her father's abuse stunned the world. (CW: discussion of domestic violence and coercive control).
This episode of Conversations also talks about sport, training, family, origin stories, parenting, relationships, childhood trauma, sports commentary, online trolls, refugees, security, control, family violence, therapy, mental health, identity, disordered eating, books, documentary film, reflection, culture, meaning, Australian, counselling, conversational story, and memoir.
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Lee Berger, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and real-life Indiana Jones with tales of his hominid discoveries, many of which have rewritten the story of palaeoanthropology. (R)
National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Lee Berger, entered the field of palaeoanthropology when there was an infinitesimally tiny chance he would discover anything, while digging around South Africa.
But this real-life Indiana Jones kept bucking the odds.
He kept unearthing previously unseen parts of hominids - the group known as the Great Apes; comprising modern humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans plus all their immediate ancestors.
First, he found a pair of hominid teeth in southern Africa. Then after a fossil hunting dry spell, his 9-year-old son Matthew found the jawbone of an entirely new hominid species.
A few years later came Lee's most extraordinary discovery yet: a nearly inaccessible cave filled with skeletons of another new hominid species which seemed to be violating all the rules.
The story of what happened in this cave revolutionises what we understand about the origins of our own human species.
This episode of Conversations discusses the origin of human life, archaeology, science, research, caving, adventure, Indiana Jones, human species, evolution, Charles Darwin, theories of evolution, Africa.
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As Andrew Dwyer ventured further into the desert, he fell in love with the people and the landscape. He battled sandstorms, floods and isolation to serve fine foods under the stars.
When Andrew Dwyer was growing up in 1960s Melbourne, the city wasn't the foodie destination it is now, in fact it was often described as a "culinary wasteland".
But luckily for Andrew, his Czechoslovakian godfather and his Chinese stepmother introduced him to incredible flavours and cooking techniques from further afield.
At the same time, Andrew was bushwalking and skiing and falling in love with the outdoors.
Eventually, he combined his passion for wild places with his passion for good food.
Andrew started venturing further and further west, far into the Australian outback — and he took his fine foods with him.
This episode of Conversations explores travel, fine dining, food, cooking, camp cooking, travel, snow skiing, the Victorian Alps, good food, good weekender, travel recommendations, the Gibson Desert, Nothern Territory, South Australia, Adelaide, Australian Explorers, Giles, Pintupi 9, Indigenous tourism, tourism industry, foodies.
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An impulse decision to buy a home in the rainforest results in a comedy of errors involving a python in the roof, an unexpected tax bill, two reality TV shows discussing bowel movements with Shane Warne. (R)
Akmal Saleh doesn't like the jungle or rainforests, or any of the animals in the jungle or rainforest.
Akmal likes cafes and running water, which made the comedian's purchase of a cabin in the hills outside Byron Bay incredibly puzzling to those who know him.
Looking for a place where their two dogs could run free, Akmal and his wife bought their remote cabin on an impulse.
After twelve days, they knew the tree-change, hippie lifestyle wasn't for them.
What followed was a comedy of errors involving a python in the roof, carpet-eating rats, a half-finished home, an unexpected tax bill, two reality shows and discussing bowel movements with Shane Warne.
This episode of Conversations discusses sea changes, tree changes, impulse purchases, real estate, comedy, stand-up comedy, regional Australia, regional property market, buying property, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Selling Houses Australia, the rainforest, the Byron Bay Hinterland, northern NSW.
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Athlete Gerrard Gosens didn't realise he was blind until his first day at primary school. His adventurous spirit led him to become a three time Paralympian, climb Mt Everest, swim the English Channel, and perform the rhumba on Dancing With The Stars.
This conversation talks about family life, family history, childhood memories, origin stories, training, medical procedures, surgery, mountaineering, mountains, cycling, open water swimming, parenting, genetic conditions, glaucoma, disability, charity, Stevie Wonder, chocolate, training, exercising, Paralympic sport, triathlon, indoor climbing, sepsis, team building, reality TV, and fundraising.
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How a Birmingham boy became best-selling thriller writer, Lee Child, and the creator of one of the literary world's most popular loners. (R)
James Grant grew up in Birmingham when it was a bustling industrial city.
While huge workforces would pour of the factories as men ended their shifts and headed home on bicycles, for children, there wasn't much to do.
Young James often found himself at the library, and he grew up a voracious reader.
He began working for Granada Television after leaving university, but after a 20-year career, Jim suddenly found himself out of a job, and with a wife and child to support.
With a pragmatic sense of mission, he sat down with a pencil and wrote his first novel in longhand, under the pseudonym Lee Child.
It was a thriller about a loner named Jack Reacher, and went on to become a best-seller around the world, adapted into films and a television series.
Now every nine seconds, somewhere in the world, someone buys a Jack Reacher book.
This episode of Conversations explores crime writing, stories, thrillers, Jack Reacher, In Too Deep, television adaptations, Lee Child's real name, origin stories, Birmingham, books, authors, best-selling books, book recommendations, Tom Cruise, Netflix, Amazon Prime, film adaption, Hollywood, Bill Clinton.
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Dr Tracy Westerman grew up in the Pilbara, where suicide and mental health issues have deeply scarred Indigenous communities. So this Nyamal woman decided to do something about it.
Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman grew up in some of the most remote parts of Western Australia, moving from a station to a town called Useless Loop, eventually landing in the mining town of Tom Price.
Tracy, the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and a white father, became the first person educated entirely in Tom Price, from kindergarten to year 12, to go on to University.
When she arrived in Perth, she had never been on a bus or on an escalator, but she was fired up to study psychology.
Tracy wanted to use the skills she learned in the city to deliver practical mental health care to Aboriginal people, and to help entire communities reeling from the impact of suicide and other mental health issues.
Along the way to obtaining her doctorate, Tracy has become a businesswoman, the WA Australian of the year, and she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.
Her next mission is to build an army of Indigenous psychologists to continue the work she's already started.
This episode of Conversations discusses mental health care, mental health struggles, First Nations mental health, remote communities, interracial relationships, psychology, university, PhD study, tertiary education, the Pilbara, Nyamal, traditional owners, Indigenous psychologist.
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Michael Visontay with the true tale of how fragments of a rare Gutenberg Bible were sold off, leaf by leaf, in New York in the 1920s, and how the sale of these books, chapters and verses changed the course of his own family.
Some years ago journalist Michael Visontay was researching his family history when he stumbled upon the story of a man named Gabriel Wells, who had been a New York book dealer at the height of the Roaring 20s.
As a way to make fast money, Wells came up with a scandalous plan.
He bought a precious, ancient copy of the world's greatest book, the Gutenberg Bible, and began extracting leaves from it to sell off the individual pages.
Wealthy buyers were willing to pay big money for the 'noble fragments', and Wells died a rich man.
More than a century later, Michael discovered an extraordinary link between the story of Gabriel Wells and his own family history. He then set out to track down the pages of the broken bible himself.
This episode of Conversations discusses rare books, the Holocaust, World War Two, refugees, the Iron Curtain, post-war migration, Hungary, Judaism, divorce, blended families, small business, love stories, family stories, origin stories, Anglicisation of names, Sydney, Kings Cross.
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Legendary cook, author, food producer and educator Maggie Beer had a circuitous path to the food world, which began when she left school at 14. (R)
Legendary cook, author, food producer and educator Maggie Beer grew up in Lakemba in South-West Sydney, and got her first job when she was 14 years old.
Maggie had to leave school early to go out to work to help support her family after her father's business went bankrupt.
Although she had a varied working life over the next two decades, it wasn't until her mid-30s that Maggie found her purpose.
She and her husband, Colin, began a pheasant farm in South Australia's Barossa Valley, then added a farm gate shop and a restaurant.
After a few years of struggle, a review of their business changed everything.
Later, Maggie began her next chapter as a TV star on The Cook and the Chef and Masterchef.
Recently Maggie has been campaigning to improve the quality of food in aged care. This year she was recognised with an international TV host award for her work on ABC TV's Maggie Beer's Big Mission.
This episode of Conversations explores food, food inequality, farm to table, the Barossa, Western Sydney, aged care, nutrition, health and wellbeing, food for the soul, recipes, dinner recipes, home cooking, gastronomy, hospitality, chefs., family recipes.
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In 2024 Nate Byrne went from presenting the weather to making the news when he acknowledged live on air that he was experiencing a panic attack. Keeping cool under pressure is a skill Nate developed in his first career as a Naval Officer, and perhaps also from his days as a go-go dancer in a Perth nightclub.
Nate Byrne is the Weather Presenter on ABC News Breakfast.
In August this year Nate went from presenting the weather to making the news when he acknowledged, as he was broadcasting live, that he was experiencing a panic attack.
It's something that had been happening on many mornings for the past few years whenever Nate stood at one of his favourite places in the world: in front of the weather wall in the ABC TV studio.
Nate has decided this is just his body being 'a doofus' and has found a way to redirect his brain once the panic starts.
Keeping cool under pressure is a skill Nate developed in his first career as a Naval Officer… and perhaps also from his days as a go-go dancer in a Perth nightclub.
This episode of Conversations explores family, marriage equality, science, meteorology, TV Broadcasting, the weather, origin stories, weather forecasts, military history, World War Two, the navy, submarines, sea mines, naval mines, Arab Spring, and dancing.
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Chef Ben Shewry grew up on a farm in New Zealand where his family grew or hunted most of their own food.
Ben was 10 when he started working in restaurants and his discovery of a second hand Thai cookbook eventually led him to Australia.
In 2015 Ben become the owner of Attica in Melbourne and turned it into one of the world's most acclaimed and innovative restaurants.
This episode of Conversations explores origin, family, ancestry, parenting, origin stories, Melbourne, personal stories, depression, mental health, reflection, memoir, life story, exploration, food, cooking, hospitality, aboriginal food, bush foods, restaurant, critics, butchery, baking, farming, hunting, fishing, diving and lockdown lasagne.
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Antony Penrose grew up knowing little about his remarkable mother Lee Miller, who had studied with Man Ray in Paris, and become a model, a photographer, and a war correspondent. But then an unexpected find in the family attic changed everything. (R)
Lee Miller was a Vogue model, a photographer, and a war correspondent who studied in Paris with her lover, Man Ray, lived in Egypt, and captured some of the most searing images of the holocaust.
Recently she has become famous in pop culture for her glamour and her iconic photographic images.
But there is much more to her story.
Lee's son Antony grew up on a farm in East Sussex as the son of Lee and the surrealist painter Roland Penrose.
His relationship with his mum was often strained, as Lee was then struggling with PTSD and alcohol addiction.
She eventually lifted herself out of her drinking and when she became sober, she swapped her camera for the kitchen and became an experimental chef of some renown in the last years of her life.
Soon after Lee's death at the age of 70, Antony's wife made a chance discovery of thousands of photographic negatives and some of Lee's manuscripts in a family attic.
It became a rich seam of material for the family to begin to begin to understand Lee's multi-faceted life story.
Antony now devotes his working life to Lee's legacy.
Some years ago he wrote an acclaimed biography of her called 'The Lives of Lee Miller'.
This episode of Conversations touches on new films, film recommendations, family legacy, epic life story, origin stories, Man Ray, WWII, the Holocaust, Lee Miller, motherhood, family, PTSD, war correspondence, war photography, Kate Winslet and Ellen Kuras.
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Bhawani O'Brien's first name means "giver of life" in Tamil, which is ironic she says, because one of the greatest privileges of her life has been helping more than 100 people in their dying moments as a voluntary assisted dying practitioner.
Bhawani grew up in Malaysia with Sri Lankan parents, both of whom were doctors.
She was also expected to become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or an accountant. Luckily for her, she adored her father, and followed his footsteps into medical school without protest.
But after decades working as a GP, Bhawani had lost her purpose and also her beloved father, who died back at home in Malaysia while Bhawani was stuck behind locked borders in Western Australia.
Not long after his death, she found a random pamphlet in her pigeonhole at work.
It was about voluntary assisted dying, which became legal in WA in 2021, and it changed the course of Bhawani's professional and personal life.
This episode of Conversations explores death, grief, grieving, cancer, terminal illness, Neurodegenerative disorders, VAD, voluntary assisted dying, living wakes, euthanasia, palliative care, how to say goodbye, how to grieve, doctors, GP, medical fraternity, medical community, migration, multiculturalism, prejudice.
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Australian Gonzo author and documentary filmmaker John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be. He put his sanity on the line in his latest escapade — breaking into one of Kanye West's strange homes.
His latest slightly criminal expedition saw him squatting in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West.
John had seen a clip of the hip-hop mega star denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because they are actually Jewish.
His week writing and snooping in this strange house, with no running water and a vulture in the roof, made John go increasingly loopy as he tried to understand what pushed this critically acclaimed artist from celebrity eccentric to seriously 'out there'.
This episode of Conversations explores celebrity culture, pop culture, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, anti-Semitism, Donda Academy, conspiracy theories, celebrity worship, hip-hop, street fashion,Jay Z, Kim Kardashian, Cornerstone Christian Church, UFOs, Black Hebrew Israelites, David Cole, holocaust deniers, revisionist history, racism, race relations, modern America, US election, Trump, Kamala Harris.
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Joh Jarvis was a high-flying boss when grief from a terrible loss began to overwhelm her. She tried therapy, exercise and healthy eating. Then she found Vedic meditation, and the experience was 'psychedelic'.
Joh Jarvis is a Vedic meditation teacher.
Every week, she travels into Rikers Island Prison — a notorious jail in New York City — to teach meditation to hardened criminals.
Joh grew up in Adelaide and had always wanted to live amidst the bright lights of New York.
After a stint as a bicycle courier, she worked her way up to management at the ABC.
As she approached 50, she had a well-paying job, a nice house, and strong connections with friends and family.
But long-term grief had hollowed her out, and she asked herself, is this all there is?
Then she was introduced to Vedic meditation, and she says her first encounter was 'psychedelic'.
This episode touches on epic life stories, family dynamics, grief, loss, reflection, Vedic meditation, meditation, personal stories, origin stories, death, career, giving back, New York City, Rikers Island prison, incarceration, justice system, prison system, mindfulness and mantras.
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Indian-Australian actor and playwright, Nicholas Brown on being cast as a villain, and what made him end his time in Mumbai for a different life back home.
Actor Nicholas Brown regularly appears on Playschool — cavorting with stuffed animals and singing about the solar system.
Back when he was growing up in Western Sydney there was no one who looked like him when he’d turn the telly on.
Nicholas became the youngest student accepted to NIDA, straight out of school, but his career failed to launch in Australia.
So, he packed his bags, headed to Mumbai and became a Bollywood villain, working with the Brad Pitt of India and meeting producers who had gunshot wounds from their time in the industry.
But Bollywood wasn't the right fit, and when dear friends invited Nicholas home to Sydney to start a new project, he couldn't resist.
This episode of Conversations touches on epic life stories, personal stories, origin stories, mothers, fathers, grief, family dynamics, LGBTQI, Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan, NIDA, acting, reflection, identity and fatherhood.
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The hardship, cruelty and loneliness of the mission system during the Great Depression didn't crush Aunty Ruth Hegarty's spirit. She found her voice, God and her family. (R)
In 1929 during the Great Depression, Ruth travelled with her mother and grandparents to Barambah, later known as Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission. After being told someone there would help them find a new home, they soon discovered they weren't allowed to leave.
At 4 years of age, Ruth was separated from her family. She grew up as a dormitory girl, and was sent out to work as a domestic servant when she turned 14.
But the cruelty and loneliness of the mission system didn't crush Ruth's spirit.
Ruth found her voice, she found God, and she became a matriarch to five generations of descendants.
Content warning: this episode contains discussions about abuse, family violence, and Stolen Generations
This episode of Conversations explores Australian history, Indigenous history, the Stolen Generations, missions, the Voice referendum, the Great Depression, Cherbourg, domestic work, motherhood, grief, religion, Christianity, God, Faith.
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From the unforgiving tropics of the Kokoda track to Mt Everest, wilderness guide Steve Ellis has made a career teaching bushcraft and survival skills to civilians and Defence personnel – and along the way he has survived his share of life-threatening situations.
Steve Ellis' own first lesson in survival came very young.
He was just 6 years old when he got lost in the national forest near his family farm in central Victoria, but as Steve snuggled up to one of the working dogs for the night, he knew he'd be ok.
Steve has made a career of teaching bushcraft and survival skills to civilians and Defence personnel.
He's guided treks across freezing North American glaciers, and through the unforgiving tropics of the Kokoda track.
Steve never tires of the awe and wonder of the natural world and looking up at the night sky, particularly at his beloved Southern Cross, when he's far from the city lights.
This episode of Conversations explores mountaineering, avalanches, hiking, Mt Everest, fire, NORFORCE, Army, military, celestial navigation, food, family, war, military history, WWII, Anzac, Nepal, astronomy.
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Following the coup of 2021, Australian economist Sean Turnell received an email from a "secret friend", warning him he was being watched by Myanmar's military. Moments later, the police closed in on him.
Sean Turnell is an Australian economist with longstanding connections to Myanmar, the nation formerly known as Burma.
In 2016, Sean was appointed as senior economic advisor to the dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, who had become the country's prime minister after decades of military rule.
The country had another election, and democracy was cemented.
But the military staged a coup in 2021, and Sean was arrested and charged with being a spy, and imprisoned in a sealed room the size of a shipping container.
For nearly two years, Sean struggled to keep his mind and body together, while his wife and the Australian government campaigned for his release.
This episode of Conversations touches on an epic life story, personal story, grief, memoir, reflection, death, modern history, an exploration of Myanmar, political history, Burma, civil war, prison, jail, death row, political prisoners.
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From Wollongong to London, via Alice Springs, this is writer Nikki Gemmell on her deeply romantic life, and how she defied expectations to become a famous author.
Writer Nikki Gemmell grew up the daughter of a coal miner who thought writers were a burden on society, while her mum taught Nikki that only success was worthy of love.
So Nikki went above and beyond to prove her beloved father wrong, and to get the attention of her mother through her achievements, publishing 20 books in the process, including the wildly successful The Bride Stripped Bare.
The mother of four children, Nikki has also been determined to live her own life and raise her own children very differently, being generous with her love and pride for her sons and daughter.
Content warning: Please take care when listening as this conversation mentions suicide.
This episode of Conversations explores romance, love, epic love, relationships, break-ups, divorce, menopause, peri-menopause, parenting, coal mining, the working class, education, books, writing, novels, children of divorce, adventure, fathers and daughters.
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