Conversations

Meaghan Katrak Harris with stories from her life as a teenage mother and raising a multicultural family, and her working life as a social worker and an academic

Forensic scientist Dr Xanthe Mallett on her work analysing skeletal remains, investigating cases of wrongful conviction and studying the decomposition of the human body (CW: contains references to death and crime)

Dog behaviourist Laura Vissaritis uses science and psychology to better understand what our dogs really are telling us

Nicholas Jose was living in China in 1989, when the military was sent in to violently quell pro-democracy rallies in Tiananmen Square. He left Beijing the next day and returned to a changed city

Sam Neill is a winemaker, a cancer survivor and a father. He's also an actor, who's made more than 100 films

Rachael Mead with the true story of Nel Law, who stowed away on a Danish ship in 1961 to become the first Australian woman to set foot on Antarctica

Strategic analyst Sam Roggeveen says Australia needs to think more like an echidna when it comes to defence

Dr David Sinclair is a longevity expert who believes ageing is a treatable disease (R)

Kate Cole-Adams has discovered what happens to us while we dwell in the chemical oblivion of general anaesthetic (R)

Charlotte was Australia's first children's author. She came to the colony of NSW from London in 1826, and now her trailblazing, tragic and dramatic life story has been written by her descendants, Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell (R)

Debra Gavranich with the story of her mother Marija, who left her tiny Croatian island to make a life with a man she’d never met, in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Valley (R)

When Bronwyn Sheehan's daughter befriended a little girl in year four, her eyes were opened up to the realities of life for children in care, and their carers

Chadden Hunter was in his twenties when he found himself sitting around a campfire in the Ethiopian highlands, talking about his PhD thesis with Sir David Attenborough. The meeting changed his life

From the 1944 wartime referendum, to the 1999 vote on whether to become a republic, referenda always tell us things about Australia that aren't revealed in a normal federal election

Broadcaster Peter Goers was in his twenties when his parents died suddenly, in a plane crash outside New Orleans. Decades later, he's beginning to make sense of the loss

Writer Susan Johnson began an unexpected adventure when she moved to the Greek island of Kythera with her 85-year old mother Barbara (R)

When Kim Crotty was locked up in Dartmoor prison for growing marijuana, his two young sons were bereft. After he began writing bedtime stories for his boys from his cell, a new chapter opened up for him after he was released from jail (R)

After a serious brain operation, Anne Howell woke up in hospital with retrograde amnesia, thinking she was nine years old. With no real understanding of who she was or who she could trust, she set about rediscovering her identity (R)

The Tongan-Australian man on being privileged to see love in action in his grandparents, how a spiral into grief and anger led him to periodic detention, and how cutting hair today helps him steer young men away from a dark path (R)

Tom Nash was 19 when his limbs were amputated due to meningococcal septicaemia. After he began to navigate life with hooks for arms, he built a new life as a DJ (R)

Maggie Mackellar with stories from her life on a Merino wool farm on the east coast of Tasmania, and all of life and death that surrounds her through the cycle of lambing seasons

Dr Amy Clarke on the history of Big Things and our enduring fondness for kitsch and curious creations

Crispian Chan grew up in the shadow of a campaign of terror in Perth that engulfed his family restaurant and haunted him for years

The historical novelist has seen enough action to last a lifetime from her days as a Middle East correspondent, and it was her mother's imaginative influence that led her to turn her fascination with history into new interpretations (R)

Coalminer turned broadcaster Craig Hamilton was in his 30s when he had a psychotic episode on Broadmeadows train station. In the aftermath, his life was completely changed (CW: mentions suicide)

Dr Robert Waldinger on what it takes to live a happy life

Bertie Blackman on her unconventional childhood with her father the artist Charles Blackman

In 1979, Julie Dolan was named as the inaugural captain of the Matildas. Ever since, she's helped build the juggernaut from the ground up

Kim Rubenstein on the inner workings and history of the Australian constitution

John Gaden on turning his back on law and landing on the stage

Broadcaster Michael Parkinson with the life story of his late father John William - Yorkshireman, miner, humourist and fast bowler (R)

Dr Maddy McAllister's job as a marine archaeologist involves diving into the deep to uncover the artefacts and human stories sunk in shipwrecks (R)

Anna Funder on unearthing the story of the talented and determined Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife

After arriving in Australia from Yugoslavia as a boy, Peter Stojanovic began working at a Melbourne meatworks. Decades on, he's now a counsellor helping violent men change their behaviour

Jana Pittman became one of Australia's most famous athletes as a young woman. Then at age 30, she found herself at a painful crossroads

David Harasti with the story of how he opened a chain of underwater seahorse hotels to save an endangered species

Sarah Donnelley on her life working at Wilcannia Central School, on Barkandji Country 950 kilometres west of Sydney (R)

Psychiatrist Dr Harry Freeman on the memorable patients, LSD, and medical epiphanies from his 50 years in psychiatry

Hung Le and his family made a terrifying escape from Saigon in 1975, carrying one suitcase, a box of biscuits and some seasick pills. Decades after they fled, Hung returned to Vietnam to honour his late father's wishes (R)

Brendan Watkins on his search to find the truth about his birth parents and the failings of the Catholic church his discoveries unveiled

Author Mark Brandi is a keen observer of people, a skill he honed growing up in a pub in country Victoria, where the family’s Italian heritage was the source of scrutiny

Voyager frontman Danny Estrin on his unconventional path from heavy metal to law and the Eurovision grand final

Rwandan-born comedian and playwright Oliver Twist on his years as a refugee and how his life as a storyteller began

The former captain of the Australian Women's cricket team shares what she's learned along the way, and how cricket has helped her in genetic counselling, her next career (R)

When Tim Flannery was a boy he found a palm-sized fossilised tooth of a prehistoric shark.The find changed the course of his life

Professor Toby Walsh on the rise of generative AI chatbots and their potential to overtake human intelligence

They have strange coats that look like they're painted on, and while their big Mickey Mouse ears are cute, their domestic dog-like looks aren't particularly exotic. But Africa's painted dogs are unlike any other carnivores on the planet

In 1966, Martin was 10 years old when he was sent to a Catholic Boarding school in North-West Tasmania. Decades later, he began his own reckoning with what had happened at the school (CW: discusses sexual abuse)

Wendy Liu has spent many years right up close to death. As a forensic counsellor she worked with families who had lost someone to an accident or violence, and as a grief counsellor she supports people surviving all kinds of losses. Wendy says her work brings her a keener appreciation of life

Maggie Beer started her working life at the age of 14 in a chenille bedspread factory. Two decades later, in a pheasant farm in the Barossa Valley, she found her dream job

An unexpected stroke temporarily robbed Ben Mckelvey of his ability to speak, write and understand words. Eventually, Ben re-learnt the art of language, but his brain, his identity and how he connected to others had changed forever

Writer Mark Dapin’s childhood was disrupted at the age of 10, when his mum fell in love with the lodger. He was then raised in an army town called Aldershot in the UK, which began his fascination with stories of crime and warfare

Anna McGahan was playing a sex worker on Australia's biggest television show when she found God, renounced nudity on screen and tried to become the perfect Christian woman

John Colapinto was singing a Beatles song in front of Bette Midler when he injured his vocal cords. The experience set him on the path to studying the human voice

Professor Mark Dadds has helped hundreds of troubled kids from his clinic at the University of Sydney. He feels an extra connection to them, as he was once a wild and rebellious boy himself

Sarah Percy with a new history of the world's frontline women soldiers

Dominic Riley on how a a chance encounter with a bookbinding monk named Brother Bede changed the course of his life

Marcia Hines arrived in Australia just 16 years old, and unknowingly pregnant. She planned to stay for six months, but 50 years later, she still calls Australia home

Nas Campanella grew up in a big Italian-Australian family, and she was six months old when she lost her sight. Nas then grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known TV and radio journalists

Frank Palmos arrived in Indonesia as a green journalist looking to make his mark. He walked straight into a pivotal moment in the nation's history, which would culminate in 'The Year of Living Dangerously'

Jessica Kirkness on her luminous childhood with her grandparents Melvyn and Phyllis, who were both profoundly deaf

Debra Dank walks and talks differently when she's at home on Gudanji country, because she comes with this place (R)

Dr John Paterson grew up in a tin hut in rural Darwin. He helped hold it down during Cyclone Tracy and has taken care of it so it still stands today. John learnt many lessons in that tin hut, which have followed him through life

Nova is a woman of many firsts — an Olympic gold medallist and Northern Territory Senator. She continues to strive for excellence while showing up for mob (R)

Leanne Liddle was just 18 years old when she became a policewoman, but after a brutal attack during a routine traffic stop left her unable to serve, she decided to fight for justice in a different way

Frances Peters-Little speaks about writing the story of her dad Jimmy's extraordinary career in music, and how he never lost his connection to his country.

For more than a decade now, Yolarnie Amepou has been navigating tribal conflicts along the Kikori River to help protect her beloved pig-nosed turtle. To everyone in this part of Papua New Guinea, she's known as "turtle lady"

Ruth Kissam was absent-mindedly perusing a noticeboard at a hospital in Papua New Guinea when she came across a flyer from the local morgue. That notice opened the door for Ruth into the world of sorcery and the plight of women accused of witchcraft

When Kaliopate Tavola retired from Fijian politics, he turned his attention to recording the fantastic stories of creation from his home island of Dravuni - tales of warlords, giant sea serpents and boats that could grow tall like a tree

Nunia Thomas-Moko grew up afraid of the reptilian creatures that lurked in Fiji's stunning forests. Ironically, she has become the country's leading expert in rare frogs and crested iguanas. She had to put on a brave face to catch them first

When Laisa Vulakoro was six years old she learnt the English words "famous" and "star". She would point to the night's sky on her tiny island, and tell its 300 residents that's where she was going

Author Michael Trant combines his love of the land with his passion for storytelling — writing his books while ploughing the paddock in a tractor

After a devastating divorce, Charlotte Ree began cooking her way out of heartbreak

Sarah Davis on her journey from corporate risk management to the paddle-powered adventures in shark-infested waters

Campbell Costello has one of the world's largest and most exciting consulting rooms in the world, for his job as a vet in outback Queensland (R)

Fergus Hynes found his true calling in retirement: listening to prisoners and helping them with their problems

When Sonia Henry signed up to work as a GP in a remote mining town in the Pilbara, the experience changed almost everything she believed about Australia.

Actor Heather Mitchell on the family secrets and the fortune teller's prophecy which shaped her life (CW: mentions suicide and cancer)

Cameron Carr was a rising star in Rugby League when a shocking accident changed everything. A few years later he found a new path, in a sport known as 'Murderball'

Ben Bravery tells the story of his childhood in Logan, Queensland, how he went from a career at KFC to studying male satin bowerbirds and why being a patient led him to study medicine (R)

How Kris Kneen learned to look unblinkingly at their fat body, and find a new courage to be in the world

Muzafar Ali is a football-loving photographer from Afghanistan, now living in Australia. When he discovered the long history of Afghan cameleers in the outback, he set off, with his camera, to find out more

Andy West on how his family story led him a life teaching philosophy inside some of Britain's toughest jails

Australian violinist Charmian Gadd was a wild musical prodigy from the Central Coast when a zipper-inventing musician changed the course of her life (R)

Food critic William Sitwell with stories of eating out in history, from the wine taverns of ancient Pompeii to today's  molecular gastronomy

Sean Fong is a para world champion in jiu-jitsu. The 'gentle' martial art has allowed Sean to shatter any illusions that society might have about people with physical differences.

Chef Asma Khan uses cooking to connect with her family. After moving from Kolkata to England, she longed to return home to learn her mother's recipes. She did that, and brought them back to London, opening a restaurant called Darjeeling Express

Mandy Nolan didn't fit in as a child, in the country town where she grew up. But later in life, her differences became her superpower (CW: discusses domestic violence and addiction)

Former Detective Deb Wallace with stories from her working life in the NSW Police, where she was tasked with breaking up criminal gangs

Artist David Rankin grew up as the son of a bootmaker in suburban Sydney. He became an outback teacher, then  a a painter, before meeting the great love of his life, the writer Lily Brett

Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail. But it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about

Don Walker has written some of Australia's greatest songs, and they keep coming. But rock and roll's resident 'quiet bloke' could have led a very different life

Adventurers and extreme athletes, who jump off bridges and walk across deserts, have a reputation for being fearless daredevils who take unnecessary risks. But sport psychologist Dr Eric Brymer says feeling fear is vital to the mind of the adventurer

Historian Peter Frankopan on how the earth's climate has shaped human history

Two-time World Debating champion Bo Seo on how love and listening can improve how we disagree

The bull rider and horsewoman has lived a life full of danger and drama, at the rodeo and outside it. Di's incredible experiences have taught her to lean into fear, rather than avoid it

From the naked athletes of Ancient Greece to the Jane Fonda revolution of the last century, sport and exercise have had a surprising hold on humans

As a young woman craving adventure, Marele Day hitchhiked on a catamaran sailing across the Indian Ocean. After befriending the French skipper, Marele discovered years later that he was a fugitive on the run.

Ky Furneaux spent 16 years in Hollywood as a professional stunt performer, falling, fighting and breaking glass on cue. She has managed to make her next life even more extreme — surviving in the wild, sometimes with just a knife, often naked (R)