Conversations: Our Evolving World

Mel Huang Buntine on how computers started entering our homes, and the beige box of a machine that changed her own life. Personal computers are so ubiquitous now, it's hard to imagine a time when computers were inaccessible to everyday people. For decades, computers were the size of rooms, and they were used for specialist tasks like processing large data sets for researchers, or sending men to the moon. But by the 1980s computers had become smaller and more affordable, and people started bringing them into their homes. From this point on, how everyday people interacted with technology changed forever. Mel Huang Buntine is a designer and technologist who was gifted her first computer as a tween in 1990s Melbourne. Mel lived in a multigenerational home with her mother, her grandparents and her great-grandmother, all of whom had escaped the Cambodian genocide as refugees. They couldn't understand why Mel was obsessed with this machine, but it completely opened up Mel's world and changed her life. Now with anxiety growing around AI, surveillance and mega tech companies, Mel is trying to get people to understand the history of computers and how they work. She hopes this will give back to people a sense of agency over machines, rather than feeling powerless to the opacity of algorithms and large language models. Radical Computing is exhibiting at the National Communication Museum in Melbourne from 19 September 2026, until 21February 2027. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores technology, artificial intelligence, Facebook, Instagram, social media, coding, making a website, HTML, CSS, PS5, playstation, games console, computer games, desktop games, Apple iOs 27, Mac, Macbook, Mac versus PC, IBM, Commodore 64, Steam Frame, iPhone, smartphone, dumb phone, Steve Jobs, Jack Tramiel, computer race, home appliances, toy market, super computers, science and technology, future of computers, techno optimist, tech subculture, Demoscene, hackers, jailbreak phone, crack software, pirated software, Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, ChatGPT, Claude, Anthropic, Zuckerberg. 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 Katja Hoyer was born in 1985, under the old regime of the GDR and grew up in the 1990s, watching many former East Germans struggle in the years after reunification. Learning about the Nazi era was a big part of her education but Katja left school feeling unsatisfied about what she’d been taught about the period when the Nazis rose to power. She knew about all the big political moments, but not much about the lives of ordinary Germans and how they responded to the dramatic changes that unfolded around all around them. So Katja the historian traced the lives of residents in the town of Weimar from 1919 to 1939 to examine how a cultural hub of democracy transformed into a Nazi stronghold. Further information  Weimar: Life of the Edge of Catastrophe is published by Penguin. Katja's earlier book is Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990 Learn more about Katja Hoyer on her website This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison. It explores German history, the rise of the Nazis, Weimar, the Weimar Republic, Adolf Hitler, the Stasi, secret police, the Berlin Wall, Communism, Fascism, World War II, East Germany, the GDR, democracy, Jewish persecution, Buchenwald, concentration camps, Carl Weirich, Nazi era history, the rise of the Nazis. 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.

Nuking the moon, putting mirrors in space and blowing up the Polar ice caps are just some of history's hairbrained schemes to control the weather, an obsession man has had since the dawn of time. As a major heatwave tears through Europe, millions of people are frantically trying to stay cool, or praying for some relief. Their desperation is not new. For thousands of years, human civilisations have been obsessed with trying to control the weather, to stave off drought and famine, in order to survive. There are ancient tales of great kings who could part the oceans, and deities who would bring down the rain if they were presented with the right kind of sacrifice. But it wasn’t until the last century that we suddenly had the technology to actually do these kinds of things, or at least attempt to do them. Some of these wild ideas - to bring water to the desert, drain the Mediterranean Sea to make farmlands, simply make Russia a warmer place to live - have involved blowing up the Polar ice caps, putting mirrors in space, and nuking the moon. They sound dangerous and unlikely, but some of them have come true. And now, many people are at work on brand new gigantic geo-engineering solutions to counteract the effects of the warming planet. Palaeontologist and explorer, Tim Flannery, has been tracking the progress of some of these schemes. A Brief History of Climate Folly, written with Emma Flannery, is published by Text Publishing. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores weird science, crazy science, Elon Musk, China, Trump, feats of engineering, space exploration, the human ego, wild weather events, magic, supernatural, religion, God, divinity, human sacrifice, famine, starvation, migration, global warming, climate change, European heatwave, Paris heatwave, fossil fuel, deforestation, COP, climate change policy, sea levels, floods, Summer, water, gas, electricity, solar power, politics, renewables. 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 Wikipedia co-founder has developed seven rules for building trust to create a better world, both on the internet and IRL.   Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Jimmy was enamoured with his family's Encyclopaedia Britannica. The city was home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre, and the energy of the place gave a young Jimmy a robust enthusiasm for technology and the future. As a young man, Jimmy developed the idea to start a free, online encyclopaedia, built by strangers and shared across languages. In 2001, Wikipedia was born, and for a time it was derided. Now, the website is a mainstay of the internet and a resource trusted by many. Jimmy says Wikipedia is all about strangers working together on the internet, in pursuit of a common goal, powered by their shared enthusiasm, and that is something to celebrate. Further information The Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower is published by Bloomsbury. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch. It covers Twitter, X, trolls, vandalism, respect, civility, not-for-profit, tech bros, volunteers, social media ban, nupedia, servers, bots, AI, meconium aspiration syndrome, authenticity, empathy, logic, abortion, internet traffic, shouting online and civil discussion. 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.

Jayden Sheridan was just 17 years old when he found out he was going to be a father, and immediately Jayden knew he needed to give his son better opportunities than he ever had growing up in regional Victoria. (R) In Seymour, which is one of the most disadvantaged postcodes in Australia, Jayden experienced homelessness, substance abuse, violence and a general lack of direction.  He had no male role models in his life, but he did have the local skate park. It's where he went to feel safe and to feel himself, and Jayden wanted to create that same feeling for his son, and all the other kids in his town of Seymour. What started as adhoc skate lessons quickly turned into Gnarly Neighbours, something far bigger and more impactful than 17-year-old Jayden could have imagined. Jayden has recently been selected as a 2026 Westpac Social Change Fellow. His fellowship involves travelling across the US, Europe and the UK to learn from organisations doing similar work in creative and trauma-informed mentoring for young people. You can learn more about Gnarly Neighbours here. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney. This episode of Conversations explores substance abuse, drug use, drug dealing, expulsion, troubled children, mental health, bipolar disorder, teen parenting, teen fatherhood, teen motherhood, skateboarding, skating, streetwear, origin stories, family dynamics, male role models, father figures, dysfunctional families, single parenting, rural and regional Australia, masculinity, manhood, rites of passage, mentoring. 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.

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when hand-rearing a magpie nestling. After it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers and began her research into avian behaviour. Her many books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking. Many assumptions about the nature of birds and their behaviour are completely wrong when applied to Australian birds.   Gisela Kaplan was a professor of sociology when a magpie nestling she was hand raising bonded closely with her, followed her about, and learned to speak.   Her curiosity about birds became so strong she switched careers to become a field biologist and animal behaviourist.   Based in Armidale NSW, Gisela has conducted extensive research into avian behaviour. Her second PhD was a study of the songs of Australian magpies. Gisela's many books on Australian native birds have changed the way these creatures are understood. Along with her teaching, writing and research in ornithology, Gisela has been a wildlife carer for 25 years, raising countless birds of all ages.   Further information Bird Bonds: sex, mate-choice and cognition in Australian native birds is published by Macmillan Gisela's earlier books include Bird Minds, Tawny Frogmouth, and Australian Magpie Gisela is Emeritus Professor of animal behaviour at the University of New England  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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Professor Toby Walsh is a world leader in AI research. He asks questions like, 'can we train machines to be fair?' and 'how do we resist the spread of lethal autonomous weapons?' His job is making sure the future of AI is for better, not worse. Artificial intelligence has become an essential part of our lives — it helps us to navigate and communicate, and is responsible for incredibly accurate medical technology. AI is also responsible for lethal autonomous weapons. It can be used to influence what we buy and how we vote. Professor Toby Walsh is one of the world's leading researchers in AI. His research is concerned with how to ensure our future use of AI is for the good of humanity. Further information Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI is published by Black Inc 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

When journalist Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese state security agents, she thought would be freed within the week. Instead, she was held on absurd espionage charges for more than three years, much of that time spent in isolation. When Cheng Lei moved back to the country of her birth after the dramatic opening up of China to the world, she was a part of something exciting and historic. That all changed after Xi Jinping came to power, and Australia's relations with China deteriorated. In this first episode of a two-part series, Lei explains how eventually, she found herself detained on bogus espionage charges, and held for more than three years in a Chinese detention centre. For the first six months of her detention, Lei was isolated and alone except for the rotating female guards who stood over her 24 hours a day. Lei was not allowed to speak to these guards, she was forced to sit on the edge of her bed for 14 hours a day, she had to ask permission to do anything, she was not allowed to close her eyes and intermittently she was taken to a room, tied down in a chair and interrogated about allegedly sharing state secrets with foreigners. Lei learned how to ration books, she practised German vocabulary, wrote scripts in her head and thought of her two children to stay sane under torturous conditions. Further information Listen to the second part of Richard's extraordinary conversation with Cheng Lei here. Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom is published by HarperCollins. Cheng Lei: My Story is a documentary made by Sky News Australia. It is available to stream at SkyNews.com.au. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website. This episode of Conversations explores CCP, Covid, propaganda, communism, paranoia, Marise Payne, Scott Morrison, family separation, career changes, jail, justice system, Chinese Communist Party, embassy, diplomatic relations, CCTV, state broadcaster, media, television, news anchor, single mothers, trade, tariffs, books, writing, motherhood, parenting, Tiananmen Square, personal stories, origin. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Cheng Lei's years in detention in China, on trumped-up espionage charges, go from cruel and isolating, to absurd and romantic when she gets moved into a cell with three other women. The Chinese-Australian journalist was held in detention in China for more than three years, accused of selling state secrets to foreign people and powers. In episode one of this two-part series, Lei explained how the charges hinged on a document that was read out publicly on television, and how she survived the cruelty of interrogations and being kept in isolation. In this episode, Lei's details how her experience of detention changed as she moved out of solitary confinement, but still under lock and key with three other women. In cell 112, Lei and the other women sang songs when the guards weren't watching, they fought, they bonded and they communicated secretly with the prisoners in a cell next door. The knocking, for which Lei was punished, climaxed in a covert proposal. Eventually, Lei saw sunlight again.  With the help of the Australian Government, she was released and flown back home to Melbourne, where she was reunited with her children (now teenagers), rebuilt her life and can be publicly critical of the paranoid and image-conscious state security system that locked her behind bars for years. Further information Listen to the first part of Richard's extraordinary conversation with Cheng Lei here. Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom is published by HarperCollins. Cheng Lei: My Story is a documentary made by Sky News Australia. It is available to stream at SkyNews.com.au. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website. This episode of Conversations explores CCP, Covid, propaganda, communism, paranoia, Marise Payne, Scott Morrison, family separation, career changes, jail, justice system, Chinese Communist Party, embassy, diplomatic relations, CCTV, state broadcaster, media, television, news anchor, single mothers, trade, tariffs, books, writing, motherhood, parenting, Tiananmen Square, personal stories, origin. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

From sharks with wheels of teeth, to gargantuan sharks like the megalodon, palaeontologist John Long has traced the long and storied history of these oceanic hunters. Sharks and humans have a complicated relationship. We have long considered them monsters and super predators that should be eliminated for our own safety. But sharks are much more than scary and fearsome. The history of this incredible animal stretches back hundreds of millions of years. From sharks with wheels of teeth, to the ascent of the super predators like the megalodon, palaeontologist John Long has traced the long and storied history of these hunters, asking how they've managed to survive extinction despite everything that's been thrown at them. This episode of Conversations explores science, origin stories, ancient history, sharks, palaeontology, the ocean, climate change, megalodon, hunting and predators. Further information The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean's Most Fearsome Predators is published by Hachette 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Lisa-Ann Gershwin discovered a new species of deadly Irukandji jellyfish.  Lisa-Ann Gershwin was in her late 20s when she visited a small aquarium in Los Angeles. There she found white moon jellyfish in a tank, hanging 'like clouds in the sky'. They were the most beautiful, mesmerising creatures Lisa had ever seen, and that day set her life's work in motion. She's now one of the world's foremost jellyfish biologists who has discovered more than 200 species, including one she named Bazinga. She says jellyfish blooms pose an increasing risk to the world's oceans, and there's only one way to stop them. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

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. In 1929 during the Great Depression, Ruth Hegarty 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 Further Information Ruth's books Is that you, Ruthie? and Bittersweet Journey are published by University of Queensland Press. Ruth's life story has been adapted into a play written and directed by Leah Purcell. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Bill Hayes moved to New York at 48. He took up photography, and fell in love with his neighbour, Dr Oliver Sacks Doctor Oliver Sacks was a neurologist, a naturalist and a university professor. He became famous for writing case histories of his patients in books including, The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars. But Oliver had never been in a relationship. Then, at the age of 75, he fell deeply in love with a man decades younger than him. He and Bill Hayes lived in the same building, in New York, three flights apart. Their time together ended when Dr Sacks was in his early eighties.   Further information Insomniac City published by Bloomsbury This conversation was broadcast from the Sydney Writers’ Festival 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

People travel from all over the world to learn about horses from Ken Faulkner. But after a life-threatening riding accident on his favourite horse, Smoke, Ken had to learn to walk and ride again, rediscovering himself in the process

Biologist Merlin Sheldrake's extreme experiments, many of which involve his physical body and varying forms of fungi, have led to equally remarkable discoveries English biologist Merlin Sheldrake, son of Rupert Sheldrake, became fascinated by fungi when he was a boy. He grew mushrooms in his cupboard and brewed bog myrtle beer under his bed. He went on to study fungi at Cambridge University, and his research explores the interconnection between fungi and plants in what’s known as ‘the Wood Wide Web’. Merlin's extreme experiments, many of which involve his physical body and varying forms of fungi, have led to equally remarkable discoveries. Further information Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures is published by Random House More about Merlin and his work 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

One of the foremost historians of black and white Australia, Henry says now is the time to acknowledge how the country was founded. Frontier violence, the myth of peaceful settlement, and the failure of the British to make treaties with the First Nations have led to consequences we still live with today (CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners) When Henry moved to Townsville to teach history in 1965, there were almost no mentions of Aboriginal people in the core Australian history textbook. He soon began his life's work of studying the intersection between settlers and Australia's First Nations and was shocked to discover the gaping holes in the country's story.  He found that even at the time Australia was claimed by the British, it was seen as legally shoddy and morally dubious.  He says the British messed up the colonisation of Australia by not making treaties with the First Nations, and that we're still living with the consequences of frontier violence today. (CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners. Please use discretion.) Further information Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement is published by NewSouth 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Broadcast date: Tuesday 17 January 2012

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. Scientist, Tanya Latty, studies the behaviour of ants and bees. She's particularly interested in their ability to work effectively as a team to achieve a common goal. But her pet project is focused on a creature that defies classification. Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. They can move, but they don't have legs or wings. They appear to make complex decisions, often motivated by the promise of food. Yet they don't have a stomach or a brain. Despite slime moulds' unique biology, Tanya was struck by their apparent intelligence and by similarities in their patterns of behaviour to ants and bees. Tanya believes the knowledge gained from studying the behaviour of slime moulds and insects could help to solve complex organisational problems in the human world. Further information For more information on Dr Latty’s research head to the Invertebrate behaviour and ecology lab website. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost. Anh is an academic and community volunteer. She grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family. Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe. But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war. In the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape. Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hoped would take them to the Philippines. They intended to bring 40 people with them, but on the day of departure 101 people crowded on board, before the boat sailed into a once-in-a-century storm on the South China Sea. Years later, Anh found film footage of their rescue, at a moment when almost all hope was lost. After their rescue, her family made it to a refugee camp in the Philippines, then to America, where Anh grew up to attend some of the world's most prestigious universities before she became an academic herself.   Further information The rescue of 101 Boat was filmed for Medecins du Monde 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

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. Further information Sean's memoir An Unlikely Prisoner and Sean's recollection of the economic rehabilitation program, Best Laid Plans: The inside story of reform in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar are published by Penguin 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

China's cultural revolution was murderously violent and culturally devastating; millions of people, artefacts and ideas went up in smoke. So what's fuelling today's Neo-Maoist movement and nostalgia for that period? In 1966, the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong went to war against his own government. What followed was ten years of murderous violence and utter insanity, until Mao's death in 1976. Children were urged to denounce their parents, teachers were beaten to death in front of howling mobs, youths were 're-educated', the economy was ruined, and so much of the precious cultural heritage of a great, ancient society went up in smoke. The 'Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution' left such deep scars on China, that subsequent leaders have tried to bury its memory. But, still some young Chinese people — 'Neo-Moaists' — have a sense of nostalgia for the violent revolution they didn't even live through. In order to understand what's going on in China today, you need to know what happened in those strange and terrifying years, and how it affected President Xi Zinping, who had a front row seat to the terror. Further information Bombard the Headquarters is published by Black Inc. 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. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website. This episode of Conversations explores political violence, revolution, propaganda, China, Asia, totalitarianism, Farewell my Concubine, Asia Pacific, Lenin, Marxism, Socialism, civil war, the long march, neo-Maoist movement, great leap forward, political upheaval, class warfare, status quo, drain the swamp, mass murder, infanticide, conspiracy theories, Tiananmen Square, red guards, coup, dictatorship, nostalgia. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Dr Kira Westaway is a geochronologist who places modern and ancient humans in context by dating things found in caves. For Kira, how we understand ourselves now, is tied up in the past

Archaeologist David Wengrow has discovered an entirely new way to think about the history of humanity, from the origins of farming, cities, democracy and slavery to civilisation itself. What sort of world could we create if we stopped believing that inequality is the price of progress? More than a decade ago, archaeologist David Wengrow started exploring this question with his friend the late David Graeber, an anthropologist. Together they unearthed a new picture of humanity's past and our shared future. The two Davids found many examples from human history of societies which flourished without kings, bureaucracies, palaces and poorhouses. They realised that the notion that humans have to surrender equality for modernity is not only untrue; it's boring, because it fails to recognise how politically creative humans can be. On Anzac Day in 1935, a tiger shark vomited up a tattooed human arm inside a Sydney aquarium. When Phil Roope looked into the cold case he found an astounding true tale of Sydney's fascination and horror around sharks in the 1930s, a severed arm emblazed with boxing tattoos, a homicide, police corruption, a Gladstone Bag, and a thriving smuggling racket for drugs, stockings and lead paint. 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. Further information Shark Arm is published by Allen and Unwin Further information The Dawn of Everything is published by Penguin Richard's conversation with David Wengrow was recorded live at the Sydney Writers' Festival

Ken Wyatt was born at Roelands Mission in outback WA, where his mother had been taken as a small girl, after she was stolen from her family. More than 60 years later, he became Australia's first Indigenous Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt was born at Roelands Mission in outback WA, where his mother had been taken as a small girl, after she was stolen from her family. More than 60 years later, he became Australia's first Indigenous Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has Yamatji, Wongi and Noongar ancestry. He came into the world as a premature baby on a mission south of Perth called Roelands Farm, run by the Protestant Church.  From 1938 to 1973, Roelands housed more than 500 forcibly removed Aboriginal children from all over Western Australia. One of those children was Ken's mother Mona, who was separated from family at just 4 years old. Mona married Don and they built a life for themselves away from Roelands, in Nannine, a railway fettler’s camp in remote WA. That's where Ken grew up, as one of 10 children.  Ken went on to enjoy a fulfilling life as a teacher, and he was in his fifties when he decided to have a tilt at politics. He joined the Liberal Party, and in 2010 he was elected as the first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives.  Wearing a kangaroo skin cloak given to him by Noongar elders in Perth, Ken made his first speech in Federal Parliament, about his extraordinary journey from Roelands to Canberra. 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Saving the orphaned kangaroo joeys of Central Australia

Kylie Moore-Gilbert spent two years inside the Iranian prison system, secretly communicating with fellow women prisoners while she waited for news from Australia

Would you want to live for longer? Forever? Have your mind preserved and uploaded into something non-human? And is it even possible? Neuroscientist Dr Ariel Zeleznikow explores challenging ideas about life and death.   From adding a few decades onto a life span, to suspending the aging process altogether, and more radically, uploading a preserved brain and consciousness into an entirely different physical structure, Ariel's research is at the cutting edge of neuroscience. These seem like strange ideas, scientifically and morally, but Ariel says that with the advent of new techniques of brain preservation and the recent successful attempts at mapping consciousness, we could be looking at drastically longer lives in the future. This episode of Conversations explores weird science, epic stories, brain preservation, the aging process, how to stop ageing, getting older, brains, minds, souls, humanity, morality, lifespan, cancer, brain disease, Walt Disney, cryogenic freezing, genomes, biology, neurology, philosophy, ethics. The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death is published by Penguin.

The mind-bending physics of String Theory, decoded

Biologist David Sinclair believes aging is a disease, and we can find a cure for it

Zenith Virago married at 17, and had two children. Then she left her young family to create a life of her own on the other side of the world

Jenny Briscoe-Hough is helping Port Kembla locals take back control at the end of life

Bri Lee on the brutal series of events which began her life as a writer tackling injustice in our courts, the beauty industry, and in our schools (CW: description of legal processes relating to sexual assault)

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt says it is time to reinstate the play-based childhood to bring our kids back from life online and into the real world, away from their increasing obsession with devices.      It’s a fact of modern life that children who are given smart phones are able to access pornography, real images of violence and harmful comparisons with their friends and also influencers around the world. Social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt argues that as the social norms have changed, and younger and younger children have been allowed access to their own devices, their participation in the real world has suffered. Jonathan’s theory is that in order to combat the addicting influence of technology on our kids’ lives, families and society must encourage and allow children to enjoy free play, independence and responsibility in the real world. He says, rather than despairing at the current state of childhood, we have the power to give children fun, excitement and a passport to the real world. This episode of Conversations touches on Australia's social media ban, screen addiction, smart phones, online gaming, social media, mental health, teens, childhood, free play, children's independence, risk, outdoor play, child development, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, gaming, and Jonathan Haidt.

Jon Owen's mum enrolled him in a computer science degree at University - expecting him to build a flourishing career; which he did. It just wasn't the one that everyone expected. (R)   Jon Owen came to Australia as a small child. He survived playground racism at school, and became a high achiever. His family expected him to excel at school and university and go on to a flourishing career. And that's exactly what he did — in a way that nobody could have predicted. Jon was near the end of his computer science degree when he chose a life of 'intentional downward mobility'. He began working with the homeless, the addicted and the disenfranchised, and living with them too. Today he's the Pastor and CEO at Sydney's Wayside Chapel in Kings' Cross. This story is about family of origin, ancestry, life stories, disadvantage, drug use, children, faith, charity, social work, refugees, asylum seekers, Christianity, Jesus, family stories, family life, homelessness, caring, love, and downward mobility

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)  Xanthe is a forensic anthropologist, criminologist and author who works with police to analyse skeletal remains. Xanthe worked for years at Scotland's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification in Dundee, and presented her research in facial identification to the FBI in Quantico. She also looks at cases of wrongful conviction, including mothers falsely accused of killing their children, with specific reference to the wrongful convictions of Lindy Chamberlain and Kathleen Folbigg. Currently Xanthe spends some of her working life at a taphonomy facility outside Sydney studying the details of human bodily decomposition. Further information Learn more about the Forensic Taphonomy facility run by UTS 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Suzie Miller with stories from her free range St Kilda childhood, her drama-filled life as a lawyer, and the inspiration behind her play Prima Facie

Dominic Rowe is asking how common degenerative brain diseases begin

Australian writer Tim Winton on the stories which inspired his latest novel, 'Juice', a story of determination, survival, and the limits of the human spirit.   'Juice' is an astonishing feat of imagination. It takes us to a far-off future on a superheated planet, where people must live like desert frogs in Northwest Australia.  They go underground for the murderously hot summer months, before emerging in winter to grow and make what they can. The nameless narrator of the book is travelling with a child under his protection. They are taken hostage by a man with a crossbow, who takes them to the bottom of a mine shaft. There, the narrator has to tell his story to the bowman in the hope that he won't kill them. This episode of Conversations explores climate change, science, climate justice, storytelling, writing, books, narrative, fiction, Australian writers, Cloudstreet, Western Australia, coral bleaching, Pilbara, Ningaloo Reef, Putin, Trump, American politics, global politics, Russia, oligarchs, tariffs, trade wars, artists protesting, romantasy, climate change refugees. Juice is published by Penguin. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at Adelaide Writers' Week.

Lawyer turned journalist Eileen Ormsby on her journey deeper and deeper into the internet's 'evil twin', where, under the cloak of anonymity, people sell buy and share anything a person is willing to pay for.  Eileen Ormsby had just returned to university to study journalism when her friend told her about a website called The Silk Road. Created by American libertarian, Ross Ulbricht, it was essentially like any other e-commerce marketplace, the kind that people use to order books and homewares, except that it sold illicit drugs and fake ids. Eileen became fascinated with the platform, how it operated, who used it and where existed -- in a secretive part of the internet colloquially known as 'the dark web'. As Eileen journeyed further and further into the darkest corners of the underbelly of the internet, she came across scammers, hit men and horrendous truths, some of which spilled out into her real life. 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 of Conversations explores the dark web, Ross Ulbricht, libertarian, drug dealing, the deep web, FBI, CIA, AFP, undercover agents, Facebook, Meta, Google, Instagram, social media, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, AlphaBay, illicit drugs, addiction, murder, hitman, scams, bitcoin, crypto, crypto currency, investigative journalism, presidential pardon, assassination.

While working as an undercover cop, Nick Kaldas played a drug baron in the market for vast quantities of hemp oil, tracked a fugitive with a penchant for hair transplants, and posed as a hit man for a spurned lover. Nick was a 21-year-old immigrant lad from Egypt when he decided to join the NSW Police Force. He soon rose up the ranks from working as a junior constable on the beat, then as one of the first Arab-Australian undercover cops, to becoming one of the most senior police officers in Australia. While undercover, Nick tracked a fugitive with a hair transplant, bought hemp oil and heroin at the Sydney Hilton, and was hired as a hit man by a spurned lover. He then had stints as the head of the homicide squad, the gangs squad and led some of NSW's biggest criminal investigations as Deputy Police Commissioner.  Nick's work also took him to Iraq to rebuild the police force after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Since leaving the NSW Police, Nick has continued his work in international law enforcement.   This episode of Conversations explores crime, gangs, Egypt, migration, the Arab world, Syria, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, policing, law enforcement, corruption, inquiry, undercover cops, films, Batman, Northern Territory, NT Police Commissioner, Michael Murphy. Behind the Badge is published by Angus and Robertson. 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.

Having more than 140 foster siblings was a major influence on one of Australia's best-selling crime writers

In this two-part series, historian Paul Ham traces how our definition and understanding of the human soul has transformed over thousands of years. Humans have been probing their own invisible inner voice since the Stone Age. But where did the concept of the soul even come from? And is it really what separates the living from the dead?

In this two-part series, historian Paul Ham traces how our definition and understanding of the human soul has transformed over thousands of years. Humans have been probing their own invisible inner voice since the Stone Age. But where did the concept of the soul even come from? And is it really what separates the living from the dead?   Historian and writer Paul Ham has traced how our definition and understanding of the human soul has changed over thousands of years. Human beings have been probing their own inner voice, what it means and how it makes us feel, since the Stone Age. The human soul has long thought to be an invisible, inner essence that makes each of us distinctively different from the rocks and trees, and which also separates the living from the dead. But where did it come from? Who invented the concept of the soul? And do we still believe in the soul as inextricably linked to the human spirit? In this two-part series, Paul investigated first what the pre-modern world called 'the soul'. In this episode, he explores how the concept of the soul disappeared, and became 'the mind' in the modern era. This episode touches on ancient history, philosophy, neurology, religion, death, epic storytelling, faith, exploration and memory.

Understanding and managing the psychopaths in our midst at work and at home David Gillespie is a former corporate lawyer and investor and the author of the best-selling book, Sweet Poison. Some years ago, David found himself working alongside a toxic human being, whom he now considers to have been a psychopath. Psychopaths are typically people incapable of human empathy. They tend to be charming in the initial phases of a relationship, then become parasitic and domineering. In the workplace, their presence is often disruptive, and dangerous to the health of the people around them. David has immersed himself into contemporary research into psychopathic behaviour, and developed some advice on dealing with a psychopath who worms their way into your life. Further information   Taming Toxic People is published by Macmillan 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.

Botanist and D'harawal elder Fran Bodkin uses western science to explain up to 80,000 years of Indigenous plant knowledge

Rodney Fox was torn apart by a great white shark and it took 462 stitches to put him back together again. He was then instrumental in filming Jaws, the most terrifying shark film of all time. But over time, this salty seadog has become the apex predator's fiercest protector

Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea

Scientists continue to discover the rarer and rarer objects which make up our universe. Why are we so obsessed with the particles around us?

Dr Christina Zdenek wants to change our minds about Australia’s deadly snakes, not just because their venom holds healing secrets

Darryl Jones on the dramatic lives of Australia's city-dwelling native birds

Lee Berger, the National Geographic Explorer in Residence and real-life Indiana Jones, has found remarkable things underground. His discoveries are revolutionising what we understand about our own origins

Rodney Jackson's life, tracking and preserving wild snow leopards

Mandyam Srinivasan: how the birds and the bees are revolutionising flying and robotics

Sound designer and naturalist Douglas Quin makes field recordings from everywhere on Earth and uses them to create soundscapes for film and tv, galleries and museums

Conversations is bringing you a summer treat — a collection of Richard's most memorable guests through out the years.  Ross Gittins is one of Australia’s most popular newspaper columnists. For five decades, he has explained the inner workings of the Australian economy to readers in plain English through his three weekly columns in the Sydney Morning Herald.     Ross Gittins is one of Australia’s most popular newspaper columnists. For five decades, Ross has explained the inner workings of the Australian economy to readers in plain English through his three weekly columns in the Sydney Morning Herald. He's often contacted by readers who tell him he's helped them understand interest rates, negative gearing, and other facets of the economy that would have once been privy to only those in power. For Ross, his touchstone is his own early life story. His outlook on life was largely formed by his frugal, hard-working parents, who were Salvation Army officers who lived through the Great Depression. This episode of Conversations contains discussions about family, Australian history, journalism, economics, the depression, Salvation Army, religion, Christianity, politics, finance, writing, newspapers, editors, publishing, mortgages, interest rates, home ownership, investments, income, Australian society, baby boomers, young people, generational wealth, inheritance, negative gearing, flexible work, job market, women at work, employment, workplace, childcare, cost of living, real estate.