Conversations

Stories from our elders: how Jane Fonda changed her life, in her 'third act'

The legendary actress Jane Fonda on her activism, her hair epiphanies and why older women are often fearless. Jane has lived her entire life in the public eye, as the da

Remembering Angry Anderson: rock n' roll animal and incurable romantic

Iconic Australian musician, actor, youth advocate and charity ambassador Angry Anderson has died at the age of 79. Angry spent 50 years in the music industry with his le

Stories from our Elders: My passionate friendship with a rebel poet

Alison Hoddinot was one of the first Australian women to study at Oxford University, but one of her lecturers, J.R.R Tolkein, refused to take on a woman PhD student.  Al

Stories from our Elders: the chef who taught 37,000 Australians how to cook

Elizabeth Chong didn't cook her first meal until she was a newlywed. Six decades later, the owner of a cooking school specialising in Chinese cuisine, she had taught more

Stories from our Elders: Bryan Brown's road from Bankstown to Hollywood

Bryan Brown has played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to th

The radical history of personal computing—looms, coding, beige boxes and AI

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 h

Encore: Vickie's turbulent life in and out of prison, and how she reclaimed her power

Prisoner advocate Vickie Roach spent decades in and out of jail but after studying for her masters degree, she helped change the story for thousands of other prisoners.

My dad Jim Henson, the creative genius behind 'The Muppets'

Growing up Lisa Henson and her siblings spent a lot of time in their father's workshop and studio, watching puppets get drawn, sculpted and brought to life. Jim Henson f

Encore: What happened when I tried MDMA therapy

Author Rebecca Huntley used supervised MDMA therapy to help her with complex PTSD and the legacy of childhood trauma. Rebecca's public life as a broadcaster, an author a

Healing intergenerational trauma and epigenetics—the children of the Third Reich

Catrine Clay with the story of the children of Nazi perpetrators and Holocaust survivors came together under extraordinary circumstances to come to terms with their dark

Comedian Urzila Carlson regrets nothing

Urzila Carlson grew up in South Africa. Her father threatened the family with a gun when she was 6, and he walked out on the family soon afterwards. Urzila's mum, who sh

Encore: Meg Washington on the magic of music

The singer-songwriter on her early introduction to musicals in Port Moresby, how singing became a form of speech therapy for her stutter and also a path into her life’s w

Louise Adler on why she questions everything

Louise Adler has been one of the biggest and most controversial names in Australian publishing for decades. This is the story of how she fell in love with the world of bo

Encore: The beautiful questions your intellectual mind can't answer

Acclaimed poet and philosopher David Whyte has come to believe a single line of poetry is enough to change your life.  David grew up amongst the moors and fields of West

Black ops and human shields—the secrets on board Flight 149

Why were 400 civilians allowed to fly into a war zone as Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait? What really happened to them when they were held as hostages? And why has the Brit

From the Nazis to the Stasi, how ordinary citizens live through extraordinary times

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 reunificat

Encore: The family secret which inspired 'The Teacher's Pet'

Journalist Hedley Thomas grew up knowing that his grandmother Gladys had vanished in the sea off Sydney in the 1950s. The mystery of what happened to Gladys helped to ins

Loving my dad, who has younger-onset Alzheimer's

Millie Robinson’s family had been through enough as it was before her devoted dad Jim Rogers received his diagnosis in 2021. Today they navigate the unknown together and

Encore: An infamous WWII prison and the soldiers who tried to escape

British writer Ben Macintyre on the eerie history of Colditz Castle which the Germans used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II. Since the Middle Ages, Colditz

The day my big, fat Egyptian wedding went pear-shaped

Author Tess Woods had always dreamed of her big day, growing up watching her beloved Nana create in-demand bridal gowns. The stories of these dresses became a way for Tes