Conversations

Anna the anxiety coach on surviving a roller coaster accident and healing her nervous system

When Anna Ferguson was a little girl she was badly hurt in a roller coaster accident. Although she made a full physical recovery, emotionally everything was different, and for many years she couldn't understand why she remained either angry or numb.Anna was 10 years old when she went with her family to the Melbourne Royal Show.Anna was excited to ride a roller coaster for the first time, but something went wrong on the ride, and Anna and her sister were trapped for hours.Both of them needed major medical treatment, and while they made a fully physical recovery, overnight Anna changed from a happy, outgoing little girl into a child carrying a lot of anger and resentment.As the years went on, Anna realised she was still carrying the legacy of that accident in her nervous system.So she set about bringing her nervous system back into balance, first through becoming a champion Muay Thai fighter, and then by going to university to study psychology. Anna is now a counsellor who specialises in teaching people practical ways to get regulate their nervous system - whether that's by calming or by energising it.Anna's latest book, 21 Days To A Less Anxious You is published by HarperCollins.You can read more about Anna's work at her website.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores mental health, mental wellbeing, dysregulation, neurodivergence, cancer, terminal cancer, brain tumour, parenting, regulated parenting, vagus nerve, trauma, PTSD, childhood trauma, how to regulate yourself, breath work, meditation, tapping, yoga, Anna the anxiety coach, depression, fight, flight, freeze, fawn, the wellness industry, psychology, Muay Thai, boxing, fighting, exercise for mental health, carers, caring for a spouse, the NDIS, therapy, overwhelm.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.

53 min

Iran's position of power in the Strait of Hormuz

Military strategist Jennifer Parker on the story behind the biggest disruption to oil supplies in world history, happening now in the Strait of Hormuz.The narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf has a particular geographical importance to the world, as the land on one side belongs to Iran, and the country has a history of using it to pressure its enemies in times of conflict.A quarter of all oil production passes through it so disrupting that flow can have an enormous impact on the global economy.Right now, in response to heavy bombardment from the U.S and Israel, Iran has effectively shut down this waterway by attacking commercial vessels trying to get through. Jennifer Parker served for more than 20 years as an officer with the Royal Australian Navy and has travelled through the Strait of Hormuz during her multiple deployments to the Persian Gulf.She is currently an associate at the ANU’s National Security College and a fellow at the Lowy Institute. This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Produce is Nicola Harrison.It explores Iran, The Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, conflict, war, global oil production, the US, Israel, war, attacks, commercial shipping, Royal Australian Navy, China, US submarines, international law, Donald Trump, the Persian Gulf States, global economy, fuel prices, drones, ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, Russia, Venezuela.

52 min

Encore: How Jenny upended the Australian way of death

Jenny Briscoe-Hough on the uncomfortable truths which saw her set up Australia's first ever not-for-profit funeral home (R).After her mother died, Jenny Briscoe-Hough had an epiphany about the business of funerals.Although her family brought in their own flowers and had a simple service, the bill came to $11,000. A short time later, Jenny began thinking about setting up a not-for-profit funeral service in her local area.With the help of a documentary and a crowdfunding campaign, she and the community of Port Kembla raised more than $120,000 to buy an old fire station in town.This is now where Tender Funerals operates, helping families prepare their dead for burial or cremation.On the day of the funeral, family and friends can wash and dress the body themselves, bring flowers from their own gardens, and run the service the way they want it.Learn more about the Natural Death Care Movement.Watch the trailer for Lynette Wallworth's documentary which helped begin the funding campaign.Watch the Australian Story episode about Tender Funerals.This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison. The executive producer was Pam O'Brien.It explores death industry, funerals, grief, grieving, how to grieve, Western attitudes towards death, funerals, ritual, charity, crowd funding, power of community, dying, how to die well, mothers, daughters, filmmaking, Lynette Wallworth, after 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.

49 min

Deciding on a big, bold life

From wearing red stilettos on her first day of university and travelling solo into rural Egypt, to relocating to the United States with four kids in tow, Margie Warrell created her own life for herself off the dairy farm.Margie grew up on a dairy farm in Victoria, the eldest daughter in a big Catholic family. It was assumed she would either enter the convent or marry a farmer. But Margie knew she wanted a very different life.First, she branched off into the big smoke to go to university; then she packed her terrible backpack from the Army Disposal Store for a yearlong solo adventure around the world.Margie went on to survive an eating disorder, an armed robbery, and family tragedy to create her own big, bold, beautiful story.Now, she helps other people make big, bold choices for their lives.Content Warning: this episode of Conversations includes reference to eating disorders, armed robbery and suicide.Margie's latest book is called The Courage Gap, and is published by Berrett-Koehler.You can find more information about Margie's work and her other books at her website.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores farming, agriculture, invisible siblings, moving out of the country, motherhood, miscarriage, eating disorders, bulimia, anorexia, marriage, expatriate life, Washington DC, politics, Congressional chiefs, leadership, coaching.

54 min

Encore: Tony Birch — op shop fever and old Fitzroy

Writer Tony Birch with tales of his Fitzroy childhood including his grandmother Alma's 'op shop fever', his love for pine cones and blankets, and the macabre holiday he lived through when he was 5 years old (R).Tony grew up in inner city Melbourne in the 1950s and '60s.His grandmother taught him to waste nothing. So Tony and his siblings would scour the streets for bottles, lead and copper to sell, and for wood from demolished houses to use for firewood.His grandmother even ran a sly grog shop on Sundays to make extra money.One day, however, Tony was sent to spend Christmas with a nice middle-class family in a leafy suburb.When they insisted he stay on with them, he began plotting his escape.Tony's short story collection, Dark As Last Night was published in 2021 by UQP.Tony's other books include Women and Children, published in 2023, and his latest book Pictures of You.This episode of Conversations explores Australian life, Melbourne, Thrift Shops, Saving, grandparents, frugal living, social history, social life in Australia, families, origin stories, books, writing, Australian literature, short stories, penny pinching.

51 min

The ordinary and extraordinary lives of women, artists and mothers

Writer Drusilla Modjeska has built a career exploring the extraordinary lives of pioneering women writers and artists, who have never stopped asking important questions about gender, freedom and expression.Drusilla was born in England right at the end of the Second World War.She was raised to be a well-behaved and self-effacing young woman, in a very conservative time in history.But Drusilla escaped this version of herself by marrying very young and moving to Papua New Guinea, and then to Australia.On the other side of the world, her eyes were opened to different ways of being, and Drusilla went on to build a big career exploring the lives of pioneering women writers and visual artists.In writing about the lives of women artists, Drusilla was eventually led to writing about her own mother, Poppy, whose creativity and independence were stymied by marriage and who was committed to a psychiatric institution when Drusilla was 12 years old.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores surrealism, surrealist art, art of the Pacific, Claude Cahun, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Clara Westhoff, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marcel Moore, Gabriele Münter, Kandinsky, Lee Miller, Dora Maa, Picasso, painting, World War 2, boomers, conservatism, trad wives, feminism, manosphere, Louis Theroux, toxic masculinity, equal rights, misogyny, psychiatric treatment for women, institutionalised, women of world war 2, The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, the fany.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.

53 min

Is America sliding into autocratic rule under Trump?

New York Times columnist and author M.Gessen on the slow strangulation of democracy, happening right now in Trump's America.M Gessen grew up in the Soviet Union and migrated to the US as a teenager before returning to Russia in the 90s to cover the country's brief attempt at democracy and then the slow slide back into autocratic rule under Vladimir Putin.M's insight into the mindset of the autocrat offers some clarity on why such leaders do the things they do and how they see the world.This Conversation was recorded at the Brisbane Powerhouse, as part of the Brisbane Writers Festival.Further Information M Gessen is an author and New York Times columnist, their latest book is Surviving AutocracyThis episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan, Nicola Harrison is the Executive Producer.It covers US politics, President Donald Trump, democratic institutions, the Soviet Union, state terror, state tyranny, Vladimir Putin, journalism, protest, ICE, Minneapolis, autocratic rulers, power, dogma, mindset, democratic freedom, voting in elections, Hannah Arendt, Milan Kundera, mutual aid, organising.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.

51 min

Encore: Colin Hay's wild ride to fame with Men at Work, and the heartbreak in the aftermath

Colin's band, Men At Work, was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s. Their first album shot the band to international fame. Then quite quickly, everything unravelled, and Colin had to begin again (R).Colin's band, Men At Work, was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s.Their first album shot the band to massive international fame, giving them two simultaneous number ones on the US charts, for album and single.Along with Who Can It Be Now? and Overkill, another enduring hit for the band is the song, Down Under, a song now marked by a tragic legacy.Men At Work enjoyed just four years of intense success, but according to Colin, they band was "over before it began", and they officially broke up after just three albums.When his status as a global star evaporated almost overnight, Colin had to rediscover his origins as a solo performer, re-build his audience, and himself.Songs played in this episode: Overkill, Who Can It Be Now, and Waiting for My Real Life to Begin.Colin's Hay's fifteenth studio album, Now and the Evermore, was released on March 2022.Find details of Colin's 2026 tour on his website.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores music, Aussie music, Aussie Rock, pub rock, INXS, recording, music industry, fame, fortune, life after fame, relationships, heartbreak, brief, origin story.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.

45 min

What happens to kids when they can't go to school?

When Megan Gilmour's son was 10 years old, he spent nearly two years in isolation at the Sydney Children’s Hospital. The months he missed at school didn't just affect him academically. Megan, her daughter and her husband all relocated from Canberra to be with Darcy in Sydney as he underwent life-saving medical treatment, and lived at hospital.Over his many months in hospital, Darcy missed a lot of school. What worried Megan wasn’t just that he was falling behind academically, it was his loneliness and the way he was losing connection to his friends and his community.Over time Megan watched how Darcy’s sense of belonging vanished because he wasn’t physically at school.So along with two other mums she met through the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Megan decided to do something about it.Not just for the kids who are missing out of school because they are in hospital, but for the growing number of kids who are away from school for a whole host of reasons.Megan is the CEO and co-founder of Missing School, and she was the 2025 ACT Australian of the Year.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores chronic illness, sick kids, school non attendance, school refusal, my kid doesn't want to go to school, young carers, neurodiverse children, autism, ADHD, AuDHD, learning difficulties, childhood cancer, blood disorders, lonely children, invisible siblings, parenting, motherhood, online learning, COVID, digital schooling, bone marrow transplant.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.

53 min

Encore: Is there a cheating gene?

It was a Sunday night in the garage of their family home when journalist and author Kate Legge found out her husband of 30 years had been cheating on her for decades.After a downward spiral as she came to terms with the news, the two of them took a road trip to Broken Hill to investigate the four generations of cheaters in his family line.The process led Kate to look into the murky waters of how love was expressed in her own family, with an intellectually frustrated mother who could be surprisingly cruel.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It covers topics including marriage, divorce, cheating, infidelity, relationships, alcohol, lies, counselling, research, memoir, family history, writing, psychology.Further information Infidelity and Other Affairs is published by Thames and HudsonKate Legge's new book coming out in April is series of essays on food and friendship called Delicious, published by Allen and Unwin.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.I

50 min

How I use touch to tell stories — my work as an intimacy director

Lisa Petty began her dance career in 1980s New York, intoxicated by the grime and flamboyant life of the city. She witnessed countless friends lose their lives to AIDS, and the lessons she learned in closeness have stayed with her.As a young woman, Lisa Petty was visiting her aunt in a retirement home when she started to speak to the older people there about the role of wartime dance halls in their lives.These were stories of luminous intimacy. The old men and women’s faces would light up as they remembered being close enough to attractive strangers to smell them, to move together with music, and to have a few hours reprieve from the stress of war.These stories inspired Lisa’s masters studies and she moved to New York to pursue a career in dance.There, she found a friend soulmate in a man called Raymond, and they lived together for several years, before and after he became sick with AIDS.After Lisa returned to Melbourne, she left her dance career behind and began working as an intimacy and movement director, helping performers to channel their character’s energy and translate that into the language of touch.Further informationThis episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It covers topics including intimacy, touch, single mum, AIDS, New York, Kaposi sarcoma, dance, intimacy co-ordinator, movement coach, theatre.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.

52 min

The decline of modern Britain — where did it all go so wrong?

For the last decade or so we’ve looked on as the United States has radically changed itself, but the UK has been changing too as it continues to struggle with economic stagnation and the fallout from Brexit.The British people, famous for their aversion to radical and emotional politics, have embarked on a course which was supposed to take them back to the comforting certainties of the past, but has instead, brought them into an uncertain new world.It began with the huge shock of Brexit, then the constant turnover of Prime Ministers including Liz Truss whose term in office was famous outlived by a head of lettuce.In 2025 British Labor won government in a massive landslide, which saw many hope things might settle down, but now Kier Starmer is hanging on by his fingernails.And for those looking to the monarchy for a sense of continuity and national unity, that’s not going well either.So what on earth has happened to the land of toast and tea? Ian Dunt is a British political journalist and author of How Westminster Works and Why is Doesn't Ian is also a regular contributor to Late Night Live on Radio National.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores British politics, Brexit, the financial crash, austerity, David Cameron, The Conservative Party, referendum, European Union, New Labor, populism, government services, the UK-US alliance, Christianity, Marxism, puberty, disillusioned, dogma, ideology, psychedelic, journalism, political discourse, British public school system, elites, power, Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, immigration.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.

51 min

Encore: climbing back into life after a schizophrenia diagnosis

In the 1990s, Glenn Jarvis was living in London working for a very powerful American corporation called Enron. He was under a huge amount of stress at work, when his mental health began to spiral downwards.In the late 1990s Australian Glenn Jarvis won a job in London with Enron, a giant American energy and investment corporation. Life was exhilarating and he made lots of friends.But after a time Glenn began to notice some very odd transactions at Enron.Giant amounts of money were flooding in to the company that simply couldn't be accounted for.Glenn took it up with with his bosses, but they didn't want to know.In part because of the questions he was asking, Glenn's reputation at work began to change, and his mental health began to deteriorate.He had a psychotic episode, and spent the next 2 years in and out of mental health units in Australia and the UK.Eventually he found himself back in town of Queanbeyan where he grew up, with no job, no money, and few friends who understood what he'd been through.His family stuck by him, but things were difficult, and he ended up in supported accommodation.Across the road from where he was living was a local Bowling Club. He would go there and buy a single beer most nights, and eventually befriended some of the regulars.With the help of these elderly friends, and meaningful work, Glenn began a slow and painstaking climb back into an entirely different kind of life.

45 min

John Howard's toy poodle epiphany

The former Kings Cross street kid on his time in prison, recovering from an alcohol-induced brain injury, the puppy called Sunny who showed him what love is and how buying car parking spaces set him up for the rest of his life.Warning: This episode contains sensitive topics and reference to physical violence against women.John Howard came from a dysfunctional and often violent home in the outer suburbs of Sydney, and when he was able to, he ran away to the dank but promising Kings Cross of the 1960s and 70s.He would see Abe Saffron having dinner at the local Bourbon & Beefsteak joint and John found himself doing odd jobs for his sex worker friends in exchange for somewhere to sleep.John was caught up in a horrific assault and in the following years he found himself in jail and then drawn to drinking.At his lowest point he was rescued by chance by a passing taxi, and taken to hospital to recover from an alcohol-induced brain injury.As he was recovering, it was a toy poodle puppy called Sunny who showed John what love and affection were — and from there he was able to build his life for the first time.Further informationYou can call the National Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence counselling service on 1800-RESPECT or 1800-737-732. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It covers topics like homelessness, alcoholism, prison escape, solitary confinement, toy poodles, lesbian separatism, disability support pension, brain injury, Callan Park hospital, Rozelle Hospital, getting sober, quitting alcohol, Kings Cross, street kid, sex workers, drug use, drug addiction, prostitute, Bourbon & Beefsteak, Abe Saffron, The Coconut Grove, doggy poo bags, pooper scoopers, Potts Point.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.

48 min

Encore: The fearless Kate McClymont — weathering death threats and court cases for work

Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, she has won 10 Walkley Awards for her work on some of the biggest crime and corruption cases in NSW.She grew up on a farm in NSW, and during university, funded her start in Sydney by setting up a busking booth in Kings Cross.Passers-by would pay her to answer a question, have an argument, or verbally abuse them. Kate's start in crime reporting came from an early job writing for a gossip column. She was instructed to cover a wedding of a family member of known criminal figure, George Freeman.Kate compared the sequins in the bridal party's outfit to a bullet-proof vest, and received the first of many death threats throughout her career. She has exposed the crimes of politician, Eddie Obeid, former Health Services Union boss, Michael Williamson and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick, among many more.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan and the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.It explores crime, investigative journalism, newspapers, police, corruption, politicians, Eddie Obeid, Melissa Caddick, fraud, murder, defamation, court cases, police, lawyers, timelines, research, contacts, financial fraud, death threats, award winning journalism, the Sydney Morning Herald, Four Corners, Chris Masters, Sydney, NSWTo 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.

53 min

Drought, depression and asking for help—how an Outback farmer found peace in the ocean

For years, Brendan Cullen was known around Broken Hill as the happy man who ran thousands of ewes across tens of thousands of hectares with a smile. What they didn't see was the guy crying in a room by himself, drinking himself stupid, thinking he wasn't providing enough for his family.

54 min

Where do we go when we die? Looking for answers in psychedelics

Filmmaker Lynette Wallworth on how nearly dying as a little girl set her on a lifelong path to interrogate out-of-body experiences, spirituality and what really happens to us when we die.When Lynette was a little girl, she had a near death experience on her grandparents' property.Her father brought her back from the brink and what she saw and experienced there, on the edge of death, came back with her.For years, Lynette struggled to talk about what happened so she made paintings and artworks trying to make sense of this experience.But when she started visiting remote Indigenous communities here in Australia and abroad, in the Amazon, that she finally found some sort of language for describing the scientifically unprovable. There, in cultures where out of body experiences are accepted as either spiritual or possible through the use of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and ayahuasca, Lynette stopped feeling weird.Her latest film investigates how doctors in Melbourne are turning to psychedelic drugs to help ease their terminally ill patients towards death, and in the process learn that "we weren't put on earth to run around in fear".Edge of Life will be available to stream on Binge from 28 March.Currently, you can watch it via Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Fetch and YouTubel; or organise your own cinema screening via Fan Force.You can find more information about Lynette and her films at her website.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores death, dying, grief, medical trials, shamans, hallucinogens, science, psychology, psychiatry, acceptance, palliative care, caring for the dying, nursing, art, filmmaking, philosophy, shrooms, magic mushrooms, the immortality key, religion, spiritualty, quacks, health and wellness industry, tripping, epiphanies, film.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.

48 min

Encore: The spiked chair which began conductor Umberto Clerici's life in music

The chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on the chair of spikes which accompanied his early musical career, and why he doesn't tone down his Italian self for work (R)During his Suzuki lessons in Turin, Italy, a young Umberto Clerici was sitting up straight on a chair full of spikes, lest his posture slip.Umberto chose the cello as his instrument, mainly because it wasn’t the violin, which sounded like a cat in a washing machine when played by the older students in his neighbourhood.Throughout his career playing in orchestras around the world, Umberto has gone to great lengths to let the music filter through him, to embody the meaning behind the notes, to learn what the composer thought or felt.Today Umberto Clerici is the chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.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.

45 min

How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an anonymous restaurant critic, worldwide

The act of care and service through food has been incredibly important to Besha Rodell throughout her life, from her first, euphoric experience of a fancy restaurant at age eight, to the aftermath of September 11.Today Besha is the chief restaurant critic at The Age.The thrill of a fancy restaurant first imprinted itself on her psyche when she was a girl, treated to dinner at Stephanie's iconic spot in Melbourne.As a teenager, Besha was transplanted to her mother's native USA and got her first job in hospitality — and found her people — in North Carolina.A stint in New York followed, where Besha witnessed September 11 in real time.Eventually Besha started a family with her boyfriend, Ryan, in North Carolina and the family found they were living under the poverty line. They got by thanks to a government food voucher program.Shortly after, Besha's blog posts, written for fun, gained traction and she was given her first assignment in food writing.Further informationHunger Like A Thirst is published by HardieGrant.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.This episode covers food, restaurants, restaurant critic, Stephanie's, Stephanie Alexander, Narnia, Melbourne, North Carolina, 9/11, September 11, migrant, not fitting in, government cheese, hospo, acts of service, behind the pass, line cook, pastry chef, methadone, coming off methadone, heroin, addiction, loving an addict, New York Times, food reviewing.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.

49 min

From child preacher to wicked defector — leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Naomi Mourra grew up as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness but at 21, she realised Doomsday was not upon her, and left the religion for good.As a child, Naomi thought she was going to live forever.She was told the end of the world was coming, but she would survive the apocalypse and live in paradise for eternity, because she was special.She spent her youth in Western Sydney, preaching these same beliefs to neighbours, strangers, and classmates because Naomi was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness.Now, though, she describes herself as the city's only Lebanese, lesbian, ex-Jehovah’s Witness.Naomi says she “woke up”, and it wasn’t until she realised Armageddon was not actually coming, that she truly started to live.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores religion, Jehovah's Witnesses, dogma, family, Western Sydney, Armageddon, faith, leaving a religion, culture, sexuality, stand up comedy, lesbian, Lebanese culture, apocalypse, school, education, strangers, freedom, neighbours, strangersTo 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.

51 min

Episodes

Anna the anxiety coach on surviving a roller coaster accident and healing her nervous system

Iran's position of power in the Strait of Hormuz

Encore: How Jenny upended the Australian way of death

Deciding on a big, bold life

Encore: Tony Birch — op shop fever and old Fitzroy

The ordinary and extraordinary lives of women, artists and mothers

Is America sliding into autocratic rule under Trump?

Encore: Colin Hay's wild ride to fame with Men at Work, and the heartbreak in the aftermath

What happens to kids when they can't go to school?

Encore: Is there a cheating gene?

How I use touch to tell stories — my work as an intimacy director

The decline of modern Britain — where did it all go so wrong?

Encore: climbing back into life after a schizophrenia diagnosis

John Howard's toy poodle epiphany

Encore: The fearless Kate McClymont — weathering death threats and court cases for work

Drought, depression and asking for help—how an Outback farmer found peace in the ocean

Where do we go when we die? Looking for answers in psychedelics

Encore: The spiked chair which began conductor Umberto Clerici's life in music

How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an anonymous restaurant critic, worldwide

From child preacher to wicked defector — leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson

Life Uncut

Episodes

Anna the anxiety coach on surviving a roller coaster accident and healing her nervous system

Iran's position of power in the Strait of Hormuz

Encore: How Jenny upended the Australian way of death

Deciding on a big, bold life

Encore: Tony Birch — op shop fever and old Fitzroy

The ordinary and extraordinary lives of women, artists and mothers

Is America sliding into autocratic rule under Trump?

Encore: Colin Hay's wild ride to fame with Men at Work, and the heartbreak in the aftermath

What happens to kids when they can't go to school?

Encore: Is there a cheating gene?

How I use touch to tell stories — my work as an intimacy director

The decline of modern Britain — where did it all go so wrong?

Encore: climbing back into life after a schizophrenia diagnosis

John Howard's toy poodle epiphany

Encore: The fearless Kate McClymont — weathering death threats and court cases for work

Drought, depression and asking for help—how an Outback farmer found peace in the ocean

Where do we go when we die? Looking for answers in psychedelics

Encore: The spiked chair which began conductor Umberto Clerici's life in music

How I went from being a new mum on food stamps to an anonymous restaurant critic, worldwide

From child preacher to wicked defector — leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

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We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson

Life Uncut