Conversations

Tom Robinson was a 14-year-old living in the Brisbane suburbs when he made a promise to himself to become the youngest person ever to row across the Pacific Ocean.  Nine years later Tom set off from Peru bound for Australia without a support crew and limited communication.Tom navigated by the stars, made eye contact with a shark and rowed up to 15 hours a day when strong currents pushed him off course.And when his adventure ended, it was in a completely unexpected by perfect way.Read more about Tom at his website: https://www.tomrobinsonboats.com/This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores solo adventure, rowing the Pacific Ocean, boat building, remote Pacific Island communities, family, rescue, bad weather, world records, isolation, fear, survival, adventure, near death, volcanic islands, marine life, weather, storms, storms at sea, naked, rescue, teenage adventurer, and getting off your phone.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 bestselling Irish author grew up on a farm set on “50 acres on the side of a hill”. Growing up, she witnessed a harsh, misogynistic country that convinced her she would never marry. Claire shares what she has learned about writing from a litter of newborn piglets.Her works Small Things Like These and Foster have both been made into movies.Claire's stories often take place in the landscape where she grew up — the farms and small towns of Wexford in Southeast Ireland.Claire was the youngest of six children, and when she was born their farmhouse had no running water and few books.Instead, Claire fell in love with horses.As a small child she would go to the wood with her brother, who was a lumberjack.Amongst the chainsaws and workmen, little Claire would drive a harnessed horse from behind, to the roadside, to help clear the heavy trees. And as she grew older, she developed a fierce determination to live life on her own terms.This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. Presented by Sarah Kanowski.This episode of Conversations touches on marriage, Magdalene laundries, contraception, Ireland, Catholicism, big Irish families, horsemanship, starting brumbies, skewbald Connemara pony, New Orleans, writing, literary prizes, farms, personal stories, epic life stories, family dynamics, Cillian Murphy and modern history.Further informationListen to Sarah's interview with Queensland horseman, Ken Faulkner.

When artist Vincent Fantauzzo was a boy he was a street-fighting petty criminal with dyslexia and a blazing talent for drawing. He escaped jail time, and grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known portrait artists.VIncent Fantauzzo is one of Australia's most successful portrait artists.For his luminous, photo-realistic paintings he's won the People's Choice Award at the annual Archibald Prize more than any other artist.He's also won the Moran National Portrait Prize twice, once with a painting of his friend, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and the second time with a painting of his wife, actor Asher Keddie.All the success is a long way from his upbringing in Broadmeadows in Melbourne, when at times it seemed like he was going to end up in jail, or dead.Vincent struggled so badly with dyslexia that he developed elaborate rituals to avoid writing at school, which is partly how he came to drawing. He became a street-fighting petty criminal and he was kicked out of school at 14 and was drawn into a violent world where he had to be extraordinarily streetwise to survive.Vincent still carries the scars of surviving his childhood into the big, beautiful life he's built for himself as one of Australia's most well-known artists.This episode of Conversations explores origin stories, social disadvantage, parenting, father son relationships, boxing, learning disabilities, struggling in school, Hollywood, the art world, Heath Ledger, Kim Ledger, Batman, family, family dynamics, life story, art, portraits, painting, juvenile crime, drug dealing, hot houses, brothers.Unveiled, written with Craig Henderson, is 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.

How a boy from Glasgow named Norman Swirsky grew up to become Australia's most famous doctorWhen Norman was 10 years old his dad decided to change the family's surname to Swan in a response to ongoing anti-Semitism in Scotland after WWII.Norman wanted to be an actor growing up, but his parents encouraged him to study medicine.After he completed his studies at the university of Aberdeen he spent time working in London before moving to Australia.While on a break from medicine in 1982 he joined the ABC and began a stellar career.Decades on, the advent of Covid-19 thrust Norman into the role of his life and he became Australia's most well-known doctor and a trusted voice in the long pandemic.Sarah spoke to Norman in 2021 after the publication of his book So You Think You Know What's Good For YouThis episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

The author and actor thinks summer in Australia is done bigger, better and weirder than anywhere else. For three months of the year, life slows down and heats up. But for William, summer in Australia is an imperfect paradise where more than anything, people yearn to connect.Summer can be a hellish time in Australia, where temperatures soar and fires can turn bush and buildings to rubble in an instant.But despite the challenges, William McInnes looks upon this time of year with great affection and nostalgia.Growing up in Redcliffe, Queensland, William remembers the heat that burnt through his thongs, the strange ritual of assembling a plastic European Christmas tree on a 40-degree day, and simple moments in the sun like jumping off his dad's shoulders into the cool coastal water.Every summer connects William with his family, his childhood and his past, just like millions of other Australians on riverbanks and beaches around the country.It's a Scorcher: Tales of the Australian Summer is published by Hachette.This episode of Conversations explores seasons, heat, bushfires, Koolewong, weather forecast, drought, BOM, swimming, tennis, Australian Open, Boxing Day Test, Cricket, Ashes, book, memoir, writing, Australiana, Kitsch, climate change, nostalgia, family time, Christmas, holidays, New Year, how to survive the holidays, road trips, vacation, bikini, swimmers, togs, school holidays, parents.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.