Conversations

Hana Assafiri was married off at 15 to a controlling and abusive man. Within four years she'd escaped, to begin her remarkable reinvention.
Hana was born in Melbourne and lived in Lebanon with her family for much of her childhood. In 1976, her family returned to Australia.
While still a teenager, Hana was married off to a much older man.
She fought to be free of her violent husband, despite divorce being unheard of in her conservative Muslim family.
At the age of 20, she escaped the marriage and began her reinvention in some remarkable ways.
She revolutionised the tramways of Melbourne by becoming the first female train conductor to insist on wearing shorts. A few years later she spied a shop for lease in Fitzroy, and her Moroccan soup bar was born.
The restaurant became a cherished place for food and community, and it also gave many other women who worked there a path to independence and safety.
Content warning: this episode of Conversations discusses physical and sexual violence against women and children.
First broadcast in 2024
Further information
Hana: The Audacity to be Free is published by Melbourne Books
Help and support are always available
You can call Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13 11 14
1800 737 732 is a 24-hour counselling line for anyone who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores domestic violence, teenage brides, Lebanon, family, food, abuse, Melbourne, Fitzroy, trams, Moroccan Soup Kitchen, religion, rules, traditions.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

Captain Reg Saunders was the first Indigenous Australian to become a commissioned officer in the Australian Army. 
He was following a warrior tradition stretching generations back, fighting not for king but for country.
He didn't have citizenship in Australia, but Reg led troops and fought in Libya, Greece and Papua New Guinea.
He also survived on the island of Crete, living amongst the locals for 11 months during WWII. Reg's exploits in Crete were the subject of family legend.
He also later re-enlisted to fight in the Korean War.
But when the first biography about Reg was written, it was titled 'The Embarrassing Australian'.
James Saunders is Reg's nephew, a Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Wongaibon man who heard all about Reg growing up.
Recently, with the help of family, James wrote down the truth of Reg's life and service, and how Reg carried forward the legacy of 'The Fighting Gunditjmara', who fought not for king but for country.
Fighting for Country is published by Allen and Unwin.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores military history, Remembrance Day, November 11, ANZACS, World War Two, World War One, White Australia Policy, Aboriginal Missions, contemporary history, Crete, Greece, Libya, Palestine, Spiritual experience, family history, ancestry, Veterans, Aboriginal service, service personnel, Korean War, single fathers, brotherhood.
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 late Clive Small on how he led the NSW Police task force which helped to put one of Australia’s worst serial killers behind bars.
In the 1990s, a series of young people’s bodies were found in makeshift graves in the Belanglo State Forest.
After many false leads, precious clues emerged pointing to one man – Ivan Milat.
Clive and his team followed an intricate process in carefully piecing together the evidence that led to Milat’s conviction.
In 1996, the former road worker was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences for the murder of seven backpackers.
Clive went on to become Assistant Commissioner of the New South Wales Police, and was later chief investigator for NSW's ICAC: Independent Commission Against Corruption.
His book about the case is called Milat: Inside Australia's Biggest Manhunt
Clive Small died last year at the age of 79.
This episode was first broadcast in 2014 
Further information
Milat: Inside Australia's Biggest Manhunt is published by Allen & UnwinThis episode of Conversations explores murder, serial killers, police work, detectives, Ivan Milat, evidence, the backpacker murders, Belanglo State Forest, NSW Police, Clive Small, Paul Onion, murder victims, prison, cruelty, The Milat Family, violence.

Deniz has squeezed more than most into his life. From pioneering punk rock in Australia, to performing improvised neurosurgery aboard a naval ship, to retirement growing Macadamias in Hawaii.
Deniz is a founding member of Radio Birdman, Australia’s seminal punk rock band.
He was also an emergency doctor in Australia and the United States.
But that wasn’t enough for Deniz.
He decided to join the U.S Marines as a flight surgeon – a type of pilot who can perform improvised neurosurgery aboard a naval ship.
Deniz is also a husband, a father, an adopted member of the Crow Tribe, and most recently, a macadamia farmer.
Despite his big story, Deniz has of course made mistakes along the way, in his headstrong and unexpected trajectory through life.
Further information
Full Throttle is published by Pan Macmillan.
This interview was made on Turrbal and Jaggera country.
It was produced by Meggie Morris. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It covers punk rock, neurosurgery, US Navy, Veteran, First Nations Americans, Crow Tribe, macadamia farmer, advocate, Turkey, Ataturk, Michigan, music, band, The Rationals, rock n roll, UNSW, international students, gigs, Lou Reed, Montana, White Swan

As the first brown immigrant and the first Muslim to enter the very white world of Australian cricket, Usman Khawaja overcame many setbacks while forging his extraordinary career in the sport.
Born in Pakistan, Usman moved to Sydney with his family at four and fell in love with cricket watching his older brothers play.
In 2011, Usman debuted for the Australian cricket team in the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG, becoming the first Muslim to wear the Baggy Green.But his journey has been as much about finding a way to be fully himself in Australian cricket as it has been about winning.
Usman retired from Test cricket in January, his memoir is called Sabr
Further information
Sabr is published by Penguin
This episode of Conversations explores cricket, Australian cricket team, Test cricket, Pakistan, Muslims, migration, arthritis, family, mothers, marriage, kids, sport, elite sport, Australian sporting culture, sandpaper gate, cheating, intergrity, human rights, injury, retirement.
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.