Conversations

Filmmaker Kasimir Burgess travelled to Mongolia to follow two young men on their gruelling journey to bring 2000 horses to safer pastures during an exceptionally brutal winter.
For centuries, the herders of Tsakhir Valley in Mongolia have protected their horses from the harsh winters by nominating their bravest young men to move them.
But the ancient practice has been forced to stop in recent years due to climate change.  Iron Winter documents one community's attempt to revive the tradition by initiating two friends into a rite of passage in danger of being lost.
Further information 
The documentary Iron Winter had a national cinematic release earlier this year.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the executive producer was Eliza Kirsch.
It explores Mongolia horse culture, the Mongolian Steppes, severe weather, ancient traditions and culture, family, mental health, art, films, documentary, viral meningitis, childhood leukaemia, adventure, grief.
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.

Award-winning Australian author, poet and essayist David Malouf died last week at the age of 92, he  spoke with Richard in 2014.
The first son of a Lebanese family, David spent his early years in South Brisbane, his vivid memories of life as it was then are captured in his classics, Johnno and 12 Edmondstone Street.
Although his father played representative rugby league and was a champion boxer, David pursued a life of letters and during his career he published numerous highly-awarded novels and collections of essays.
This episode was first broadcast in March 2014
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 ABC journalist explains how competing, overlapping narratives and outright myths form our understanding of events of the past, featuring an impersonation of Winston Churchill talking about a lemon tree.
Matt presents and writes the ABC TV show and podcast “If You’re listening”, where he says he explains the world’s most important stories while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes.
He applies his Australian lens on major turning points in history; the villains, visionaries and vanquished and invites us to question what we think we know about the world. 
From the assassination of Julius Ceaser to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Matt has uncovered unknown, often bizarre and at times laughable tales swirling in the murky waters of history.
Further information
If You're Listening: Declassified is published by HarperCollins.
You can watch and listen to Matt's program, If You're Listening. 
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
It covers world politics, Trump, Putin, Winston Churchill, Matthias Rust, Red Square, Iron Curtain, Soviet Union, Chernobyl, M Gessen, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Group, Cessna, Yalta Conference, Stalin, Alexander Downer, Papadopoulos, Hillary Clinton, hinge moments, the butterfly effect, 
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.

Bonnie Hancock got the idea to paddle around Australia after she stumbled on a book in her local library, the wild adventure ended being a gruelling 12,700 kilometre journey took almost a year to complete.
Along the way, Bonnie met sharks, crocodiles, and sea snakes, she battled unrelenting seasickness and some serious storms. She also met some fascinating characters and saw the whole of Australia from a very unique vantage point.
Further information
The Girl Who Touched The Stars is published by HarperCollinsThis episode was first broadcast in 2024
The producer was Meggie Morris and Carmel Rooney was the Executive Producer.
It explores, sea kayaking, Australia, sharks, crocodiles, sea snakes, dangerous storms, hypothermia, endurance, adventure, physical challenge, mental challenge, competition, psychology, mental health, support and friendship.
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.

Professor Daniel Reynaud on the incredible true story of an assuming vicar who turned out to be the most decorated military chaplain in Australian history, who had at one point lived his life on the edge.
During World War Two, a self-effacing man named Walter Dexter served as the vicar of a church in West Footscray.
Walter was in his 60s and his attempts to take up a career as a farmer and a teacher had failed, and so he’d returned to his earlier vocation as a clergyman.
His children regarded their father as apathetic and unambitious, who left a lot of half-completed projects around the house. 
But the people who knew Walter when he was younger, called him "terribly brave" and "larger than life" as Walter's earlier life was full of adventure, travel and great danger.
Walter's adventures began when he first boarded a ship at 14 years old.
By the end of the 19th century, and still a teenager, he’d seen Calcutta, New York, South Africa, Bombay and Tierra del Fuego.
Then, during World War One, Walter's courage and compassion under fire made him the most decorated military chaplain in Australian history.
Historian Daniel Reynaud has set the record straight about the improbable life of this unassuming vicar, known by the soldiers who loved him as 'The Pinching Padre'.
Sailor, Soldier, Vicar, Farmer: The Improbable Life of Anzac Chaplain Walter Dexter is published by Simon & Schuster.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
It explores military history, war, ANZAC Day, Dawn Service, military ethics, world war three, Egypt, Middle East, France, Europe, Germany, travel, sailing, maritime history, fathers, religion, Christianity, Church, biography, books, writing, Australian history, modern history, farming, agriculture, books for father's day.
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.