Benjamin Gilmour describes the hectic work of saving lives, and what it's like to bring people back from the brink of suicide. (R)

Ben was been a paramedic for twenty six years and was based in inner Sydney for more than a decade.

A regular working week for Bondi's ambulance crews would see them called out to cardiac arrests, drug overdoses, domestic disputes, and to suicides.

Their patch included a notorious cliff known as 'The Gap', where it would often be Ben’s job to convince people to come back from the edge.

Content Warning

This episode deals directly with suicide, and may be distressing for some people.

Please do seek help if you need it. There is always someone who can talk with you.

If you or anyone you know needs help

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

BeyondBlue on 1300 22 46 36

Headspace on 1800 650 890

Further information

Originally broadcast January 2020.

The Gap was published by Penguin.

Listen to Benjamin's conversation with Sarah on directing his feature film, Jirga, in Afghanistan (2018).

This episode was produced by Michelle-Ransom-Hughes and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It deals with suicide, mental health, mental illness, PTSD, mateship, colleagues, work friends, The Gap, cardiac arrest, first on the scene, front line workers, ambos, ambulance, paramedics, emergency, 000.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Autocracy

This 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.

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.

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.

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 Hudson

Kate 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.

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