Rafael Bonachela was born in the dying years of Franco’s Spain, into a patriarchal culture that didn’t appreciate little boys who wanted to dance. 

As the eldest of four brothers, his father expected him to be an example of academic achievement and bravado.

This hardline approach slowly drove his father away from the family, though when it came time to say goodbye, Rafael saw an unexpected side of him.

At the age of 17, when the wide world beckoned, Rafael left his home country without a backward glance, grasping with both hands the opportunity to become a professional dancer.

After a last ditch attempt at becoming a choreographer, he received an email from Kylie Minogue. And the rest is history.

Justin Heazlewood fled a complicated early life in Tasmania searching for fame as an artist on the mainland but then moved back to his home town of Burnie, and realised community is where you find it.

For years he imagined his hometown as somewhere he had to leave, especially if he was going to be any kind of artist.

And there were other, more personal reasons that made staying in Burnie complicated.

Justin's Mum has schizophrenia, and growing up he was often forced into the role of being her carer.

It was something he did his best to hide from his friends and other people in his life.

So after school, Justin headed to the mainland and began a life as a comedian and a songwriter.

But a few years ago, he found himself returning to his home town for good. 

This episode of Conversations explores mental health, caring for parents, parents with mental illness, small towns, leaving your hometown, big city life, regional Australia, creatives in regional Australia, mother son relationships, returning home, community, fame, triple j, bedroom philosopher, radio, writing, music, musicians, learning guitar, grandmothers.

Get Up Mum is published by Affirm Press and Justin's new book, Dream Burnie, celebrates the creative humans like him making art far from the big cities, and some of the teachers who recognised the young artists while they were at school.

You can learn more about Justin's book Dream Burnie online.

The Young Carer's Hotline is open Monday-Friday on 1800 422 737

For journalist Kate Halfpenny, moving to a beachside town during Melbourne's lockdowns seemed like the perfect way to unwind and escape her huge mortgage. Then she had to contend with the triple whammy of perimenopause, her husband's alcoholism and distance from family and friends.

For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job commitments and no city life to distract her.

She was able to indulge daily in her love of boogie boarding and surf-side walks with her dog, Maggie.

One day at the beach, Kate saw her elderly father struggling in the surf.

Kate's husband Chris was in the water next to him, but was acting strangely and couldn’t manage to haul him out of the dangerous water.

That evening, Chris confessed his alcoholism to Kate and the couple faced the inevitable decisions they would have to navigate, together and apart.

Further information

Boogie Wonderland is published by Affirm Press.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan.

Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode of Conversations deals with good divorce, Melbourne covid lockdowns, seachange, addiction, alcoholism, supporting an alcoholic, women in media, perimenopause, midlife, being alone, boogie boarding and relationships.

The artist Loribelle Spirovski on her unusual childhood in the Philippines, meeting her father for the first time at 7 years old, and making her way as one of Australia's most exciting young painters.

Loribelle Spirovski grew up in the Philippines, with her mum and her extended Filipino family.

Her Serbian father, whom she had never met, was in Australia, driving taxis and waiting for the visa that would allow him to bring Loribelle and her mum to join him.

Loribelle didn't meet her father until she was 7 years old, and when she saw him for the first time at Manila Airport, she was shocked by how hairy his arms were and the way he smelled just like she did.

Eventually, the family was properly reunited in Sydney, Australia, where Loribelle had to navigate family and cultural ties, where she found love and where she made her way as one of Australia's most exciting young artists.

This episode of Conversations explores painting, creativity, writing, books, love, marriage, Simon Tedeschi, William Barton, the Archibald Prize, art education, art teaching, chronic pain, chronic injury, identity, memoir, family dynamics, origin stories, refugees, Serbia, former Yugoslavia, music, piano, singing, language, mothers, fathers, long-distance relationships.

White Hibiscus is published by Upswell.

You can see some of Loribelle's art at her website and on her Instagram page.

In July, 2025 Loribelle won the People's Choice Award for the 2025 Archibald Prize for a portrait she painted with her fingers of Kalkadunga musician William Barton.

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.

Felicia Djamirze grew up in the criminal underworld, then became a beauty queen. But her life outside the pageant circuit was mired in the world of drugs, bikie gangs and violence.(CW: graphic discussion of domestic violence and crime) 

Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convicted drug trafficker.

Felicia grew up surrounded by drug abuse and crime in a rough part of Sydney. Her family was marked by addiction and connections to the criminal underworld.

As she got older, Felicia attracted a lot of attention for her looks, eventually finding the world of beauty pageants, which she thought was her way out.

But behind the scenes, Felicia's life was far from glamorous.

While living with a partner who was in a bikie gang, she survived severe domestic violence. Then, during her next relationship she was caught up in an horrifically violent encounter with the Queensland Police when they burst into her home to arrest her partner for dealing meth.

Felicia admitted her involvement and was convicted for drug trafficking. In the aftermath, she retrained as a counsellor and mental health advocate. 

She now aims to use her experiences to help others find a way out of the justice system and re-enter, unashamedly, into the real world.

Further information

Content warning: this episode of Conversations contains descriptions of domestic violence. 

Help and Support is always available.

If you are experiencing Domestic Violence 1800 Respect is available 24 hours a day on 1800 737 732.

For support with PTSD in Australia, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467) offer crisis support.

Accessory, written with Erin O'Dwyer, is published by Affirm Press.

This episode of Conversations was produced my Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores crime, conviction history, police brutality, bikies, meth, substance abuse, epic origin stories, family dynamics, relationships, prison, outlaw motorcycle gangs, arms dealing, ice, Russian mafia, Hells Angels, Bandidos, Rebels, Comancheros, Finks, and Mongols.

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 Anh Nguyen Austen was a small girl, her family fled South Vietnam on a boat which met a once-in-a-century storm in the South China sea. When all on board thought hope was lost, they were rescued.

For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ. Kelvin is a proud Worimi man and an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.

For Professor Kelvin Kong, the ear is our most beautiful organ.

It's vital to how many of us understand each other, and how we understand ourselves.

The proud Worimi man is the third doctor in his family, and is now an ENT surgeon at the forefront of medical innovation.

He performs highly intricate lifesaving procedures, and also more simple medical interventions that are equally as impactful, because by tending to untreated ear disease in children, he can change the entire trajectory of their lives. 

Further information

Originally broadcast in September 2022.

In 2023, Professor Kong was named NAIDOC Person of the year for his work treating the ear disease Otitis Media amongst children in indigenous communities

When Professor Mandyam Srinivasan began studying bees almost 35 years ago, we was interested in learning how bees landed so elegantly, and avoided colliding in mid-air.

What Mandyam discovered was a complex and astounding system of vision and flight, which is now being applied to machine vision and robotics.

He and his team at the Queensland Brain Institute built an autonomous aircraft, without GPS or radar, that flies like a bee.

The technology could have widespread applications for surveillance, rescue operations, defence, and planetary exploration.

Further information

Mandyam Srinivasan is now Emeritus Professor at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

The episode of Conversations covers neuroscience, bees, sensory neuroscience, the study of bees, intelligent machines, 

As a marine molecular biologist, Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea.

From nudibranchs, to sea dragons and a UFO-looking spiral that's around 150 feet long, Nerida doesn't need to know why these weird and wonderful creatures exist, that they made it here in the first place is enough.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris and the Excecutive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It covers marine life, research, science, nudibranch, sea horse, oceans, discovery, deep sea life and exploration.

When Lee Berger entered the field of palaeoanthropology there was a one in 10,000,000 chance he would discover anything 'worthwhile' digging around South Africa. But this real-life Indiana Jones kept bucking the odds.

First, he found a pair of hominid teeth in southern Africa, and then after a fossil-hunting dry spell, his 9-year-old son Matthew found the jawbone of a completely new hominid species.

A few years later came Lee's most extraordinary discovery yet: a nearly inaccessible cave filled with skeletons of another new hominid species, which seemed to be violating all the rules.

The story of what happened in this cave revolutionises what we understand about the origins of our own human species.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores human history, archaeology, Africa, caving, exploration, science, modern history, evolution, biology, bones, forensics, media, journalism, what to study, curious kids, curiosity, podcasts for kids, fascinating science, fascinating history, research, human mysteries, anthropology.

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.

Dr Culum Brown is a leading researcher in the field of fish cognition, his research has shown that even that smallest fish are capable of learning and can retain memories for months.

His fascination for fish stems from growing up in parts of south-east Asia, where he would spend every possible hour in the ocean with a snorkel.

As an adult, Culum's marine biology studies around the world have revealed many facts which challenge our common understanding of fish.

Within schools of fish, there is often a strict social hierarchy which can include forms of bullying.

His research into Port Jackson sharks has revealed a lot about their social lives as 'puppies of the sea'.

He work has also revealed that sting rays have especially good memories and can distinguish days of the week.

Further information

Find out more about Culum's work