Conversations

Millie Robinson’s family had been through enough as it was before her devoted dad Jim Rogers received his diagnosis in 2021. Today they navigate the unknown together and stay in the moment to enjoy their tight-knit community.
Millie is a celebrant, mum and author living in Brisbane.
She also supports her dad, Jim, who has younger-onset Alzheimer’s. 
Millie started life in the UK, in a very tight-knit network of family and friends who wrapped their arms around Jim, Millie and her siblings when Millie’s mum died of cancer.
Jim became the dad and the mum of the house, and for years put himself last to care for his babies and make sure they were alright.
Then he fell in love with Tyler, and Millie gained a stepdad.
The family thought they’d used up their quota of shock for one lifetime, but when Jim was diagnosed in 2021, they rallied and continue to care for him with the same devotion he showed when they were kids.
Further information
Holding On To Happiness, written by Jim Rogers and Millie Robinson is published by Pan Macmillan.
Watch the 2025 Australian Story featuring Millie, Jim and their family.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It covers caring for parents, Dementia Australia, living well with dementia, Hamish Macdonald, the sandwich generation, losing a mother, motherless mother, finding love again, going back into the closet, two dads, step parent, tight knit family, grandparent, Redditch, cottage, forget me not, Brisbane, moving to Australia, skin cancer, melonoma, mole, Canary Islands, celebrant, marrying, getting married, VW Beetle, high school sweetheart.
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.

British writer Ben Macintyre on the eerie history of Colditz Castle which the Germans used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
Since the Middle Ages, Colditz Castle has existed in some form, perched on the edge of a cliff in eastern Germany.
Colditz has served as a royal hunting lodge, a madhouse, and most famously as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
It was said to be inescapable, but that didn't stop the English officers from trying to escape the nightmare of this gloomy fortress, and the clutches of the Germans.
Ben Macintyre tells the full story of Colditz and the men imprisoned there, who were as flawed as they were heroic legend.
Further Information
Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle is published by Penguin
This episode of Conversations explores history, World War 2, prisoners of war, Colditz Castle, Germany, allied soldiers, the officer class, escape, prison, solitary confinement, heroes, the middle ages, research, first hand accounts.
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.

Author Tess Woods had always dreamed of her big day, growing up watching her beloved Nana create in-demand bridal gowns. The stories of these dresses became a way for Tess to understand her family’s origins in North Africa, which she left in the late 1970s. (Warning: This episode references the loss of a child.)
Tess moved to Melbourne from Egypt when she was five years old.
At large family gatherings, Tess dreamed of a big, fat, Egyptian wedding with 250 guests, food for days, belly dancing — the works.
But after she became engaged to her sweet, mild-mannered Australian boyfriend Paul, Tess’ parents’ marriage imploded and she decided to elope to Fiji with a wedding party of just 11.
Tess’ cherished and feisty Nana made her wedding dress and her wedding underwear, and the nuptials were an unexpected hit.
Tess and Paul moved their young family to Perth to begin their own story, which would unfold with ambition, tragedy and religion.
Further information
The Cairo Bridal Shop is published by Penguin Random House.
This episode refers to the loss of a child. Please contact Red Nose on 1300 308 307 if you need support.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores migration, getting married, homemade wedding dresses, loss of a child, stillbirth, Japanese shrines, Kyoto, philosopher's walk, near death experience, collapsed lung, intubation, fear of death, religion, Coptic Christian, Catholic, lapsed Catholic, catholicism, church, Mass, Perth, physiotherapy, physiotherapist, historic fiction, divorce, family get togethers.
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.

Who are the Kennedys, really? And what has made the legacy of America's political dynasty so famous, divisive and enduring? 
The Kennedys are often described as the closest thing the United States has to a royal family, with fiercely competitive and divisive figures taking up space in American political and public life for generations.
Even now, the influence of the Kennedy family continues to persist with RFK Junior, who is serving as the U.S. secretary of health and human services.
There have been Kennedys who thrived with fame and power, and those who struggled greatly with that burden, with tragic consequences.
The sunniest images of this famous family come from when they gathered at their rambling seaside compound in Cape Cod in the summers.
One particular summer, in 1944, changed everything for the Kennedy clan, according to historian Leigh Straw, who is an internationally recognised expert on the Kennedy family and their legacy.
It was the final year of World War Two—Jack, the future president, had become a war hero but his health was ailing; his brothers Bobby and Teddy were there, but their eldest brother Joe Junior was in England, preparing to embark on his final wartime mission. Their sister Rosemary was out of the picture altogether, hidden away from public and never spoken of.
This was the year, Leigh says, when personal tragedies and public heroics began to shape the Kennedy legacy.
The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything is published by Bloomsbury.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggiei Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores American politics, the United States, family dynasties, Trump, federal elections, JFK, John F Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, RFK Jr, Covid, Rosemary Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, family trauma, mental health, intellectual disability, war, veterans, assassination, car crash, accidental death, grief, Hyannis Port, modern history, American history, who were the Kennedys, why are the Kennedys famous, Maria Shriver, nepotism, nepo babies, nepo baby, political elite, conspiracy theorists, vaccines, political scandals, Jacqui Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
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.

After Pauline McGrath's husband David was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he chose to use Voluntary Assisted Dying. Pauline supported him through the journey as he took the steps to end his life.A few years ago, Pauline came home from work and found the lights on and the dog already fed.
This was something which had never happened in her 30-year marriage to David, a director of paediatric medicine at Queensland Children's Hospital.
Straight away, Pauline asked David, "Who has died?"
Her beloved husband told her he had a brain tumour, and that voluntary assisted dying was going to be an option for Queenslanders in six months.
This moment began a heartbreaking but ultimately empowering path for David, Pauline and their family.
David's wish was for Pauline to speak openly about their family experience. So that's what she's been doing while grieving her husband, supporting her two daughters, and embarking on the next chapter of her own life.
Content warning: this episode of Conversations contains discussion of death and dying.
Further information
Help and support is always available. Call Lifeline on 131114 - they are available 24 hours a day.
Since Sarah spoke with Pauline in 2024, the family has welcomed a grandchild, baby Margot.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison.
It explores death, dying, brain tumour, cancer, medical treatment, medical diagnosis, family, paediatric medicine, marriage, love, children, voluntary assisted dying, medical autonomy, grief, advocacy, medical profession.
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.