Conversations

• The forgotten men who fought and died in the wild jungles of Borneo

  At the very end of World War Two, Australian soldiers were sent to Borneo to dislodge the occupying Japanese Forces. The story of their brutal fighting was largely forgotten by their own compatriots, who never understood why they went in there in the first place.It was one of the largest amphibious landings of the whole war, and what followed was months of brutal fighting on an island that was both a hell and a paradise.The operation was called Operation Oboe, and it was one of the most successful military campaigns Australia has ever been a part of.But the men who fought there were never celebrated upon their return home.They were forgotten amid all the questioning of whether all the fighting and dying on Borneo needed to happen in the first place.Author Michael Veitch happened upon this forgotten story of Australians at war in the most unlikely of circumstances involving a trivia night and a grumpy older man.Borneo: The Last Campaign - Australia's brilliant, controversial end to World War Two is published by Hachette.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores war, battles, history, modern history, occupation, fighting, death, grief, men at war, brothers in arms, US military, military history, Japanese, Germany, Nazis, allied forces, AUKUS, ANZAC, axis powers, Russia, General MacArthur, great war, fighting, leopards, Borneo, rubber, oil, resources, surrender, books for dad, Christmas books, history books.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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• Deciding to live—recovery from a decade long battle with anorexia

  While fighting anorexia Lexi Crouch was admitted to hospital 25 times and placed in an induced coma twice. When doctors told her she would die, she began the slow climb up and out to health (CW: discussion of eating disorders)Lexi was 16 when she was first admitted to hospital and diagnosed with anorexia and spent the next decade in and out specialist clinics.When she overheard doctors talking about how she was going to die, Lexi decided she wasn't ready to give up and began to confront what was driving her illness and begin the slow process of recovery.Lexi is now a clinical nutritionist and eating disorders recovery coach and has co-written a book with psychiatrist Dr Warren Ward called ReNourish: a complete and compassionate guide to recovery from eating disorders.Listen to Sarah's interview with Dr Warren Ward Treating anorexia by nourishing the heartThis episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores eating disorders, mental health, body image, boarding school, anorexia, eating disorder clinics, psychiatric ward, perfectionism, extreme exercise, near death, intensive care, therapy, yoga, spirituality, recovery, pregnancy, clinical nutrition.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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• Frosty the supercars legend and his race to the top of Mount Panorama

  Mark Winterbottom grew up in outer Western Sydney, in a family with not much money to spend on expensive hobbies. But by an extraordinary twist of fate, Mark won his first mini motorbike in a shopping centre raffle at the age of 8.Immediately, he was off, speedily rising up from bikes to kart racing, and then to V8 Supercars.Mark won race after race, earning him the nickname 'Frosty'.But for years, he could not wrestle the infamous Bathurst 1000 trophy from the hands of his great rival, Jamie Whincup.Then, in 2013, after six hours roaring around the track, in the final lap, the two of them went bumper to bumper, fighting for first place in an electrifying finish.Frosty is published by HarperCollins.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores motorsports, supercars, F1, Ford, Holden, Bathurst, cancer, death of a parent, grief, love, marriage, fatherhood, Owen Wilson, Cars the movie, Disney, Pixar, voice over acting, driving, crash, memo0ir, writing books, origin story, raising boys, childhood 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.

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• Encore: Author Heather Rose on the grief lodged deep in her body

  Heather's brother and grandfather died in a tragic drowning accident when she was 12 and from that day, she began looking for a way to commune with what lies beyond. The quest has taken the Stella award winning writer to Buddhist monasteries, Native American dance rituals and sweat lodges, and to the discipline of writing.And Heather has had an intuitive sense of life's mystery ever since she was a little girl growing up near the ancient forests and wild beaches of Tasmania.Heather's novels include The Museum of Modern Love and the best-selling thriller Bruny and Sarah spoke with Heather in 2022 after the publication of her memoir, Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It covers, grief, death, drowning, family, Tasmania, writing, Buddhism, memoir, Native American Dance rituals, therapy, nature, the mystery of life, arthritis, chronic illness.

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• A former army psychologist on ketamine therapy, PTSD and her surrogate twins

  Louise O'Sullivan spent 10 years with the ADF, including deployments with the Special Forces in Afghanistan which eventually left her with PTSD, but a bigger battle lay ahead, the fight to save her premature twins.After leaving the military, Louise wanted to begin a family but cancer treatment had left her unable to carry her own children so she found a surrogate in Ukraine.But when her twins were born prematurely, she spent months living and caring for them in a Ukranian hospital.Eventually Louise had to begin her own process of healing, which included a life changing course of ketamine therapy.The episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.It covers topics including psychology, trauma, Australian Defence Force, Afghanistan, women in the military, army training, physical and mental endurance, helicopter crash, fatalities, injury, ripping out, trauma response, PTSD, cervical cancer, chemotherapy, radiation, hysterectomy, international surrogacy, premature babies, health care in Ukraine, divorces, EMDR, ketamine therapyTo 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 most shared episode of Conversations in 2025 was Sarah's interview with social psychologist Jonathan Hait on 'attention fracking' and how to stop tech companies stealing your focus.Sarah's interview with Jonathan Haidt

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