Conversations

Rebecca Huntley, a renowned social researcher and broadcaster in Australia, shares her profound journey through trauma and healing. She recounts her unconventional choice of MDMA therapy to address deep-rooted PTSD after years of traditional therapy. Topics include her emotional turmoil stemming from childhood experiences and the dynamics of familial relationships. Rebecca’s perspective on healing, empathy, and the transformative power of psychedelics offers a fresh viewpoint on personal recovery. Her insights challenge societal norms about therapy and self-acceptance.

When Carolyn Blacklock's passport was confiscated from her in a foreign country she was faced with a scary reality that got wilder at every turnCarolyn Blacklock's passport was taken from from her at the Port Moresby International Airport when she was trying to get on a plane back to Australia. It was at that moment she realised just how much trouble she was in. Carolyn, who had headed up the national power company in Papua New Guinea and worked for the World Back there, had faced charges of corruption after a change in government. When the court cleared her of any and all wrongdoing, she thought she would be able to leave the country, but still she was detained or threatened at every turn.So, Carolyn set about getting herself out of PNG and back to Australia by any means necessary.What ensued was a wild, nine-day journey travelling in a helicopter, in the boot of a four-wheel drive, in a tiny dinghy and on foot. While Carolyn did get herself out of PNG, she desperately misses the country she called home for more than a decade.Carolyn's story explores escape, adventure, family, regional development, the Pacific, banking, diplomacy, corruption, governance, country Australia, Papua New Guinea, close neighbours, emigration, illegal immigration, politics and foreign affairs.

Kári Gíslason was 18 when he met a mysterious stranger called 'the Pirate' on the Greek island of Corfu. When he fled the island, he left behind a debt he promised to one day repay.When Kári Gíslason was 18, he came to the island of Corfu as a stony-broke traveller. But he quickly found work in a little town: lime washing walls and working as a builder’s labourer.The man who gave him the work was a mysterious figure known simply as ’the Pirate’.At first, Kári thought it was a nickname given to him as a comic exaggeration of his former life as a ship’s cook.But he received warnings from several people to get away from the Pirate.And when the Pirate said he wanted Kári to sail with him across the Atlantic to deliver unnamed goods to Brazil, Kári began to plot his escape.

Andy McCarthy found passion for solar power as a high school dropout. He began one of Australia's biggest solar businesses, right in the heart of Victoria's coal country. But then a breakdown changed everything for Andy and his familyAndy McCarthy dropped out of high school in year 10. He was a highly energetic kid but found it difficult to latch onto any one thing for long.Andy was happier out of school, and tried a whole lot of different jobs.Then at 19, he connected his first solar panel and was suddenly fired up with a jolt of enthusiasm.He set up a rooftop solar business right in the middle of coal country – in the LaTrobe Valley in Country Victoria.Setting up a solar panel shop in a place surrounded by some of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power stations was always going to invite scepticism.But Andy’s drive saw the business grow from a garage operation to one of the biggest employers in the area. At the height of his success though, Andy suffered a breakdown that landed him in hospital – and he realised he would have to change, along with the rest of the planet.Andy's story covers themes of neurodivergence, ADHD, ADD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, climate change, solar power, solar panels, batteries, small business, education, schooling, success, environmental issues, the economy, economic development, regional Australia and industry.

In this two-part series, historian Paul Ham traces how our definition and understanding of the human soul has transformed over thousands of years. Humans have been probing their own invisible inner voice since the Stone Age. But where did the concept of the soul even come from? And is it really what separates the living from the dead?Historian and writer Paul Ham has traced how our definition and understanding of the human soul has changed over thousands of years.Human beings have been probing their own inner voice, what it means and how it makes us feel, since the Stone Age.The human soul has long thought to be an invisible, inner essence that makes each of us distinctively different from the rocks and trees, and which also separates the living from the dead.But where did it come from? Who invented the concept of the soul? And do we still believe in the soul as inextricably linked to the human spirit?In this two-part series, Paul investigated first what the pre-modern world called 'the soul'. In this episode, he explores how the concept of the soul disappeared, and became 'the mind' in the modern era.This episode touches on ancient history, philosophy, neurology, religion, death, epic storytelling, faith, exploration and memory.

Suzie Miller's frugal and free range St Kilda childhood taught her to question almost everything. She grew up to become a trailblazing writer and lawyer (R)Suzie Miller grew up in St Kilda, and from early in life she had a number of part-time jobs. She became a trailblazing paper girl in her local area, when the role was usually only offered to boys.As a young woman Suzie trained as a lawyer and began working with homeless teenagers in Sydney’s Kings Cross. She then began to write stories and plays out of the lives she was encountering in court.She thought these were stories the world needed to hear. And the world sat up and listened.Suzie’s award winning play Prima Facie, a one woman show about how the legal system treats victims of sexual assault, has received standing ovations from its Sydney premiere to the West End in London and on Broadway in New York.  The play has since inspired a TV show, a movie and a novel.Suzie's story covers themes of grief, family, motherhood, memoir, an exploration of the legal system, grief, and reflections on the changing role of women the modern world.

Helen Vatsikopoulos' family never spoke about what happened to her aunt, Aspasia after the Greek Civil War. She uncovered a story of secret evacuation, exile and unknown family members.Helen Vatsikopoulos was born in a little mountain village on the northern border of Greece.She came to Adelaide as a young girl and grew up to become a TV journalist, covering big international stories for the ABC and SBS.When she was in her 30s, Helen and her husband were visiting her parents when her father started telling stories she had never heard before.He remembered what happened in their village during the Greek Civil War and how Helen’s aunt Aspasia, along with thousands of other Greeks, were smuggled by Stalin to a new life in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.The family didn't know what became of Aspasia, so Helen got to work to find out.This episode touches on family history, communism, memoir, life stories, ancestry, modern history, mountains, origin stories, personal stories, epic storytelling, reflection, grief, loss, exploration and memory.

Artist Michael Galovic had been painting mysterious and mystical icons for decades before he truly understood the theology behind what he was doing — expertly and purposefully distorting reality to create a window into a heavenly and otherworldly realm

Dave Gleeson is known for his blistering performances in The Screaming Jets and The Angels, but he grew up singing at Mass in Cardiff, with a mum who opened their home to hundreds of foster children (R)

In this two-part series, historian Paul Ham traces how our definition and understanding of the human soul has transformed over thousands of years. Humans have been probing their own invisible inner voice since the Stone Age. But where did the concept of the soul even come from? And is it really what separates the living from the dead?