Nature writer Andrew Darby on what he learned from his rambles through the wilds of Tasmania, communing with the world’s oldest surviving trees. In particular, his ‘buttock clenching’ ascent up a 60-metre-tall eucalyptus known as The Vibe Tower. Nature writer, Andrew Darby spent more than 20 years as a Fairfax correspondent based in Tasmania. His stories involved the natural beauty of the bush, including visits to wild places and to the people who protect them, but it was deadline-driven and he couldn’t spend the time he wanted to. In 2017 Andrew was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He u ..read more

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in the South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost (R) Anh is an academic and community volunteer who grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family. Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe. But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war, and so in the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape. Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hope ..read more

When artist Vincent Fantauzzo was a boy he was a street-fighting petty criminal with dyslexia and a blazing talent for drawing. He escaped jail time, and grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known portrait artists. VIncent Fantauzzo is one of Australia's most successful portrait artists. For his luminous, photo-realistic paintings he's won the People's Choice Award at the annual Archibald Prize more than any other artist. He's also won the Moran National Portrait Prize twice, once with a painting of his friend, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and the second time with a painting of his wife ..read more

Rebecca Huntley, Rick Morton, Julia Zemiro and Sarah Kanowski bring you stories of human failure, misadventure and outright fiasco in a live storytelling event recorded at Adelaide Writers Week. A few weeks ago, some former guests of Conversations, and our two presenters gathered at the Adelaide Town Hall. The event was a live storytelling hour, with the theme 'Mistakes were made', in front of a rapt audience of 800 forgiving souls. Writer and social researcher Rebecca Huntley shared her dramatic foray as a first-time driver. Journalist Rick Morton recounted a story about a run-in between his ..read more

Josie McSkimming on growing up with her wild bohemian sister, the poet Dorothy Porter, and how their family story shaped their wildly diverging paths when they grew up. Sisters Dorothy and Josie Porter grew up in an interesting and sometimes volatile home on the northern beaches of Sydney in the 1970s. Together with their middle sister Mary, they lived in a world of books, a backyard menagerie of animals, and regular birdwatching excursions. Their father Chester was a well-known lawyer who was sometimes a explosive presence at home.  Josie adored her charismatic big sister 'Dod', for her ..read more

Hilton Koppe was a beloved country GP for 30 years before an unexpected health crisis of his own forced him to reassess everything (R) Hilton Koppe grew up knowing his parents wanted him to become a doctor and so when he got the marks to make it into medicine, they were overjoyed. By the time he was 30, he'd started working as a country GP.  Hilton then became a beloved local doctor in Northern NSW, and he worked there for more than three decades. But a few years ago, Hilton's own health suddenly went awry. He started experiencing constant neck pain, and then the side of his face wen ..read more

Journalist and author Sonya Voumard on the rare neurological condition that has stalked her since a family tragedy during her childhood. Sonya Voumard was on the precipice of teen hood when her father suddenly and unexpectedly died. In the months following his death, Sonya developed a tremor in her right hand, not dissimilar to the shaking she sometimes noticed in her father when he was cutting the top off her boiled egg at breakfast. The tremor got worse as she got older, but working late nights as a dogged journalist, fuelled by coffee and nicotine, it almost became a badge of honour for Son ..read more

Loneliness is a universal experience, for each of us at some point in our lives. Journalist Ros Thomas travelled the world to investigate, and find the antidote.  Ros spent a year travelling around the world to research something all of us have experienced — loneliness. She met an old man who had learned to thrive through crushing grief with the help of a small, desktop robot. Ros visited a share house in Sweden where pensioners live with young asylum seekers, who care for each other like grandparents and grandchildren. And she explored her own early and devastating experience of loneline ..read more

The chief investigative reporter on her work exposing criminals and corruption, including former politician, Eddie Obeid and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick. Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. She grew up on a farm in NSW, and during university, funded her start in Sydney by setting up a busking booth in Kings Cross. Passers-by would pay her to answer a question, have an argument, or verbally abuse them.  Kate's start in crime reporting came from an early job writing for a gossip column.  She was instructed to cover a wedding of a famil ..read more

As a young woman, Krystyna thought her father had taught her everything about Poland’s history, but she didn’t know that what he’d left out would become a focus of her life (R) Growing up, Krystyna Duszniak's father didn't speak a word of English to her, instilling in her a love of the Polish language, literature, history and culture. As the child of immigrants who had survived World War II, history was all around Krystyna, and while her patriotic father taught her so much about his homeland, she found he left out a vital part that turned out to be the focus of her career. Krystyna has made it ..read more