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Conversation Hour: Ray Anderson

Thu, Sep 4

Ray Anderson has described himself as a radical industrialist - and a recovering plunderer. Time magazine calls him an environmental hero. Ray makes carpet tiles. Lots and lots of them. His company is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet; forty percent of all the carpet tiles in the world are made by a company he started from scratch. His father was an assistant postmaster, his mother a retired schoolteacher, but Ray knew wanted to something entrepreneurial, although he had no...

Comedian Frank Woodley and Cultural sociologist Dr Margaret Gibson

Wed, Sep 3

Frank Woodley told Richard Fidler he learned pretty early on to be wary of the 'Ice Cream' friends, thanks to the fact that his parents ran a milk bar. The kids who wouldn't play with him at school mysteriously found him the most important guy to be with on the way home, knowing there'd be a soft-serve ice cream at the end of it!

Actor Noeline Brown

Mon, Sep 1

Noeline Brown is a celebrated Australian actor, renowned for her roles in the Mavis Bramston Show, The Naked Vicar and Blankety Blanks. Noeline describes herself as an "accidental actor", one without any formal training for the job, but clearly one with plenty of talent for it's given her a career spanning five decades. Noeline grew up in inner city Sydney and she told Richard Fidler her childhood days were filled with trips to the Art Gallery, the Mitchell Library, the Museum of Applied Arts...

David Rakoff

Fri, Aug 29

The very thing David Rakoff finds most painful in life - writing - is what earns him a living. He says, "Writing is one of those things that's not gotten easier, it gets harder. It goes on the page bad, and then you have to make it good. So, it's not like cooking. It's like reverse engineering a meal from rotten ingredients. And that's a very hard lesson to learn every single day. Every day, you wake up and you think, 'I'm going to be really bad at something. I'm going to have to tolerate...

Jimmy Sharman

Thu, Aug 28

Showman Jim Sharman

Pastoralist Margie Greenway

Tue, Aug 26

Margie Greenway lives on Ashby Downs - a property between Augathella and Tambo, in Far Western Queensland. It's well watered, open downs, black soil country with belts of trees where plenty of koalas live. At the best of times it's a splendid rural paradise, but in drought it's an oppressive dust-bowl.

The Island of the Ancients

Mon, Aug 25

"A kent 'annos" is the Sardinian greeting that means "may you live to be 100". Not only do the people of Sardinina live for a long time...the men live almost as long as the women. Journalist Ben Hills and his photographer partner Mayu Kanamori interviewed 24 centenarians on the island of Sardinia - looking for the secret of their long life. Is it the hard work, the lifestyle or perhaps the red wine grown from the local grape variety called cannonau, which consumed with such enthusiasm on the...

Author Susan Johnson

Fri, Aug 22

Susan Johnson is a writer who often seems to find herself at the heart of our modern moral dilemmas. She's written very candidly in the past about her own experience of motherhood and the flood of feeling that comes along with that. She asks the question that so many women agonise over: how much of your own life do you surrender to other people that you love?

American humourist David Sedaris

Wed, Aug 20

David Sedaris became a bestselling author after reading his famous Santa Land Diaries on public radio in the United States, which recounted his experience working as an elf in Macy's department store in New York...He got his job as an elf when he moved to New York "because it was the only job I could find". When it wasn't Christmas time he got a job house-cleaning. "It was good work, paid pretty well, and got me all over town. Perfect work for me, it really was."

Craig Gross and The Porn Report

Tue, Aug 19

American pastor Craig Gross is not your average anti-pornography preacher. He is the founder of Fireproof Ministries and XXXchurch.com, an online ministry he launched at an adult convention. He says although many "religious folks" don't like the website's name, the church is proud to promote itself as the "number one Christian porn site".

Warren Bishop, Vietnam veteran and founder of the Ian Gibbs House

Mon, Aug 18

Warren Bishop has lived a life shaped by the Vietnam War. He joined the army at the age of nineteen and served just under a year in Vietnam but that short time left indelible marks on the then, young man. Prior to joining Warren was working in a solicitors office as a clerk and also as an ambulance officer. On the boat trip to Vietnam his Commanding Officer discovered he had some "medical" experience and he was made the unit's medic much to his disappointment - he thought it was a "woosi sort...

Greg Whitby - Reframing school in the 21st century

Fri, Aug 15

'Australia's smartest, most innovative and creative person working in education today'... that's what the "Bulletin Magazine" named Greg Whitby, the executive director of catholic schools in the Diocese of Parramatta.

Author Nick Bleszynski

Thu, Aug 14

Nick Bleszynski reckons most Australians aren't nearly as excited by the country's rich history as they could be. As a history lover himself, he was delighted to be asked to make a film for television about Breaker Morant. That project fell through and Nick found himself at a party bemoaning its demise to a fellow drinker in the kitchen (where all the best party conversations take place). The next day he received a 'phone call from "the girl at the party", who turned out to be a book...

Director Barrie Kosky and Writer Wil Elliot

Tue, Aug 12

Barrie Kosky was born in Melbourne and now lives in Berlin. He has a formidable international reputation and is thought of as one of the most innovative directors of his generation. When you see his work you know all about it, because Barrie is always trying to strip away the polite conventions of theatre and startle or beguile you into the moment. That might be through a tiny bit of exquisite music or a naked body on a hook.

Sydney Paramedic and filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour

Fri, Aug 8

Benjamin Gilmour is an ambulance paramedic who thought he's have a crack at making a film. He's never studied filmmaking and he used untrained amateur actors, who helped out with the script. Most of the scenes he shot were one-take wonders, because they had to be.

Civil libertarian and Criminal lawyer Terry O'Gorman

Thu, Aug 7

Terry O'Gorman was raised in a right wing, Catholic family and is one of fifteen siblings, two of whom have also taken high profile positions in Queensland public life. Terry specialises in criminal law but began his legal career with Aboriginal Legal Aid.

Farmers, Anthony Coats and Hugh Miller

Wed, Aug 6

Once a year, the Bush comes to the City when the County Shows are in town. Today's guests on the Conversation Hour have spent their life on the land, and love it, despite the challenges it throws at them.

The Midwives Panel

Mon, Aug 4

The magic of birth is something that everyone experiences at least once - when it happens to them - but there are fortunate people out there who witness it again and again. Hannah Dahlen, Liz Wilkes and Dr Jenny Gamble are all midwives, who get to relive the miracle of birth on a daily basis, but they also have to steel themselves through the hours of pain beforehand, all while observing how the rest of us try to measure up to the whole glorious, ridiculous event. And it can be pretty...

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock

Thu, Jul 31

Morgan Spurlock came to world attention when he spent a month eating hamburgers for the documentary "Super Size Me". Now happily recovered from all the ill effects, and extra pounds, from that experience, he thought up the idea for his next film: he would search out the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Former Australian Ballet Artistic Director Maina Gielgud AO

Wed, Jul 30

Today on the Conversation Hour, one of the world's finest ballerinas, and former Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet, Maina Gielgud. Her uncle John tried to convince her to become an actress instead, but from as early as she can remember she wanted to dance. Known not only for her incredible talent but her tough and uncompromising approach to her craft, she took the Australian Ballet to the top of its game - she's now back in Australia to perform for the last time.

Crocodile scientists Professor Graham and Giovanna Webb

Tue, Jul 29

Graham Webb is one of the world's leading authorities on crocodiles. He and Giovanna first met at a crocodile conference in South America, but sparks really flew when they met again at a workshop Graham was running, with Giovanna one of his students. She had been working in her native Colombia with caymans (a type of alligator) and she was slightly in awe of her teacher, who was such a renowned figure in the field.

Peter Cundall and Kostya Tszyu

Mon, Jul 28

Peter Cundall is the unlikely sex symbol who hosts the ABC's Gardening Australia. Peter's known for his passion for gardening, something that he's been doing for over 70 years, since he was growing up as a child in Manchester in the early 1930s.

WWII Chemical Armourers Frank Burkin and Kevin Garr

Fri, Jul 25

Frank Burkin and Kevin Garr both joined the RAAF when they were young boys and after training as armourers they expected to join a squadron, working close to the military action. However, they both found themselves part of a top secret operation handling toxic chemicals, like mustard gas and phosgene.

Author Alison Whitelock

Thu, Jul 24

Alison told Richard on Thursday's Conversation Hour that she was born on the kitchen table, delivered by her grandmother, in the cottage at Back-O-Hill. The name means simply 'back of the hill', which was in reality some fields and a road and their cottage. It's in Scotland, "in the middle of nowhere".

Lifeline Telephone Counsellors - Luke, Debbie, Margot

Wed, Jul 23

Every minute of every day someone in the country dials the number 13 11 14. It's the number of the Lifeline telephone counselling service, that's available every hour, every day of the year.

Futurist and foreign affairs specialist Dr Keith Suter

Tue, Jul 22

Dr Keith Suter is no stranger to the media - he's often commenting on radio and television about terrorism, warfare and national security. He's highly sought-after because he has a knack for explaining big, tangled messy issues clearly and concisely, without undermining the complexity of the thing.

Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitchske

Mon, Jul 21

Of all the nicknames you could choose for yourself, 'Dr Death' isn't probably going to be high on your list. But it's often one used in association with Monday's Conversation Hour guest -voluntary euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitchske.

Author Anne Henderson and political lobbyist and strategist Bruce Hawker

Fri, Jul 18

Two guests on the Conversation Hour today. Firstly Anne Henderson, from the Sydney Institute, who's been looking into the life of the extraordinary Enid Lyons. And a very different political figure but one also right at the forefront of the federal political scene -one of the country's leading lobbyists, Bruce Hawker.

Child retrieval detective Keith Schafferius

Thu, Jul 17

On the Conversation Hour today, private detective Keith Schafferius talks about his years specialising in child retrieval. Over the last three decades he's slipped in to countries like Poland, Yemen and the Phillipines to retrieve children for a deeply-anxious mother or father.

Heart transplant recipient John Coggan and his doctor, Professor John Frase

Wed, Jul 16

The two Johns on the Conversation Hour - John Coggan, the hear transplant farmer who recently broke the Guiness World Record for planting the largest paddock of wheat in the world, and Professor John Fraser the transplant doctor who sat by John's bedside for weeks as he hovered between life and death.

Conversations with Richard Fidler (Issues)