Conversations

Mimi Kwa tells her family’s saga, featuring her dad — the thirty-second child of a wealthy Chinese silk trader, and her mum, who survived decades of undiagnosed schizophrenia, and Mimi's glamorous other life in the intoxicating hubbub of Hong Kong. (CW: Discussion of mental illness and suicide attempt)
Mimi presented the news on ABC and Channel Nine, and worked in the newsroom for more than 20 years. 
Today she has four children with her loving husband, John.
This is all a long way from Mimi’s early life in Perth, where she managed backpackers’ rent and cleaning toilets at her father’s sprawling youth hostel from the age of eight.
Then she would shuttle over to her grandparents’ house in the suburbs, where her mum, who lived with chronic schizophrenia, would do her best to love Mimi, despite her paranoia.
Mimi had yet another life, in Hong Kong, where she would visit her relatives, and stay with her loving, steady, glamorous Aunty Theresa, who adored her.
Mimi had to synthesise all these parts to grow herself up and become what she had always wanted to be: on telly, reading the news.
And once she succeeded in her dream of journalism, she would need all the strength she could get when she unknowingly ambushed Russell Crowe at the airport.
Further information
Help is always available. You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, text on 0477 13 11 14,  chat online, or speak to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter at 13 YARN (13 92 76).
House of Kwa is published by HarperCollins ABC Books.
This episode was made on Gadigal country. It was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.
It covers Hong Kong, World War II, Japanese occupation, occupation, Perth, Mandarin Gardens, racism, trauma, grandparent carers, mental health ward, ECT, big age gap, Channel Nine, cadetship, Russel Crowe, Gladiator, Romper Stomper, contested will, inheritance, suing family, reconciliation, forgiveness and gratitude.
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.

Mick won three world surfing titles, and famously punched a great white shark in South Africa. But his life out of the water has been threaded through with devastating loss, after the death of his three older brothers. (CW: loss and grief)
Mick Fanning grew up on the Gold Coast in a raucous, loving family of five kids, raised by his mum Elizabeth, a nurse who worked night shift. 
He and his brother Sean were talented young grommets who dreamed of becoming professional surfers. Then at 16, Mick got a phone call. 
He was going to be sponsored by Quiksilver, to the tune of $30 000 a year. The money was enough to change Mick's life, and he was able to help his mum out financially for the first time.
But just as Mick's star was on the rise, his family suffered the most devastating loss. His brother Sean was killed in a terrible accident on the way home from an 18th birthday party.
After being out of the water for a time, Mick started surfing again, and soon began to rise up the ranks. Eventually he would win three world titles. But so many of the career highs were threaded through with grief, as Mick and his family endured the premature deaths of two more of his brothers, Peter and Ed.
Peter died unexpectedly, and Ed died after a cut on his leg from a coral reef in Madagascar.
In 2015, Mick was catapulted into a kind of fame he never wanted when he punched a great white shark which grabbed his leg rope, live on TV in the middle of a surfing contest at Jeffrey Bay in South Africa.
More than a decade on Mick has retired from surfing, and he's leaning into the many joys of raising his young family with his wife Brianna.
All Heart is published by Simon and Schuster.
Help and support is always available by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14. They are available 24 hours a day.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Elizabeth Kulas. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores surfing, shark attacks, WSL, World Surf League, Margaret River Pro, Bondi, Newcastle, J Bay, grief, masculinity, death, accidents, tragic accidents, losing siblings, sibling  loss, great white shark, professional athletes, elite athletes, single mothers, nurses, memoir, writing, books, Australian sporting icons, sporting legends, origin stories, love, relationships, fatherhood, psychics, mediums, Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Billabong, surf brands, learning to surf, Australian surf sports.

Journalist Rick Morton on how his mum raised three children in poverty and the class disparities in Australia.
Rick's family come from the vast country of Outback Queensland, near the Birdsville Track.
His grandfather, George Morton, was a wealthy landholder and he ruled over his family like a tyrant.
When Rick was little, a terrible accident was followed by the break-up of his family and Rick, his mum, and his two siblings were driven out of the family home into crippling poverty.
This led Rick to think deeply about the true nature of poverty in our country, how hard it is to thrive when you're bumping along from week to week.
After high school he decided to get into journalism and became a social affairs writer at The Australian newspaper.
Rick's memoir is called a 100 Years of Dirt This episode was first broadcast in 2018.
Further information
Rick now lives in Paris and writes about his life in a newsletter called Nervous Laughterhttps://rick-morton.ghost.io/100 Years of Dirt is published by MUP

Judith Lucy is one of Australia's most loved comedians. Recently after years of tummy troubles, burnout, and a complicated relationship with alcohol, she began her mission to work on her health, in earnest. 
As well as being a beloved comic, Judith is also the author of four books and the presenter of several television series.
For decades Judith has been busying herself with project after project after project, to distract herself from sitting with the truth of where her workaholism, insomnia and dicey relationship with alcohol was coming from.
It took Judith a long time to realise she was a chronic workaholic, and to admit she was suffering from burnout, despite the clues being there all along.
After feeling unwell for some time, Judith started delving into the multitude of wellness options out there.
Well, Well, Well is published by Simon and Schuster.Since recording this interview with Richard, Judith Lucy has revealed she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. In a video message this week, Judith told fans she is in shock but doing ok and fortunately her cancer is not aggressive.We wish Judith all the best for her surgery and any future treatment.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Elizabeth Kulas. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores health and wellness, wellness scams, wellness influencers, psychedelics, mental health, substance abuse, alcoholism, AA, family trauma, adoption, grief, deaths, comedy, gut health, faecal transplant, poo transplant, Australian comedy, relationships, love, betrayal, depression, workaholism, workaholic, bad trip, Gabor Mate, 
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.

A portrait of one teacher and his class as they journey through the ups and downs of a school year.
Brendan James Murrary has been a high school teacher for more than ten years and although his own experiences at school weren't great, he ended up taking a job back at the school where he was a bullied and unhappy student.
During his time as a teacher he's seen hundreds of kids move through the same hallways and classrooms - boisterous, angry, shy, big-hearted, awkward - all of them on the journey to adulthood.
He's also discovered that what makes a good teacher has more to do with generosity and empathy than he first realised.
His memoir The School is both a tribute to the teacher who inspired him and a celebration of the kids who shape his career.
First broadcast in 2021 
The producer was Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
Further information
The School is published by Pan MacMillanThis episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
It explores teaching, high school, bullying, school refusal, self harm, anxiety, teachers, mentors, empathy, generosity, regional high school, students, classrooms, support, mental health.
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.