Conversations

Why were 400 civilians allowed to fly into a war zone as Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait? What really happened to them when they were held as hostages? And why has the British government fought for so long to keep it all a secret?
Stephen Davis is an investigative journalist who has been following a story, within a story, within a story for more than 30 years.
It starts on 2 August, 1990 when a British Airways plane landed in Kuwait for a scheduled stopover.
There were nearly 400 passengers and crew on board, mostly British, who had no idea they were flying straight into Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
Instead of refuelling and then carrying on to Madras, the people on board were taken into Iraqi custody, ferried to various hotels and strategic locations around Kuwait, and then Baghdad, deployed as human shields in an unfurling international conflict.
Used like chess pieces by Saddam Hussein's men, their experiences would scar them for the rest of their lives, but eventually they would point the finger at their own government's role in their fate.
Because Flight 149 should never have landed in Kuwait, and the reasons why it was allowed to fly into a war zone were covered up for more than three decades.
Stephen's sources pointed him to a secret British black ops mission that embedded nine operatives on that same civilian flight.
The Secret History of Flight 149 is published by Bonnier Books UK.
Around 100 passengers and crew of Flight 149 are suing the UK Government and British Airways for “deliberately endangering” them, claiming they knew Iraq had invaded Kuwait before the plane landed.
A preliminary hearing was held last November in the High Court in London. Both sides are still battling over procedural issues before a full trial can begin.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores the Middle East, geopolitics, President Bush, Gulf War, Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, invasion, oil, world economy, Margaret Thatcher, spies, MI6, CIA, conspiracies, cover ups, investigations, lawsuits, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Sabre, Dick Cheney, Saudi Arabia, Republican Guard, modern history, modern conflicts, 9/11, terrorism, rise of terrorism.
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.

Historian Katja Hoyer was born in 1985, under the old regime of the GDR and grew up in the 1990s, watching many former East Germans struggle in the years after reunification.
Learning about the Nazi era was a big part of her education but Katja left school feeling unsatisfied about what she’d been taught about the period when the Nazis rose to power.
She knew about all the big political moments, but not much about the lives of ordinary Germans and how they responded to the dramatic changes that unfolded around all around them.
So Katja the historian traced the lives of residents in the town of Weimar from 1919 to 1939 to examine how a cultural hub of democracy transformed into a Nazi stronghold.Further information 
Weimar: Life of the Edge of Catastrophe is published by Penguin.
Katja's earlier book is Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990
Learn more about Katja Hoyer on her website
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake and the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.
It explores German history, the rise of the Nazis, Weimar, the Weimar Republic, Adolf Hitler, the Stasi, secret police, the Berlin Wall, Communism, Fascism, World War II, East Germany, the GDR, democracy, Jewish persecution, Buchenwald, concentration camps, Carl Weirich, Nazi era history, the rise of the Nazis.
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.

Journalist Hedley Thomas grew up knowing that his grandmother Gladys had vanished in the sea off Sydney in the 1950s. The mystery of what happened to Gladys helped to inspire his hit podcast 'The Teacher's Pet'.
Hedley has had a storied career in journalism which has seen him win many Walkley Awards and expose a lot of corruption and dodgy dealings.
But it has also placed Hedley and his family in harm's way. 
In 2002 Hedley and his wife Ruth were at their home when bullets were fired into their bedroom. The shooter was never found, and Hedley grappled with PTSD after the event.
A couple of decades later Hedley returned to a story which had stayed with him for years.
It was the about a woman named Lynette who had gone missing from her home in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Hedley's podcast about her story became a massive hit. 
Five years after 'The Teacher's Pet' began, Lyn's former husband Chris Dawson was convicted of her murder. Despite his recent appeals, Dawson will spend the rest of his life in jail for Lynette's murder.
Recently, Hedley has started talking about the family secret which helped inspire the podcast when it first began.
Further information
Help and support is always available. Beyond Blue provides 24/7 support on mental health issues.
Hear Sarah's conversation with Lynette's daughter, Shanelle Dawson.
The episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
It explores family, journalism, domestic violence, police investigation, murder, The Teacher's Pet, true crime, true crime podcast, Lynette Dawson, Chris Dawson, Shanelle Dawson, PTSD, home invasion, secrets, prison, Northern Beachers of Sydney, mothers, grandmothers, Walkley awards, justice, cold case.
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.

Millie Robinson’s family had been through enough as it was before her devoted dad Jim Rogers received his diagnosis in 2021. Today they navigate the unknown together and stay in the moment to enjoy their tight-knit community.
Millie is a celebrant, mum and author living in Brisbane.
She also supports her dad, Jim, who has younger-onset Alzheimer’s. 
Millie started life in the UK, in a very tight-knit network of family and friends who wrapped their arms around Jim, Millie and her siblings when Millie’s mum died of cancer.
Jim became the dad and the mum of the house, and for years put himself last to care for his babies and make sure they were alright.
Then he fell in love with Tyler, and Millie gained a stepdad.
The family thought they’d used up their quota of shock for one lifetime, but when Jim was diagnosed in 2021, they rallied and continue to care for him with the same devotion he showed when they were kids.
Further information
Holding On To Happiness, written by Jim Rogers and Millie Robinson is published by Pan Macmillan.
Watch the 2025 Australian Story featuring Millie, Jim and their family.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan and the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It covers caring for parents, Dementia Australia, living well with dementia, Hamish Macdonald, the sandwich generation, losing a mother, motherless mother, finding love again, going back into the closet, two dads, step parent, tight knit family, grandparent, Redditch, cottage, forget me not, Brisbane, moving to Australia, skin cancer, melonoma, mole, Canary Islands, celebrant, marrying, getting married, VW Beetle, high school 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.

British writer Ben Macintyre on the eerie history of Colditz Castle which the Germans used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
Since the Middle Ages, Colditz Castle has existed in some form, perched on the edge of a cliff in eastern Germany.
Colditz has served as a royal hunting lodge, a madhouse, and most famously as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
It was said to be inescapable, but that didn't stop the English officers from trying to escape the nightmare of this gloomy fortress, and the clutches of the Germans.
Ben Macintyre tells the full story of Colditz and the men imprisoned there, who were as flawed as they were heroic legend.
Further Information
Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle is published by Penguin
This episode of Conversations explores history, World War 2, prisoners of war, Colditz Castle, Germany, allied soldiers, the officer class, escape, prison, solitary confinement, heroes, the middle ages, research, first hand accounts.
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.