Conversations

The world's leading eucalyptus expert, Professor Steve Hopper, on what science and culture say about these spectacular trees, and how Noongar elders in WA's South West led his 'second education' in botany.
Australia is one of the richest places on earth when it comes to botanical biodiversity.
Tens of thousands of species of trees and flowers have developed over millions of years of isolation.
But perhaps the most iconic of all native flora is the humble eucalyptus.
From Queensland's ancient rainforests and the alpine region of New South Wales, to the wilds of Tasmania and the granite outcrops of coastal Western Australia, gum trees are synonymous with the Australian landscape.
There are 900 different species of eucalyptus, from giant gums close to 100 metres tall, to tiny wee mallee trees the same height as a kindergartener. 
Steve Hopper has recorded more than 100 of those species, and believes there are still more waiting to be found.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores botany, climate change, extinction rates, gum trees, eucalypts, California wild fires, biodiversity hotspot, Australia's native flora, koalas, mallee, jarrah, karri, ancient trees, dinosaurs, Australiana, Western Australia, Great Southern Blue Mountains, Tasmania, South West of WA, Albany, Stirling Range, Snowy Mountains, red gum, stringy gum, Australian wildflowers, Kew Gardens, London, the United Kingdom, Joseph Banks, environmental exploitation, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous healing, eucalyptus oil medicinal properties, dreaming, conservation, gardening.
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.

UK writer Zadie Smith became a world-wide sensation with the publication of her first novel White Teeth when she was 24. Now aged 50, she's bringing her trademark intelligence and wit to the subject of midlife.
Her latest work is Dead and Alive, a new book of essays, where she writes about black British history, paintings, politics, our online lives and getting older.
She also talks about up growing in North West London and where she's returned to live with her own family.
Zadie will be in Australia next month as part of the All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House on March 8th and at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on March 10th.
Further Information
All About Women at Sydney Opera HouseZadie Smith at The Wheeler Centre
This episode explores growing up in North West London, immigrants, black British history, the internet, smart phones, social media, the technology of the book, mid life, being 50, free university, Cambridge, diversity, academia, tap dancing, painting, politics, being a writer, non-fiction, young novelists, find success at young age.
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.

Jessica Kirkness with the story of her grandparents, who both grew up profoundly deaf in a hearing world, and how she navigated the space in between sound and silence. (R)
Jessica grew up in the outer suburbs with a big extended family, with her grandparents living right next door.
Her grandparents, Melvyn and Phyllis, were affectionate, kind and wise and Jessica often spent more time after school in their house than her own.
But their house was distinctly different.
The doorbell never rang, the alarm clock never sounded, and the television was on but the audio was off.
Melvyn and Phyllis were profoundly deaf, and they lived in two worlds - among the hearing, and within the deaf community which had its own language and way of doing things.
Jessica grew up in that space between two worlds.
She felt that her grandparents' lives were both extraordinary and ordinary, and that their deafness was so exquisitely misunderstood that every part of her felt summoned to translate.
Jessica has recently written down the story of her life growing up between the two worlds of the hearing and the deaf, as a GODA, or a grandchild of deaf adults.
The House with All the Lights On is published by Allen and Unwin.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
It explores deafness, living with a disability, profound deafness, hearing loss, AUSLAN, language, sign language, CODA, grandparents, love, family, relationships, granddaughter, grandchildren, intergenerational families, mixed families, technology, deaf accent, lip reading, migrants, hearing world, accessibility, head injuries, meningitis, hospital, acquired disability, deaf gain, communication, music, translation.

Saul Eslake grew up knowing he was adopted. For many years he knew nothing about his biological parents, but when he adopted his own children, he began the search for his birth family.What he discovered in his adoption file revealed a very complicated story, and It took him more than two decades to unravel the mystery.
En route, he discovered a confected newspaper scandal, a story of British pilots at an orgy, and a complicated divorce.
Then years on, he experienced the joy of meeting the siblings he never knew existed.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores adoption, family history, secrecy, orgies, pilots, British scandals, unusual family stories, strange family history, family history, adoption records, secrets, family secrets, divorce, pilots, tabloid press, adopted siblings, birth records, adoption process, adoption file, records, rejection, history, crime, fraud, genealogy, blood relatives, siblings, Tasmania, growing up in the UK, data, mystery.
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.

Dave Pearson runs Bite Club, a support service for anyone who has survived a shark attack. Dave’s own brush with death came in 2011, when a three-metre-long bull shark almost took his arm. (R)
Dave lived that day, but it’s what happened during his recovery that he didn’t see coming.
Dave Pearson was with his mates on the NSW Mid North Coast back in 2011, and couldn’t get in the water fast enough to try out his brand new surfboard.
He’d caught a few waves when he was slammed by what felt like a freight train.
Under the water, through the bubbles and the shock, Dave saw something huge, brown and grey.
Dave survived that day, but it’s what happened during his recovery that he didn’t see coming.
He founded Bite Club to support survivors through the mental heath challenges following their shark attacks.
Bite Club is a closed Facebook group available to those who have survived an attack by an apex predator.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan, Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
It explores sharks, attacks, bull sharks, near death experience, grief, survival, recovery, water sports, surfing, ocean, water safety, summer in Australia, summer holidays, increasing shark attacks, what to do if you're attacked by a shark.
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.