Rebecca Solnit on why things are much better than we think

The American writer discusses the historic US midterm elections, the decline of Trump and how you can find hope by looking to the past.It’s easy to feel like everything is getting worse.Politics full of rage and violence, the threats posed by AI, the rise of the manosphere and a climate that keeps on heating up.But Rebecca Solnit says that’s only the surface of the story.Take a longer view, even just the sixty-odd years she’s been alive, and you can see how profoundly things have changed for the better.Further informationRebecca's latest book, The Beginning Comes After the End is published by Granta.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.It explores politics, history, US mid terms, Trump, feminism, sexual assault, indigenous land rights, climate, pollution, progressive politics, societal change, future, AI.

Hana Assafiri was married off at 15 to a controlling and abusive man. Within four years she'd escaped, to begin her remarkable reinvention.Hana was born in Melbourne and lived in Lebanon with her family for much of her childhood. In 1976, her family returned to Australia.While still a teenager, Hana was married off to a much older man.She fought to be free of her violent husband, despite divorce being unheard of in her conservative Muslim family.At the age of 20, she escaped the marriage and began her reinvention in some remarkable ways.She revolutionised the tramways of Melbourne by becoming the first female train conductor to insist on wearing shorts. A few years later she spied a shop for lease in Fitzroy, and her Moroccan soup bar was born.The restaurant became a cherished place for food and community, and it also gave many other women who worked there a path to independence and safety.Content warning: this episode of Conversations discusses physical and sexual violence against women and children.First broadcast in 2024Further informationHana: The Audacity to be Free is published by Melbourne BooksHelp and support are always availableYou can call Lifeline 24 hours a day on 13 11 141800 737 732 is a 24-hour counselling line for anyone who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores domestic violence, teenage brides, Lebanon, family, food, abuse, Melbourne, Fitzroy, trams, Moroccan Soup Kitchen, religion, rules, traditions.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

Captain Reg Saunders was the first Indigenous Australian to become a commissioned officer in the Australian Army. He was following a warrior tradition stretching generations back, fighting not for king but for country.He didn't have citizenship in Australia, but Reg led troops and fought in Libya, Greece and Papua New Guinea.He also survived on the island of Crete, living amongst the locals for 11 months during WWII. Reg's exploits in Crete were the subject of family legend.He also later re-enlisted to fight in the Korean War.But when the first biography about Reg was written, it was titled 'The Embarrassing Australian'.James Saunders is Reg's nephew, a Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Wongaibon man who heard all about Reg growing up.Recently, with the help of family, James wrote down the truth of Reg's life and service, and how Reg carried forward the legacy of 'The Fighting Gunditjmara', who fought not for king but for country.Fighting for Country is published by Allen and Unwin.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores military history, Remembrance Day, November 11, ANZACS, World War Two, World War One, White Australia Policy, Aboriginal Missions, contemporary history, Crete, Greece, Libya, Palestine, Spiritual experience, family history, ancestry, Veterans, Aboriginal service, service personnel, Korean War, single fathers, brotherhood.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.

The late Clive Small on how he led the NSW Police task force which helped to put one of Australia’s worst serial killers behind bars.In the 1990s, a series of young people’s bodies were found in makeshift graves in the Belanglo State Forest.After many false leads, precious clues emerged pointing to one man – Ivan Milat.Clive and his team followed an intricate process in carefully piecing together the evidence that led to Milat’s conviction.In 1996, the former road worker was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences for the murder of seven backpackers.Clive went on to become Assistant Commissioner of the New South Wales Police, and was later chief investigator for NSW's ICAC: Independent Commission Against Corruption.His book about the case is called Milat: Inside Australia's Biggest ManhuntClive Small died last year at the age of 79.This episode was first broadcast in 2014 Further informationMilat: Inside Australia's Biggest Manhunt is published by Allen & UnwinThis episode of Conversations explores murder, serial killers, police work, detectives, Ivan Milat, evidence, the backpacker murders, Belanglo State Forest, NSW Police, Clive Small, Paul Onion, murder victims, prison, cruelty, The Milat Family, violence.

Deniz has squeezed more than most into his life. From pioneering punk rock in Australia, to performing improvised neurosurgery aboard a naval ship, to retirement growing Macadamias in Hawaii.Deniz is a founding member of Radio Birdman, Australia’s seminal punk rock band.He was also an emergency doctor in Australia and the United States.But that wasn’t enough for Deniz.He decided to join the U.S Marines as a flight surgeon – a type of pilot who can perform improvised neurosurgery aboard a naval ship.Deniz is also a husband, a father, an adopted member of the Crow Tribe, and most recently, a macadamia farmer.Despite his big story, Deniz has of course made mistakes along the way, in his headstrong and unexpected trajectory through life.Further informationFull Throttle is published by Pan Macmillan.This interview was made on Turrbal and Jaggera country.It was produced by Meggie Morris. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.It covers punk rock, neurosurgery, US Navy, Veteran, First Nations Americans, Crow Tribe, macadamia farmer, advocate, Turkey, Ataturk, Michigan, music, band, The Rationals, rock n roll, UNSW, international students, gigs, Lou Reed, Montana, White Swan

As the first brown immigrant and the first Muslim to enter the very white world of Australian cricket, Usman Khawaja overcame many setbacks while forging his extraordinary career in the sport.Born in Pakistan, Usman moved to Sydney with his family at four and fell in love with cricket watching his older brothers play.In 2011, Usman debuted for the Australian cricket team in the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG, becoming the first Muslim to wear the Baggy Green.But his journey has been as much about finding a way to be fully himself in Australian cricket as it has been about winning.Usman retired from Test cricket in January, his memoir is called SabrFurther informationSabr is published by PenguinThis episode of Conversations explores cricket, Australian cricket team, Test cricket, Pakistan, Muslims, migration, arthritis, family, mothers, marriage, kids, sport, elite sport, Australian sporting culture, sandpaper gate, cheating, intergrity, human rights, injury, retirement.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.

Growing up with brilliant writer as a father, Adam Courtenay slowly became aware of many gaps and untruths in his dad's life story. So he decided to set the record straight, once and for all.When Adam was growing up, he saw his Dad as a hero.Bryce worked in advertising so he knew all the latest, coolest trends, and at bedtime, Bryce told Adam and his brothers amazing stories about his life in South Africa and the Courtenay family’s noble origins.When Bryce went from adman to wildly successful writer with his debut novel, The Power of One, Adam couldn’t have been prouder.As Adam grew older, he became aware of the gaps in the stories his father told so well, and realised just how many lies Bryce had told his family and the nation.At first, Adam tried to ignore the fables and fibs - he wanted badly to believe them because they made Bryce's storytelling so powerful.But when Adam became a writer himself, an author of historical books and a journalist, he needed to champion the truth above all else.Further informationMy Father Bryce is published by Hachette.

Instructions on how to forge a path through a darkening world, according to former neuroscientist and psychoanalyst, Dr Sharon Blackie.Sharon grew up in what she calls the edge lands — on a council estate, near marshes full of migrating birds, next to the chemical factories of North-Eastern England.She was given fairy stories to read that mirrored her own experience in a way — Sharon knew the world was not always a safe place and that little children should be careful. After her violent father left the family, Sharon’s mum turned to alcohol to cope. Through her mother’s recovery, Sharon was introduced to a local recovery centre called The Room where people could get help for their addiction, and there Sharon found a fascinating group of people who promoted her interest in psychology, and a place to belong.After university, Sharon had a fine life on paper — a husband, a well-paid corporate job and a mortgage, but she wasn’t happy and she heard The Call to start a dangerous and unlikely project.Sharon was living in America in 1999 when John F Kennedy Jnr died in a plane crash.She decided she needed to face her longstanding fear of flying and took up lessons to become a pilot, to look death in the face.Sharon says if we heed the messages in fairy stories they can serve us well in life — be courageous, be kind and always share what you have with friends who may help you in the future.Further informationRipening: Why Women Need Fairy Tales Now is published by September.Read Sharon's newsletter The Art of Enchantment.This episode was made on Turrbul and Jagera country. It was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.This episode focuses on ecofeminism, mythology, fairytales, tatterhood, snow white, rose red, danger, intrigue, sharing, post-hero, women, nature, The Call, facing fear.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.

Lisa Peberdy has been delivering babies for over 40 years, in hospitals and homes, in cities and remote locations and she still cries with joy at every birth.During Lisa's  first career as a nurse, she was physically repelled by the notion of childbirth.When she re-trained to become a midwife, delivering a baby unassisted was a great challenge.When Lisa finally did it, she was hooked; and she says she still cries with joy at every birth for which she's present.Lisa's delivered babies in hospitals and homes, in cities and remote locations, all over Australia.In recent years her work has been with cord blood banks, collecting valuable stem cells from the umbilical cord and placenta.These cells may potentially be used later in that person's life to create and regenerate organs, blood, and tissues; and assist their immune system.First broadcast in 2016Further informationLisa's story features in Paula Heelan's book, Australian Midwives, published by HarlequinEarlier this year Lisa published her memoir The Accidental Midwife This episode of Conversations explores childbirth, delivering babies, midwives, mothers, still birth, adoption, remote Australia, PNG, Timor Leste, hospitals, doctors, fathers, babies, placenta, pregnancy, nursing.

As we're bombarded with the drumbeat of news that veers from the shocking to the unfathomable, Waleed Aly wants to know, how do we come to grips with this chaos?For years, that is exactly what Waleed Aly has done by writing a series of columns for Melbourne's Age newspaper.Recently he's revisited the columns written during a concentrated period of profound upheaval, to see what they reveal.Waleed hopes to articulate what is revolutionary in this moment but also what is not, to examine our changing relationships with technology and each other; and identifying the things that really matter in life even as the upheaval tries to obscure them. Further information Reasoning With Chaos is published by Allen and Unwin This episode of Conversations explores Donald Trump, US politics, global politics, war, artificial intelligence, anger, protest, global chaos, news, social media, politics, global collapse, China, the United States, Australia, media.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.