Conversations by ABC
ABC
Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption. Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.
Radio: ABC Classic FM
Categories: Society & Culture
Listen to the last episode:
Kate Rowe's life has been full of wild adventures and hard living. But when a dark cloud lifted, and she found sobriety, Kate discovered something big about herself. CW: This story contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and some strong language. Please take care when listening. Ever since she stepped off the boat at Circular Quay as a 20-something 10-pound Pom, Kate has run fearlessly toward outrageous adventure. As a young woman Kate travelled around Australia picking tobacco, hitchhiking and sometimes spent her weekends running riot in Kings Cross. Then in 1974, she tagged along with some random guys she’d met who wanted to walk across the island of Timor. From there, Kate ventured into South-East Asia, where she began smuggling bricks of cannabis from Thailand into Nepal. But everywhere she went, Kate took herself with her, and so all kinds of baggage from her early life came along for the wild ride. Eventually a cloud lifted, and when Kate found sobriety she realised something big about herself. Content Warning: This story contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and some strong language. Please take care when listening. How the F*ck Would I Know is published by Power Writers Publishing Group and can be found online. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. It explores trauma, healing, recovery, England, London, disordered eating, eating disorder recovery, substance abuse, addiction, drug trafficking, drug dealing, heroin, opium, alcohol, alcoholism, addiction recovery, therapy, counselling, sexuality, LGBTQI+, queer community, Mardi Gras, 1978, lesbian, women's Lib. 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.
Previous episodes
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4768 - From drug smuggling and opium dens to marching in the first-ever Mardi Gras—Kate's coming out Thu, 22 Jan 2026
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4767 - I was a teenage Navy diver in the Iraq War. Then I had to make a new life for myself Wed, 21 Jan 2026
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4766 - The secret life of a hostage negotiator Tue, 20 Jan 2026
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4765 - Upside down in Bass Strait Mon, 19 Jan 2026
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4764 - New Beginnings: How Rafael Bonachela let out his inner showgirl with Kylie Minogue Fri, 16 Jan 2026
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4763 - New Beginnings: Justin Heazlewood on swapping fame for his hometown Thu, 15 Jan 2026
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4762 - New Beginnings: When a sea change collides with messy midlife Wed, 14 Jan 2026
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4761 - New Beginnings: Artist Loribelle Spirovski on finding family and love Tue, 13 Jan 2026
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4760 - New Beginnings: Felicia Djamirze, beauty queen and drug dealer Mon, 12 Jan 2026
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4759 - Holiday listening: Anh Nguyen Austen's story of rescue and reinvention Wed, 07 Jan 2026
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4758 - Holiday listening: the secret world of the human ear Tue, 06 Jan 2026
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4757 - Holiday Listening: Birds, bees and intelligent machines Mon, 05 Jan 2026
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4756 - Holiday Listening: Nerida's nudibranchs, sea dragons and siphonophores Fri, 02 Jan 2026
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4755 - Holiday Listening: Lee Berger, the real-life Indiana Jones, and the Case of the Lost Hominids Thu, 01 Jan 2026
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4754 - Holiday Listening: Fishing for feelings -- the many ways fish are smarter than you think Wed, 31 Dec 2025
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4753 - Holiday Listening: The flying vet from Outback Queensland Tue, 30 Dec 2025
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4752 - Holiday Listening: Slime moulds—the brainless blobs that can move and solve mazes Mon, 29 Dec 2025
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4751 - Holiday Listening: David Bindi Hudson on playing his didgeridoo at the Taj Mahal Fri, 26 Dec 2025
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4750 - Holiday Listening: Learning from the mighty matriarchs of the animal kingdom Thu, 25 Dec 2025
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4749 - Best of 2025: Mike Doleman on surving the Blythe Star Fri, 19 Dec 2025
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4748 - Best of 2025: How I became a brainwashed cult bride Thu, 18 Dec 2025
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4747 - Best of 2025: The young boat builder who rowed across the Pacific Wed, 17 Dec 2025
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4746 - Best of 2025: Claire Keegan on bravery, writing and the single life Tue, 16 Dec 2025
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4745 - Best of 2025: How Vincent Fantauzzo's life was saved by love and painting Mon, 15 Dec 2025
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4744 - Encore: the life of Norman Swan Fri, 12 Dec 2025
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4743 - William McInnes' bittersweet summers — budgie smugglers, boardies and bumming around Thu, 11 Dec 2025
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4742 - How living like a Stoic changed my life Wed, 10 Dec 2025
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4741 - The Rajneeshees and me — why Martina thought she needed a guru to heal Tue, 09 Dec 2025
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4740 - Encore: Helen Garner's love letter to her grandson, and football Fri, 05 Dec 2025
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4739 - The forgotten men who fought and died in the wild jungles of Borneo Thu, 04 Dec 2025
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4738 - Deciding to live—recovery from a decade long battle with anorexia Wed, 03 Dec 2025
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4737 - Frosty the supercars legend and his race to the top of Mount Panorama Tue, 02 Dec 2025
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4736 - Encore: Author Heather Rose on the grief lodged deep in her body Fri, 28 Nov 2025
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4735 - A former army psychologist on ketamine therapy, PTSD and her surrogate twins Thu, 27 Nov 2025
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4734 - Dad, Bob Marley and me Wed, 26 Nov 2025
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4733 - How a pair of disobedient missionaries invented Australia's most iconic road trip Tue, 25 Nov 2025
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4732 - Encore: How Johnathan Thurston became one of the greats Fri, 21 Nov 2025
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4731 - How Aunty Rhonda learnt to cry Thu, 20 Nov 2025
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4730 - From democracy to dictatorship and back again—how freedom falls and tyranny takes hold Wed, 19 Nov 2025
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4729 - A bulldog on the ice -- Eric's journey from the South Pole to Outer Space Tue, 18 Nov 2025
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4728 - Encore: Love, sex and the secret life of retirees Fri, 14 Nov 2025
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4727 - Making peace and finding laughter in my family's dark past Thu, 13 Nov 2025
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4726 - Loving and losing three good men—the story of a ballerina called 'Blossom' Wed, 12 Nov 2025
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4725 - The conspiracy that brought down the Whitlam Government in the 1975 dismissal Tue, 11 Nov 2025
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4724 - Silverchair’s Ben Gillies on his life as a teenage rock god, and what happened next Mon, 10 Nov 2025
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4723 - Encore: Meet Ash Barty's mindset coach — Ben Crowe Fri, 07 Nov 2025
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4722 - Uncovering the heart of my Nana’s saltwater stories Thu, 06 Nov 2025
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4721 - William Dalrymple's own curious history, from the Scottish coast to Mughal Delhi Wed, 05 Nov 2025
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4720 - The drama and the grit behind Michelle Payne's ride into Melbourne Cup history Tue, 04 Nov 2025
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4719 - Encore: The story of a wild, radical feminist socialist lesbian mum, and her son Fri, 31 Oct 2025