Podcast Episodes

The pyromaniac kid who made barbecue his life

As a child, chef Graeme Stockdale was embarrassed by the smell of sauerkraut and pickles that would trail him from his Polish and German grandparents…

1 year, 3 months ago

Encore: Hormones and mental health with Dr Jayashri Kulkarni

Dr Jayashri Kulkarni on her Indian-Australian upbringing and her groundbreaking research into women's hormones and mental health (R)

Jayashri Kulkarni…

1 year, 4 months ago

Part TWO: Locked up in China — Cheng Lei on cell mates, singing and survival

Cheng Lei's years in detention in China, on trumped-up espionage charges, go from cruel and isolating, to absurd and romantic when she gets moved int…

1 year, 4 months ago

Part ONE: Locked up in China — Cheng Lei on state paranoia and staying sane in isolation

When journalist Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese state security agents, she thought would be freed within the week. Instead, she was held on absurd …

1 year, 4 months ago

Depersonalisation — when Nathan lost his sense of self and nothing felt real

In 2008 Nathan Dunne was night swimming in Hampstead Heath in the middle of winter when a psychological catastrophe struck him. He felt his sense of …

1 year, 4 months ago

Encore: A home filled with music — raising the Kanneh-Masons

Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason on what it takes to keep up with her seven children — all of them gifted classical musicians (R).

Kadiatu is a former English aca…

1 year, 4 months ago

Why Colm Toibin ran away with the circus — to Barcelona, Brooklyn and beyond

The Irish novelist has always been open to where life can unexpectedly take him, and the excitement that comes with that kind of freedom.

Colm Toibin'…

1 year, 4 months ago

Hilde Hinton's home for the temporarily defeated

When Hilde Hinton was on the cusp of adolescence, her mother died. For years she protected her younger siblings from the truth about their mum.

Despit…

1 year, 4 months ago

The secret life of Scarlett, the octopus

When Alex Schnell was around 5 years old, playing in rock pools around Clovelly beach in Sydney, she had an alien encounter. 

The creature in the shal…

1 year, 4 months ago

Encore: How Sean Sweeney found his deaf heart

Sean Sweeney on the complications and joys of growing up as a a hearing child in a deaf family, using Auslan, a distinctively Australian sign languag…

1 year, 4 months ago