Monica McInerney's five year rollercoaster ride

More from Conversations

1. 

   7 Oct 2026 · 49 minNew

   My poo transplant, ayahuasca trip and other wellness quests

   Judith Lucy is one of Australia's most loved comedians. Recently after years of tummy troubles, burnout, and a complicated relationship with alcohol, she began her mission to work on her health, in earnest. As well as being a beloved comic, Judith is also the author of four books and the presenter of several television series. For decades Judith has been busying herself with project after project after project, to distract herself from sitting with the truth of where her workaholism, insomnia and dicey relationship with alcohol was coming from. It took Judith a long time to realise she was a…

2. 

   6 Oct 2026 · 51 min

   Encore: Why I became a teacher at the school where I was bullied

   A portrait of one teacher and his class as they journey through the ups and downs of a school year. Brendan James Murrary has been a high school teacher for more than ten years and although his own experiences at school weren't great, he ended up taking a job back at the school where he was a bullied and unhappy student. During his time as a teacher he's seen hundreds of kids move through the same hallways and classrooms - boisterous, angry, shy, big-hearted, awkward - all of them on the journey to adulthood. He's also discovered that what makes a good teacher has more to do with generosity…

3. 

   5 Oct 2026 · 52 min

   Richard Glover on the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking rules of Australian parenting

   The instructions found in endorsed baby books over the last century could be, with hindsight, bizarre or cruel. And were most often given by “experts” with no children of their own. Journalist and broadcaster, Richard Glover tackles the changing landscape of parenting advice. He looks back at his own experience of being parented, which included having his ears sticky-taped while growing up in Papua New Guinea, and draws on modern day grand-parenthood to highlight the marked differences in how we raise our children. Richard has delved into the archives to draw out the strangest, sometimes…

4. 

   1 Oct 2026 · 52 min

   Encore: The pilot shot down by enemy fire and how he survived

   RAF pilot Frank Dell parachuted into Nazi occupied Holland after his plane was hit by cannon fire and with the aid of courageous Dutch families and resistance fighters he got out alive. As a teenager, Frank saw the Battle of Britain played out in the skies above his village in the south of England. He joined the RAF and piloted a De Havilland Mosquito on bombing raids into Germany. In October 1944 Frank's plane was shot out of the sky and he parachuted into Nazi territory. Frank witnessed extraordinary scenes as he walked his way through the countryside into occupied Holland. It was there he…

5. 

   30 Sep 2026 · 53 min

   Magda's mum, the tragic secret, and the moment of grace

   When Magda Szubanski discovered what had happened to her mum as a child, she began to see her in an entirely new light (CW: discussion of sexual abuse, please take care when listening) Magda released her first memoir a few years ago, to widespread acclaim. It was the story of how Magda unearthed the life story of her Polish-born father and his role as an assassin during WWII. Magda's now written her second memoir which hinges on the life story of her charming and funny Scottish-born mother, Margaret. Magda had a complicated and deeply loving relationship with her mum, who sometimes lashed…

6. 

   29 Sep 2026 · 52 min

   Encore: The Olympic swim coach who spat on a silver medal, and how it changed him

   Laurie Lawrence's obsession with winning Gold started when he was a small boy growing up above the Tobruk Pool in Townsville. When he became a coach, he had an epiphany about the nature of victory. When Laurie was a child, he had a chronic lung condition that meant he had to sleep sitting in a chair. Doctors advised his parents that an operation was necessary, and part of one of his lungs was removed. After the operation, Laurie's father took over the management of Townsville's Tobruk Pool, and the family lived in an apartment overlooking the lanes. In 1956 the Australian Olympic team came…

7. 

   9 Oct 2026 · 52 minNew

   Mick Fanning on surfing, fighting off a great white shark, and losing three brothers

   Mick won 3 world surfing titles, and famously punched a great white shark in South Africa. But his life out of the water has been threaded through with devastating loss, after the death of his three older brothers. (CW: loss and grief) Mick Fanning grew up on the Gold Coast in a raucous, loving family of five kids, raised by his mum Elizabeth, a nurse who worked night shift. He and his brother Sean were talented young grommets who dreamed of becoming professional surfers. Then at 16, Mick got a phone call. He was going to be sponsored by Quiksilver, to the tune of $30 000 a year. The money…

8. 

   8 Oct 2026 · 52 minNew

   Encore: A family story of growing up poor in Outback Queensland

   Journalist Rick Morton on how his mum raised three children in poverty and the class disparities in Australia. Rick's family come from the vast country of Outback Queensland, near the Birdsville Track. His grandfather, George Morton, was a wealthy landholder and he ruled over his family like a tyrant. When Rick was little, a terrible accident was followed by the break-up of his family and Rick, his mum, and his two siblings were driven out of the family home into crippling poverty. This led Rick to think deeply about the true nature of poverty in our country, how hard it is to thrive when…

9. 

   28 Sep 2026 · 52 min

   Caring for my fiercely strong-willed father

   Kim Huynh on his family's remarkable journey from Vietnam to Australia. And taking on the role of carer for his fiercely strong-willed father, Thiet. Kim grew up in Canberra, arriving in Australia with his family as refugees from Vietnam. Like many migrant children, Kim is a very driven person and has taken on a lot of responsibilities in life. He is an academic, an ABC broadcaster, an author and a father. And when his 80-year-old father had a serious stroke, Kim also took on the role of carer. He had to find a way to help look after his dad, with whom he was living, continue working,…

10. 

    25 Sep 2026 · 44 min

    Stories from our elders: how Jane Fonda changed her life in her third act

    The legendary actress Jane Fonda on her activism, her hair epiphanies and why older women are often fearless. Jane has lived her entire life in the public eye, as the daughter of acting aristocracy. Her father Henry Fonda was a Hollywood legend by the time she was born. Jane grew up to study acting with Lee Strasberg, and Marilyn Monroe was a classmate. But behind the public adoration, Jane was battling some big personal demons, including bulimia and the legacy of a shocking family tragedy. In her 30s she began re-assessing her life and work, and became a leader of the anti-Vietnam War…

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