Afleveringen
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Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is back with a look at the humorous and bizarre stories of the newspaper founded in 1979 by a former CIA officer.
â174 MPH SNEEZE BLOWS OFF WOMANâS HAIRâ, âBABY BORN WITH TATTOOâ, âGARDEN OF EDEN FOUND!â
These were some of the fantastical headlines that led the comedic black and white US tabloid, Weekly World News (WWN).
Peter Hoysted, AKA Jack the Insider is a true crime writer and a columnist for The Australian.
He was a fan of the nonsensical reporting during its hard copy days, and even started his own journal along similar lines in Australia.
Peter tells the story of Generoso Pope Jr, the ex-CIA officer who founded WWN in 1979 and entertained readers with fictional news stories, often with a paranormal slant.
Further information
You can read Weekly World News online.
Listen to previous Conversations interviews with Jack the Insider: Chow Hayes, Australia's first gangster (2017), the Fine Cotton affair (2019) and the disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson (2024).
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.
This episode covers aliens, alien love child, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, satirical news, fake news, comedy, giggle, Elvis, newspapers, newsgathering, bigfoot, mermaids, man-fish, CIA, conspiracy theory, David Icke, lizard people.
To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Darren Hayes rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the musical duo Savage Garden but the scars of his violent childhood nearly ended everything.
The band ended up selling 35 million albums and won numerous awards with hits like 'Truly Madly Deeply'.
On the surface, Darren had achieved wealth, adoration and stardom âeverything he dreamt of as a kid growing up in Logan, on the outskirts of Brisbane.
This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024
Further information
Unlovable is published by Penguin
Help and support is always available:
Call 1800 737 732 (1800 Respect) to speak to a counsellor if you are experiencing domestic violence. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Ken Gamble is very good at spying on people doing the wrong thing but perhaps the investigations that have had the most impact are the missing person cases he's taken on pro bono.
Ken spent part of his childhood living in a remote outback pub and by the age of 12, he was driving drunk jackaroos back to their stations.
When his family moved to the Sunshine Coast, Ken took up boxing on the amateur circuit and left school in Year 10 to pursue the sport full time, until a savage injury ended his career before it had really begun.
After stints in the Army Reserve and as a firefighter, Ken decided he wanted to be a private investigator and began working in personal injury insurance fraud where he became highly skilled in covert surveillance.
And with the arrival of the internet, Ken turned his attention to tracking down the humans behind online scams.
Ken has also been called on to help in some high-profile missing person cases, including that of Belgian backpacker, Celine Cremer.
Further information
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, Nicola Harrison is the Executive Producer
It explores criminals, cyber crime, insurance fraud, covert surveillance, private detectives, Mt Isa, alcoholism, violence, boxing, counterfeit products, boiler rooms, online scams, missing persons, mobile phone data, geospatial analytics, Eumundi, Celine Cremer, police, bikies.
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Gonzo journalist and writer John Safran on why he decided to squat in a Hollywood mansion belonging to Kanye West.John Safran has made a career out of getting into places he probably shouldn't be, from breaking into Disney Land, to infiltrating fascist strongholds in Australia.
A couple of years ago, one of his journalistic expeditions saw him squatting in an abandoned Hollywood mansion belonging Kanye West.
John had seen a clip of the hip hop start denying the Holocaust, defending Adolf Hitler, and claiming that Black people cannot be anti-Semitic because they are actually Jewish.
His week writing and snooping in this strange house, with no running water and a vulture in the roof, made John go increasingly loopy as he tried to understand what pushed this critically acclaimed artist from celebrity eccentric to seriously 'out there'.
This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024
It explores Kanye West, Judaism, antisemitism, Hollywood, hip hop, Christianity, Nazism, racism, hip hop, squatting, the Donda Academy, journalism, Adidas, money, fame, documentary, writing, the Holocaust, mental health, celebrity, mansions
Further information
Squat is published by Penguin.
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Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. But one quintessentially Australian story of survival, love and adventure lay dormant for more than a century before journalist and author Lisa Wilkinson raised it from the depths of the Atlantic.
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic - the biggest, most magnificent, most expensive ship ever built.
It was meant to be unsinkable. But when it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, it sank, killing 1500 people.
For more than 100 years, the tragedy has inspired filmmakers, historians and explorers to unearth the incredible human stories of love, survival and class warfare.
But for much of that time, there was one story that seemed to have been hidden amongst the wreckage, until journalist and author Lisa Wilkinson raised it from the bottom of the Atlantic.
This is the story of Evelyn Marsden, the only Australian survivor of the sinking of the Titanic, and the real Titanic love story that shaped the rest of her life.
The Titanic Story of Evelyn is published by Hachette.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.
It explores history, Australian stories, Jack and Rose, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, shipwrecks, survival stories, love stories, non-fiction books, modern history, David Cameron, OceanGate, submersible, submarine disaster, Bondi, 20th century Australia, nurses, nursing, doctors, working on cruise ships, adventurous women, falling in love.
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Molly's niche career began over a decade ago when she entered a whistling competition on a whim and she now performs all over the world.
Her music sits somewhere between birdsong and the soundtrack to a film noir.
Born in Sydney, Molly moved to Hollywood as a baby before returning to Australia for high school in Byron Bay.
Once she realised her talent was more than just a hobby for family and friends, she began performing live with musicians in LA and has collaborated with the likes of Dr Dre, Beck and Karen O.
Mark Ronson even asked her to whistle on the Barbie soundtrack.
Now Molly is at the centre of a new documentary, Whistle, which follows whistlers from around the world as they prepare for the Masters of Musical Whistling competition.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores whistling, music, art, film soundtracks, Hollywood, LA, Byron Bay, whistling competitions, African Grey Parrots, Mark Ronson, Barbie, Alessandro Alessandroni, Ennio Morricone, The Good the Bad the Ugly, Harry Dean Stanton, Cafe Molly, John C Reilly,African Grey Parrots, Mark Lewis
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Marele Day is a novelist, but as a young woman looking for adventure, she hitchhiked on a catamaran sailing from Darwin to Sri Lanka.
The skipper was a Frenchman, named Jean Day, who revealed on board that he had once done jail time for hijacking a plane.
What she only found out later, was that Jean was a fugitive on the run from another high-profile crime.
Further information
Marele Day's memoir is called Reckless
This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2023
The producer was Sinead Lee and the EP was Carmel Rooney
It explores sailing, risk taking, adventure, young women, the ocean, criminals, hijacking planes, deception, being French, lies, Sri Lanka, writing a memoir, high profile crime, financial fraud.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Clinical psychologist and men's mental health researcher Zac Seidler on how boys are being fed increasingly inflammatory content online, and what men can do IRL to offer a version of masculinity that is healthy and vulnerable, instead of hard and dangerous.
Many young men are taking a journey on the internet right now which starts with inoffensive self-improvement videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, but quickly becomes something else entirely.
Young guys are searching the internet for fitness, grooming or relationship advice, looking for self-esteem and self-discipline.
The algorithm then tries to sustain their attention by offering them more inflammatory and more dangerous content, presented by influencers with cigars and sunglasses, who give them an ideology that blames women for all of their problems.
This is the loose digital ecosystem that has been named the 'manosphere', and it's leading people to wonder what exactly is going on with men that they're being drawn into a dark place and ideology that completely alienates them from women and from real life experience.
Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist and the director of research at Movember, the men's mental health charity, and he is particularly interested in men's issues.
Zac has conducted some world-first research into this online world, asking the questions 'What need is this content meeting?', and how can men be empowered to pull themselves, their sons and their mates out of this dangerous cycle.
Keep up to date with the research Zac is doing via Movember, the leading charity changing the face of men's health.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.
It explores manhood, masculinity, toxic masculinity, sons, fatherhood, men's mental health, men's suicide rates, depression, Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, Myron Gaines, Rollo, Joe Rogan, social media algorithms, Instagram, chronically online, touch grass, grief, death, sex and relationships, isolation, vulnerability, how to talk openly about mental health struggles, men and boys, mothers and sons, Looksmaxxing, Clavicular, becoming a father, marriage, love, husbands, how to be a better man, empathetic accountability, Breadtube, Contrapoints, Hbomberguy, and PhilosophyTube.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The former Australian of the Year and pioneering cancer researcher, died from brain cancer on Sunday evening.
Richard was a world-leading melanoma pathologist and cancer researcher.
After his own aggressive brain cancer was diagnosed in 2023, Richard volunteered to be 'patient zero' in an experimental medical approach, which applied some of the discoveries he and his team had made in melanoma treatment.
Richard credited much of his determination, optimism, and humility, to his childhood in Tasmania.
Sarah spoke with Richard in 2024.
Richard's memoir is called Brainstorm.
This episode of Conversations explores cancer research, melanoma treatment, brain tumour, neurosurgery, recovery. radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, Australian of the Year, death, grief, terminal illness, pioneering research, family, great Australians, open letters.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Growing up in Tokyo, Hiroko Yoda never thought of herself as religious, but after her mother died, she began exploring the spiritual traditions of her homeland.
She was inspired by the Shinto idea that there are '8 million spiritual beings', animating everything we encounter.
In the different practices of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shugendo, Hiroko found practical means of emotional support, and also ways of making her everyday life more beautiful.
Further information
Hiroko Yoda's book is called Eight Million Ways to Happiness
This episode explores Japan, spirituality, psychology, Shintoism, Buddhism, Shugendo, family, grief, healing, religion, walking, parents, death, Tokyo, emotional support.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Dan Rankine (aka 'trials') was the only little Aboriginal boy living in his rural Welsh village when he woke up shaking from a nightmare. That's when he and his mother knew they needed to go home to Adelaide.
Dan is now one of Australia's most respected hip hop producers, writers and rappers.
Born in Adelaide, Dan spent his early years on the other side of the world - in the rolling, green hills of rural Wales - with his mum, who had fled there from Dan's violent father in the middle of the night.
Far from his Ngarrindjeri connections, and with no one around who looked like him, Dan felt isolated.
After an unexplained nightmare, he and his mum decided to move back to Adelaide, where things didn't suddenly become perfect.
But a car crash, which could have been tragic, became an incredible turning point in Dan's life, allowing him to buy his first set of turntables.
And at 16 years old, Dad set himself on the path to becoming 'trials', performing, writing and producing with and for artists like the Funkoars, Hilltop Hoods, Archie Roach and A.B. Original.
Dan has recently stepped out on his own, to release his debut solo album Hendle - something of an origin story, full of honesty, pain and passion.
Hendle is out now. Dan is set to publish an accompanying memoir later this year.
Keep up to date with Dan's music, art and tour dates at on his Instagram page.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Eliza Kirsch.
It explores First Nations excellence, substance abuse, family violence, domestic violence, cultural education, blended families, Briggs, Paul Kelly, Gurrumul, childhood trauma, art, expression, alcoholism, fatherhood, love, grief, estrangement, Australian hip-hop, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays, TV and film soundtrack, systemic racism, justice system, violent crime, art as therapy, painting, memoir, writing, book, sobriety, poetry, Dan Sultan, triple J, Reclaim Australia, Aus Music Month, how to write songs, dark humour, growing up, becoming a man, journalling, self improvement, metaphysical, the Dreaming, belonging, prison, incarceration, beats, NWA, Wu Tang Clan.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. She ignored practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, and this led to career highlights like travelling the globe to select the zoo's next gorilla patriarch. (R)
Erna was born in The Netherlands, to parents who were involved in the Dutch resistance during World War II.
Erna's love of languages took her to Spain, where she lived for many years with her widowed sister and young nephew.
It was there she met a penniless Australian backpacker and fell in love, starting Erna on the path to the rest of her life.
Further information
Originally broadcast May 2025.
Hear Me Roar was published by Affirm Press in 2025.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.
This episode touches on feminism, sexism, animals, breeding gorillas, zoos, captive animals, Dutch resistance, marry an Australian, Spain, love of languages, history and Europe.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The Gamilaroi journalist on the tiny coalmining town that made her and still sustains her, how eating worms led to a job on breakfast TV, and why she's aiming to be a good ancestor in the deep future.
Brooke grew up in Muswellbrook, a coal mining town in NSW.
She was a smart, high-achieving kid, doing every extra-curricular activity she could fit in.
Despite this, she dropped out of high school and didn't finish her education.
After a couple of lost years, a kind boyfriend introduced Brooke to the idea of journalism, and suddenly, she was raring to go, earning jobs in the press gallery in Canberra for NITV, and on triple j, reading the news.
Brooke was at the height of her career, doing entertainment news on the Today show on Nine, when she made a decision that seemed to come out of left field.
In 2024 Brooke suddenly quit her high-profile job to take up an offer to study at Oxford University.
Oxford presented the opportunity to complete the unfinished business of her education after being robbed of her academic potential in high school.
In continuing to study, Brooke is focused on a life to be a not only a good auntie and sister but also a good ancestor for future generations.
Further information
Brooke's book of essays, All of It: Notes on public life, private joy and everything in between was published by Joan, an imprint of Allen & Unwin.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
This episode touches on the Voice to Parliament referendum, Aboriginal, language, climate change, Indigenous knowledge systems, aunty, ancestors, single mum, DV, domestic violence, work experience, political reporter, Tony Abbott, the news cycle, Canberra, the press gallery, parliament house, UTS, family, nieces, nephews, deep time, deep future, raise the age, age of criminal responsibility, children in prison, children in detention, Socratic method, philosophical argument, economics and politics.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The much loved actor has been on Australian TV screens and theatres for nearly 50 years. (R)
Noni Hazlehurst comes from a long line of performers, her parents met while they were part of a touring Variety act in the UK, and her great grandfather was a famous child trapeze artist.
Keeping children company on Playschool was one of her best known roles, which she had for 24 years.
In Noniâs day, Playschool was recorded in one take, unless one of the presenters swore or was bitten by a rabbit.
Further information
Noni's memoir Dropping the Mask is published by HarperCollins.
This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024.
It explores acting, theatre, television, marriage, divorce, publicity, children's television, Playschool, Better Homes and Gardens, performing, family, renovations, privacy, legacy. audience, Logie awards.
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Political advisor Ed Coper on the cold-blooded machine that is feeding angry people angry content online to make them even angrier, and what we can do about it.
Ed Coper is a political advisor and communications consultant who has worked for the Australian Labor Party, and for progressive lobby groups.
Over the past few years, he has noticed what everyone else has - people on both sides of the divide becoming increasingly vocal and angry about their politics online.
While there's no shortage of things to get outraged about in today's world, no matter where you lie on the political spectrum, Ed argues our rage is being monetised cold-bloodedly by social media platforms.
This digital, online machine has planted us in what he calls the era of 'angertainment', where an entire outrage industry is harvesting our worst impulses with algorithms that deliberately trigger the caveman switch in our brains that keeps us alert for potential threats.
But there is an antidote.
Ed says we need to understand this machine in order to build guardrails that preserve democracy, heal divisions and protect future generations from the "angry clowns" who currently rule the attention economy.
Angertainment is published in Simon and Schuster.
This episode of Conversations explores politics, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, divisive society, social cohesion, left versus right, attention spans, war, Trump, Putin, Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, elections, World War 3, the future, chronically online, rage bait, internet trolls, keyboard warriors, content farming, bots, Russia, Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Get Up, populism, political ideology, transgender issues, attention economy, MAGA, the woke left, polarised society, family violence, violence against women, misogyny, entertainment industry, Hollywood, nihilism, conservatives, progressives.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The former Canberra Raiders player on hiding his fantasy reading habits as a kid in Western Queensland, the joy of doing hard things, and how books brought him back from the brink. Warning: Discussion of suicide.
Luke was a sensitive kid, growing up on a cattle station in Western Queensland.
He loved being transported by fantasy novels â following the quests, battles and magic they offered him.
Luke found release in these books, beyond the hard work and zipped lips of the strong men he saw around him.
Luke didnât fit into that mould, though he did plenty of work on the farm and loved playing footy.
The sport helped him find a place to belong in his world.
As a young man, he scored a place in the Canberra Raiders NRL team, and was introduced to the world of gambling.
This quickly spiralled into an addiction, and Luke abused drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of this period.
Despite being at the height of his young life, and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, Luke couldnât pay for his groceries. He couldnât put fuel in the car.
He was spending all his money on betting.
When things hit rock bottom, Luke relied on the strongest, most loving person he knew â his mum.
He understood, somehow, that to get out of the deep hole he was in, he had to find his way back to reading.
Further information
Luke is writing his first two fantasy novels, which will be released in early 2027 under Atria Books Australia, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
If you need someone to speak to, you can always call or chat online with Lifeline on 13 11 14.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
This episode touches on suicide, gambling, having a flutter, addiction, rehab, love mum, strong mum, single mum, horse racing, the trots, syndicate, racing horse, borrowing money, Newcastle, rock bottom, hitting rock bottom, powerless over addiction, hero's journey, MDMA, cocaine, alcohol abuse, relapse, recovery, non-linear journey, toxic masculinity, self help, sensitive man.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Jayden Sheridan was just 17 years old when he found out he was going to be a father, and immediately Jayden knew he needed to give his son better opportunities than he ever had growing up in regional Victoria. (R)
In Seymour, which is one of the most disadvantaged postcodes in Australia, Jayden experienced homelessness, substance abuse, violence and a general lack of direction.
He had no male role models in his life, but he did have the local skate park.
It's where he went to feel safe and to feel himself, and Jayden wanted to create that same feeling for his son, and all the other kids in his town of Seymour.
What started as adhoc skate lessons quickly turned into Gnarly Neighbours, something far bigger and more impactful than 17-year-old Jayden could have imagined.
Jayden has recently been selected as a 2026 Westpac Social Change Fellow. His fellowship involves travelling across the US, Europe and the UK to learn from organisations doing similar work in creative and trauma-informed mentoring for young people.
You can learn more about Gnarly Neighbours here.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.
This episode of Conversations explores substance abuse, drug use, drug dealing, expulsion, troubled children, mental health, bipolar disorder, teen parenting, teen fatherhood, teen motherhood, skateboarding, skating, streetwear, origin stories, family dynamics, male role models, father figures, dysfunctional families, single parenting, rural and regional Australia, masculinity, manhood, rites of passage, mentoring.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The Wikipedia co-founder has developed seven rules for building trust to create a better world, both on the internet and IRL.
Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Jimmy was enamoured with his family's Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The city was home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre, and the energy of the place gave a young Jimmy a robust enthusiasm for technology and the future.
As a young man, Jimmy developed the idea to start a free, online encyclopaedia, built by strangers and shared across languages.
In 2001, Wikipedia was born, and for a time it was derided.
Now, the website is a mainstay of the internet and a resource trusted by many.
Jimmy says Wikipedia is all about strangers working together on the internet, in pursuit of a common goal, powered by their shared enthusiasm, and that is something to celebrate.
Further information
The Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower is published by Bloomsbury.
This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
It covers Twitter, X, trolls, vandalism, respect, civility, not-for-profit, tech bros, volunteers, social media ban, nupedia, servers, bots, AI, meconium aspiration syndrome, authenticity, empathy, logic, abortion, internet traffic, shouting online and civil discussion.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Joh Jarvis was a high-flying boss when grief from a terrible loss began to overwhelm her. She tried therapy, exercise and healthy eating. Then she found Vedic meditation, and the experience was 'psychedelic'. (R)
Joh Jarvis is a Vedic meditation teacher in New York City.
On a regular basis Joh travels to the notorious Rikers Island Prison in the Bronx.
There, she teaches meditation to men waiting on remand.
Inside a prison which is often violent and chaotic, she aims to give them a new way of coping.
Joh grew up in Adelaide, and always wanted to live amidst the bright lights of New York.
After a stint as a bicycle courier, she worked her way up to management at the ABC.
As she approached 50, she had a well-paying job, a nice house, and strong connections with friends and family.
But long-term grief had hollowed her out, and she asked herself, is this all there is?
Then she was introduced to Vedic meditation, and she says her first encounter was 'psychedelic'.
Read more about Joh's work at Rikers Island and other US prisons at her website The Light Inside.
And you can see Joh in action on ABC TV's Compass.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.
It explores epic life stories, family dynamics, grief, loss, reflection, Vedic meditation, meditation, personal stories, origin stories, death, career, giving back, New York City, Rikers Island prison, incarceration, justice system, prison system, mindfulness, mantras, health and wellness, suicide.
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Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into a money- and status-obsessed young man, who mixed with gangsters and shady businessmen.
Patrick's new book begins with the description of a scene that was picked up by a surveillance camera in London in the early hours of a November morning in 2019.
The footage showed a grainy image of a shadowy figure, anxiously moving about the balcony of a luxury apartment.
That young man's name was Zac Brettler.
He was 19 years old, and hours later his body was discovered on the banks of the River Thames.
Patrick Radden Keefeâs investigation explores Zacâs secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch, and delves into the true identities of the wealthy gangsters who were there in his final hours.
Further information
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth is published by Pan Macmillan Australia.
This episode covers grief, fantasy life, con artists, London underworld, Boris Johnson, family tragedy, luxury, Holocaust survivors, rabbi, Mill Hill school, young men, making money, raising boys, Roman Abramovich, oligarch, plutocrat, MI6 and true crime.
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 youâll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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