Cirrus@Austlit

'Conversations with Richard Fidler takes you into the exceptional lives of people you′ve never met... people who were living ordinary lives when Something Happened. There′s an explorer who mapped Antarctica in the fifties, with heavy woollen clothing and dog sleds under the shimmering polar sky; a principal who brought philosophy to every part of her primary school′s curriculum and saw the children benefit academically and emotionally; the casting director who discovered as a schoolgirl that her father had been importing large amounts of heroin when police raided the family home; the cartoonist and artist Bill Leak who recounts his bizarre hallucinatory experience of recovering from a head injury ; a community activist and former gangster who experienced a religious moment when a gun was put to his head; and a man who decided to set off in a kayak one day from the Victorian border and kept going all the way to Papua New Guinea.

'In this collection of fifteen stories, Richard Fidler skill as an interviewer is revealed as he draws out people′s deepest hopes and fears, and their stories of ingenuity, failure, triumph and loss.' (From the publisher's website.)

'This CD features a selection of six of the best from the program including: 1. JENNIFER SAUNDERS Comedian, writer and actor Jennifer Saunders admits to being one of the world's great procrastinators. 2. MURRAY ARKADIEFF In his life as a bee keeper, Murray Arkadieff has been stung thousands of times. 3. WENDY JAMES Wendy James has twice survived the destruction of Darwin: when it was bombed during WWII, and then, when Cyclone Tracy hit. 4. DIARMAID MACCULLOCH Diarmaid MacCulloch's recent history of Christianity is an expansive account of the religion's growth, struggles and paradoxes. 5. ELEANOR LEARMONTH Eleanor Learmonth is fascinated by true stories of people who've been stranded and isolated in hostile circumstances. 6. STAN GRANT Television journalist Stan Grant is urbane and articulate on screen, but has travelled a long road to success.'  (Publication summary)

'Conversations with Richard Fidler draws you deeper into the human experience. This CD features a selection of six of the best from the program including: 1. John Howard 2. Magda Szubanski 3. Kate Forsyth 4. Captain Frank Dell 5. Pip Courtney 6. Peter Hoysted' (Publication summary)

'Conversations with Richard Fidler draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may, or may not, have heard about - someone who has seen and done amazing things.

'This CD features a selection of six of the best interviews from the program:

'Bill Bailey is a comedian, actor and gifted musician with an endless fascination for creatures and wild places.

'Julee-Ann Bell was born blind and uses a form of echo-location to navigate her way around the world.

'Gregory Smith walked himself into the wider world after years of homelessness, and extreme seclusion.

'Rhoda Roberts lives with the strength of her father's culture and the loss of her twin sister.

'Jeanette Winterson endured a difficult childhood to become one of Britain's most successful writers.

'Warren Brown on the mystery of Lasseter's Reef: a purported gold deposit in the harsh terrain of Central Australia.' (Publication summary)

'Let Richard Fidler draw you deeper into the human experience with the fourth volume of Conversations with Richard Fidler.

'Conversations with Richard Fidler draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may, or may not, have heard about – someone who has seen and done amazing things.

'This CD features six interviews from the program:

'Rosemary Stanton is a well known independent nutritionist but what’s less known about her is that she was brought up in a religious sect.

'Professor Jack Beetson was told in school ‘Aboriginal kids just don’t do those harder subjects’ and despite being an outstanding student left school early. He eventually returned to further his education and now champions Indigenous literacy programs all over Australia.

'Lily Bailey has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, something that she concealed from her parents, and friends until she no longer could.

'Graham Long is the CEO and Pastor of the Wayside Chapel in Sydney’s King’s Cross. He lives by the creed that people are not problems to be solved but people to be met.

'Mark Pesce has more than 30 years experience with digital technology. He explores the future being built for us by the likes of Facebook and wonders whether the time is coming when we may not be able to tell the real world from an illusory digital alternative.

'Candice Fox is an award-winning crime fiction writer and her childhood was anything but ordinary.'  (Publication summary)

'Let Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski draw you deeper into the human experience with the fifth volume of A Collection of Conversations.

'Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may or may not, have heard about - someone who has seen and done amazing things.

'Benny Agius

When doctors told Benny Agius her baby son had Down syndrome, she was full of anxiety about his future. Then Richard grew up to defy everyone’s expectations.

'Beverly Bass

On 9/11, Captain Beverley Bass diverted her American Airlines jet to a tiny town in Newfoundland, along with thousands of other airspace refugees.

'Bryan Brown

Bryan’s played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world.

'Meg Keneally

The epic life story of a First Fleet rebel as told by Meg Keneally.

'David Gillespie

David Gillespie on how Fortnite and Instagram are altering the neural pathways of a generation.

'Mary-Louise McLaws

Epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws on life during COVID-19, the virus she classifies as both vulnerable and ruthless.' (Publication summary)