Conversations

Nikki Goldstein was in a coma in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital when she first 'met' Rabbi Eli Schlanger. When she woke, the pair embarked together on a project to share the wisdom, compassion and universality of several Jewish teachings.
Although they were from very different worlds, when Nikki gained consciousness and met Rabbi Eli properly the two became fast friends.
Then, they started writing a book together - based on the deep and expansive conversations they began having about hope, personal growth, spirituality and modern life.
Rabbi Eli wanted Nikki's help to share seven ancient Jewish guidelines on living a good life, which he believed could be helpful to anyone, Jewish or not, who was looking for a way to live in a world that feels increasingly chaotic.
While Nikki and Rabbi Eli didn't agree on everything all the time, they did both believe these teachings to be universal in their compassion and wisdom.
The pair had just recorded their last conversation for the project in December last year, when Rabbi Eli was one of 15 people killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Nikki decided to honour his memory by finishing their book alone.
Conversations with My Rabbi is published by HarperCollins.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores religion, faith, modern living, disconnection, hope, radical empathy, togetherness, multiculturalism, learning from others, spiritual, family, near-death experiences, autoimmune disease, anti-Semitism, terrorism, grief, tragedy, suffering, meaning of life, spiritual teachings, friendship, prayer, meditation, Judaism, secularism.
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.

Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney on the heartwarming and heartbreaking reasons humans continue to lovingly tend to their gardens — for healing, beauty and joy.
For thousands of years, tending to a garden or a small farm meant human survival. 
But now, with massive commercial farms, genetically modified crops, refrigerated freight and modern irrigation, we don't need to tend to our own gardens to survive.
So why, then, do so many of us still lovingly plant, water and cultivate flowers, fruits and vegetables? Or watch 'lawn porn' to relax?
It's a question that Hannah Moloney has asked thousands of gardeners from around the world.
Hannah is a permaculture educator, landscape designer and the Tasmanian presenter for ABC TV's Gardening Australia. 
Gardening is in Hannah's blood, having grown up in a herb nursery run by her green-thumbed father in the Brisbane suburbs.
For Hannah, gardening remains a lifeline, a way to bond with her family and a joyful act of protest.
Why We Garden is published by Simon & Schuster.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores gardening, hobbies, outdoor activities, mental health, grief gardening, why we like being outdoors, gardening as meditation, the beauty of our gardens, Australian native gardens, vegetable patches, how to grow your own vegetables, fruit trees, family origin stories, losing a parent, pregnancy, motherhood, postpartum depression, gardening for healing, creative inspiration, human history, horticulture, climate change, global warming, food scarcity, food supply, drought, flood, famine, Costa Georgiadis, green thumb, meditation.
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.

Zenith Virago was a married mother of two, when she left her family to begin again as a lesbian.  Then she found a new path as a death walker, helping people navigate their life's end. 
Zenith grew up in England, and she was still at school when she fell in love with another student. 
At seventeen, she married Richard, Head Boy of the local Comprehensive school. 
They had two children, Jodie and Todd.
Then at 24, Zenith had a realisation about who she really was. She left her husband and children to begin a new life as a lesbian in New Zealand,
Eventually she arrived in Byron Bay, where she met a community of people who inspired her.
One day, Zenith's dear friend Sylvia died unexpectedly doing yoga in her garden. Rather than outsourcing to the funeral industry, Sylvia's loved ones took over her funeral and cremation themselves.
This experience launched a new path for Zenith, and she became a ‘death walker’, helping people navigate the end of life with reverence and calm.
In the midst of her new chapter, the death of a former lover brought her third son Tane back into her life unexpectedly.
Further information
Original broadcast February 2019
Learn about Zenith Virago's Natural Death Care Centre
Help and information are always available
Lifeline 13 11 14 24 hour counselling
Beyond Blue's telephone and online counselling 1300 22 4636

Conductor Alexander Briger has led orchestras all over the world. But his niche occupation is not the only fascinating thing about him. Alex's family history is wild.
Alexander Briger has stood in front of musicians all over the world, summoning a gigantic, beautiful noise from them.
Classical music was a huge part of Alex’s story growing up.
He is the nephew of the famous conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras; and descended from the so-called "father of Australian music", Isaac Nathan.
Another branch of Alex's family tree astonishingly connects him to the man who murdered Rasputin.
Rasputin was a Russian peasant and mystic, whose abilities as a faith healer drew him into the inner circle of the Russian Tzars.
Fearing his destructive grip on the monarchy, a posse of aristocrats led by Alex’s ancestor, Prince Felix Yusupov, drew Rasputin into a trap, luring him to his death in a Saint Petersburg basement in 1916.
In recent years, Alex was invited to Russia to conduct a modern opera, coincidentally called and about Rasputin, in a full circle moment.
Alex is back in Australia right now as the chief conductor and artistic director of the Australian World Orchestra, the only ensemble of its kind in the world.
The Australian World Orchestra is playing in Melbourne on 19 August and in Sydney on 20 August. You can find out more about the orchestra and its performances online.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores classical music, Russian revolution, family history, Paris, Munich, Berlin Philharmonic, conducting, symphony, Mahler, the great Western composers, Wagner, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Jewish Australians, whacky history, Yusupov, how did Rasputin die, European politics, Bolshevik Revolution, the October Revolution, exile, ballet, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australian classical music, Australian expats.
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.

Adele Dumont was a teenager when she first started pulling out her hair, an urge that became so uncontrollable she was left with a bald spot.
She would sometimes enter a trancelike state, covertly sitting on her bathroom floor, picking at her scalp for hours on end.
The urge to pull at her hair was uncontrollable, and secret.
When Adele finally put a name to her behaviour, she learnt that trichotillomania has a complex history and psychological understanding, much of which remains unknown.
This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024
The producer was Meggie Morris and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney
Further information
The Pulling is published by Scribe
Some helpful resources on trichotillomania include Trich Stop and The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours