Conversations: Our Evolving World

China's cultural revolution was murderously violent and culturally devastating; millions of people, artefacts and ideas went up in smoke. So what's fuelling today's Neo-Maoist movement and nostalgia for that period?In 1966, the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong went to war against his own government.What followed was ten years of murderous violence and utter insanity, until Mao's death in 1976.Children were urged to denounce their parents, teachers were beaten to death in front of howling mobs, youths were 're-educated', the economy was ruined, and so much of the precious cultural heritage of a great, ancient society went up in smoke.The 'Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution' left such deep scars on China, that subsequent leaders have tried to bury its memory.But, still some young Chinese people — 'Neo-Moaists' — have a sense of nostalgia for the violent revolution they didn't even live through.In order to understand what's going on in China today, you need to know what happened in those strange and terrifying years, and how it affected President Xi Zinping, who had a front row seat to the terror.Further informationBombard the Headquarters is published by Black Inc.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.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.This episode of Conversations explores political violence, revolution, propaganda, China, Asia, totalitarianism, Farewell my Concubine, Asia Pacific, Lenin, Marxism, Socialism, civil war, the long march, neo-Maoist movement, great leap forward, political upheaval, class warfare, status quo, drain the swamp, mass murder, infanticide, conspiracy theories, Tiananmen Square, red guards, coup, dictatorship, nostalgia.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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

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 espionage charges for more than three years, much of that time spent in isolation.When Cheng Lei moved back to the country of her birth after the dramatic opening up of China to the world, she was a part of something exciting and historic.That all changed after Xi Jinping came to power, and Australia's relations with China deteriorated.In this first episode of a two-part series, Lei explains how eventually, she found herself detained on bogus espionage charges, and held for more than three years in a Chinese detention centre.For the first six months of her detention, Lei was isolated and alone except for the rotating female guards who stood over her 24 hours a day.Lei was not allowed to speak to these guards, she was forced to sit on the edge of her bed for 14 hours a day, she had to ask permission to do anything, she was not allowed to close her eyes and intermittently she was taken to a room, tied down in a chair and interrogated about allegedly sharing state secrets with foreigners.Lei learned how to ration books, she practised German vocabulary, wrote scripts in her head and thought of her two children to stay sane under torturous conditions.Further informationListen to the second part of Richard's extraordinary conversation with Cheng Lei here.Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom is published by HarperCollins.Cheng Lei: My Story is a documentary made by Sky News Australia. It is available to stream at SkyNews.com.au.Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Meggie Morris.Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.This episode of Conversations explores CCP, Covid, propaganda, communism, paranoia, Marise Payne, Scott Morrison, family separation, career changes, jail, justice system, Chinese Communist Party, embassy, diplomatic relations, CCTV, state broadcaster, media, television, news anchor, single mothers, trade, tariffs, books, writing, motherhood, parenting, Tiananmen Square, personal stories, origin.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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Following the coup of 2021, Australian economist Sean Turnell received an email from a "secret friend", warning him he was being watched by Myanmar's military. Moments later, the police closed in on him.Sean Turnell is an Australian economist with longstanding connections to Myanmar, the nation formerly known as Burma.In 2016, Sean was appointed as senior economic advisor to the dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, who had become the country's prime minister after decades of military rule.The country had another election, and democracy was cemented. But the military staged a coup in 2021, and Sean was arrested and charged with being a spy, and imprisoned in a sealed room the size of a shipping container.For nearly two years, Sean struggled to keep his mind and body together, while his wife and the Australian government campaigned for his release.This episode of Conversations touches on an epic life story, personal story, grief, memoir, reflection, death, modern history, an exploration of Myanmar, political history, Burma, civil war, prison, jail, death row, political prisoners.Further informationSean's memoir An Unlikely Prisoner and Sean's recollection of the economic rehabilitation program, Best Laid Plans: The inside story of reform in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar are published by PenguinTo 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

People travel from all over the world to learn about horses from Ken Faulkner. But after a life-threatening riding accident on his favourite horse, Smoke, Ken had to learn to walk and ride again, rediscovering himself in the process

Archaeologist David Wengrow has discovered an entirely new way to think about the history of humanity, from the origins of farming, cities, democracy and slavery to civilisation itself.What sort of world could we create if we stopped believing that inequality is the price of progress?More than a decade ago, archaeologist David Wengrow started exploring this question with his friend the late David Graeber, an anthropologist.Together they unearthed a new picture of humanity's past and our shared future.The two Davids found many examples from human history of societies which flourished without kings, bureaucracies, palaces and poorhouses.They realised that the notion that humans have to surrender equality for modernity is not only untrue; it's boring, because it fails to recognise how politically creative humans can be.On Anzac Day in 1935, a tiger shark vomited up a tattooed human arm inside a Sydney aquarium.When Phil Roope looked into the cold case he found an astounding true tale of Sydney's fascination and horror around sharks in the 1930s, a severed arm emblazed with boxing tattoos, a homicide, police corruption, a Gladstone Bag, and a thriving smuggling racket for drugs, stockings and lead paint.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.Further informationShark Arm is published by Allen and UnwinFurther informationThe Dawn of Everything is published by PenguinRichard's conversation with David Wengrow was recorded live at the Sydney Writers' Festival

Kylie Moore-Gilbert spent two years inside the Iranian prison system, secretly communicating with fellow women prisoners while she waited for news from Australia

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost. Anh is an academic and community volunteer. She grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family.Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe.But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war. In the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape.Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hoped would take them to the Philippines.They intended to bring 40 people with them, but on the day of departure 101 people crowded on board, before the boat sailed into a once-in-a-century storm on the South China Sea.Years later, Anh found film footage of their rescue, at a moment when almost all hope was lost.After their rescue, her family made it to a refugee camp in the Philippines, then to America, where Anh grew up to attend some of the world's most prestigious universities before she became an academic herself.Further informationThe rescue of 101 Boat was filmed for Medecins du MondeTo 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Dr Kira Westaway is a geochronologist who places modern and ancient humans in context by dating things found in caves. For Kira, how we understand ourselves now, is tied up in the past

One of the foremost historians of black and white Australia, Henry says now is the time to acknowledge how the country was founded. Frontier violence, the myth of peaceful settlement, and the failure of the British to make treaties with the First Nations have led to consequences we still live with today (CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners)When Henry moved to Townsville to teach history in 1965, there were almost no mentions of Aboriginal people in the core Australian history textbook.He soon began his life's work of studying the intersection between settlers and Australia's First Nations and was shocked to discover the gaping holes in the country's story. He found that even at the time Australia was claimed by the British, it was seen as legally shoddy and morally dubious. He says the British messed up the colonisation of Australia by not making treaties with the First Nations, and that we're still living with the consequences of frontier violence today.(CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners. Please use discretion.)Further informationTruth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement is published by NewSouthTo 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when hand-rearing a magpie nestling. After it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers and began her research into avian behaviour. Her many books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking.Many assumptions about the nature of birds and their behaviour are completely wrong when applied to Australian birds.Gisela Kaplan was a professor of sociology when a magpie nestling she was hand raising bonded closely with her, followed her about, and learned to speak.Her curiosity about birds became so strong she switched careers to become a field biologist and animal behaviourist.Based in Armidale NSW, Gisela has conducted extensive research into avian behaviour. Her second PhD was a study of the songs of Australian magpies.Gisela's many books on Australian native birds have changed the way these creatures are understood.Along with her teaching, writing and research in ornithology, Gisela has been a wildlife carer for 25 years, raising countless birds of all ages.Further informationBird Bonds: sex, mate-choice and cognition in Australian native birds is published by MacmillanGisela's earlier books include Bird Minds, Tawny Frogmouth, and Australian MagpieGisela is Emeritus Professor of animal behaviour at the University of New England 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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Saving the orphaned kangaroo joeys of Central Australia

Lisa-Ann Gershwin discovered a new species of deadly Irukandji jellyfish. Lisa-Ann Gershwin was in her late 20s when she visited a small aquarium in Los Angeles. There she found white moon jellyfish in a tank, hanging 'like clouds in the sky'.They were the most beautiful, mesmerising creatures Lisa had ever seen, and that day set her life's work in motion.She's now one of the world's foremost jellyfish biologists who has discovered more than 200 species, including one she named Bazinga.She says jellyfish blooms pose an increasing risk to the world's oceans, and there's only one way to stop them.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, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Broadcast date: Tuesday 17 January 2012