Saroo was born in India. One night, when he was five, he went with his older brother to scrounge for food at a train station.

He fell asleep in a train carriage which carried him away while he slept, across the country, to the huge city of Calcutta.

Saroo found himself alone, with nothing but what he was wearing. He lived off the streets before being taken in by institutions.

He was then adopted by an Australian couple, and brought to their home in Hobart. Nothing at all was known of his birth family.

As an adult, Saroo began the near-impossible task of using his childhood memories, and Google Earth, to locate his lost family in India.

Original broadcast September 2013

Audio and image copyright ABC Radio

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Saroo's memoir, 'A Long Way Home' is published by Penguin
The film based on Saroo's story, 'Lion', will be released in 2016

Conversations with Richard Fidler

Adoptee Saroo Brierley's incredible search for his Indian family (true story of 'Lion')

Robert and Grant met as University of Queensland students in the mid 1970s.

Grant was from North Queensland and determined to become a film auteur.

Robert hailed from suburban Brisbane, and has said meeting Grant was like finding a 'long-lost friend'.

When Robert persuaded Grant to join him in a band and taught him the fundamentals of bass guitar, they ignited a creative spark that would endure for 30 years.

Despite having no 'hits', their band, The Go-Betweens, made nine hugely influential studio albums, and garnered legions of loyal fans worldwide.

The band's story has two chapters, the second coming after a ten year break in the 1990s.

When they reformed in 2000, The Go-Betweens made three albums of new material, and their star was in the ascendant.

The story of one of music's strongest song-writing partnerships ended with Grant McLennan's death in 2006.

Origianl broadcast September 2016
Audio and image copyright ABC Radio

For more interviews and to subscribe to our podcast:
http://www.abc.net.au/conversations

Robert's book, 'Grant & I: Inside and Outside The Go-Betweens' is published by Penguin

Robert Forster on his friend and Go-Betweens co-founder, Grant McLennan

Alexei grew up in Liverpool, the son of ardent and eccentric communists.

He was working in an experimental drama group when he auditioned for a new comedy club in London's Soho.

The club became The Comedy Store - it introduced a new generation of comedians to the world, and changed the face of British comedy.

After many years of performing in stand-up shows, film, and television (such as The Young Ones), Alexei began his second career as a writer.

His published work includes two novels, short story collections, a novella, and two memoirs.

Audio and image copyright ABC Radio

Original broadcast September 2016
Conversation recorded at the Melbourne Writers' Festival

For more interviews and to subscribe to the podcast:
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Further information
'Thatcher Stole My Trousers' is published by Bloomsbury
'Stalin Ate My Homework' was the first volume of Alexei's memoirs



Alexei Sayle: the life and times of the UK comedian and writer

As a child, Candice knew her family wasn't what most people would consider normal.
Their Christmas included lunch at Long Bay jail, where her father worked.
And at home, her mother, Ocean, was rescuing lost people, and injured native animals; and collecting things from the council cleanup.
In one 5-year period, Ocean fostered more than 140 children.
To escape, Candice would immerse herself in her mother's collection of illustrated true crime stories.
Then she began writing stories of her own, and went on to become one of the world's best-selling crime authors.

As well as winning numerous awards for her own novels, Candice collaborates with writer, James Patterson.

'Crimson Lake' is published by Random House

Listen to the entire 50 minute interview with Candice Fox here:
http://bit.ly/FoxCandice

Image and audio copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Crime writer Candice Fox - the time Mum rescued an echidna

*This account was created by the program's creators*
Named by iTunes Australia as 'Most Downloaded Podcast' 2018, 2017, 2016 & 2015.

Conversations with draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. 
Produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast daily on ABC Local Radio and ABC Radio National.
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