Best Tonga PEAK TIMES Podcasts (2025)

1
Situationships, risks and growing pains — Jemma Sbeg on surviving your 20s 52:00

20h ago52:00

52:00

From relationships and loneliness, to indecision and burnout, Jemma Sbeg is your guide to navigating your 20s, and looking back on that decade with a new perspective. When Jemma Sbeg started recording a podcast in the back of her Subaru about her quarter life crisis, she had no idea just how many people she would reach. But other people her age wer…

1
A life spent making — ‘Mr Millimetre’s’ memories 51:06

2d ago51:06

51:06

Jeffrey Broadfield has made building his life. It has taken him around the world, and given him a place to belong.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

1
Encore: Mt Druitt to Tonga, how Winnie embraced her cultural heritage 51:00

5d ago51:00

51:00

Winnie Dunn was a teenager when the Chris Lilley character 'Jonah from Tonga' became a national joke and as a Tongan Australian the stereotype made her feel uncomfortable. Despite being born into a big Tongan family in Western Sydney, Winnie felt conflicted about her heritage growing up. But over time her understanding of what it means to be Tongan…

1
Jamila Rizvi’s one in a million brain tumour 53:14

6d ago53:14

53:14

Jamila’s craniopharyngioma had been growing for years, unbeknownst to her. In hindsight, it was her son who gave the first clue, when he stopped breastfeeding overnight at 11 months old. Today Jamila is an author, a broadcaster and the deputy managing director of Future Women, dedicated to achieving gender equity in Australian workplaces. A few yea…

1
Slapped by a whale's tail, and other animal adventures 51:12

7d ago51:12

51:12

Whale and dolphin researcher, Barry McGovern’s love of sea creatures started in Clare, Ireland, when as a child he met the county’s solitary, friendly dolphin, named for the singer Dusty Springfield. Barry grew up in a tiny surfing village where he knew all the bird calls off by heart. His interest in animal science led him to Edinburgh Zoo, where …

1
Adam Kay — the magic and misery of doctoring, comedy and fatherhood 46:36

8d ago46:36

46:36

After a caesarean section on his labour ward went catastrophically wrong, Adam Kay took a radical inventory of his entire life. CW: traumatic childbirth, eating disorders. Adam was not far off qualifying as an obstetric consultant in the United Kingdom, when he decided he couldn't be a doctor any longer. He couldn't face ever again experiencing the…

1
Briana, Max and Freddy: love, trains and mouth music 52:42

9d ago52:42

52:42

Briana Blackett was a journalist in Qatar when she realised her baby son Max wasn't responding to his name. When Max and his little brother Freddy were both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Briana left Doha to begin an entirely different life (R)By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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Encore: breaking the silence around men's mental health 53:00

12d ago53:00

53:00

Jonno Seidler with the story of his Dad Ray, a much-loved and successful doctor, who hid his private struggles from the world. Behind closed doors, Ray Seidler was locked in a herculean fight with his own mental health. His frequent bouts of depression caused him to regularly 'run away' from his own home and family, and eventually led to his suicid…

1
Learning from the mighty matriarchs of the animal kingdom 52:03

13d ago52:03

52:03

Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. Despite practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, Erna kept her nerve. She 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 Sp…

1
Mawunyo's life in love, journalism and hip hop 52:18

14d ago52:18

52:18

Mawunyo Gbogbo was raised as a church-going African Australian girl in the sleepy mining town of Muswellbrook, before she grew up to become a hip-hop journalist and a writer (R) Mawunyo's parents had met in Ghana, migrating to Australia when she was a baby. At high school, Mawunyo fell hard for a charismatic boy, and for the first time, she was int…

1
Inside the mind of a dog, and a pig named Habib 46:00

15d ago46:00

46:00

Luke Hura has an innate ability to understand and communicate with animals, and for decades he's been training them for film, television and the stage. You’ve probably seen one of Luke's dogs in action — he trained Bouncer, the labrador from Neighbours, the kelpie from the film Red Dog, and the maremma who starred in Oddball. Luke has trained cats,…

1
Encore: The case of the unknown sailor 46:34

19d ago46:34

46:34

In 2007, Jeremy Austin was asked by the Royal Australian Navy to help them identify the remains of an unknown sailor from World War II. Using the best forensic DNA technology, he embarked on a quest to figure out who this man was and to track down his surviving descendants. This episode of Conversations explores DNA science, world war 2, Australian…

1
Adam Liaw’s longing for food 48:23

20d ago48:23

48:23

The Masterchef graduate shares what he learned from his grandmother, who won the lottery in Malaysia when she was a 25-year-old widow with three children to care for. After Adam's parents met and married, the family emigrated to Australia when Adam was three-years-old. He and his brother sped through school in Adelaide and Adam went on to become a …

1
Listening to a mountain to save workers trapped underground 50:18

21d ago50:18

50:18

In 2023, Arnold Dix helped rescue 41 men trapped in a tunnel after it collapsed high in the Himalayas. As an engineer and tunnel expert, he was uniquely placed to assist, but Arnold also used another skill in the high risk operation: he listened to the mountain.The successful rescue made Arnold a hero to millions of people across India and it was i…

1
The physics and feeling of floating — why Angelica learnt to swim 42:30

22d ago42:30

42:30

Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis grew up in Sydney, famous for its coastline and beachside existence. But for reasons beyond her control, she didn't learn to swim until she took the plunge as an adult. Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis has achieved a lot in her young life. She is a social researcher at Western Sydney University, she has represented Australia …

1
Encore: Grief, loss and the healing power of the natural world 50:18

26d ago50:18

50:18

In 2013, Raynor Winn and her husband, Moth lost their beloved farm in Wales, it was where they'd lived for 20 years and raised their children. In the same week, Moth was diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease and doctors gave him just two years to live. Homeless and with their future together rapidly shrinking, Raynor and Moth decided to …

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The epic escape story of four ANZAC POWs — through the Italian Alps to freedom 50:06

27d ago50:06

50:06

Writer and tour guide Simon Tancred on the little-known ANZAC story of how a group of POWs made a daring escape on foot to neutral Switzerland. Simon Tancred fell in love with Italy as a young man, and set up a job for himself leading hikes and tours across the country, and into the Alps. So Simon was familiar with the old trails and passes that cr…

1
Made in Burnie — Justin Heazlewood on swapping fame for his hometown 52:00

28d ago52:00

52:00

Justin Heazlewood fled a complicated early life in Tasmania searching for fame as an artist on the mainland. Recently he moved back to his home town of Burnie, and realised community is where you find it. Justin Heazlewood grew up in Burnie, a coastal town on the North West coast of Tasmania. For years he imagined his hometown as somewhere he had t…

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From Manila to Sydney — how Loribelle found family, love and her art 52:00

29d ago52:00

52:00

The artist Loribelle Spirovski on her unusual childhood in the Philippines, meeting her father for the first time at 7 years old, and making her way as one of Australia's most exciting young painters. Loribelle Spirovski grew up in the Philippines, with her mum and her extended Filipino family. Her Serbian father, whom she had never met, was in Aus…

1
Encore: The poker-playing cardiologist 52:30

1M ago52:30

52:30

As a child, before she escaped communist Hungary, Bo Remenyi had no ambitions. But when she got to Australia all of that changed. She's gone from cruising the casino floor as a high-stakes professional poker player, to saving the lives of children in remote Australia. (R) In 2018, Dr Bo Remenyi was made the Northern Territory’s Australian of the Ye…

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Miles Franklin's secret life as a 'boy sober' undercover maid 48:30

1M ago48:30

48:30

Journalist Kerrie Davies with the story of how novelist Miles Franklin went undercover as a maid for a year, in Sydney and Melbourne's wealthy houses, well before gonzo journalists became household names. The real-life story of novelist Stella Maria Miles Franklin had an unexpected chapter after publishing My Brilliant Career. In 1903, Miles became…

1
The life-changing power of a choir 51:06

1M ago51:06

51:06

Song propelled Morris Stuart from his early life shepherding sheep in British Guyana to an unlikely love story in London. In his retirement, he found himself shaping a choir of Central Australian Aboriginal women, who had been breathing life into 138-year-old Lutheran hymns. Morris Stuart met his Australian wife, Barbara in London in the 1960s. The…

1
The wisdom of an ancient Pencil Pine 52:12

1M ago52:12

52:12

Nature writer Andrew Darby on what he learned from his rambles through the wilds of Tasmania, communing with the world’s oldest surviving trees. In particular, his ‘buttock clenching’ ascent up a 60-metre-tall eucalyptus known as The Vibe Tower. Nature writer, Andrew Darby spent more than 20 years as a Fairfax correspondent based in Tasmania. His s…

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Encore: A daring escape from Vietnam to the halls of prestigious American universities 50:48

1M ago50:48

50:48

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 the South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost (R) Anh is an academic and community volunteer who grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family. Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a clo…

1
How Vincent Fantauzzo's life was saved by love and painting 52:00

1M ago52:00

52:00

When artist Vincent Fantauzzo was a boy he was a street-fighting petty criminal with dyslexia and a blazing talent for drawing. He escaped jail time, and grew up to become one of Australia's most well-known portrait artists. VIncent Fantauzzo is one of Australia's most successful portrait artists. For his luminous, photo-realistic paintings he's wo…

1
'Mistakes were made' — a live storytelling experience 52:22

1M ago52:22

52:22

Rebecca Huntley, Rick Morton, Julia Zemiro and Sarah Kanowski bring you stories of human failure, misadventure and outright fiasco in a live storytelling event recorded at Adelaide Writers Week. A few weeks ago, some former guests of Conversations, and our two presenters gathered at the Adelaide Town Hall. The event was a live storytelling hour, wi…

1
Two sisters, Dod and Brattle - the lesbian poet, and the evangelical Christian 54:18

1M ago54:18

54:18

Josie McSkimming on growing up with her bohemian sister, the poet Dorothy Porter, and how their lives took off on wildly diverging paths as they grew up. Sisters Dorothy and Josie Porter grew up in an interesting and sometimes volatile home on the northern beaches of Sydney in the 1970s. Together with their middle sister Mary, they lived in a world…

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Encore: Doctor Koppe — PTSD and me 52:06

2M ago52:06

52:06

Hilton Koppe was a beloved country GP for 30 years before an unexpected health crisis of his own forced him to reassess everything (R) Hilton Koppe grew up knowing his parents wanted him to become a doctor and so when he got the marks to make it into medicine, they were overjoyed. By the time he was 30, he'd started working as a country GP. Hilton …

1
Shaking — escaping the grip of a lifelong tremor 51:18

2M ago51:18

51:18

Journalist and author Sonya Voumard on the rare neurological condition that has stalked her since a family tragedy during her childhood. Sonya Voumard was on the precipice of teen hood when her father suddenly and unexpectedly died. In the months following his death, Sonya developed a tremor in her right hand, not dissimilar to the shaking she some…

1
Loneliness — it's not only you 52:18

2M ago52:18

52:18

Loneliness is a universal experience, for each of us at some point in our lives. Journalist Ros Thomas travelled the world to investigate, and find the antidote. Ros spent a year travelling around the world to research something all of us have experienced — loneliness. She met an old man who had learned to thrive through crushing grief with the hel…

1
The fearless Kate McClymont — weathering death threats and court cases for work 53:30

2M ago53:30

53:30

The chief investigative reporter on her work exposing criminals and corruption, including former politician, Eddie Obeid and financial fraudster, Melissa Caddick. Kate McClymont is chief investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. She grew up on a farm in NSW, and during university, funded her start in Sydney by setting up a busking booth…

1
Encore: Krystyna Duszniak and Poland's lost histories 52:04

2M ago52:04

52:04

As a young woman, Krystyna thought her father had taught her everything about Poland’s history, but she didn’t know that what he’d left out would become a focus of her life (R) Growing up, Krystyna Duszniak's father didn't speak a word of English to her, instilling in her a love of the Polish language, literature, history and culture. As the child …

1
Life on the lam — how Peter escaped from under his fugitive father's shadow 53:00

2M ago53:00

53:00

Peter Norris's father was a notorious bank robber who lived life on the run, dragging his boy across the country with him, until Peter refused to go with him one last time. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make. Peter Norris grew up on the run with his criminal father, Clarence 'Clarry' Norris. Every time Clarry was arrested, he would fin…

1
Martha, baby Michael and the police officer who cried 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

Martha Jabour was a young mum when her baby son Michael died suddenly. In the thick of her grief, she worried for the devastated young police officer who had come to her home that day, before he unexpectedly reappeared in her life (CW: this conversation discusses the death of a child). Martha Jabour has lived through the worst possible day for a pa…

1
Undercover hitmen, shady drug deals and covert surveillance — life as a top cop 53:00

2M ago53:00

53:00

While working as an undercover cop, Nick Kaldas played a drug baron in the market for vast quantities of hemp oil, tracked a fugitive with a penchant for hair transplants, and posed as a hit man for a spurned lover. Nick was a 21-year-old immigrant lad from Egypt when he decided to join the NSW Police Force. He soon rose up the ranks from working a…

1
Encore: Andy Paschalidis on the death on the football pitch which changed everything 48:30

2M ago48:30

48:30

Football tragic Andy Paschalidis was in his 50s when a dear friend and fellow player died during an over-35s soccer game. The tragedy inspired him to begin a whole new story for himself, and the sport (R) Andy grew up in Sydney's Balmain when it was a working-class suburb, full of migrant families. His parents had arrived in Australia from Greece a…

1
Tim Winton on staying alive, in extremis 47:24

2M ago47:24

47:24

Australian writer Tim Winton on the stories which inspired his latest novel, 'Juice', a story of determination, survival, and the limits of the human spirit. 'Juice' is an astonishing feat of imagination. It takes us to a far-off future on a superheated planet, where people must live like desert frogs in Northwest Australia. They go underground for…

1
Love, death and duels — Marie Curie's radioactive life 53:54

2M ago53:54

53:54

The Polish-French physicist and chemist is famous for discovering radium, but Marie Curie was more than her accomplishments. From 'the flying university' to great loves and losses, Dava Sobel investigates her extraordinary life. Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, and the first person to win a second Nobel Prize. But alongs…

1
Could you live forever? The neuroscience behind brain preservation, consciousness and death 50:18

2M ago50:18

50:18

Would you want to live for longer? Forever? Have your mind preserved and uploaded into something non-human? And is it even possible? Neuroscientist Dr Ariel Zeleznikow explores challenging ideas about life and death. From adding a few decades onto a life span, to suspending the aging process altogether, and more radically, uploading a preserved bra…

1
A life in the law, on the Glitter Strip 50:48

2M ago50:48

50:48

Gold Coast lawyer Chris Nyst on his 45 years in criminal law, defending career criminals, going head to head with corrupt police, heroin addicts and a postcard bandit (R) When Chris Nyst finished studying law in the mid 1970s, he moved to a town by the beach to begin his life as a lawyer, not because it was a glitzy and glamorous city back then, bu…

1
Encore: A restaurant named Parwana — Afghan treasure in Adelaide 47:36

2M ago47:36

47:36

Durkhanai Ayubi and her family keep alive the stories and flavours they carried to Australia from Afghanistan, in the dining room of their 'accidental' and thriving restaurant (R) Durkhanai was two years old when she and her family came to Australia from Afghanistan. She grew up with stories of the old country from her parents, but her most powerfu…

1
How Geraldine Brooks learned how to live again through grief 52:18

2M ago52:18

52:18

Writer Geraldine Brooks on love, grief and letting go after her husband died in a shocking and unexpected way. In 2019, Australian writer Geraldine Brooks was forced into a world of practicalities when her beloved husband, Tony, collapsed on the street in the United States and died. She had to immediately manage finances and family life, organise a…

1
Singing for her life: Camille O'Sullivan on Ireland and her dearly departed friends 44:12

2M ago44:12

44:12

It took a catastrophic car accident for the singer and actress to leave a decorated career in architecture and focus on her artistic ambitions, including a tribute show to her friends Sinead O'Connor, and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues. Irish-French singer and performer Camille O’Sullivan grew up in County Cork, with her Irish father and French mothe…

1
Finding my dad, and myself — unravelling a family's secret 49:48

2M ago49:48

49:48

Lindsey Fidler’s quest to find her biological father started with jazz and an American Air Force Base. It ended with a trip to the U.S. through a disastrous free flights promotion run by the British division of Hoover Vacuums. Sociologist Lindsey Fidler’s parents met and married in the 1960s in East Anglia, United Kingdom. They would go to jazz clu…

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Encore: Let them ring — Paul Livingston on making a great big noise 47:42

2M ago47:42

47:42

Paul is a musician, author and performer best known for his comedic alter-ego, Flacco. In recent years he's joined an eclectic band of people who ring the bells at his local church tower in inner Sydney (R) Paul is a musician, author and performer best known for his comedic alter-ego, Flacco. In recent years he's joined an eclectic band of people w…

1
Gabor Maté on transforming trauma 48:30

3M ago48:30

48:30

The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness — and how recognising his own led to true healing. Dr Gabor Maté was born in Budapest to a Jewish family, just before Nazi tanks rolled into the city. His mother risked handing him to a stranger on the street to try and get …

1
My Moroccan matrescence 52:24

3M ago52:24

52:24

When Nadia Mahjouri travelled to Marrakech with her four-month-old baby to find her long lost father, she also underwent the process of matrescence — becoming a new version of herself as a mother. Nadia Mahjouri is a Moroccan-Australian author and counsellor. Growing up in Launceston, Tasmania, Nadia didn’t know anyone else who had her height, dark…

1
Gus Worland on the men who made him and Australia's male suicide epidemic 52:12

3M ago52:12

52:12

Two of the most important men to Gus Worland departed his life in shocking and unexpected ways. Gus' grief led him to dig deeper into what it means to be a strong man and re-frame vulnerability as something powerful. TV and radio host Gus Worland grew up with some deeply rooted ideas about what it meant to be a man and a good bloke. When Gus was ju…

1
Encore: Brigitte and the seven peaks 51:18

3M ago51:18

51:18

Brigitte Muir's dream to climb the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents took much longer and cost her more than she expected, but she also discovered more about herself than she could have imagined (R) Brigitte Muir fell in love with the outdoors and adventure as a teenager in Belgium. Initially she was exhilarated by going cavin…

1
David Whyte on writing poetry the world loves 52:12

3M ago52:12

52:12

For poet David Whyte, the power of poetry lies in its unmatched ability to meditate and focus on what's right in front of us -- whether it's a mountain, a loved one, or our own reflection. He explains how one line of poetry is enough to change your life. David grew up amongst the moors and fields of West Yorkshire, with an English father and an Iri…

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Tonga PEAK TIMES Podcasts

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