Welcome to the Dads on the Air archives, with hundreds of programs dating back to 2003. You can browse by month or year, or search the entire archive for a specific topic or name. Find a show you heard a long time ago, download or stream individual programs, or just poke around by clicking “Click to read more…” next to each program for a detailed show description.
Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
David W Cameron
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Port Arthur is a beautiful setting for what our guest today describes as “misery of the deepest dye”.
In his new book Convict-Era Port Arthur David Cameron takes us back to the days before it became a convict settlement, before its charms were viewed in a completely different light by the British newcomers.
Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Surprisingly little has been written about the last 100 days of World War 1.
This is the time when the Australian Imperial Force had some of their greatest victories. It was also the time when Adolf Hitler was wounded in battle before coming to the unshakeable conclusion that Germany had been betrayed in agreeing to sue for peace.
This imbalance in the accounts of the conflict has been addressed by Will Davies in his new book The Last 100 Days: The Australian Road to Victory in the First World War. In his book Will reveals why he has been described as being more than an historian because he has the rare gift of being a story weaver. As with his other books on the events of World War One this story will remain etched in your memory.
Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
John O’Halloran
… in conversation with Bill Kable
John O’Halloran was an unlikely war hero. With the assistance of Ric Teague John tells his story for the first time in The Platoon Commander: The extraordinary story of the man who led Australia’s most decorated platoon of the Vietnam War.
Coming from Tamworth in country NSW John was called up in the first conscription ballot. But before doing his compulsory medical he was involved in a street accident which badly damaged his foot which should have ruled him out as medically unfit. However with a bit of help from a local medico he got over that first hurdle and soon distinguished himself in training.
John was made Platoon Commander and at the age of 21 he was sent to Vietnam. In that war-torn country he now had enemy soldiers shooting at him, trying their best to kill him. And the men under his command were dependent for their lives on his decisions under fire.
Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Megan De Beyer
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Something many of us wonder about from time to time is what turns a boy into a man. With the title of Megan de Beyer’s new book being How to Raise a Man there was no hiding from this question and Megan dives straight in.
And then there is the most common issue for parents raising young men - how to get more than a grunt in lieu of conversation. In these Covid restricted times as we are forced to spend more time at home this question become even more important. The best approach is to treat this time as a challenge rather than a threat and Megan has lots of suggestions on making this time productive. In brief Megan encourages us to look at ourselves more in this dynamic relationship rather than trying to fix something in our young men.
Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Jai Hobbs
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Covid 19 is just one more hurdle for our young people coming out of school. They already have to face up to serious competition to progress in a chosen career. If they can get through University they face a HECS debt and what about the housing market.
Our guest today Jai Hobbs decided to do something practical to help the young people get on top of all that. With his wife Marlies, Jai has written a manual called FLY which stands for financially literate youth. This is what he is striving for.
Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Fiona McIntosh
… in conversation with Bill Kable
The beautiful cover of this book gives us a clue. This is a bubbly story thoroughly researched and elegantly told by our guest today Fiona McIntosh. Fiona’s new book The Champagne War takes us to the Champagne region of northern France during the First World War to tell us the story of individuals caught up in the conflict.
Fiona tells us how she came to write the book through a chance meeting with a local winemaker in a village of the region. This gave her the inspiration.
Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
General Sir Peter Cosgrove
… in conversation with Bill Kable
It is a real privilege when we get to speak with Australia’s 26th Governor General.
Sir Peter Cosgrove has had several lifetimes it appears as we look at his extensive action packed biography. And it is a measure of the man that not only does he retain an intimate knowledge of all his achievements but that he is so open and candid in looking back on them.
Sir Peter’s career included fighting roles in Vietnam. It also included being the primary assistant to some of the most senior positions in the land. He was Aide de Camp for the Chief of Army and also to the Governor General Sir Paul Hasluck. He rose to attain those same positions himself as Chief of Army and later Governor General.
Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Peter FitzSimons
… in conversation with Bill Kable
“Shoot straight you bastards! Don’t make a mess of it.” These are the last words of Breaker Morant as he sat on a chair looking at the firing squad about to kill him.
These words are well known in Australia as one of the few relics from the first time troops from the Australian continent went into the battlefield in the Boer War. But after reading Peter FitzSimons’ new book titled Breaker Morant the inescapable conclusion is that there are a lot of unknowns in the story of the Breaker. Many of the things we thought we knew are actually fictions usually started by the Breaker himself.
Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Dr Will Davies
… in conversation with Bill Kable
In a very unusual year for commemorations of any sort we had the opportunity to speak with historian Dr Will Davies on the 102nd anniversary of peace being declared at the end of the First World War.
Will is always great to speak to because he knows the human side of that conflict and tells the real stories behind the history to bring it alive.
We start by going back to March 1918 when the outcome of the war was far from certain. The Germans had launched a spring offensive which they hoped would lead to victory. However the Allied forces prevailed and a big part of that was the heroic action taken by the Australian diggers. Any Australian visitor to the battlefields of France even today will still feel the gratitude of the French people for having the Australians on their side.
Thursday, August 5, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Jeff Apter
… in conversation with Bill Kable
George Young made his name internationally by writing with his best mate Harry Vanda a song we can all sing along to more than 50 years after its release. So it was a natural choice as the title of Jeff Apter’s new book Friday on My Mind: the life of George Young.
George managed to get a ticket to The Beatles Sydney performance in 1964. He decided right then that he was going to be in music as a career but it was not going to be a straightforward ride as we learn in Jeff’s book.
Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Bram Connolly
… in conversation with Bill Kable
When Bram Connolly started writing his book The Commando Way: a Special Forces commander’s lessons for life, leadership and success he was thinking that he was an average type of man. The working title of the book was The Risk of Being Average.
However Bram soon realised that he is not your average man in the street in 21st Century Australia, just as anyone who hears his story will also very quickly realise. Bram is talking about jumping out of planes into enemy territory, being surrounded by people with weapons who wanted to kill him and at the same time inspiring a group of soldiers to put their life on the line to do their job. Clearly we are talking about a leader of men.
Thursday, July 8, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Keenan Mundine
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Dreamer, nothing but a dreamer. That might be where it started for our guest today Keenan Mundine after a beginning in life that really didn’t give him a chance.
But after Keenan had spent the first half of his life in the criminal justice system he came to a realisation. Keenan either had to change his ways or face up to spending his life behind bars. Fortunately for us and for Keenan he decided to make a worthwhile contribution to society. And so was born Deadly Connections where he is the co-founder along with his wife Carly.
Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Mark Morrison OAM
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Macleay Vocational College (MVC) caters for students from Year 9 to Year 12 (14 years of age onwards) who have fallen out of mainstream education for a variety of reasons. The Principal of MVC clearly has to have special qualities in order to relate to these students. Our guest today is Mark Morrison who has built up an incredible track record in that role over the last nine years. He has students gaining their Higher School Certificates, and sometimes they are the first in their families to do so. But when the students arrive at MVC their good qualities are often not evident in their personal histories and sometimes their current circumstances are troubling too. Against this background Mark brings an enlightened and flexible approach that allows the students to produce their best.
Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Matt Okine
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Matt Okine’s book Being Black ’n Chicken, & Chips is based on his award-winning stand-up show and is at once heart-breaking and hilarious.
Matt provides a bird’s eye view of life as a 12 year old when things start unravelling, just as that boy/child is working out some important stuff. He is working on the relationship with his father that has never really developed; there is a potential heart stopping girlfriend on the fringes; and there is a girl next door who is more of a friend than his male companions. Finally and most importantly he has to negotiate the changing relationship with his mother.
Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Hugh van Cuylenburg
… in conversation with Bill Kable
When Hugh van Cuylenburg went to India as a volunteer teacher he did not expect to be on the receiving end of the learning process. At first reluctant to even be in India he soon found that he was learning from his students how to develop the psychological foundation for success in all educational and physical pursuits.
Hugh’s trip finished up being full of surprises. He was surrounded by so much poverty yet there was also happiness and contentment. Working on his observations Hugh was able to develop The Resilience Project for application in Australia and backed up his approach with technical qualifications obtained by completing a Master’s Degree at University.
Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Joe Williams
… in conversation with Bill Kable
When his father presented his South Sydney first grade rugby league jersey to Joe Williams it was a special moment. When Joe went straight into the ranks of professional boxers without any need for an apprenticeship as an amateur it was another special moment. Off the sporting field Joe is an established speaker on the circuit in Australia and the USA. So what could possibly be wrong?
We learn in this fascinating discussion that behind all the achievements Joe was battling serious mental illness from a young age. There were inner voices crowding out his thoughts and trying to drag him down. Joe admits that these voices denied him the satisfaction of reaching his true sporting potential but he is now on a course that he sees as more important.
Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Dr Will Davies
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Will Davies has been on the program before, bringing us inside stories from The Great War.
Today we get to discuss Will’s new book Secret and Special. We hear about a boys’ own adventure story that started at a beautiful part of Sydney and which took our adventurers on a dangerous trip to Singapore harbour. They were on a night mission to put limpet mines on some ships in port. The unsuspecting Japanese occupiers of Singapore never knew what hit them.
The difference from most adventure stories is that this is all true and draws on the meticulous research of Dr Davies that we have come to expect.
Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Gordon Bray AM
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Our guest today is part of a select group of legends. Peter FitzSimons has described Gordon Bray as ‘more than a sporting icon’, Gordon is no less than ‘the soundtrack of our sporting lives’.
The Voice of Rugby joins us today after a career of over 50 years describing major sporting events on a variety of radio and TV stations. And yet despite being front and centre for all that time we do not know so much about Gordon himself.
Gordon tells us of his difficult upbringing after his father died when he was only 9 years old. As one of four children Gordon did his best to ease the burden for his mother who was left to provide for them with the significant assistance of Legacy. The story then is that Gordon made the most of every opportunity that came his way and he has some amazing stories to tell us now as he looks back on that fabled career.
Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Dr Susie O’Brien
… in conversation with Bill Kable
There is a toasted sandwich in the cover picture of her book and that leads our guest Dr Susie O’Brien to tell us that a toasted sandwich is a quite acceptable dinner alternative. This is the world of Susie O’Brien where parents can escape all that guilt about not being the best parent in the world and just start enjoying their children.
In Susie O’Brien’s new book The Secret of Half-Arsed Parenting we get an insight that is fun. It is also comforting to know that the conclusions are drawn from research all around the world. And most parents will find sections where they have to say to themselves ‘No doubt about it, that resembles me.’
Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Jeff Apter
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Malcolm was a younger brother of George Young guitarist and songwriter with The Easybeats. Music was definitely in the family but in such a fickle industry could lightning strike twice after the enormous success of brother George?
The Young family story starts in an economically deprived part of Scotland. Then seven of the eight members of the family became Ten Pound Poms and settled in a migrant hostel in Australia. One of the elder children continued to work as a musician in Europe.
After years of playing guitar in his bedroom Malcolm joined a band and later agreed to let Angus in, recognising at that early stage the genius of his younger brother. It was his sister who came up with the name for the band and that was never changed. It is arguable that their choice of music style never changed either, always driving rock’n’roll.