{"podcast":{"title":"Conversations","slug":"conversations-320217","podcast_index_feed_id":320217,"rss_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/feeds/7711104/podcast.xml","website_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/","image_url":"https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/9419a7d446ad3f4620983df5d8d048f1.jpg?src","author":"ABC Australia","episode_count":2000,"summary":"Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption. Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-16T12:19:56.982931+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217"},"episode":{"title":"My year with the real Rudolf Nureyev — a volatile but vulnerable genius","slug":"my-year-with-the-real-rudolf-nureyev-a-volatile-but-vulnerable-genius","published_at":"2026-04-22T01:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/my-year-with-the-real-rudolf-nureyev-a-volatile-but-vulnerable-genius","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/blue-robinson-rudolf-nureyev-ballet-assistant/106580358","audio_url":"https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/jq/Z/44.mp3","summary":"When the world's most famous dancer offered a young sailor a job as his assistant, Blue Robinson thought it was a joke at first. But what followed was the most fascinating and formative year of Blue's life. Simon 'Blue' Robinson grew up sailing and playing rugby on the idyllic island of Jersey, between England and France. In his 20s, he went further a field, first to London and then Blue started working on yachts sailing around the Caribbean. One evening at a restaurant in St Barts, Blue spotted a man whose face he recognised, and invited him on board the yacht the next day. That man was Rudolf Nureyev, hugely famous for his talents as a ballet dancer, his volatile temper, and for defecting from the Soviet Union. Nureyev took an immediate liking to Blue and spontaneously offered him a job as his assistant. The two next met months later, when Blue found himself side stage in Cleveland, Ohio, helping the legendary dancer undress, and preparing him a thermos of hot tea. This began an extraordinary and transformative year for Blue as the assistant, dresser, masseur, driver, cook, and trusted confidante of history's most iconic and legendary male ballet dancer. Blue's book, A Year with Rudolf Nureyev, is currently being turned into an audio book. He is still working as a writer, helping people write their private memoirs. This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch. It explores ballet, Russia, USA, famous people, the secret lives of celebrities, Tatar, Red Army, Margot Fonteyn, classical dancing, defection, Soviet Union, USSR, The Royal Ballet, HIV-AIDS, health, decline, homosexuality in the 20th century, caring for sick people, carers, memoir, writing books, biography, boats, super yachts, below deck, sexual health, queer…","meta_description":"When the world's most famous dancer offered a young sailor a job as his assistant, Blue Robinson thought it was a joke at first. But what followed was the…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3192,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/conversations-320217/episodes/my-year-with-the-real-rudolf-nureyev-a-volatile-but-vulnerable-genius/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/my-year-with-the-real-rudolf-nureyev-a-volatile-but-vulnerable-genius.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}