{"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":"Patrick Radden Keefe digs into the mysterious death of a man posing as a Russian oligarch's son","slug":"patrick-radden-keefe-digs-into-the-mysterious-death-of-a-man-posing-as-a-russian-oligarch-s-son","published_at":"2026-05-25T01:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/patrick-radden-keefe-digs-into-the-mysterious-death-of-a-man-posing-as-a-russian-oligarch-s-son","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/patrick-radden-keefe-london-russian-oligarch-mysterious-death/106705172","audio_url":"https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/ks/Z/c5.mp3","summary":"Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into a money- and status-obsessed young man, who mixed with gangsters and shady businessmen. Patrick's new book begins with the description of a scene that was picked up by a surveillance camera in London in the early hours of a November morning in 2019. The footage showed a grainy image of a shadowy figure, anxiously moving about the balcony of a luxury apartment. That young man's name was Zac Brettler. He was 19 years old, and hours later his body was discovered on the banks of the River Thames. Patrick Radden Keefe’s investigation explores Zac’s secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch, and delves into the true identities of the wealthy gangsters who were there in his final hours. Further information London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth is published by Pan Macmillan Australia. This episode covers grief, fantasy life, con artists, London underworld, Boris Johnson, family tragedy, luxury, Holocaust survivors, rabbi, Mill Hill school, young men, making money, raising boys, Roman Abramovich, oligarch, plutocrat, MI6 and true crime. 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.","meta_description":"Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into a mo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3149,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/conversations-320217/episodes/patrick-radden-keefe-digs-into-the-mysterious-death-of-a-man-posing-as-a-russian-oligarch-s-son/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/patrick-radden-keefe-digs-into-the-mysterious-death-of-a-man-posing-as-a-russian-oligarch-s-son.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}