Fidler came to prominence in the 1980s as a member of the
Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS), an Australian musical comedy group also comprising
Tim Ferguson and
Paul McDermott. The guitar Fidler used often during his time with the DAAS was a black
Yamaha APX 9-12 tuned to D standard; however he did use a metallic green 6 string acoustic in standard tuning in a couple of songs on
Live at the National Theatre (New York) and used a generic electric guitar in a cover of "
Anarchy in the U.K." on
The Big Gig. That guitar was in standard tuning. On
DAAS Icon, the bulk of the album was recorded with an electric guitar in standard tuning; however, some songs featured the APX 9-12. The group disbanded in 1994. Fidler began his broadcast career on TV and presented shows including
Race Around the World,
Aftershock,
Mouthing Off and
Vulture. In 2001, he was elected to the national committee of the
Australian Republican Movement and was the chair of their
Constitutional Issues committee. He resigned from these positions in 2007. In 2005, Fidler moved to
Brisbane, Queensland, to host the 7pm to 10pm shift on
ABC Local Radio station
612 ABC Brisbane. The following year, he took on the newly configured 11am to 3pm shift on 612 ABC. The first hour, a long-form interview program known as
Conversations, was also heard on
702 ABC Sydney. Since 2012 Fidler has focused solely on
Conversations. '
Conversations is broadcast each weekday on
ABC Local Radio in all Australian states except
Victoria, and on ABC
Radio National. It has over many years been one of the top five most downloaded
podcasts in Australia, according to
iTunes charts. In 2018, the program's name changed to Conversations and former Radio National arts journalist Sarah Kanowski joined Fidler as a regular host. The two presenters share duties, with Fidler usually presenting on Monday to Wednesday and Kanowski on Thursday and Friday. In 2011, Fidler was awarded a
Churchill Fellowship to investigate new forms of public radio in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Saga Land, written with
Kári Gíslason (ABC Books, 2019) was shortlisted for the
NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Douglas Stewart Prize for non-Fiction. Fidler is the immediate past-president of Brisbane's Institute of Modern Art (IMA) and a member of its board of directors.
The Golden Maze was shortlisted for the General nonfiction book of the year at the 2021
Australian Book Industry Awards.''
The Book of Roads and Kingdoms'' won the Nonfiction prize at the 2023
Indie Book Awards. == Personal life ==