The Outlook Podcast Archive

Petrit Halilaj was born in Kosovo in 1986 and grew up in the small town of Runik. He always loved drawing and had a rare talent for it. When war broke out in Kosovo and Serbian troops moved into their hometown, Petrit and his family had to flee, eventually finding sanctuary in a refugee camp in Albania. It was there, in 1999, that Petrit met the Italian psychologist Giacomo 'Angelo' Poli who encouraged the children to communicate the traumas they had experienced, through drawing. Using only felt tip pens, Petrit's drawings ended up being beamed all over the world. They even caught the attention of the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who asked to meet Petrit during a visit to the camp. Many years on, Petrit is now a highly acclaimed artist. He recently exhibited work based on some of the drawings from the refugee camp, at Tate St Ives in Cornwall in the South West of England. The show is called Very volcanic over this green feather.The clip you heard came from Swedish broadcaster SVTPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Andrea Kennedy & June Christie Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com(Photo: Petrit Halilaj and Dr Giacomo Poli, 1999. Credit: Giacomo Poli)

This programme contains offensive language. Sweet Anita has Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological condition which causes her to make involuntary sounds and movements. Her specific type of Tourette’s is called coprolalia, which means she sometimes says offensive or inappropriate things. Before her diagnosis, she didn't know why she was different to everyone else. She was bullied at school and making friends was difficult. Lonely and confused, she was told by a doctor her tics were ‘attention seeking’. But today, with a medical diagnosis and a new-found confidence, Anita is a successful streamer on the gaming platform Twitch, with an avid fanbase and a growing community online.Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: May Cameron(Photo: Sweet Anita. Credit: Sweet Anita)

Afghan-American pilot Zak Khogyani was just nine years old when he fled his home in Afghanistan. Being forced to leave his family and belongings behind was not easy, but he eventually managed to settle in the United States, which he now considers home. So last year, when Zak heard about Afghans fleeing the Taliban's takeover, he knew better than most the hardships they were facing. He felt compelled to lend a helping hand, and over three evacuation flights, Zak chaperoned 1,002 people hoping to find safety in the United States. They told him their stories and their fears, looking at him as an inspiration for the life that awaited them upon landing. Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Gaia Caramazza(Photo: Zak Khogyani at work. Credit: Zak Khogyani)

As a 16-year-old boy in Togo, Tété-Michel Kpomassie knew he had to escape. It was the late 1950s, and his father had ordered him to train as a priest in a snake cult. But Tété-Michel was terrified of snakes after a close encounter up a coconut tree that had nearly cost him his life. One day, he came across a book about Greenland. He read that there were no reptiles, only ice, and he was intrigued by the Inuit people. So he set out on an odyssey to reach this mysterious country, full of images of icebergs and sledding and hunting. It took him eight years to travel through Africa and Europe, all the while doing clerical odd-jobs, before final reaching the south of Greenland in the mid-60s. He was the first African they had ever seen, and was offered a warm welcome. For 18 months, he learnt the culture and way of life; dog-sledding, seal-fishing and acclimatising to the cold. Then, he returned to Togo as a different man - he shared his story and built a bridge between Africa and Greenland. Now 80, he speaks to Jo Fidgen about his extraordinary adventure and his hopes to return this year to buy a house and spend the last part of his life there. Michel The Giant: An African in Greenland is by Tété-Michel Kpomassie.Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Katy Takatsuki(Photo: Tété-Michel Kpomassie in the 60s. Credit: Tété-Michel Kpomassie)

Many African American cemeteries in the US have fallen into disrepair over the years - one of them is Geer cemetery in the city of Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in the 19th century when racial segregation laws meant that Black people had to be buried separately from white people and over 1,500 people are believed to be buried at Geer. Of that number, only around 200 headstones remain and the stories of those interred were at risk of being lost forever. That was until a group of volunteers called "Friends of Geer" stepped in - they are now working to reclaim the histories of those buried there. Reporter Danny Greenwald went to meet two of the group's members - Michael Williams and Deidre Barnes. Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Emily Webb Reporter: Danny Greenwald Producers: Danny Greenwald and Laura Thomas (Photo: Deidre Barnes and Michael Williams at Geer Cemetery. Credit: Danny Greenwald)

Growing up in rural Colombia, Professor María Antonia Garcés was obsessed by books and reading, and later on this passion would help her get through a really difficult chapter. In 1982 María Antonia was taken hostage by leftist guerrillas, who were looking for a ransom from her wealthy family. She was put in a tiny cell somewhere in the city of Cali for seven months, and needed a way to keep her sanity. María Antonia fell back on her love of reading, and soon books would become more than just a way to pass the time, they bonded her with her captors. The relationships she made this way, would help save her life. Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Harry Graham and Edgar Maddicott(Photo: Professor María Antonia Garcés. Credit: Professor María Antonia Garcés)

Perween Rahman’s assassination in 2013 was one of the most high profile target killings in Pakistan that year. She ran an influential NGO, the Orangi Pilot Project, and had exposed how the mafia were stealing Karachi’s water supply. She also stood up to local land grabbers. So who was behind her murder? Faced with a botched police investigation, Perween’s sister Aquila began a seemingly impossible campaign for justice.Aquila and Perween’s story is portrayed in the film Into Dust. More details available on https://www.intodustmovie.com/.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam MarufGet in touch: outlook@bbc.com(Photo: Perween Rahman. Credit: Courtesy of Aquila Ismail/Orangi Pilot Project)

In 2006 Thomas Schultz and his business partner Lawrence Joseph made a business plan. They were looking for a property to buy, do up and sell. Thomas had his eye on a little cottage near his home in Bellport, a small coastal village to the east of New York City. It was old, dilapidated and needed a lot of attention. But when he crawled through the broken garage door he found something entirely unexpected - 7,000 pieces of art, stacked in piles, rolled up canvasses and strewn across the floor. It turned out to be the work of an unknown artist called Arthur Pinajian and a discovery that would change Thomas' life.Search online to find out more about Arthur Pinajian.Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Andrea Kennedy(Photo: Thomas Schultz in front of an Arthur Pinajian oil painting. Credit: The Estate Collection of Arthur Pinajian)

Syrian musician Maya Youssef is in love with her qanun, a traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument. Like a family member, it’s got her through some difficult times and it consoled Maya as she watched from afar as her homeland was ripped apart by war. Maya's talent at playing the qanun gave her the opportunity to live in the UK and she has taken it on tour playing in refugee centres for new arrivals and at the Royal Albert Hall. Maya tells Mobeen Azhar about her journey with the qanun. Her upcoming album is called Finding Home.Get in touch: outlook@bbc.comPresenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Deiniol Buxton(Photo: Maya Youssef and her qanun. Credit: Igor Studio)

Eva Schloss and Anne Frank had been childhood friends and neighbours in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Both their families had a horrific experience at Auschwitz and after the war, Eva became Anne’s posthumous stepsister when her mother married Otto Frank, Anne’s father. When Otto first discovered Anne’s now world-famous diary, he showed it to Eva. It was an emotional experience and it reminded Eva of her last conversation with her beloved brother Heinz. He was a gifted artist and he had revealed where he had hidden his cache of secret paintings. Eva was determined to bring them to light.Eva shares her extraordinary Holocaust testimony over two episodes. In this second episode, she describes her experience of the liberation of Auschwitz and her efforts to keep her brother Heinz’s memory alive. In part one, you can hear about her life before Auschwitz and her family’s eventual capture.Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Maryam MarufGet in touch: outlook@bbc.com(Image: Eva's mother Fritzi Geiringer painted by her father Erich between 1942-1944 when the family was in hiding. This painting was in the cache of canvases hidden by Heinz. Credit: Courtesy of Eva Schloss)