Lives Less Ordinary
BBC World Service
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.
Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience.
Our guests come from every corner of the globe: from Burundi to Beverly Hills, New Zealand to North Korea, Rajasthan to Rio. And their stories can be about anything: tales of survival, humour, resilience and intrigue. From the mind-blowing account of the Japanese man trapped in his own reality TV show, to the Swedish women rescued from lions by a tin of spam. It’s life’s wild side, in stereo. Lives Less Ordinary is brought to you by the team behind Outlook, the home of true life storytelling on BBC World Service radio for nearly 60 years.
Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience.
Our guests come from every corner of the globe: from Burundi to Beverly Hills, New Zealand to North Korea, Rajasthan to Rio. And their stories can be about anything: tales of survival, humour, resilience and intrigue. From the mind-blowing account of the Japanese man trapped in his own reality TV show, to the Swedish women rescued from lions by a tin of spam. It’s life’s wild side, in stereo. Lives Less Ordinary is brought to you by the team behind Outlook, the home of true life storytelling on BBC World Service radio for nearly 60 years.
Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 3, 2023 • 44min
The invisible child who now shines at Eurovision, part 1
A bond between brothers, a coming-out story, and an international song contest. William Lee Adams is one of the leading voices covering the Eurovision Song Contest, criss-crossing the continent to interview stars and live-stream shows. But as a child growing up in small-town America, he was made to feel invisible; encouraged to suppress his Vietnamese heritage and questions about his sexuality. He found solace in caring for his brother, John, who had severe physical disabilities due to a brain condition. Even so, he needed an escape route. William has written a memoir called Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision. Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Rob Wilson
Aug 27, 2023 • 41min
Miracle on the ocean floor
A miraculous story of survival unfolds as Harrison Okene, the ship's cook, spends three days trapped in a sunken vessel. Divers searching for bodies stumble upon Harrison, who never expected to be found alive. The podcast explores Harrison's upbringing, the challenges of cooking on a ship, and his intense struggle to escape the sinking ship. It also delves into the aftermath of the accident, Harrison's decision to return to diving, and his profound connection to the ocean.
Aug 20, 2023 • 40min
Indiana Jones: The kids who remade a blockbuster
Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, two Mississippi boys, recreate Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot using only their pocket money. Their adventure includes fires, emergency ward visits, shut downs by angry parents, and a lost tape that reunites them years later.
Aug 13, 2023 • 39min
The woman who fell from the sky, part 2
How a jump changed daring parachutist Tony Osornio's life forever.Tony was Mexico's best precision skydiver and the first woman to join her country's army. She says she "belonged to the skies", and became a member of an elite team of performance skydivers called the Crazy Birds. She was prepared to sacrifice everything for her love of parachuting - until a jump went badly wrong. If you need support relating to any of the issues we've covered in this interview, you can find more information on the BBC Action line website or at Befrienders.orgPresenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Louise Morris
Aug 6, 2023 • 41min
The woman who fell from the sky, part 1
Tony Osornio would go to dangerous extremes to keep skydiving.She was born into a conservative family, and decided to marry the first man who asked in order to escape the restrictions of home. Her husband was a Mexican military officer with access to the planes used by elite paratroopers. With his help, Tony would sneak on board too, parachute strapped to her back. In love with jumping, she decided she needed to join the Mexican army herself, something no woman had done before.Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Louise MorrisThe audio has been updated since first published for technical reasons
Jul 30, 2023 • 41min
Bradford 12: The Asian youth who took on the racists, part 2
By 1981, Pakistani-born immigrant Tariq Mehmood had endured years of violent racism in Britain. When he heard that gangs of white skinheads – with a history of attacking Asians – were coming to his home in Bradford, Tariq and his neighbours took desperate measures to defend their community. Underpinning their actions was the principle, “self-defence is no offence.” Tariq would end up being arrested, charged with conspiracy to make explosives, and facing life imprisonment. What followed was the landmark legal case of the Bradford 12.Hand on the Sun, the novel that Tariq wrote in prison over 40 years ago, has been re-released with a new update.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producers: Maryam Maruf and Lina Chang
Editor: Munazza Khan
Jul 23, 2023 • 41min
Bradford 12: The Asian youth who took on the racists, part 1
As a Pakistani immigrant teenager in 1970s Britain, Tariq Mehmood endured homelessness and years of violent racism. He found shelter and wisdom in a library, and the strength to stand up to the racists. He co-founded the Asian Youth Movement, and their slogan “self-defence is no offence,” would galvanise an entire generation. But it’s a rationale that would see Tariq in court – facing life in prison – in the groundbreaking case of the Bradford 12. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producers: Maryam Maruf and Lina Chang
Editor: Munazza Khan
Jul 16, 2023 • 40min
I save chimpanzees and they've saved me
Stany Nyandwi's rescued chimpanzees helped him through war and loneliness.As a young boy Stany made money selling sugarcane and worked as a 'houseboy' for families in Burundi's capital city Bujumbura. But later, a job with rescued chimpanzees became about more than just money. When ethnic conflict in Burundi escalated into civil war, Stany fled to safety with the chimps who, with histories of their own, gave him companionship and a ticket to a future without war. Stany is a chimp specialist and his behaviour should not be copied or emulated in any way. He has co-written a book called The Chimpanzee Whisperer: A Life of Love and Loss, Compassion and Conservation.Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: May Cameron
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Jul 9, 2023 • 54min
Who is this kneeling man?
My search for the truth about my father and Martin Luther King’s assassination.Leta McCollough Seletzky grew up knowing that her father was the ‘kneeling man’, photographed tending to the head wound of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr just moments after he was shot in April 1968. As a teenager she stumbled across an alarming detail about why her father was there on that infamous day; it plunged her into the world of conspiracy theories and family secrets. It would take her many years to dig out his true story.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Rebecca Vincent
Jul 2, 2023 • 42min
How I survived a pirate hijack
Marine engineer Chirag Bahri was trapped for eight gruelling months on a chemical tanker.Chirag loved his job working in the engine rooms of huge commercial ships. But in May 2010, while sailing through the Gulf of Aden, a group of pirates boarded the ship and held the crew to ransom off the coast of Somalia. Over the next eight months the pirates became increasingly violent, torturing the crew when their demands were not met. Despite the desperate conditions, Chirag still had his work to do. The ship was running out of fuel, and starting to malfunction.Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Rebecca Vincent
Editor: Munazza Khan
