Lives Less Ordinary
Episodes
Black, Korean, stateless: a Slickyboy’s American dream, part 2
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a Black US soldier in South Korea in the 70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean." He...
Black, Korean, stateless: A Slickyboy’s American dream, part 1
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a black US soldier in South Korea in the '70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean". H...
I see my son in the Northern Lights
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chasing the aurora helps Hugo grieve. By day Hugo Sanchez works in a school, but by night he hunts glowing light displays across the freezing Canadian...
The brain tumour that taught me how to live
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How extreme kayaker Scott Lindgren's illness forced him to face his past. Scott’s hard, uncompromising attitude had made him one of the world’s to...
The family that went to war with a military dictatorship
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hafsat Abiola Costello's dad was nearly Nigeria's president - but he had powerful enemiesHis name was Moshood Abiola, also known as MKO, and he was on...
How I fell in love with blindness
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Itto Outini lost her sight but gained her freedomItto had been born poor in Morocco's Atlas mountains, and after her parents died, she was shunted bet...
Nailed into a boat: Escaping Mao’s China
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Andrew Kwong fled famine and persecution as a child. He was a proud Maoist, singing revolutionary songs at the top of his voice at school, but then...
The legendary goalkeeper forced to pawn her gold medals
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Goalkeeper Briana Scurry knew at eight years old it was her destiny to win Olympic gold – and in 1996, she did it. That was just the beginning: she ...
A poet in a Burundi war zone, part 2
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violenceJP Bimeni is a writer turned soul singer who walked through a massacre unscathe...
A poet in a Burundi war zone, part 1
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violenceJP Bimeni risked his life to save a book of his verse. He started composing poe...
My husband thought I was an imposter
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Abi Morgan’s husband woke from a coma and didn’t recognise her. Abi is a playwright and screenwriter based in London, and she'd made a name for he...
My dream holiday turned to horror
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pirates attacked Judith and her husband in a remote Kenyan resort in 2011. Judith was dragged from her bed and taken by boat to Somalia, where she was...
A family lost at sea
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fleeing Vietnam, Lauren Vuong’s family almost died. Settled in the U.S. all she wanted was to fulfil her parents’ dream of finding their rescuers....
Giving birth as a hostage in Syria
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Janina was six months pregnant when she travelled to Syria in 2015 to meet a school friend who’d become an extremist. Janina Findeisen, a journalist...
Taking on the witch hunters
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Blamed for killing her father through witchcraft, Monica Paulus fled for her life, but she didn’t stay in hiding for long. Monica realised she could...
Township lawyer v gold giants, part 2
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charles sues his country’s richest companies on behalf of black gold miners. It’s a battle that could spell ruin for Charles, but this isn’t a m...
Township lawyer v gold giants, part 1
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apartheid taught Charles to know his place, so how did he end up suing the gold industry? When Charles Abrahams told his teachers he was going to be a...
We need to talk about Carlo
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Donna discovers her ex fiancé’s secret life. When Donna met Carlo at an anti-war protest she immediately fell for him. They just had so much in com...
You wanted me dead, but look at me now
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anne's village thought her disability made her worthless. She had other ideas. Now a graduate and a Paralympian who's represented Kenya and the UK, th...
Bike-riding bank robber, part 2
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The FBI close in. “It’s a wake-up call when police are trying to shoot you.” Tom Justice’s fantasy is fading, he’s now robbing banks to fund...
Bike-riding bank robber, part 1
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Olympic hopeful to audacious thief – the cyclist who turned to crime. Movies influenced Tom’s biggest life decisions. Slacker film Reality Bite...
Introducing Lives Less Ordinary
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Enter other people’s worlds. Welcome to the new weekly podcast from the Outlook radio team, finding amazing personal stories from around the world. ...