Lives Less Ordinary

BBC World Service
  • 4.7 (471)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger and wondered, "What’s their story?" Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary stories from around the world.

  1. 2D AGO

    Sects, lies and videotape: a Syrian story, part 1

    From a powerful Alawite family in Syria, Loubna Mrie trusted the Assad regime – until witnessing its violent crackdown led her to defy loyalty and secretly film the uprising. In 2011, 20‑year‑old Loubna Mrie was an English literature student from a high-profile Alawite family, the same minority sect as the Assads who had ruled Syria for decades. For most of her life, loyalty felt like survival. Loubna had grown up believing the Assad regime protected her community, and that dissent was unthinkable. But as the Arab Spring reached Syria, Loubna became curious and secretly went to an anti-government protest in Damascus. Unable even to chant against the president she’d been taught to revere, Loubna’s loyalties collapsed when security forces opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. Narrowly escaping, Loubna’s decision to side with the uprising brought her into open conflict with her family – especially her father, whose wealth and power had defined her life. Yet with her mother’s encouragement, Loubna stepped into a world she’d been kept apart from: Damascus’ underground activist networks. There, among Syrians from all sects, she began using her Alawite identity as a shield – to slip through government checkpoints, smuggle medical aid, and protect friends who would otherwise be at risk. Loubna also picked up a camera, learning to film the revolution from within, convinced that showing the world what was happening might help change it. Loubna shares her story over two episodes. In this first episode, she describes her journey from a loyalist upbringing to becoming one of the unlikely young revolutionaries who documented Syria’s uprising. In part two, the same identity that once protected her would soon become a threat when she is mistaken for a spy. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Maryam Maruf Editor: Munazza Khan Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    43 min

  2. FEB 16

    The couple who foiled New Zealand’s biggest drugs plot

    An ordinary couple foiled the country's biggest drugs deal, all by doing a good deed. It involves a boat, a fake funeral at sea and the criminal underworld's least able seamen. That ordinary couple of 35 years, Ed and Heather we're calling them to protect their identities, lived a quiet life in the far north of New Zealand. Ed is Māori and a well-respected mechanic and fisherman; Heather's the sort of person who offers help without thinking twice. So when a group of men turned up close by at 90 Mile Beach in 2016 asking for their help to launch their boat to spread their brother's ashes at sea, Ed and Heather did the neighbourly thing and mucked in. They had no idea what they were stepping into. What followed over the next five days felt almost like a farce. This motley crew's boat and their skipper weren't cut out for sea-faring at all and after many failed attempts, engines blown, and flared tempers, Ed and Heather were left wondering if the story the men had told them was a little fishy. Whilst they saw the funny side of it, something much darker lay behind the men's actions and when Ed makes a discovery, he and Heather have to stay outwardly calm or risk the men finding out. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Edgar Maddicott Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    39 min

  3. FEB 9

    I bought Macclesfield FC while drunk and it saved my life

    Rob Smethurst bought a bankrupt football club while his life was unravelling – then they went on to make football history and save him in the process. Entrepreneur Rob Smethurst never planned to become the owner of a football club. In the grip of alcohol addiction, and on a four-day drinking binge, he bought Macclesfield FC – a bankrupt small-town club, way down in the rankings with a crumbling football stadium. When Rob arrived at the grounds he was given an enormous bunch of keys, it took him an hour just to work out how to get in. Rob focussed on building up the club and himself from a place of ruin, and what followed was one of English football’s great modern fairy tales. Macclesfield’s stunning FA Cup giant-killing of holders Crystal Palace, was a result that sent shockwaves through the competition and briefly put a small, struggling club at the centre of the football world. This is Rob’s remarkable personal story behind the headlines: about addiction, self-destruction, and the moment he realised he was losing control of his life. But buying Macclesfield wasn’t just a reckless act – it became a strange kind of lifeline, giving him purpose, responsibility, and a reason to start facing his demons and ultimately recover. This is a story about how a life was saved, football history was made and a little-town team was reborn. If you, or someone you know, have been affected by addiction, there is help available, speak to a health professional, or search online for an organisation that offers support. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Rachel Oakes and Edgar Maddicott Editor: Munazza Khan Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    42 min

  4. FEB 2

    Colm Tóibín: How an Irish boy with a stammer found his voice

    Colm Tóibín is a celebrated Irish writer, but as a child words didn't come easily. Navigating grief as a boy when his father died, he developed a stammer. Instead of talking, Colm watched and listened, collecting stories that wove their way into his novels. He's won a string of awards and been nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize three times. His novel Brooklyn was made into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and was up for several Oscars. He finds it hilarious that although he was invited to the event he had to be ushered in through a back door – the red carpet is apparently not for novelists. Beyond his writing, Colm was a vocal campaigner for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland. He’s also breaking taboos by speaking openly about testicular cancer and highlighting some of the comedy moments from those bleak times. His latest book is called A Long Winter. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Andrea Kennedy Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    41 min

  5. JAN 26

    The gay Kenyan boyband star who refused to be defeated

    Willis Chimano is one of Kenya’s biggest pop stars. With the boyband Sauti Sol, he’s won a string of awards and even danced with President Barack Obama. But behind the success, Chimano had a secret: being gay in a country where gay sex is criminalised and people who identify as LGBT+ can experience violence and harassment. Since his childhood, Chimano had been hiding his sexuality but then in 2018 he was outed. Suddenly his career stood its toughest test as he was caught in a media frenzy and dealing with exposure that threatened to derail his entire life - and his relationship with his conservative family. But Chimano emerged from the storm as role model for LGBT+ people, becoming Kenya’s most famous openly gay singer. His memoir is called Heavy is the Crown. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producers: Maryam Maruf and June Christie Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    37 min

  6. JAN 19

    Laughter saved me: the comedian turning tragedy into comedy

    When she was 14, Krystal Evans survived a lethal house fire. Years later, to come to terms with what she’d experienced, she turned it into a stand-up show. The women in Krystal's family have always been funny, she says; her mother was no exception. But as well as being hilarious she also struggled with mental illness, and life in Krystal’s childhood was chaotic. With very little money, the family would move from place to place, Krystal would miss months of school and often be left to take care of her younger sister alone. When Krystal was 14, chaos turned to tragedy when a fire engulfed their mobile home in Washington State. Not everyone survived. Krystal buried the experience and tried to move on with her life, but years later, while working as a comedian, she decided to confront her memories of the fire – by turning them into a hit stand-up show: The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Caroline Ferguson and Zoe Gelber Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    41 min

  7. JAN 12

    Living a lie: discovering my dad faked who he was

    Joanne Briggs had always thought of her dad as a bit of a superhero. But he was hiding a dark secret. She only saw him a couple of times a year during her childhood in the UK, but that was because Professor Michael Briggs was off travelling the world being a very important scientist. Or at least that was the story she grew up to believe. It was only in 1986, when Joanne was 23, that she first got a glimpse of who he really was. The Sunday Times newspaper exposed him as a scientific fraud, leaving his reputation in tatters. Two months later, he was dead. Joanne chose to close the door on this mysterious and destructive period of her life. But 34 years later it unexpectedly reopened, and led her on a journey through multiple lies and deception, towards a better understanding of the man she thought she knew. Joanne Briggs has written a book about her father: The Scientist Who Wasn't There. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Anna Lacey Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   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

    44 min

  8. JAN 5

    Fatima Whitbread: from abandoned baby to world champion

    Fatima Whitbread grew up in a UK children’s home. She found both a mother and a coach in one person – going on to break the javelin world record and become an Olympic medallist. Fatima spent her first 14 years in a series of institutions after being abandoned as a baby. She longed for stability and love, and found both in an unexpected place – on the sports field. Coach Margaret Whitbread spotted her talent early, and when she discovered that the young Fatima was growing up without a family, invited her to spend some time with her own. Holiday visits soon turned into an offer of a permanent home with the Whitbreads, and Fatima was eventually formally adopted by them. Margaret became both her mother and her coach. Fatima had once written to Margaret that her dream was to be ‘the best javelin thrower in the world.’ Years later, she made that a reality with a record-breaking throw at the 1986 European Athletics Championships, followed by gold at the World Championships. She is also a two-time Olympic medallist. Today, Fatima Whitbread is using her own experiences to campaign for children in care through her charity, Fatima’s UK Campaign. Please be aware, this episode contains references to child sexual abuse. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producers: June Christie & Louise Morris Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. 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. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. 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

    41 min
See All (210)

Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
471 Ratings

About

Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger and wondered, "What’s their story?" Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary stories from around the world.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2009 - 2026
  • Episodes
    210
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Lives Less Ordinary

More From BBC

You Might Also Like