Lives Less Ordinary Podcast
The most incredible true stories from around the world, told by the people who lived them. Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected.
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the 麻豆社 World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Step into someone else鈥檚 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鈥檚 life鈥檚 wild side, in stereo.
Lives Less Ordinary is brought to you by the team behind Outlook, the home of true life storytelling on 麻豆社 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:
/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
Episodes to download
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Fatima Whitbread: from abandoned baby to world champion
Monday
The British athlete found both a mother and a coach in one person, and went on to win gold
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One suitcase, three kids: a broke scientist pursues a dream
Mon 29 Dec 2025
Once a homeless single mum, Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is now a nanomedicine pioneer
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I broke the most important rule: don't get attached
Mon 22 Dec 2025
Youth worker Nicolas Lunabba let troubled teenager Elijah make a home on his sofa
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Tulisa: I wanted fame, but it almost destroyed me
Mon 15 Dec 2025
Tulisa Contostavlos survived betrayal and a tabloid sting
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The ragtag boy who was taken in by a football icon
Mon 8 Dec 2025
The incredible story of how Brian Clough鈥檚 kindness changed a young kid鈥檚 life forever
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My private trauma was leaked to the press 鈥� so I fought back
Mon 1 Dec 2025
Jenny helped expose a national scandal after her police testimony appeared in a newspaper
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How Paramore鈥檚 singer revived her grandad鈥檚 lost album
Mon 24 Nov 2025
Grandpa Rusty nurtured Hayley Williams鈥� musical dreams 鈥� now, she鈥檚 returning the favour
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Miriam Toews: A loud voice in a town once ruled by silence
Mon 17 Nov 2025
How the author used her strict Mennonite upbringing to tell its unspoken stories
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Trapped underground: my 54-hour cave rescue
Mon 10 Nov 2025
When George Linnane fell in a cave, it was the start of the UK's longest rescue
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Stabbed as a boy 鈥� and becoming a poet for a lost generation
Mon 3 Nov 2025
鈥楾he Gen Z poet鈥� Dan Whitlam survived a violent attack aged 16, he now writes about love
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Tim Berners-Lee: The man who dreamed of a World Wide Web
Tue 28 Oct 2025
The web's inventor on the unique life that inspired a tech revolution
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The baby-dinosaur hunter who ended up in Hollywood
Mon 20 Oct 2025
Jack Horner inspired a character in Jurassic Park after the dino discovery of a lifetime
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The escape from Vietnam that tore my family apart
Mon 13 Oct 2025
Doan made it onto one of the last helicopters from Saigon but her sister was left behind
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Enter the new dragon: the Bruce Lee of Afghanistan
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Abbas Alizada copied his hero鈥檚 kung fu moves 鈥� and look 鈥� and became an overnight star
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Jane Goodall: In her own words
Thu 2 Oct 2025
The celebrated chimpanzee expert talks about her loves and her life amongst the apes
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Sweet surprise: I found my birth mother in my local bakery
Mon 29 Sep 2025
Vamarr and Lenore had a close bond for years without realising they were related
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Zarna Garg: The rise of an 鈥榰nstoppable鈥� comedy star
Mon 22 Sep 2025
Once a homeless teen in Mumbai, now Zarna Garg鈥檚 a top comedian, touring with Tina Fey
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I sent three innocent teenagers to prison for life
Mon 15 Sep 2025
Ron Bishop says police forced him to tell lies on the witness stand during a murder trial
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Cesar Millan: The 鈥榙og boy鈥� who became the Dog Whisperer
Mon 8 Sep 2025
Cesar Millan migrated illegally to the US and slept rough before becoming a TV sensation
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Sole survivor: Eight days in the jungle after my plane crashed
Mon 1 Sep 2025
Annette Herfkens's romantic getaway ended in disaster
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Coming up in the new season of Lives Less Ordinary
Thu 28 Aug 2025
A heads-up on some of the extraordinary stories to look forward to from September
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Hold Fast! 8. Our duty is done
Mon 25 Aug 2025
Siobh维n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 7. I want to hug a cow
Mon 25 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 6. Unicorn poo
Mon 18 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 5. No better mirror than the sea
Mon 18 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 4. Taking the biscuit
Mon 11 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 3. The world as you know it no longer exists
Mon 11 Aug 2025
Siobh维n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 2. I didn鈥檛 know the sea was so big
Mon 4 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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Hold Fast! 1. Signs from the universe
Mon 4 Aug 2025
Siobh谩n McSweeney tells the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship Avontuur
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My way out of the woods
Mon 28 Jul 2025
A corporate high-flyer lived in a forest after a spiral of debt, shame and secrecy
