Lives Less Ordinary

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José Mujica: Guerilla, president and occasional romantic May 25, 2025

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Remembering the former president of Uruguay: José 'Pepe' Mujica. He started life as a flower farmer on the outskirts of Montevideo. As a young man he became politically active, part of the left-wing guerilla group the Tupamaros, who were bent on revolution through armed struggle that involved bank heists and kidnappings. With the authorities on his tail Pepe was eventually captured, he was shot six times and later staged what became a record-breaking prison escape. When he was captured and imprisoned again, he was held for 13 years in horrendous conditions but he says the pain and loneliness of that time was when he learned the most about life. A year after the military regime stepped down, Pepe was released and joined formal politics and in 2010 he was voted in as president of Uruguay. He shunned the presidential palace and car for his crumbling farmhouse and old VW Beetle and brought in laws legalising gay marriage and abortion. He had his critics but when he died earlier this month, thousands of people lined the streets to pay their respects. We spoke to Pepe alongside his wife Lucia Topolansky in 2023 and they talked about how their love had changed over their decades together.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy Producer: Louise Morris

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The true story behind Brazil’s Oscar winner, I’m Still Here May 18, 2025

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Marcelo Rubens Paiva was 11 when armed men came and took his father away. Brazil was under a military dictatorship at the time. Marcelo's father was an opponent and was killed for it. His mother Eunice Paiva was now alone, raising five children. For decades she fought for answers from the state. She became a prominent lawyer and human rights defender and helped to set up Brazil's Truth Commission. But when Eunice started to develop Alzheimer's disease it fell to Marcelo, by now a successful author, to tell the family's story. That story has been made into an Oscar-winning film - I'm Still Here. And it's reignited a national debate in Brazil, about the past and the present.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Interpreter: Fernando Duarte Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The blind Holocaust survivor who caught a fugitive Nazi May 11, 2025

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Lothar Hermann found out his neighbour was ‘architect of the Holocaust’ Adolf Eichmann.

Lothar Hermann’s German-Jewish family perished in the Holocaust, but when he escaped to Argentina, little did he know that within a few years a Nazi fugitive would wind up living at the end of his street.

Lilianna Hermann spent two decades uncovering the story of a hidden family hero - her great uncle Lothar - only to find a shocking truth: it was Lothar who had played a vital role in capturing the notorious SS officer and Nazi fugitive, Adolf Eichmann, the man responsible with carrying out Hitler’s Final Solution. But Lothar was not celebrated in Eichmann’s capture and eventual trial and back home Lothar faced threats and indifference from Nazi sympathisers.

This is the unbelievable true story of how a blind survivor, living off his pension, brought down one of the architects of the Holocaust.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Edgar Maddicott and Zoe Gelber

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Searching for green in a concrete world May 04, 2025

Show notes

Kwesia X grew up in south-east London, surrounded by busy roads and tower blocks. As a teenager her mental health spiralled after a member of her family was killed, and she also lost a close friend to knife crime. Faced with a period of homelessness, Kwesia eventually turned to nature to find peace. Now she's working hard to bring the experience of the natural world to young people in the city, and they're often amazed by the plants and creatures living in the concrete jungle. You can find her videos on her YouTube channel, City Girl in Nature.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find support at befrienders.org

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producers: Taqwa Sadiq and Harry Graham

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Painting faces in search of myself and my mum Apr 27, 2025

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Juano Diaz was taken in to care aged six, his mother was battling alcoholism and he wasn't being cared for. But Juano missed his mum and with no photos of her, he became obsessed by drawing her face so he wouldn't forget her. He was later adopted by a strict Catholic and Romany Gypsy family but when he came out as gay he was asked to leave. Now down-and-out on the streets of Glasgow, with his life spiralling, he started to search for his mother again. He would scan faces in the crowds, draw his own face to explore his features, feminise them to look more like his mum and soon he discovered his talent for portraiture. Today, he paints the faces of modern icons: Pharell Williams, Madonna, Vivienne Westwood. This would lead to artistic success and a very different lifestyle – including a friendship with Grace Jones and ultimately a whole new family.

Juano’s memoir is called Slum Boy.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Andrea Kennedy

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The former wrestler who wants your brain Apr 21, 2025

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Former Harvard athlete Chris Nowinski turned World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star after a reality TV show catapulted him into the world of professional wrestling. Performing as the obnoxious and slick-talking villain Chris Harvard, he worked alongside superstars like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, John Cena, and Hulk Hogan. Chris lived the dream, until one fateful match left him suffering from post-concussion syndrome. With his career seemingly at its end, Chris began researching into sports-related head trauma and convincing athletes to donate their brains. His work helped usher in a scientific breakthrough and uncovered a silent epidemic affecting thousands of athletes.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Tommy Dixon

(Photo: Chris Nowinski. Credit: Chris Nowinski)

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Swimming blind: my journey to self-acceptance Apr 13, 2025

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From Paralympic pools to the English Channel, Melanie Barratt took on the toughest swim of her life — laying to rest her demons, and honouring her beloved mum.

Melanie Barratt was born with congenital toxoplasmosis that left her severely visually-impaired. As a teenager she excelled academically but found it hard to keep friends. She found solace in the swimming pool where again she shone, earning a chance to represent Team GB at the 1996 and 2000 Paralympic Games. Despite winning gold medals at both, her confidence in the pool did not extend to her social life, where she struggled with self-loathing. One constant source of support however was her mother, who continued to inspire Melanie even after her death. It would take decades and a gruelling swim across the English Channel – earning a place in history – for Melanie finally to find peace.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Hetal Bapodra and June Christie

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

The painful secret I hid from my twin Apr 06, 2025

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After a terrible motorbike accident 18-year-old Alex Lewis was left with no memory of his previous life. The only person he could remember was Marcus, his identical twin brother. He became the person Alex most relied upon to rebuild his entire life and memories. But then Marcus made an extraordinary decision - to shield his brother from their traumatic past by re-writing history and creating a new reality.

For over a decade, Marcus carried the weight of his secret. But when fragments of the past began to emerge, that carefully constructed narrative was shattered, leading to some deeply personal and difficult conversations.

Please note this programme contains themes of child sexual abuse.

Alex and Marcus' story features in a documentary called Tell Me Who I Am which is available on Netflix.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy Producer: Tom Harding Assinder

Photo: Alex and Marcus Lewis Credit: Alex and Marcus Lewis

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Introducing Dear Daughter Apr 02, 2025

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A bonus episode from Dear Daughter - the award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service. You can find more episodes by searching for 'Dear Daughter' wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh joins Namulanta in the studio to share the letter she's written to her three children.

She tells them the importance of trusting their bodies and following their instincts - a life philosophy which has sometimes led her into some unexpected situations, especially while pregnant...

Dear Daughter is a podcast all about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a 'handbook to life' for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they've written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they'd like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

Rewind: An author, his cellmate, and a new beginning Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

How a book-loving prisoner showed a young Alex Wheatle the path to self-belief.

Alex had been born in London to Jamaican parents, but grew up in care in the notorious Shirley Oaks children’s home. As a teenager, he was convicted of assaulting a police officer during the Brixton Riots. He felt totally alone and without hope. But as the door slammed on Alex’s prison cell, he met a book-loving man called Simeon who opened his eyes to the importance of his own history – and encouraged him to use his past to write a new and hopeful future. This was originally broadcast in December 2023.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Hetal Bapodra and Anna Lacey

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

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