You wanted me dead, but look at me now

As the Avontuur draws closer to Hamburg and its final port of call, the crew begin to reflect on what they’ve been through and what awaits them in their lives back on land. But first, there’s a party to welcome the ship home. Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Se ... Show More

After 188 days without setting foot on land, the Avontuur finally arrives in Horta, in the Azores. Before the crew can finally get off the ship, there are a few last hurdles to contend with. Ship’s cook Giulia has played her part in getting them here in reasonably good spirits, b ... Show More

As the crew of the Avontuur fight their way out of the Gulf of Mexico and battle a hurricane that delays their journey back across the Atlantic, ship’s cook Giulia faces the spectre of food and gas shortages with ingenuity and a determination to get back home. 15 people, 188 days ... Show More

Who do you picture when you hear the word ‘widow’? The stereotype is probably an elderly woman. But what if your spouse dies unexpectedly young? Two women share their experiences of grief, stigma, and finding the strength to live their lives to the full. Roseline Orwa is a Kenyan ... Show More

"She'd been waiting for the catastrophe to end catastrophes all her life and now it was here she seemed not to give a fig about it". Howard Jacobson reflects on his mother's life - and death. Producer: Adele Armstrong 

Mitchell Jackson stops by and talks about his beloved friend and surrogate mother, Sandie Crisp, aka The Goddess Bunny, a disabled trans icon. She died in January of Covid, after surviving polio and HIV.  Mitchell discusses the ups and downs of her life, stints of homelessness, h ... Show More

Danielle Deadwyler's extraordinary portrayal of the civil rights activist Mamie Till-Mobley in Chinonye Chukwu’s ‘Till’ has earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Leading Actress. The film tells the true story of Mamie’s pursuit of justice after her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, ... Show More

1989, and Anne moves to a new house in a new town with her husband and baby. Life seems unremarkable, until one day she’s prodded in the back and hears a refined voice in her ear… but there’s no-one there. It happens again, and then again. Is Anne's imagination getting the better ... Show More

At 18 years old, Sophie Morgan was in a car crash, and was instantly paralysed from the chest down. Eighteen years on, she is now one of the only TV presenter’s in the world with a physical disability. She’s also an artist and an award-winning disability advocate. Sophie speaks p ... Show More

Alan Dein follows Margaret in Uganda, who cares for nine children orphaned by Aids and who has HIV herself. Told through interviews and her own smartphone recordings, it’s an inspiring story of hope and resilience as Margaret deals with lockdown and the loss of loved ones. 

In Can You Ever Forgive Me? Melissa McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling biographer of celebrities such as Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. In the early 1990s - when she was in her early 50s - Lee found herself unable ... Show More