Outlook

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

World Service,4407 episodes

Episodes

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Scarpetta: Creating the hero I needed as a child
The painful past behind writer Patricia Cornwell’s crime‑fighting icon
16 Mar 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: Friday the 13th
Tales of misfortune and horror to mark Friday the 13th
13 Mar 2026,40 mins
A riot in a shopping cart: the race that inspired an artist
Murray Siple was drawn to speed and risk-takers. An injury opened his eyes to a new world
12 Mar 2026,40 mins
Vampires in Lollywood: The 40-year hunt for the desi Dracula
Zinda Laash was Pakistan’s first ever horror film – but then it just disappeared
11 Mar 2026,40 mins
Just row with it: 139 days at sea, three brothers, one ocean
A philosopher, a craftsman and an engineer try to row 9,000 miles across the Pacific
10 Mar 2026,40 mins
A boy named ‘stand up’ and his battle to take down a statue
Simukai means 'stand-up' – and he does, against the legacy of colonialism
09 Mar 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: The birds and the bees
Four tales from our archive about birds, bees, and falling in love
06 Mar 2026,40 mins
Why a British band toured war-torn Ukraine, twice
Hardwicke Circus skirted curfews and air-raid sirens to rock out with Ukrainians
05 Mar 2026,40 mins
I learnt to fly a spaceship in just nine weeks
Astronaut Edward Lu's journey from flight engineer to asteroid hunter
04 Mar 2026,40 mins
The rediscovered tapes of an electronic music pioneer
Beverly Glenn-Copeland found fame in his 70s after his long-lost record became a cult hit
03 Mar 2026,40 mins
Secret letters from a Venetian palazzo
Writer Andrea di Robilant on coded letters that shaped his family’s fortunes
02 Mar 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: Heavy Metal
Extraordinary stories about people who dig metal - in all its forms
27 Feb 2026,40 mins
Hercules: The grizzly bear who became family
Maggie Robin raised a bear cub who grew into an extraordinary companion
26 Feb 2026,40 mins
Music was my salvation: the homeless man and the piano
Francois was homeless when he learned to play a train station piano from scratch
25 Feb 2026,40 mins
Sects, lies and videotape: a Syrian story, part 2
Accused of spying in rebel-held Syria, Loubna Mrie faces peril and a shattering loss
24 Feb 2026,40 mins
Sects, lies and videotape: A Syrian story, part 1
Loubna Mrie secretly filmed Syria’s uprising, despite her family’s loyalty to the regime
23 Feb 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: Daredevils
People who live on the edge and wouldn't have it any other way
20 Feb 2026,40 mins
Why I still love sharks even after one nearly killed me
Mauricio Hoyos was under water tagging sharks when one of them turned on him
19 Feb 2026,40 mins
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
18 Feb 2026,40 mins
Kangaroo Dundee: I gave it all up to become a 'kangaroo mum'
Chris "Brolga" Barns fell in love with joeys and built an orphan kangaroo sanctuary
17 Feb 2026,40 mins
From teenage grief to comedy - and a love letter to Mum
When Ollie Maddigan's mum died, he blamed himself - until he started to write about it
16 Feb 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: A day at the office
Stories of the highs, lows and weird quirks of the workplace everyone loves to hate
13 Feb 2026,40 mins
Forget Cool Runnings: Inside the real Jamaican bobsled team
Devon Harris made history at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Jamaica’s first bobsleigh team
12 Feb 2026,40 mins
The reluctant revival of a Lebanese folk singer
Rogér Fakhr survived civil war by making music, but it would take years to share his past
11 Feb 2026,40 mins
I had to fight for my life and learn to dance again
A devastating car crash threw Marc Brew's life and dancing career into jeopardy
10 Feb 2026,40 mins
I bought Macclesfield FC while drunk and it saved my life
When Rob Smethurst was gripped by addiction, building a football club helped him get out
09 Feb 2026,40 mins
Outlook Mixtape: The boyband edition
Three stories of slick harmonies and choreographed moves – and the real lives behind them
06 Feb 2026,40 mins
Rescuing my twin, the famous artist we might never have known
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives
05 Feb 2026,40 mins
How searching for the missing, led me back to my roots
When a friend goes missing, Haley Omeasoo leans on her forensics skills to help.
04 Feb 2026,40 mins
Being Skepta’s Mum: Raising a rap icon
Ify Adenuga had very strict parents. As a mum she rewrote the rulebook, nurturing a star
03 Feb 2026,44 mins