Lives Less Ordinary

• My hunt for the Gutenberg – the rare book that solved a family mystery

  Michael Visontay thought he knew everything about his family’s past, but there was one shadowy character he was aching to know more about: his grandfather’s second wife, Olga. As Michael went through old papers, he uncovered a trail to the world’s most coveted book, the Gutenberg Bible – a rare antique printed in the 1450s – and the scandalous scheme to break it up.Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Maryam MarufGet in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

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• Rewind: The spy who wanted to bring down apartheid Part 2

  ANC spy Sue Dobson infiltrated the South African government. Then her cover was blown. After training, Sue had got a job within the government's propaganda unit, and she was feeding back good intelligence to her ANC handlers. Then she got a phone call. The security services were on to her, and she was a long way from safety. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Deiniol Buxton Sound design: Joel Cox

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• Rewind: The spy who wanted to bring down apartheid Part 1

  Sue Dobson was a white South African who risked her life as an ANC secret agentSue was a student when she was first recruited as a spy for the African National Congress liberation movement in the 1980s, and she knew that if she was caught she'd face prison, torture or death. Sue's mission would require her to infiltrate the pro-apartheid media establishment, but first she needed to learn spycraft and weapons handling. Her training would take place in Soviet Russia. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Deiniol Buxton Sound design: Joel Cox

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• Held hostage by al-Qaeda: my desert odyssey

  Edith Blais was kidnapped by armed militants and held captive in the Sahara for 450 days.As a young French-Canadian who had overcome her teenage agoraphobia, Edith took several years to work up the courage to go travelling – but once she did it, she got the bug. In 2018 she backpacked to West Africa with her good friend Luca Tacchetto. When they got to Benin they were kidnapped by armed militants and taken to the desert in a lawless area of Mali, where groups linked to al-Qaeda were known to operate.The couple pretended to be husband and wife so they could stay together but Edith soon found herself held captive alone, kept in isolation for long periods of time. As well as suffering physically with dehydration and starvation, she had to find different techniques to keep her mind strong and stay sane. A borrowed pen enabled her to write poetry, and she sang songs to remind herself of her own voice.After agreeing to convert to Islam she was eventually reunited with Luca. By this time they had been held for 14 months, and they knew they had to break free. But with their captors never more than a few feet away from them, how would they do it? Edith spoke to Jo Fidgen in 2021 about how forces of nature aided their staggering escape. Edith's book about her time in captivity is called The Weight of Sand.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Katy TakatsukiPicture: Edith Blais Credit: Sara Mauve RavenelleGet in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

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• The unmaking of a child soldier

  As a boy, Ishmael Beah was forced to kill. How do you turn a soldier back into a child? Ishmael Beah was just 13 when war reached his village in Sierra Leone and he was made to flee. In the chaos, he was separated from his family. He ended up with a group of other children at what they thought was the safety of an army base. But instead, he was taught to become a hardened killer and sent out to fight. Nearly three years went by before he was finally rescued by child protection specialists from Unicef, but he was so brainwashed that he didn’t want to leave. It took months of careful rehabilitation and the support of a very special woman to break down his defences.In 1996, at the age of just 16, he gave a speech at the UN in New York where he recalled his experiences. His testimony formed part of a pivotal report into the impact of armed conflict on children. A decade later, he would become the first Unicef Advocated for Children Affected by War. Today he is a bestselling author and married with three children. This interview was recorded in 2020. This interview contains disturbing descriptions of violence.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Edgar Maddicott and Jo Impey Editor: Munazza KhanPhoto: Ishmael Beah Credit: Priscillia Kounkou HoveydaGet in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

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