Alan Dein searches for the stories that connect us in a changing world. Today, Alan hears stories from people who’ve transformed their lives and are helping others to do the same against the backdrop of the pandemic. He speaks to Alhaji in Sierra Leone who’s building a house for his parents from the money he’s earned working in the United States. He hears from Tiffany in India who helps visually impaired people become more independent, after her own challenging childhood. Alan also...

Alan Dein searches for the stories that connect us in a changed world. Inspiring and moving stories of how the pandemic has changed people's lives on every continent. Today, airline pilot Peter in Australia talks about deciding to become a bus driver after the pandemic forced him to stop flying. And wedding planner Vithika in India discusses the dramatic impact of the pandemic on her industry. Plus, Chun Wing, a ballet dancer at the Paris Opera shares the frustrations of not being...

Alan Dein searches for the stories that connect us in a changed world. Inspiring and moving accounts of how the pandemic has changed people's lives on every continent. Today, Liana in Armenia celebrates her 30th birthday as her country finds itself at war with Azerbaijan - as well as covid-19. We also catch up with 25 year old entrepreneur Fahad in Bangladesh, who Alan first spoke to in March when it looked like he might lose his hard-earned fortune. Plus, Ugandan midwife Marion faces...

Alan Dein searches for the stories that connect us in a changed world. Inspiring and moving accounts of how the pandemic has changed people's lives on every continent. New series. Today, Alan connects with Sakie in Myanmar, who tells of a heroic 24 hour journey from his remote village in order to save his mother’s life. He also catches up with Maria Ester in Ecuador, who Alan first spoke to six months ago when it looked as if her family business was on the verge of collapse. Alan also...

Alan Dein talks to people around the world about the challenges of family life in lockdown. He connects with Margaret in Uganda who has adopted many children orphaned by HIV. And he reaches out to Alezz in Peru, a trans non-binary person who is confined to their bedroom as their parents struggle to accept them. He also speaks to Pawel who got trapped in Poland at the start of January and doesn't know when he'll be able to return home to his wife in China. Producers: Georgia Catt,...

Across every continent, lives have been put on hold, and people are looking to the day when they can pick up and restart after lockdown. Alan Dein connects to people looking forward to continuing those things most important to them. In Mexico, Lucia has spent the past seven years searching for her kidnapped son – one of thousands of disappeared children in the country. For the first time, she has been forced to put that on hold. Captain Jens aboard a vast container ship has not been on...

Alan Dein connects with people around the world trying to find moments of calm during the coronavirus pandemic. He speaks to Jens, the captain of a container ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean who is unsure when he may be able to get his crew back home, and Sujatha, an 85 year old in India who is philosophical about being confined to her home in Delhi. 1000 miles south of Delhi, Alan reaches out to Chinu who is feeding Mumbai's urban poor as the Indian government imposes a lockdown. ...

Across every continent, people are trying to make sense of a new world – one that happens mostly behind closed doors and often alone. Alan Dein connects with seven individuals whose lives have shifted under the coronavirus pandemic as they nervously anticipate what will come next in an uncertain future. In Tehran, Golnar, an Iranian who describes herself as ‘global traveller’ is inside her apartment – all future trips postponed. Across the town is the hostel she set up with a friend. ...

Marco loves Beijing - and being Chinese born he should feel at home. But instead he always feels a bit different from those around him, because he was brought up in Australia. His wanderlust is never ceasing, flying across the world is his way of finding contentment, bringing new perspectives back to China with him. But will he ever feel settled? Nosaiba is from Sudan, but for three years she has been living with her parents in Saudi Arabia. Life for women has become a little less...

Alan Dein talks to people around the world to find out how they recover when facing difficulty. Helena is a young woman in Venezuela, living alone with her daughter. Caught in the middle of a national crisis, crime and electrical blackouts, she leaves an audio diary for Alan documenting the week leading up to her daughter's 9th birthday. He also speaks to a personal trainer in Sri Lanka whose business is much more than exercise and an Argentinian man who finds hope in personal...

Alan Dein connects with people around the world united by their desire to find fulfilment. Alan speaks to a young gay man in China troubled by homophobia and an Egyptian woman determined to resist the religious extremism she witnesses in her small city. He also reaches out to an Iranian man struggling to pursue his passion for foreign languages against the odds and a jobless Nigerian distressed by his inability to provide for his family. Producer: Laurence Grissell

Some locations - the beaches of California, the South American rain-forest, the majestic scenery and slow pace of Christchurch, New Zealand - may seem like Paradise - but reality, in the form of nature, climate change, industrialisation, or terrorism, can often creep in, even in these beautiful places. What about if you live there? Alan Dein talks to three strangers from across the globe, finding out the threats to Paradise, and how those who have chosen to make their lives there cope. ...

Alan Dein hears compelling personal stories from people around the globe about the things which unite them. In Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the North of England and beyond, Alan connects with people online who are on the move, exploring what ‘motion’ means to different people through individual and collective experiences. This includes a unique insight into marriage behind the wheel from a husband and wife trucking duo as they travel across Europe and reflections from a Saudi woman about how her...

In this week's episode, Alan connects with people in Sweden, Brazil, Australia, Poland, and beyond. Conversations include a trans man in the military getting ready for fatherhood, a burlesque performer building queer community in Brazil, and a woman who wonders how different her life might have been if she never found roller derby. Producer: Arlie Adlington

Alan Dein connects with strangers across the world, exploring the things that unite people across cultures and borders. Today, Alan reaches out to people in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone and beyond - exploring what it means to belong. He hears people yearning for a better life elsewhere - and those determined to make a go of it where they are. Producer: Laurence Grissell

Alan Dein connects with random strangers around the world and calls them. Each has a personal, intimate story of how art has enriched their lives or provided solace in difficult times. Producer: Georgia Catt.

Alan Dein connects with random strangers around the world and calls them. Alan Dein connects with random strangers around the world and calls them. Each has a story of exile - whether through escape, economic necessity or adventure. Producer: Georgia Catt.

Alan Dein continues his virtual global journey, calling random people he stumbles across on line. Through extraordinary stories of tolerance, Alan hears what people endure in their political, religious and love lives. Bob, a Lebanese computer intern, tells of his struggles as a fervent Islamist, Samira a Brazilian teacher confesses to infidelity and Tariro shares her joy as the tanks roll into Harare. Producer: Sarah Bowen.

Alan Dein connects with random strangers around the world and calls them. This week, his guests are in far flung places and bustling cities but each, in their own way, isolated. He finds Clare, an ex-Mounted Police Officer in the High Arctic, Dino, a security guard, locking up after a long nightshift in Skopje and in Northern China, 19-year-old Ben, whose ears are still ringing from his first night ever in a nightclub. Producer: Sarah Bowen.

Alan Dein travels the world via the internet talking to parents and children about navigating the tricky expectations they have of each other. Among those Alan strikes up conversation with today: a Filipino mother estranged from her gay son, a Ugandan woman whose education was cut short and a young Korean man hiding his tattoos from his parents. Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Alan Dein travels the world via the internet, talking to people trying to survive against the odds. Locking himself away in a studio in Broadcasting House, Alan crosses time zones and continents speaking to random strangers using Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp. Among those Alan gets chatting to today is BJ who spends half his life working on the confines of an oil rig in the East Timor Sea so that he can spend the rest of his time throwing himself off high rise buildings as he pursues his...

Alan Dein talks to his Facebook friends across America about the election of Donald Trump. Just hours after the result, Trump and Clinton supporters alike talk passionately about why they voted the way they did - and share their hopes and fears about the future of the United States. Working through the night, Alan tries to understand what the election has revealed about modern America - from California to Tennessee. Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Alan Dein continues his nocturnal excursions via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of random strangers. Tonight he connects with a civil engineering student from Kathmandu two years on from the earthquake that devastated parts of Nepal, a Jamaican living in Panama City who is waiting to fulfil his childhood dream of joining the US army and a man in Tanzania, expecting the birth of his first child. Producer: Clare Walker.

Alan Dein presents the moving story of three years in the life of Hank & Norma, a couple in their 60s from Arkansas, USA - told entirely by the messages left by Hank for Alan on Skype. Alan first spoke to harp-playing Hank three years ago for Don't Log Off. Shortly afterwards, Hank started to leave Alan occasional messages and audio recordings. As the months went by, the recordings became more intimate and revealing, charting Hank's major heart surgery and Norma's experiences with...