Don't Log Off

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 super dangerous pastime, base jumping. Then there's Syrian refugee Abdulkader who tells of his epic journey to Europe from the ruins of Aleppo. Also on Alan's contacts list today are Sam and Anna, co-workers in a call centre in Ukraine, who dream of leaving their poorly paid jobs behind forever.

Producer: Laurence Grissell.

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 cancer. Entirely on his own initiative, Hank started to record every detail of the couple's lives - including the final hours of Norma's life.

Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Alan Dein continues his series of nocturnal conversations with random strangers. Settling down for the night, he locks the studio door and opens the microphone to people he encounters online.

As he crisscrosses the world, he hears from a Kenyan pilot who lives her childhood dream of flying helicopters over hammerhead sharks in Key West, a Parisian designer stopped in his tracks by meningitis and a man in Pennsylvania accused of bewitching his wife.

Producer: Sarah Bowen.

Alan Dein embarks on a new series of nocturnal excursions via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of random strangers.

Alan holes himself up in a studio through the night and invites the online world to talk to him. Knowing nothing about the people he is about to talk to, he settles down for an evening of intriguing encounters.

Tonight he connects with a Nigerian trapped in Abu Dhabi, a Hungarian woman who found salvation in the birth of her son, a Dutch man who believes he's a reincarnated slave and a grounded Canadian test pilot coming to terms with the fact he'll never fly again.

Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Alan Dein crosses the world via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of strangers he randomly encounters. In this episode he explores dependency, hearing from a young German woman who fell into a coma while in Ireland, and a workaholic in Singapore punishing his body with drink.

Producer Emma Betteridge.

Alan Dein connects with the world online, linking up with people across the globe to discover dramas of personal identity, including an American whose roots might be more tangled than he first thought, thanks to the Cold War.

Producer Mark Burman.

Alan Dein crosses the world via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of strangers he randomly encounters.

In the first programme in this new series, Alan hears stories from people who have had to find the strength to deal with difficult situations and make tough choices.

Speaking out for the first time, a girl in trouble with her education tells Alan how her sponsor offered her a repulsive choice. A New York lawyer fights to get back to work after a horrific attack and a Syrian student leaves his family in the hope of rebuilding his country.

Producer: Sarah Bowen.

Alan Dein crosses the world via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of random strangers.

This week he speaks to people who, through choice or circumstance, are going it alone.

He hears from a Chinese student, now living in Los Angeles, who is coping with living alone in a foreign country and has come to terms with his stutter without the help of a speech therapist.

A woman from Australia explains how she is overcoming the disappointment of being jilted by her Vietnamese fiancé while another in Argentina explains why she wants to remain alone having lost her savings in pursuit of a relationship.

And finally he hears from a widow in London who is haunted by her husband's death.

Producer: Clare Walker.