In August 2006, 17-year-old Qusay Hussein was playing a game of volleyball with his brothers and friends in his home country Iraq.  As they were playing a man drove a truck onto the local sports pitch, directly towards Qusay.  It got so close he could see exactly what the driver was wearing and the smile on his face.

The truck came within a metre of Qusay before the driver detonated a devastating explosion killing 16 people and injuring 56 others. Qusay was severely wounded, blinded and given 30 minutes to live but somehow he survived. There are descriptions which you might find upsetting.

Qusay now lives in Austin, Texas where he works as a mentor for students across the American state and is studying towards a PHD.

Picture: Qusay Hussein

Credit: Qusay Hussein

Get in touch: [email protected]

Jack Charles is a venerated Aboriginal Australian actor, but at one point addiction led him to a life of crime. For years, after curtain fell, he'd slip away to burgle houses. He spoke to Outlook's Datshiane Navanayagam.

Photo:   Jack Charles

Credit:   Getty Images/Don Arnold

Get in touch: [email protected]

Rumaitha Al Busaidi is credited with being the first female football analyst in the Arab world, but she started as a footballer in the first national women's team of Oman. When their funding was cut, the team refused to give up and took to the radio where Rumaitha confronted callers who told her women didn't have a place in football. Determined to prove them wrong, she turned that experience into a career as a commentator and after a bet with her grandfather Rumaitha's persistence even led her to trek across the South Pole.

Picture: Rumaitha Al Busaidi

Credit: Courtesy of Rumaitha Al Busaidi

Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam

Producer: Troy Holmes and Sarah Kendal

Get in touch: [email protected]

Canadian Brayden Morton was devastated when his beloved dog Darla was stolen from him. He ended up tracking her down but when he encountered the thief, he saw a distressed young homeless woman with a serious drug addiction and his own past was brought back to him in an unexpected and painful way. Brayden is himself a recovering addict with a troubled history including serving time in prison. He’s now a drugs interventionist and decided not to press charges against the young woman and instead help her through rehab.

Picture: Brayden Morton with Darla

Credit: Courtesy Brayden Morton

Get in touch: [email protected]

Ugandan Susan Kigula was a young mother when she was sentenced to hang for murder. She always maintained her innocence and sang songs of sorrow in a choir she formed with her fellow inmates on death row. Behind bars Susan also started a school and completed a law degree, but it's what she did next which would change the lives of more than 400 other inmates, as well as the law of the land. This programme was first released on 2nd June 2018.

Image and credit: Susan Kigula

Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam

Get in touch: [email protected]

Kareem Rosser grew up in one of Philadelphia’s most deprived neighbourhoods - an unlikely environment to discover a love for the elite game of polo, also known as the sport of kings. He shares his story of making history with his all African American team.

Picture: A young Kareem Rosser riding a horse

Credit: Image from CTL Cover, credit Lezlie Hiner

Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam

Producer: Fiona Woods

Get in touch: [email protected]

In the aftermath of a car accident at 19 years old, Thomas Leeds was left with no memories of his childhood, of his family and friends, even cultural references were all wiped away. As Thomas began to rebuild his life he struggled with thoughts about his future because, he says, he didn't know where he'd come from. He became obsessed with the popular culture of the 80s and 90s — the era of his childhood — hoping something would trigger his memory. Then, aged 30 while planning the perfect playlist for his 80s-themed birthday party, a song suddenly unlocked memories that had been lost for 10 years.

You can follow Thomas' story on twitter @thomasleeds

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: Mariana Des Forges

Picture: collage of pictures of Thomas Leeds' brain scans, as a child and recently in hospital getting tests

Credit: all photos courtesy of Thomas Leeds

Get in touch: [email protected]

Heather Waugh is Scotland’s only female freight train driver, and she’s committed to improving the mental health of her male colleagues. Her work was inspired partly by a traumatic incident she witnessed while driving a train, when a young man took his life on the tracks. Now she’s been trained by a mental health charity to spot the early warning signs of mental health problems. She spoke to Outlook’s Andrea Kennedy.

If you are feeling emotionally distressed, support is available internationally at https://www.befrienders.org and in the UK at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Picture: Heather Waugh

Credit: BBC

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy

Producer: Harry Graham

Get in touch: [email protected]

When Victoria Arlen was a child, she had dreams of being an athlete. But at the age of 11 she became unwell and lost consciousness, only to wake up years later in a hospital bed locked into her body, unable to communicate or move. For months she was alert, but nobody knew it and all she had were her thoughts. Slowly she recovered and took up para-swimming, going on to break a world record at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. This story was first broadcast on the 30th of September 2018.

 

Presenter: Harry Graham

Producer: Katy Davis

 

Picture: Victoria Arlen

Credit: Harry Engles / Getty Images

 

Get in touch: [email protected]

Cidny Bullens is a singer-songwriter whose career first took off in the 1970s, touring with Elton John and singing on the soundtrack for the movie Grease. Solo success would follow with two Grammy nominations. Cidny's style was androgynous - big hair, jumpsuits, flares, leather jackets... topped off with an electric guitar. But hidden behind the accolades were years of struggling with gender identity, something Cidny confronted aged 61. Ten years later he recorded his first album as man.

Picture: Cidny Bullens Credit: Travis Commeau

Get in touch: [email protected]