Jason P. Howe was a British conflict photographer covering the war in Colombia, when he met a young woman at a bus stop. Her name was Marilyn, and they started a relationship that would last several years.

Over time, it became clear to Jason that Marilyn had another life. She'd disappear at night on her motorcycle. People were scared of her, bars would empty when she entered them. Eventually, she would reveal a violent secret that was shocking even in the context of a warzone. Marilyn was an assassin for Colombian paramilitary forces.

Image: Jason Howe and Marilyn

Credit: Jason P. Howe

Nalini Nadkarni is a tree canopy scientist, which means she spends her time dangling off branches secured by mountain climbing equipment. One place she works is the Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica, which is swathed in mist and low hanging clouds. Another place she works is in prisons, where she brings conservation and sustainability projects to inmates. In one of these projects, inmates helped rear endangered frogs. But Nalini's career nearly came crashing to an end when she fell from a tree. She tells Jo Fidgen how she recovered and returned to climbing trees.

Image: Nalini Nadkarni

Credit: Sybil Gotsch

New Yorkers Jayson and Stacy Greene were enchanted with their little girl, Greta. But when Greta was two, she was killed in a freak accident. She and her grandmother were sitting on a bench in Manhattan when a lump of masonry fell on Greta’s head. Surgery couldn’t save her and she died in hospital the next day, with her parents by her side. Jayson is a writer and began keeping a journal following Greta’s death. He tells Jo Fidgen how his writing and listening to certain songs helped him to grieve. Jayson’s memoir is called Once More We Saw Stars.

Image: Jayson and Greta

Credit: Joni Greene

Ivan Humble once looked on Manwar Ali as his enemy. Ivan was a regional organiser for the English Defence League (EDL), whereas Manwar was once a militant jihadist. But rumours about a so-called 'super-mosque' brought them together.

Image: (L) Ivan Humble and (R) Manwar Ali

Credit: BBC

Helen Cooper grew up in Liberia, fled during a bloody military coup and arrived in the US as a child refugee. Her background inspired her to become a journalist but there was one question that still needed to be answered: what had happened to the adopted sister she’d left behind?

Image: Eunice (in stripped dress) and Helen Cooper (with sunglasses)

Credit: Helene Cooper

Adrian Street grew up in a mining town in South Wales, but he always loved dressing up. When he was a teenager he started working down the mines but his dream was to become a wrestler. He was ridiculed by the other miners he worked with but in the 1950s he moved to London to pursue his dream. He was determined and strong but he needed something else to stand out. He chose glamour. He bleached his hair blond, dressed in sequins and feather boas and dramatic make-up. The fans were shocked at first and hurled abuse at him. He embraced all their taunts and created a haughty androgynous character that would strut about the stage blowing kisses at his abusers. He confused but also fascinated the wrestling world. He called himself "Exotic Adrian Street" and it didn't take long for him to become a star.

There's a new film about Adrian's life which has just been released, it's called 'You May Be Pretty, But I Am Beautiful: The Adrian Street Story'.

Image: Adrian Street with his father in 1974

Credit: Dennis Hutchinson/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

In 2011, military lawyer Rebecca Lipe was deployed to Iraq with the US Air Force. Her combat body armour didn’t fit because it was designed for men. She had to adapt it, and ended up with debilitating pain, fertility problems and severe depression. She tells Outlook’s Emily Webb how she’s determined the same won't happen to other women in warzones.

Photo: Rebecca Lipe

Credit: Courtesy of Rebecca Lipe

American actress Maddie Corman thought she and her television director husband, Jace Alexander, had a normal, happy life together. They’d been married for more than a decade and had three children. But in 2015, everything came crashing down when Jace was charged with a crime many people would find unforgivable. He was convicted of accessing and distributing child abuse images. Maddie tells Outlook’s Emily Webb about her painful and complicated decision to stay with him. Maddie’s play about her experience, Accidentally Brave, is now playing in New York City. (Image: Maddie Corman. Photo credit: Annie Tritt / New York Times / Redux / eyevine.)

Hamza and Waad al-Khateab lived in Aleppo through some of the most intense moments of the Syrian war. Hamza was a doctor and Waad a citizen journalist. Through the siege and bombardments they fell in love. So, how do you start a family in a warzone? Jo Fidgen hears their story.

Waad has made a documentary about their life in Aleppo called For Sama. The film is produced by Channel 4 News and ITN Productions. (Photo courtesy of Hamza and Waad al-Khateab.)

British swimmer Beth French has chronic fatigue syndrome, and when she was a teenager, she even spent a year in a wheelchair. So years later, when she swam all the way from England to France – and was still home in time to put her son to bed – she knew she’d done something really special. But then Beth set herself an impossible challenge – she vowed to swim seven of the world’s most dangerous ocean channels in a single year. She faced sharks and rip currents. But it was something closer to home that made her stop. She tells Outlook’s Jo Fidgen her story. (Photo credit: Oceans 7 Films.)