{"podcast":{"title":"Lives Less Ordinary","slug":"lives-less-ordinary-162239","podcast_index_feed_id":162239,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02s5rx7.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02s5rx7","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0ltmjjg.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":226,"summary":"Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger and wondered, \"What’s their story?\" Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary stories from around the world.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-15T08:17:08.374225+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239"},"episode":{"title":"Colm Tóibín: How an Irish boy with a stammer found his voice","slug":"colm-t-ib-n-how-an-irish-boy-with-a-stammer-found-his-voice","published_at":"2026-02-02T01:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239/colm-t-ib-n-how-an-irish-boy-with-a-stammer-found-his-voice","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0my58m6","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0my54rd.mp3","summary":"Colm Tóibín is a celebrated Irish writer, but as a child words didn't come easily. Navigating grief as a boy when his father died, he developed a stammer. Instead of talking, Colm watched and listened, collecting stories that wove their way into his novels. He's won a string of awards and been nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize three times. His novel Brooklyn was made into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and was up for several Oscars. He finds it hilarious that although he was invited to the event he had to be ushered in through a back door – the red carpet is apparently not for novelists. Beyond his writing, Colm was a vocal campaigner for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland. He’s also breaking taboos by speaking openly about testicular cancer and highlighting some of the comedy moments from those bleak times. His latest book is called A Long Winter. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Andrea Kennedy Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice","meta_description":"Colm Tóibín is a celebrated Irish writer, but as a child words didn't come easily. Navigating grief as a boy when his father died, he developed a stammer.…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2477,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lives-less-ordinary-162239/episodes/colm-t-ib-n-how-an-irish-boy-with-a-stammer-found-his-voice/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239/colm-t-ib-n-how-an-irish-boy-with-a-stammer-found-his-voice.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}