{"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":"I was kidnapped by North Korea","slug":"i-was-kidnapped-by-north-korea","published_at":"2026-06-08T00:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239/i-was-kidnapped-by-north-korea","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lives-less-ordinary-162239","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0nqcc4s","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0nqc81l.mp3","summary":"In the 1970s and 80s, a spate of mysterious disappearances were reported along Japan’s coast. One of those was 19-year-old nurse Hitomi Soga, who was walking with her mother when they were kidnapped. She was blindfolded and dragged to a boat destined to the world's most secretive state, North Korea. But why was she taken? Hitomi's stay in North Korea would last 24 years and include a forced marriage to America's most well-known defector, Charles Jenkins. The world watched when eventually she returned home, still desperate to uncover the truth about the mother who vanished with her into the darkness. Presenter: Asya Fouks Translation: Nancy Roberts Voiceover: Yoko Gravestock Producer: Edgar Maddicott 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":"In the 1970s and 80s, a spate of mysterious disappearances were reported along Japan’s coast. One of those was 19-year-old nurse Hitomi Soga, who was walk…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2006,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lives-less-ordinary-162239/episodes/i-was-kidnapped-by-north-korea/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/i-was-kidnapped-by-north-korea.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}