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Terrorists, Taxis and Mandela's PA

Robb Leech tells Alan Kasujja his white middle class step-brother planned to join the Taliban. Plus Mandela's closest assistant, a unique taxi ride, and India's Prince musician.

Robb Leech's stepbrother, Richard Dart, went from being a white middle-class British teenager to an extreme Islamist. In 2013 he was convicted of 'preparing acts of terrorism' and sentenced to six years in prison. Robb, a filmmaker, has been exploring what brought about this radical transformation. His latest film is called 'My Brother the Terrorist.'

Prince Rama Varma likes to play down his membership of the royal family of Travancore in southern India. He prefers to concentrate on his career as a vocalist and veena player in the tradition of Indian classical music. And, as he explains to Nicki Paxman, he also changed tradition at a local religious festival.

Zelda La Grange spent 19 years at Mandela's side as his personal assistant. But during her childhood in the apartheid years, Zelda thought of Mandela as the enemy. Everything changed when they met. She's written a book about her time working for one of the world's most remarkable men - it's called Good Morning Mr Mandela.

Niels Hobbs is the son of two great travellers with an adventure story of his own. In 1955 his father Alfred Hobbs and his wife Jakobine drove a 1930s London taxi around the world. In 2009 Niels and his father restored the same taxi and drove across America to pay a surprise visit on Jakobine. She and Alfred had been divorced over forty years and she had no idea that she was about to see ex-husband or the taxi again. There's a film about this latest adventure, "Alfred and Jakobine."

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Mon 7 Jul 2014 00:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sun 6 Jul 2014 07:32GMT
  • Mon 7 Jul 2014 00:32GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

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