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Outlook: Outlook Mixtape: Rebel lawyer; The Wicker Man; sea shanties

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03/05/2024 GMT

Outlook Mixtape: Rebel lawyer; The Wicker Man; sea shanties

BBC World Service - Outlook, Outlook Mixtape: Rebel lawyer; The Wicker Man; sea shanties

Your bonus edition with the stories we love this week

The lawyer fighting her parents’ expectations and her government; the cult film that tore a family apart and the discovery that reunited them; the healing power of music.

Since her childhood, Moniza Kakar has been leading a quiet and steady rebellion. It started when she pushed her traditional Pashtun family to allow her to have an education and a career. And now as a lawyer, she’s at the forefront of the challenge to a controversial order to deport almost 1.7 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

Dominic and Justin Hardy were young boys when their father, the British director Robin Hardy, began a gruelling and obsessive quest to make The Wicker Man. Now the film is regarded as a masterpiece and beloved by fans across the world, but when it was first released in 1973, it was a massive flop. The fallout for the Hardy family was painful, tearing them apart. It would take decades, and a bundle of lost letters for Dominic and Justin to finally come to terms with the past – including their personal legacy from this iconic movie. 

Founded by Claire Ingleheart,  Femmes de la Mer is an all-female sea shanty singing group in the English county of Cornwall. Claire wanted to raise awareness about the history of extraordinary sea-faring Cornish women and co-wrote new songs for them to sing together.  Naomi joined the group when she was expecting her first child, and sang these songs to her unborn son. His birth didn't go to plan, but as she sat with her baby in hospital, Naomi began to realise the extraordinary power of the songs she was singing. 

Tom Cridland discovered Elton John's music for the first time when he went to university and he loved it instantly. He became obsessed and knew every Elton song – but by the time he left Tom was struggling with drinking and had become addicted to alcohol. Years later, inspired by Elton John's sobriety, he managed to quit. When Tom nearly relapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic it was learning the piano and all of Elton's songs, that kept him sober and lead to a successful new career as a tribute act.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Julian Siddle

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Cassette tape. Credit: Getty Images)

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