Outlook Mixtape: No ordinary Joe

Available for over a year

Chris Barns, known as Brolga, is a kangaroo 'mum' – he rescues orphaned baby kangaroos, or joeys, carrying them around in a pillowcase to mimic their mother's pouch. While working as a tour guide in the Outback, Brolga would always check the pouches of kangaroos killed by cars on the road, finding that often the joeys would still be alive. He gave up his job to create a sanctuary for them in Alice Springs. After spending all of his money building a giant dingo-proof fence, he ended up living in a tin shack on site, without electricity or a toilet, sharing his bed with joeys. But after he starred in a BBC documentary series called Kangaroo Dundee, Brolga received hundreds of emails from fans which guaranteed the sanctuary's survival. And he was able to dedicate all his time to mothering orphaned joeys, some of which starred in a family film called Kangaroo, inspired by his life. Mokhtar Alkhanshali is a young American who went back to his family's homeland in Yemen to work with the farmers there and try to get his coffee import business off the ground. As he told Outlook in 2017, he encountered all kinds of challenges including malaria, tape worm and air strikes. But despite the difficulties his business did well, and he is now opening a cafe and art gallery in San Francisco. Marjoe Gortner was just four years old in 1944 when his parents had him ordained as an evangelical minister. He was dubbed ‘the miracle child’ and conducted his first marriage ceremony before he even went to school. During the 1950s he became a star turn on the American preaching circuit and attracted huge crowds for his exuberant preaching, raking in millions of dollars. But behind it all was an elaborate con, and years later Marjoe went public with an exposé documentary. He spoke to Outlook in 2022. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Hetal Bapodra Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape with a white label bearing the words: The Outlook Mixtape. Credit: Getty Images)