Outlook Mixtape: In pursuit of beauty

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Sean Ronayne was an outsider who found solace in the natural world, earning himself the nickname "Nature Boy." His journey to record the songs of all 200 native bird species in Ireland not only connected him with a community of appreciative nature enthusiasts, both in Ireland and online, but also helped him gain a new acceptance of himself and his way of being in the world. One day in 2024, Welsh journalist Andrew Lloyd was checking who had viewed his most recent Instagram story when he saw something strange: himself. More specifically, an Instagram profile using photos of his face but under a different name. Eventually, he managed to get in contact with the fraudster and discover why his likeness had been stolen. As a child, Paolo Pirjanian fled Iran as a refugee. However, upon trying to make a new life in Denmark, he encountered racism, which made it difficult for him to fit in. A chance to get his own computer and write code set him on a path to develop robots—first to explore distant planets for NASA, and later he created personalised robots to help vulnerable children make sense of the world. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Tommy Dixon Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Cassette tape. Credit: Getty Images)