Outlook Mixtape: Heavy Metal

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Today, Joe Straczynski is an award-winning comic book writer and filmmaker. He's created TV shows like Babylon 5, Sense8 and the movie Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angeline Jolie. But he had a tough start to life. Joe was born into a loveless household full of abuse. His escape came through the pages of Superman comics. For him, the 'Man of Steel' saved his life and helped form his own moral character, steering him to a better life. Outlook's Andrea Kennedy spoke to Joe back in 2019. Voice of Baceprot, or V.O.B., are an all-female metal band who met at school in a small rural town near Garut in Indonesia. Their parents thought they were going to Girl Scout meetings when really, they were rehearsing with their heavy metal band. Since then, they've been touring the world and gained some big name fans in the world of rock. Their success has created a new respect for music education in schools in their home province. Reporter Gaia Caramazza met them in 2023. Back in the 1980s, Reg Mead was eating a Sunday lunch with friends when a woman told him a story about some ancient coins being uncovered and then swiftly ploughed back into a field on Jersey, the island where he lives off the northern coast of France. A keen metal detectorist, he was intrigued. From the woman's description he suspected the coins dated from the Iron Age and so, he set out to look for them with his best friend and fellow detectorist, Richard Miles. It took 30 years of searching, but eventually they found the coins and, it turned out, a whole lot more than they could have ever imagined. The two friends spoke to Jo Fidgen in 2022 about their hoard. All Superman material is copyright of DC Comics Inc. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Andrea Rangecroft Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape on a white background with a white label with the words: The Outlook Mixtape. Credit: Getty Images)