Alex Ritson

Rakil Makadia, planetary defence researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told us more about this unique experiment.

Planetary Defense Researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rahil Makadia.

And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story, this edition.

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Why getting out into nature can be so good for our mental health. And the US veterans reunited more than 80 years after serving together.

We start in New York, where two women have developed an unconventional friendship after a chance encounter on Christmas Day. Back in 2021, 26-year-old Nina was showing friends around the city during the holidays. She was on the subway when she saw a leather wallet on the seat next to her, belonging to a then 84-year-old woman named Carol. Instead of handing it in, Nina decided to find Carol and personally return it to her. They've been friends ever since.

Five years later, one of Nina's posts about how they met has gone viral on TikTok. Have a listen.

Nina and Carol speaking to Tamsin Selby. The Galapagos Islands, a thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, are home to many species found nowhere else on earth. And the unique wildlife of the archipelago has faced a number of threats, with some animals becoming extinct, including a species of giant tortoise, which disappeared from Floriana Island more than a century ago, following the arrival of humans. But now...

More than 150 young reptiles from a closely related species have been reintroduced there. My colleague Leila Nathu spoke to Dr Evelyn Jensen, an evolutionary biologist, who's been involved in the breeding programme.

Dr. Evelyn Jensen. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the waters around Indonesia's Spermonde Islands lie within one of the most biodiverse marine regions on Earth, part of the Coral Triangle. Many locals rely on the health of the oceans for their livelihoods from both fishing and tourism. But the reefs have been badly damaged from heavy shipping traffic, illegal fishing methods such as explosives and poisons,

Meidän suurin toivomaan on, että koronarvot eivät ole taas vaikuttaneet. Toinen toivomaan on, että turismi täällä ei välttämättä välttämättä. Ihmiset tulevat paikoilleen näin, jotta he voivat nauttia ja nauttia ympäristöä. Jos koronarvot ovat vaikuttaneet, ei tule enempää turistia.

Coral Restoration volunteer dealer ending that report from Les Thea Kertopatti.

We're often told the best way to shed off life's stresses and relax is to immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature. It's advice which was put into verse by the Welsh poet William Henry Davis more than a hundred years ago. What is this life? If full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.

Well now, new research has provided some scientific backing to this, finding that simply observing or standing and staring at one thing in nature every day for two weeks can significantly boost our well-being, especially if we take the time to write down how we feel. James Kumarasami went to a small park near London's Heathrow Airport to meet psychologist Dr Alison Greenwood, who runs a charity that promotes the mental health benefits of getting out into nature.

Dr. Alison Greenwood speaking to James Kumarasami. To a tale of friendship that has spanned more decades than most. Two military veterans in the United States have been reunited by chance 82 years after they fought alongside each other. The Happy Pods' Holly Gibbs has more. Robert Miller and Willard Smith both live in a care home in Naperville in Illinois.

Willard and Robert, ending that report by Holly Gibbs.

And finally, to a simple donation of a used bicycle that's making a big difference thousands of kilometres away, opening up a new chapter for Kenyan paracycling. Carrie Ruxton, a gym owner in Scotland, offered her daughter's old tandem bike online, an offer seen by Alice Meringu, who'd been struggling to find a tandem to race with visually impaired cyclists.

Five months later, with some help from the Scottish Kenyan community, the bike finally arrived in Nairobi on Valentine's Day and is now being prepared for international competition. My colleague James Copnell has been speaking to Carrie and Alice.

And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. If you have a story you think we should cover, we'd love to hear from you. Just send us an email or a voice note to globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Philip Bull and the producers were Holly Gibbs and Rachel Bulkeley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time, goodbye.