The Happy Pod: Our best stories of 2025
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You're listening to The Happy Pod.
Best stories of 2025.
I'm Harry Bly. And I'm Holly Gibbs. And for our last edition of 2025, we're looking back at some of our favourite stories from the past year, including... I was just doing it to help a mother out.
You know, I thought, what if the shoes were on the other foot? And I thought, you know, I can help this one person out, make their life a little bit easier.
the man who created a video rental corner in his convenience store for his most loyal customer. You don't know where the story's going to take you and it's always surprising and it's always beautiful and this project has been really about just untapping that extraordinary story that everyone has. We spoke to Will who went around asking strangers if they would like a cup of tea. Also, the survivors of the Nagasaki atomic bomb told us why we should strive for peace.
Plus... Here now, we really have a bright light on the horizon. We have a new test that could really be a game changer.
The blood test which could detect ovarian cancer in its early stages. The woman who climbed up Table Mountain 64 times after she nearly died falling from it. and Logie, the litter-picking Labrador who's taken the internet by storm. Let's start in the small American town of Pocatello in Idaho with a story about kindness. Dave Kroening ran the last video rental store in town and almost every day for decades was visited by Christina, who has Down syndrome. He knew it was an important part of Christina's routine. So when he had to close the store, Dave was determined to keep a pocket of it open, especially for her. I spoke to Dave and to Christina's mother, Toni.
It's part of just, you know, the fabric of her life. It's woven in.
I mean, I have a cabinet full of videos, the same movies that she goes and rents. So it's going to rent the movies that she loves. Since the mid-2000s, as streaming services became mainstream, most stores have closed. And last year, Christina's favourite video store began to struggle. Dave Kroening is the store owner.
The yard costs were going up, but the revenue was going down. And it just kind of got to the point where I just felt that just maintaining the video store wasn't feasible.
Well, he let it go on, you know, the loss of revenue because of her. So then it happened. The hammer came down and it was like, oh no. But when it came time to close the video store, Dave came up with a solution to create Christina's Corner in the neighbouring convenience store, which he also owns.
So I thought, well, I could build just this version of this corner of the store that looks like the video store, put her favorite movies in there.
It was like having a prison sentence lifted. I think she'll be able to do it as long as he's the owner.
Truthfully, when I did this, I was just doing something nice for just a customer that's been Well, just for decades, you know, I was just doing it to help a mother out. You know, I thought, what if the shoes were on the other foot? And I thought, you know, I can help this one person out, make their life a little bit easier.
I went to thank him and no words came. I just burst into tears. So about a week or two later, I saw him and I said, promise not to cry. And I thanked him then with words. You know, it's just when they treat people like my daughter, I mean, they see them as a human. And they're willing to go the extra mile, you know. Yeah, there are a lot of good people and kind people, but they don't understand disabilities. They're afraid when they see people with disabilities.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–6:04
2
What heartwarming story highlights kindness in a small American town?
6:04–11:38
3
What breakthroughs are being made in the fight against Huntington's disease?
11:38–31:48
4
How does a unique tea project foster connections in London?
31:48–37:01