Global News Podcast
The Happy Pod: The chance encounter that became a lasting friendship
01 Mar 2026
Chapter 1: How did a lost subway card lead to an unexpected friendship?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hyvää päivää!
Päivää. Hei, skannattaa skannata. Skannaamalla Lidl Plus-sovelluksen saatte lunastettua meidän mainiot kuponkiedut. Eikä. No sehän on skannattava, mutta sanopas, että skannattaako kouluttaa itselleen tarjoushaukka? Siis, mitä? Hä? Skannattaa skannata. Metsästä itsellesi mainiot kuponkiedut skannaamalla Lidl Plus-sovelluskassalla. Tarjoushaukoille ja muille.
This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service.
I'm Alex Ritson, and in this edition... Two women whose chance meeting led to an intergenerational friendship tell us why it's something we all need in our lives. The giant tortoises returning to an island in the Galapagos after nearly two centuries.
This really is the start of a new species. So as an evolutionary biologist this is very exciting because here we are repopulating the island and it's really a new start. Plus the Gen Z divers restoring Indonesia's coral reefs. Seeing the changes in growth of the coral from when we first transplanted it until it grows gives us a sense of pride.
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.
On the surface it may not seem like we have much in common, but why do we have to seek surface-level likeness in everyone we look to as a friend? We both see the world through a critical but hopeful lens, and share the same dark, sarcastic sense of humor. Her unbridled joy reminds me that everything eventually will be okay, and she appreciates my cultural commentary on Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance. She told me I give her hope for the future, which is nice to hear on my hardest days. And who's gonna complain about a home-cooked meal that ends with cookies and ice cream every time?
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Chapter 2: What efforts are being made to restore giant tortoises in the Galapagos?
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.
No time to stand beneath the boughs and stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to turn at beauty's glance and watch her feet how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this, 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.
The birds are there. The sky. We're in southwest London. We'll hear some aeroplanes. That really helps us with our model, because it kind of points out, we still respond instantly, very negatively, to the sound of an aeroplane, because it's a foreign sound.
Täällä olemme. Olemme asukkaassa hyvin vahvasti, pienessä ympäristössä, mutta se on täynnä luontoja. Mitä pitäisi tarkastella? Mitä se tekee meille, kun olemme täällä? Tarkastellaan luontojen luontoja. Luontojen luontoja ovat yksinkertaisia luontoja. Luontojen luontojen tarkastellaan, että luontojen luontoja kasvaa alfa-vaihtoja ajallemme. Alfa-vaihtoja tarkastellaan luonnollisen lämpötilanteen.
These are the patterns that you only get in nature, isn't it? Absolutely. You go on a walk, you'll see the patterns on a leaf are very similar to the branches of a tree. And they exist in very small bits of nature. They're also in the big bits of nature, so ocean waves, coastlines. And the very exciting thing about fractals is that they exist in us as well. If you look at the palm of your hand, you'll see the patterns on your hand quite similar to the patterns of the branches of a tree or on the back of a leaf. And it's just a lovely reminder that we're not
We are nature. We're part of the same natural world, made for the same natural fractals. Most people's favourite sound is water. And again, it's not too difficult to imagine why our brains respond so positively to something that is so much a sign of survival. And we are water as well, aren't we? Indeed, yes.
Psykologit usein kutsuvat luonnolliset tunteet luonnollisesta tunteesta. Autonominen nervosysteemi on vaikuttanut sympaattisen nervojen aktivaatioon. Se on vaikuttanut parasympaattisen nervojen aktivaatioon. Se on resta, digesta. Se on yllättävää, kun menemme ulkopuolelle. Meillä on yllättävää reaktiota fysiologisesti, kun elämme... Tämä tunnen.
Hei, nimeni on Tom. Tänne tulin noin kolme vuotta sitten, kun olin harjoitellut mielenterveyteeni suurin osa vanhaa elämäni. Ei ollut, kun tulin tänne, että kaikki alkoi klikata ja aloin tunnella, että siinä oli syy, miksi minulla olisi se päivä, jossa olisin spontaanisesti mennyt Bushy Parkiin ja kulunut tuntia. Se oli siellä ymmärrettävästi, mutta nyt se on ymmärrettävä. Kyllä. Mitä eroa se tekee?
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Chapter 3: How are Gen Z women contributing to coral reef restoration in Indonesia?
Ja Alice, kertoisitko meiltä, miksi olit yhteydessä ensimmäisenä? Onko aika vaikeaa saada hyvän tandem-bikin Keniaan?
Eikä oikeastaan ole TADEM-bikkoja Keniassa. Kun aloitimme kylpyä ihmisille, jotka ovat ongelmoituneita, emme ollut tarpeeksi kylpyjä. Vain yksi henkilö oli kylpyä. Olin Ebo-kylpyissä, joten päätin pysyä paracykliin, koska TADEM-bikkoja ei ollut.
As Carrie said it took quite a long time, several months for the bike to arrive in Kenya. That must have been quite a nervous wait, I guess.
We were waiting for it for sure. This year we have a paratrack race in Nigeria and we are hoping to use it because now we have the bike, we want to share it. And Carrie, you mentioned sending it off with love and that little tartan ribbon around it. What will it be to see it in international competition? Will you be proud? Will you be emotional? How will you feel, do you think?
Yeah, I'll definitely feel proud. I'm going to keep in touch with Alice and I want to follow everything that she's doing. I'm absolutely passionate about getting women involved in sport. And so Alice is going to send me pictures and I'm going to keep in touch with her team. And Alice, is one of the big goals to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, which are going to be in Scotland this time?
Jep, toivomme, että Nigeria saa hyviä tuloksia. Toivottavasti Afrikassa meillä on vain kaksi joukkoa, joka on Nigeria ja Kenia. Toivomme myös, että täällä Keniassa saamme lisää joukkoja, jotta voimme saada lisää joukkoja.
A question for both of you really. This story has captured quite a lot of attention around the world. And I guess there's something quite powerful about that sort of sporting solidarity across borders, across different cultures, Carrie. Yes, absolutely. And this story through the BBC has already done a lot of good because I was contacted by another person in Edinburgh offering a tandem bike to Alice. So she's going to get two bikes. Oh wow, Alice, that's great.
Alice Muringu ja Carrie Ruxton.
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.
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