5 Good News Stories - happiness and fun

Caloroga Shark Media / Happiness Good News Lab

Every day the news feels heavy. 5 Good News Stories is your daily antidote — five short, uplifting stories about human kindness, scientific breakthroughs, unexpected heroes, and moments that remind you the world isn't as broken as the headlines suggest. Hosted by John McDermott, each episode is under 10 minutes and designed to start your morning right or reset your afternoon. If you're looking for a positive news podcast, a feel-good daily listen, or just five minutes of happiness — this is your show. New episode every day. Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

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614 episodes
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Episodes614

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Today · 4 min
A Man Fell Into a Toilet Ditch. He Wants His Sunglasses Back.
The script presents five upbeat news items: Spoodles, a parakeet aged 32 years and 86 days, is recognized as the world’s oldest living parakeet, having been with her owner Amanda since 1997 and still saying “Pretty bird.” In Las Vegas, Domino’s...
Yesterday · 4 min
The Celebrity Seal Is Disrupting Traffic Again
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In Tasmania, Neil the Seal, a five-year-old 2,200-pound southern elephant seal, returns for his annual molting visit, causing minor damage and prompting officials to urge people to keep a safe distance. In...
Thursday · 4 min
The Fox That Only Eats Hot Dogs
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In Australia, strangers lifted a car to rescue Tyler, a motorcyclist pinned after a crash, leading to hospitalization for broken ribs and a punctured lung, and he later reunited with and thanked the rescuers...
Tuesday · 4 min
Giraffes Are Better at Math Than You Think
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a Spain and Germany study testing four Barcelona Zoo giraffes suggests they can track additions of carrots and choose the larger amount about 68% of the time, though they struggled when carrots were removed....
July 26 · 4 min
The Bear That Walked Into an Occupied Hotel Room
A bear let itself into a hotel toom. Space balls wash up on the beach. A bull brings a cricket match to a halt.
July 25 · 3 min
Why Is This Seal Purple?
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: French police recovered a stolen Pablo Picasso portrait worth about 12 million euros during a drug-dealer investigation near Paris; four suspects were arrested in thefts tied to a Paris storage warehouse, and...
July 23 · 3 min
The Vibrating Suitcase at Airport Security
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a Columbia University study of 11,000 office workers finds the best way to counter sitting is a five-minute walk every hour, boosting mood, alertness, and productivity; University of South Florida researchers...
July 21 · 5 min
The Titanic Items Going Up for Auction
RMS Titanic Incorporated, which holds salvage rights, is seeking to auction over 100 recovered Titanic artifacts, sparking debate between funding expeditions/exhibitions and preserving the wreck as a memorial; England research from Queen Mary...
July 19 · 4 min
Earth Might Survive the Sun Exploding
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a new study suggests Earth might avoid being swallowed when the sun becomes a red giant because mass loss could weaken solar gravity and tidal effects may be weaker than once believed, potentially letting...
July 18 · 4 min
TSA Is Now Letting People Bring Ranch on Planes
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the TSA reminds World Cup travelers that ranch dressing over 3.4 ounces must go in checked luggage, while Kraft offers TSA-compliant travel kits of individual ranch packets. In Ireland, a cat named Billy...
July 16 · 4 min
There's a Loose Giraffe Somewhere in Texas
Harry Styles Supports UK Runner’s 850-Mile Tribute, Plus Four More Good News Stories Host Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Loz ran about 850 miles across the UK in under 17 days (about 50 km daily) to honor his parents, raising a goal of...
July 14 · 4 min
Bears get snow day in San Diego
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the San Diego Zoo gave rescued grizzly bear brothers Scout and Montana a snow day with industrial snowblowers, highlighting the need to secure food and trash in bear country; Scotland’s Dalrymple family sold...
July 12 · 4 min
AI Found Breast Cancer Doctors Missed
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Swedish researchers analyzing nearly 89,000 mammograms from over 31,000 patients found that three commercial AI mammography systems could spot subtle breast-cancer warning signs and elevated risk scores up to...
July 11 · 4 min
Orange cat interrupts Romeo and Juliet
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Steve, a paralyzed miniature Australian shepherd in Denver whose wheelchair was stolen from a porch, received a donated new 2026 model from Walkin' Pets after the plea on Instagram drew over 150,000 views. In...
July 9 · 5 min
Fake butts and other items left behind in Ubers
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Uber’s 10th Annual Lost and Found Index lists common forgotten items like phones and wallets alongside oddities such as dentures, breast milk, an ankle monitor, live fish, butterflies, a fake butt, and even...
July 7 · 4 min
The 48 foot tall soccer ball
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: A Washington police department found a mother bird nesting with four eggs inside a training motorcycle’s storage compartment at its new headquarters and chose not to disturb it; two eggs have hatched....
July 5 · 4 min
German Shepherd drifts out to sea in inflatable kayak
Johnny Mac presents five oddball good-news stories: a famed Masterton, New Zealand fernery (dating to 1924 and housing 60+ fern varieties) is temporarily closed for deep cleaning after several incidents of people pooping there despite nearby public...
July 4 · 5 min
Petition to stop ketchup packets and napkins
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories in a July 4th message: two German shepherds, Maya and Liv, sniff out two kittens hidden by a shed, and the kittens are taken to a local caregiver and cleared healthy by a vet; in Argentina’s Iberá National...
July 2 · 4 min
Blackie the Anteater escapes!
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories ahead of July 4th: YouTuber Carlos “The Malibu Artist” was shocked when a great white bit an underwater camera off Southern California, cracking its dome and producing footage from inside the shark’s mouth. In...
June 30 · 4 min
Bear Buffet, Hot Dog Fox, and Five Good News Stories
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a black bear in Red River, New Mexico was filmed calmly eating birdseed from a porch, prompting the Red River Marshal’s Office to remind residents to remove wildlife attractants. In Crowsnest Pass, Alberta,...

5 Good News Stories - happiness and fun

Support the show

A Man Fell Into a Toilet Ditch. He Wants His Sunglasses Back.

The Celebrity Seal Is Disrupting Traffic Again

The Fox That Only Eats Hot Dogs

Giraffes Are Better at Math Than You Think

The Bear That Walked Into an Occupied Hotel Room

Why Is This Seal Purple?

The Vibrating Suitcase at Airport Security

The Titanic Items Going Up for Auction

Earth Might Survive the Sun Exploding

TSA Is Now Letting People Bring Ranch on Planes

There's a Loose Giraffe Somewhere in Texas

Bears get snow day in San Diego

AI Found Breast Cancer Doctors Missed

Orange cat interrupts Romeo and Juliet

Fake butts and other items left behind in Ubers

The 48 foot tall soccer ball

German Shepherd drifts out to sea in inflatable kayak

Petition to stop ketchup packets and napkins

Blackie the Anteater escapes!

Bear Buffet, Hot Dog Fox, and Five Good News Stories