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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Episodes614

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June 28 · 5 min
The Restaurant Where You Pay What You Can"
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories, starting with Unscrambler.com’s analysis of Google searches for spelling help, led by “bougie,” followed by “favorite” and “through,” plus state-by-state examples like Florida searching “school” and Georgia...
June 27 · 4 min
Scientists Built a Sound System for Elephants
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: RMIT researchers in Australia are adding about 1% cigarette butt material to clay to make bricks that need less kiln energy, are lighter, and insulate better, helping address the over six trillion plastic,...
June 25 · 5 min
Charlie the Cow Was Saved at the Last Minute"
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Charlie the Cow, raised in a Florida 4-H program, was at risk after a weigh-in found him too skinny, but animal lover Leslie raised funds (including paying out of pocket) to buy and transport him to Bell...
June 23 · 5 min
Pigeons Navigate Using Their Liver
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: actor Belmont Cameli’s two abdominal scars are from donating a kidney in 2018, triggering a 14-person paired exchange that gave seven patients transplants and eventually helped his childhood friend Brendan...
June 21 · 5 min
The Mister Rogers Stamp Is Coming Back
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the USPS is reissuing the 2018 Mister Rogers Neighborhood stamp after it won an encore contest by over 40,000 votes, returning as a Forever stamp with souvenir sheets. In San Francisco Bay, an AI detection...
June 20 · 4 min
Someone Built the World's Largest Blanket Fort
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a Canadian group celebrated the World Cup by setting a Guinness record for human foosball with 254 people attached to giant rods; a Noah Kahan lyric highlights Strafford, Vermont’s Elizabeth Mine cleanup and...
June 18 · 5 min
You Can Hire Someone to Stand in Line for You
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Safe Haven for Donkeys named a foal “Gervase” after Ricky Gervais donated £100,000 as part of £2.5 million split among 22 animal charities; the charity treats donkeys across Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and...
June 16 · 4 min
Each State has its own Replica Liberty Bell
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: in 1950 the Treasury commissioned 2,080-pound Liberty Bell replicas for each state as part of a savings bond drive—cast in France with matching markings and a fake crack—touring on flatbed Ford trucks before...
June 14 · 4 min
A Nature Festival Had to Tell People to Wear Clothes
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Organizers of England’s Cumbria Nature Festival clarified on social media that it’s for naturalists, not naturists, asking attendees to dress appropriately and offering genuine refunds to anyone expecting a...
June 13 · 4 min
The World's Richest Cat Is Broke
Johnny Mac shares five stories, including that Karl Lagerfeld’s famed cat Choupette has not received the reported $1.5 million inheritance seven years after his death due to a dispute involving the estate and French tax authorities; under French law...
June 11 · 3 min
KITT from Knight Rider gets a ticket in NYC
The car from Knight RIder got a ticket in New York City!
June 9 · 3 min
The Jacket in the Carpool Lane
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In Chicago, two automated delivery robots—one from Serve Robotics at Grand and Racine and another from Coco Robotics at North and Halsted—crashed into bus shelters and shattered glass, with no injuries...
June 7 · 4 min
Someone Paid $812,000 for a Bottle of Wine
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a single bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for $812,000, a record driven by its last pre-replant vintage from century-old Burgundy vines, and John calls it the greatest wine he has tasted. A...
June 4 · 3 min
Scientists Turned Used Diapers Into Toilet Paper
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Japanese towns facing shrinking landfill space recycle used diapers into new diapers and even toilet paper by having residents separate and label waste, then washing, shredding, breaking it down, and...
June 2 · 3 min
The Goldfish that can Drive a Car
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In the Netherlands, engineer Thomas built a motion-sensing car with a water-tank seat for his goldfish Blub, who drove 40 feet 3.46 inches in one minute to set a world record; Thomas hopes the technology can...
May 31 · 3 min
Dog fights off bear, saves chickens!
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In New Mexico, Honey, a 12-year-old half-blind dog, fought off a bear threatening a chicken coop and her family, suffered serious head and neck injuries, and recovered after emergency surgery. In Australia,...
May 28 · 3 min
Zeus the Zebra escapes twice in four days
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Aubrey, a manager at an Applebee’s in Michigan, guided staff and dozens of customers into a windowless prep kitchen and pulled people in from outside just before a tornado hit, with glass shattering as it...
May 26 · 3 min
The World's Deepest Marathon
Jenny Mac shares five good news stories: a Guinness World Record for the deepest marathon, run 3,669 feet 10 inches underground in a mine by 55 runners from 18 countries over 11 laps in hot, humid, dusty conditions, raising about $1 million for...
May 24 · 4 min
Catman walks across Australia
Host Johnny Mac shares “five good news stories” (ultimately “four”): a Japanese man nicknamed Catman completes a 4,000-mile, two-year walk across Australia from Carnarvon to the Sydney Opera House in a full-body cat costume, pushing a wheelbarrow,...
May 21 · 4 min
The Felled Sycamore Gap Tree to become art
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the felled Sycamore Gap tree is becoming a national art project, with six shortlisted artist teams using the preserved, seasoned wood and a public vote helping shape its legacy, aiming for completion by 2028....

5 Good News Stories - happiness and fun

Support the show

The Restaurant Where You Pay What You Can"

Scientists Built a Sound System for Elephants

Charlie the Cow Was Saved at the Last Minute"

Pigeons Navigate Using Their Liver

The Mister Rogers Stamp Is Coming Back

Someone Built the World's Largest Blanket Fort

You Can Hire Someone to Stand in Line for You

Each State has its own Replica Liberty Bell

A Nature Festival Had to Tell People to Wear Clothes

The World's Richest Cat Is Broke

KITT from Knight Rider gets a ticket in NYC

The Jacket in the Carpool Lane

Someone Paid $812,000 for a Bottle of Wine

Scientists Turned Used Diapers Into Toilet Paper

The Goldfish that can Drive a Car

Dog fights off bear, saves chickens!

Zeus the Zebra escapes twice in four days

The World's Deepest Marathon

Catman walks across Australia

The Felled Sycamore Gap Tree to become art