podcast
CNN 5 Good Things
How about a break — for your ears? At CNN, we know the news can be a lot to take in. So each week, 5 Good Things offers you a respite from the heavy headlines and intense news cycle. Treat yourself to something fun and uplifting every Saturday as we share the bright side of life from all over the globe.
The Cyclist With a New Heart & Medal for Team USA
CNN 5 Good Things
Aug 23, 2025
These athletes from all over the world have something in common: an organ transplant and a new shot at greatness. After nearly eight decades and a daughter’s determined search, two siblings reconnect. A 4-year-old called 911 to chat and the police showed up with some sweet surprises. This couple from Wisconsin set a world record at the annual wife-carrying contest. Plus, this town in Sweden put their church on wheels.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Showrunner: Faiz Jamil
Special Thanks: Muhammad Darwish, Max Burnell, Bryce Urbany, Boglarka Kosztolanyi and Jamie Barton
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo
00:00:00
Hey there, welcome, welcome. Let's jump right into the good stuff.
Marian Griffin
00:00:04
He kept saying, Marian, Marian. Is that really you? I've been looking for you ever since I've been 19 years old.
Krista Bo
00:00:13
This is our 80th episode, and we'll tell you about a sibling reunion 80 years in the making. Plus...
Dispatch 911
00:00:19
'9-1-1, where is your emergency? Oh police? Can I just tell you – wait – are you the police?
Krista Bo
00:00:25
'A four-year-old from Michigan called 911 just to chat about his favorite things and ended up with a sweet surprise. And in Sweden, when the ground started to crumble, a town's solution was simple. Just put a 113-year old church on wheels and slowly roll it to safety. No big deal. From CNN, I'm Christa Bell, and this is 5 Good Things. All these stories and more after a quick break.
00:00:56
'Second-Chance Champions. That's what some people are calling the roughly 1,400 athletes who competed in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, this week. That's because most of these athletes are recipients of life-saving organ transplants, from liver and pancreas, to heart, lung, kidney, and even bone marrow.
Rodney Cochran
00:01:15
It's such a cool community, if you will, of people that have received the transplants, right? And everybody is grateful to be here. Everybody is thankful for the gift that they've been given.
Krista Bo
00:01:27
'Rodney Cochran is a 50-year-old heart transplant recipient living in O'Fallon, Illinois. He's representing Team USA for the first time in the week-long games that ends on Sunday. It's an Olympic-style event designed to promote organ donation and transplant fitness. Organ donors and donor families participate as well.
Rodney Cochran
00:01:48
We all understand each other's journey and what we've all gone through to be here. I'm very humbled and honored to represent the country. And I'm so grateful.
Krista Bo
00:02:00
'There were 17 events, including swimming, archery, basketball, and a sprint triathlon. Rodney, who's also a 24-year Air Force veteran, had been cycling for years before he got his transplant. He competed in the 30K cycling race and won a bronze medal.
Rodney Cochran
00:02:16
When the racers from the other countries found out that, oh, you're a heart transplant, you shouldn't really be competitive because heart and lung has a hard time competing in endurance sports with someone who just had a kidney or a liver transplant. And then to learn that I only was transplanted 17 months ago, they were floored. They could not believe that I was out there being competitive and making the podium.
Krista Bo
00:02:40
Rodney says he needed a new heart because of an infection that caused congestive heart failure. Since then, he's been determined to stay healthy and show what's possible after a heart transplant.
Rodney Cochran
00:02:50
'So I left the hospital with a motto of honor the gift, believe in yourself and question what is possible. I want to honor the life-saving gift that was given to me. So I would go as far as I could and then the next day try to go a little further.
Krista Bo
00:03:05
I also want to give a shout out to our producer, Eryn Mathewson, who competed in several events as well. She got a liver transplant three years ago, and so far she's taking home a silver in the 5K. Go Eryn!
00:03:19
Marian Griffin from California spent most of her life not knowing she had a brother. But Donald Hefke in Florida spent decades hoping they would reunite. Now, at 80 and 81 years old, they finally have.
Marian Griffin
00:03:32
It was something that I couldn't believe. I mean, I was 79 at that time. He was 80 at that and we found each other.
Krista Bo
00:03:41
Born in Chicago, the two siblings were separated as babies in the 1940s, after their mother was institutionalized with PTSD and their father couldn't care for them alone. Marion was fostered by a Lutheran minister's family, while Donald stayed with his foster family before joining the Air Force. In 1963, when Donald was 19, he tried to get in touch with Marion, who also goes by Annie.
Marian Griffin
00:04:04
I was 18 years old and my family never, never told me that Donald was trying to contact me at all. We could have grew up together.
Krista Bo
00:04:15
After being shut down a few more times, Donald eventually gave up. But decades later, his daughter, Denise Baker, picked up the search.
Denise Baker
00:04:22
I spent a lot of time with my mom's family, extended family, and I just, I've always just been curious, like, what about my dad's family? What are they like? So I just kept digging.
Krista Bo
00:04:33
She followed a trail through old census records and DNA databases. And when Marian's son, Daniel, uploaded his DNA to a site, the match finally appeared. Denise found Daniel on Facebook, which led her to Marian's profile in July of 2024. The two messaged back and forth for months, making up for lost time.
Denise Baker
00:04:51
I feel like I've missed a whole like half a lifetime of having an aunt that could have been involved with my life and thankfully we've made the connection now.
Krista Bo
00:05:01
Donald and Marian finally spoke on the phone earlier this year, and they've kept in touch ever since.
Marian Griffin
00:05:07
He kept saying, Marion. Marian, is that really you? I said, yeah, it's really me. And he gets saying, oh, I found you. I found, you I've been looking for you ever since I was 19 years old! He was so happy.
Krista Bo
00:05:23
'And Denise and her husband flew to California this past June to meet Marian, who she calls Aunt Annie, face-to-face.
Denise Baker
00:05:30
It was such a great feeling to be able to see her and actually hug her. And when I saw her, like she reminded me a lot of my dad, they have a lot of similar characteristics, their face, their eyes, like the way they walk. So you're like, there's no denying you guys are related.
Krista Bo
00:05:48
Donald's health keeps him in Florida, but Marian is saving up to go see him in person. We would just love to hug each other.
Marian Griffin
00:05:55
I just wish it was earlier, you know, but we found each other now. We may meet each other with our canes, but that's all right. Never give up on each other. Never give it up on your family because they're your family.
Dispatch 911
00:06:11
911, where is your emergency?
Micah
00:06:14
Police, can I just tell you, are you in the police?
Marian Griffin
00:06:19
'Four-year-old Micah from Farmington Hills, Michigan, dialed 911 last Saturday not because he was in trouble, but because he wanted to talk about his favorite things.
Micah
00:06:28
Can I just tell you one thing?
Dispatch 911
00:06:30
Sure. What's up, Micah?
Micah
00:06:31
Sometimes I go to swim class and I play soccer all the time. But that's all I want to say. And I'm going to take a break.
Krista Bo
00:06:41
'He was also very curious if the police catch bad guys. How cute. Micah's dad eventually got ahold of them to say everything was fine and that the toddler took his phone while he was folding laundry. When Officer Michael L. Hodge and his partner showed up to their house to check in, that's when they met Micah and his seven-year-old brother, Mitch.
'Officer Michael El-Hage
00:07:00
So Mitch is being the big brother in telling Micah like, "oh, you're in trouble, you called the police." And I was like, "no, nobody's in trouble." And then we just started talking and then they were super excited.
Krista Bo
00:07:09
'And when their father, Ken, told Officer El-Hage Mitch's birthday was the very next day, the police department pitched in to try to make it unforgettable.
'Officer Michael El-Hage
00:07:18
Before I knew it, we had about 10 cars, and then Dispatch was sending down little toys and gadgets for his gift bag and little safety books and police badges and police hats and a whole bunch of stuff. I picked up some soccer nets because he was telling me how much they love soccer and they're undefeated in their little kids league and stuff, so I was like, let me give them some soccer nuts, and then we just packed it all up and then went to their house.
Krista Bo
00:07:39
Last Sunday, officers showed up with birthday balloons and gifts and turned an accidental call into the party of the year.
'Officer Michael El-Hage
00:07:46
I mean, as a dad, it was just amazing seeing kids just glow up like that. I mean they were grinning from ear to ear.
Krista Bo
00:07:53
And he thinks Micah learned an important lesson.
'Officer Michael El-Hage
00:07:56
So even though I want him to understand, like you only call 911 for an emergency, I also want him to understand that it's okay to call us if he needs help. It's okay to be around the police. We're here to keep you safe.
Krista Bo
00:08:09
'Caleb and Justine Roesler from Waukesha, Wisconsin, made history this summer as the first Americans ever to win the annual wife-carrying world competition in Finland.
Caleb Roesler
00:08:20
Yeah, so wife caring, you know, it has like a history. It kind of goes back to a traditional Finnish kind of village raider potentially. But I think they I think the Finnish people made a lighthearted sport of it.
Krista Bo
00:08:32
The wife carrying world competition has been a thing since 1992. And despite the name, anyone can carry anyone to compete.
Caleb Roesler
00:08:39
It's 253.5 meters and you're supposed to go over three obstacles. Usually it's two hurdles and one water jump. And you do this while carrying your wife on your back. And people have tried different methods over the years, but most people have settled on what's called the Estonian carry. And it's basically like an it's like an upside down piggyback.
Krista Bo
00:08:58
By the way, that's the length of more than two football fields. The racers first spotted the quirky race on an ESPN highlight reel of the world's wildest races.
Justine Roesler
00:09:08
And so we're like, we should just do it. And then we did it. Then we started doing the one in Maine. And then, yeah, ended up going to Finland.
Krista Bo
00:09:15
Train, they'd take their four kids to a nearby park and Caleb would run on a trail with Justine on his back.
Caleb Roesler
00:09:21
At least one time will be running and like a dog walker will rent walk past us and will be like have to explain what just happened like we know this is weird.
Krista Bo
00:09:30
In Finland, where pairs from 18 countries competed, Caleb and Justine crossed the finish line in record time, one minute and one second.
Caleb Roesler
00:09:39
This is the first time somebody outside of Europe, somebody that's American, won the race. So a lot of the Americans were proud.
Krista Bo
00:09:45
They won Justine's Waitin' Beer, a set of watches, and a wooden medal. But the win meant more than the prizes.
Caleb Roesler
00:09:52
It's just a cool little chapter to say hey we tried to do something and we did it and we just got to experience all the moments together as a couple.
Krista Bo
00:10:04
'It's not every day you see a century-old landmark rolling down the road, but in Sweden, thousands lined the streets to watch. That's next. Stick with us. We'll be right back.
00:10:17
'Okay, picture this. A 741-ton church rolling down the road on wheels. That's exactly what happened this week in northern Sweden. The 113-year-old Kiruna Church is one of Sweden's largest wooden structures and often called one of its most beautiful. The red wooden church was moved in one piece, 3.1 miles east, and it arrived at its new spot on Wednesday, half a day earlier than expected.
Sofia Laglöv Mäte
00:10:43
I think also the church has been a central meeting place for people for a long time, where we have shared moments of sorrow and happiness. People have baptized their kids there, they got married and they also buried people. So there's a lot of emotions connected to this building and I think that's why it's such an important building to also move and do something about it.
Krista Bo
00:11:04
'Sofia Laglöv Mäte is the city's cultural strategist. The move is part of a 30-year project to relocate the city before the world's largest underground iron ore mine swallows the whole town. It was a slow journey, about 0.3 to 0.6 miles per hour on massive trailers along a specially widened road so it could fit. And it's turned into a national spectacle. Thousands of people lined the streets, watching what Swedes are calling the Great Church Walk. Even the king showed up to see it off.
Resident 1
00:11:38
It's a big event, it's a bit sad, but also fantastic we can experience this, and it's very important to us that we can keep the church.
Resident 2
00:11:48
It's an amazing feat of engineering to move 670 metric ton church five kilometers inside the city. That is world news that one has to experience.
Krista Bo
00:12:01
All right, that's all for now. Thanks so much for listening, and there's more goodness where that came from if you sign up for the CNN 5 Good Things newsletter. The link is in our show notes. And be sure to join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing. Host David Rind speaks with a political historian about President Donald Trump's attacks on the Smithsonian Museum. Have a good day, take care. Till next time.
