Scribble

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:00

Hey there, welcome! We've got some great stories lined up for you today. Triumph amid tragedy, a breakthrough treatment, an adorable baby monkey update. I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and this is CNN Five Good Things.

Calla Kessler

00:00:12

Connection and human relationships are the bedrock of happiness.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:16

We'll tell you how two of the loneliest generations are finding joy, even though they're thousands of miles apart. Then Time Magazine called this treatment for Parkinson's disease one of the best inventions of 2025.

John Lipp

00:00:28

Being able to personalize the treatments through this technology is just an incredible advancement.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:34

And later on.

Chris Librizzi

00:00:36

I told them before the season started that this was a special team.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:39

A Rhode Island community experienced their own miracle on ice. We got to take a quick break, but when we come back...

'Mat Lewis-Carter

00:00:46

They won't remember how perfect the hair was, but they will hopefully remember the conversation.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:51

How a group of dads are stepping out of their comfort zones to show up for their daughters.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:58

So 35 dads walk into a pub in London. Now I know that sounds like the start of a joke, but what they're doing is anything but.

Instructor

00:01:06

Scoop up their hair

Dad

00:01:07

Do you have a beginner's class.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:01:09

These proud pops have come together to learn how to brush, braid, and style their daughter's hair. Video of the event called Pints and Ponytails has gotten over 30 million views combined on Instagram and TikTok so far, and has charmed people from around the globe.

Lawrence Price

00:01:24

On the surface, it looks like quite a cute video on Instagram, but it is more than that. It is a safe space where dads can go to learn a skill that honors their daughters, whilst breaking old stereotypes around outdated ideas around masculinity.

'Mat Lewis-Carter

00:01:40

And what's beautiful as well is that everybody in that room has a very different experience of fatherhood and they're able to come together and discuss. And in doing so, they could help another dad on their journey.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:01:52

'Mat Lewis-Carter and Lawrence Price are dads that have been friends for a decade. They co-host the Secret Life of Dads podcast about the realities of fatherhood. They started Pints and Ponytails to bring those conversations offline. With beers in hand, many of them alcohol-free, by the way, the fathers learn how to tackle common hairdos like ponytails, buns, and French braids on mannequin heads.

'Mat Lewis-Carter

00:02:12

The next day you see dad's posting photos of like the girl's hair and like, look what I've done here. It doesn't matter if the plaits or the braids aren't perfect. They won't remember how perfect the hair was, but they will hopefully remember the conversation.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:02:26

They've had two events so far this year, and the next one is next week. They say tickets sold out in five minutes. They're now cooking up some events for boy dads.

Lawrence Price

00:02:35

Modern fatherhood is an opportunity for dads to really open up their range and their heart of what's possible and to show up in a new beautiful way and that's something that we've been witnessing with Pints and Ponytails.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:02:45

If you wanna get involved, Matt and Lauren's can help you get started. Their Instagram is linked in the show notes.

Jennifer

00:02:55

Hello?

Brendan

00:02:55

Hello!

Jennifer

00:02:55

On Boston University's campus, one payphone says, "Call a Boomer." The other at a senior living complex almost 3,000 miles away in Reno, Nevada, says "Call a Zoomer."

Calla Kessler

00:03:05

So when you pick up the phone in Boston and automatically calls the phone in Reno, and if someone's in the game room and picks up your, you can have a conversation and if not, you could leave a voicemail.

Jennifer

00:03:15

Hi, my name is Jennifer.

Brendan

00:03:17

Hi Jennifer, I'm Brendan. Nice to meet you.

Jennifer

00:03:20

Nice to you Brendan.

Brendan

00:03:22

Where are you?

Jennifer

00:03:24

I'm in Boston right now.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:03:25

Matter neuroscience, a startup dedicated to training your brain to be happier, is behind the project. The idea is simple. Connect baby boomers and Gen Z, which research shows are the loneliest generations. Calla Kessler is the company's social strategist.

Calla Kessler

00:03:39

We want to bridge those intergenerational gaps and show that friendship doesn't have age constraints.

Boomer

00:03:45

Do you have any advice for me?

Zoomer

00:03:47

I think that everybody should just kind of get off their phones and get out and do things by themselves and meet other people that are doing things by themselves. That's what I like to do.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:03:57

'They're halfway through the month-long experiment, and so far they say it's proving the reason they started this in the first place.

Calla Kessler

00:04:03

'Connection and human relationships are the bedrock of happiness. Having relationships with your friends, family, and community is what is going to activate those feel-good neurotransmitters more frequently and with more intensity than if you're going through life by yourself.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:04:22

More than a million Americans are living with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement, balance, and coordination. But a breakthrough device is changing patients' lives by giving them a more personalized way to manage the disease. It's called adaptive deep brain stimulation, or aDBS.

Dr. Gaurav Chattree

00:04:41

It's like a pacemaker for the brain, that it's detecting when these abnormal signals are particularly active and then trying to listen and respond just like a heart pacemaker does.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:04:53

Stanford University's Gaurav Chattery has been treating Parkinson's patients for seven years. And he says that while deep brain stimulation has been around since the 1990s, the adaptive component of this new device is a game changer.

Dr. Gaurav Chattree

00:05:05

Normal deep brain stimulation gives us continuous electrical stimulation throughout the day. But in reality, patient's symptoms can fluctuate quite a bit from day to day.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:05:15

So instead of delivering constant stimulation, the device listens to brain activity and responds in real time, dialing stimulation up or down to help control symptoms like tremors throughout the day.

Dr. Gaurav Chattree

00:05:27

Each patient has a remote with them that they can use to control their device and so they can do things like change different programs which we can optimize for certain symptoms.

John Lipp

00:05:41

So, I set this one to speech today because my speech can get a little slurred sometimes. People think I'm drinking, I'm not. Hi, my name is John Lipp, I am 60 years old and I was diagnosed in 2015, a month before my 50th birthday. It was a shock but it was also what I call one of the best days of my life and I know that sounds really weird but it's really hard to diagnose. So when they finally told me I've got Parkinson's, it was like, yes, I can put a name to this disease that's been hijacking my body and if you can name it, you can Fight it!

Krista Bo Polanco

00:06:17

As the disease progressed, it took its toll on John. He says walking became harder, he was tripping more and cramping a lot. At one point, he says he was taking up to 16 pills a day. So John signed up for a clinical trial, becoming one of the first patients to receive the adaptive device back in 2021. That study led to the FDA approval of the device in February 2025.

John Lipp

00:06:39

I was able to work four more years at a job I loved. And then I ran two more marathons in 24 and 25. Before that, I don't think I could have ever done that again. So this is not a cure. It's just a treatment. But if it makes other people's lives better, it is worth it.

Dr. Gaurav Chattree

00:06:57

There's a lot of work to be done to really push this technology to its true maximum potential. And so this is a great, you know, promising first step.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:07:10

When tragedy struck a high school boys hockey team in Rhode Island last month, no one would have blamed them for walking away, but they didn't. They won a state championship instead.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:07:22

'Wednesday's triumph comes a month after an unimaginable horror unfolded during one of Blackstone Valley Co-op's games. The team captain Colin Dorgan lost his mother, brother, and grandfather in a shooting carried out by his father, who also died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After the team took a few days to process what happened, they decided to continue the season with grief counseling sessions and team dinners to bond. But the head coach Chris Librizzi told CNN that Colin understandably took a little longer to grieve.

Chris Librizzi

00:07:50

When I met with Colin, I said, listen, if you decide that you don't wanna come back to the team, I'll be right here by your side, always supporting you. However, if you decide not to come back and I allow that to happen, Colin, your mom would kick my ass.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:08:07

About two weeks after the shooting, the high school senior decided to return to the ice.

Colin Dorgan

00:08:12

Came back from the break. These kids made me feel right at home. They made me feel like really one of their brothers and it truly means a lot to me.

Chris Librizzi

00:08:22

We wouldn't be here right now if Colin Dorgan didn't come back to our team. There's no doubt in my mind.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:08:27

'In the state semifinals earlier this month, Collins stamped the team's ticket to the state championship by scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime. In the final on Wednesday, he tied the game with just 30 seconds left in the third period. The team later clinched the title in quadruple overtime. When the game was over, Coach Librizzi and Colin shared a big long bear hug on the ice.

Chris Librizzi

00:08:51

I think it was the longest I've ever hugged anybody in my life. And I said, Colin, I am so proud of you. I said what you did coming back to this team and overcoming adversity is just second to none. It was just a really special moment. I'll carry that for a lifetime.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:07

Colin told CNN affiliate WJAR he couldn't have done it without angels on his shoulder.

Colin Dorgan

00:09:13

They're with me every step of the way, and I could just, throughout all of the playoffs, even in this game, in the overtimes, I think I truly felt it in my heart and my soul that they're still with me. I love them so much, and they're still here, and I know it.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:33

Up next, millions of people have been rooting for this little monkey, and now there's good news to share. Stick around.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:40

All right, we'll leave you with a heartwarming update on the world's favorite monkey. Punch, the abandoned baby macaque, finally made some friends at a zoo in Japan. And if you don't know who Punch is, he's the internet's latest star with a global fan base.

TikTok 1

00:09:54

And this message is for punch the monkey and punch the Monkey only.

TikTok 2

00:09:59

I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally obsessed with that little Japanese monkey that was abandoned by his mom.

TikTok 3

00:10:04

Oh my gosh, she's the cutest thing ever. We love him so much.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:10:07

'The pint-sized primate was abandoned by his mother shortly after he was born last July. To fill that maternal void, the zookeepers gave him an orangutan stuffed animal to cling onto for emotional support. At first, the seven-month-old struggled to fit in with the other monkeys in his enclosure, often getting shunned or scolded by older ones. Videos of Punch dragging the stuffed toy around or getting bullied by bigger monkeys have tugged at the heartstrings of millions of people online.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:10:34

Zookeeper Shunpei Miyakoshi told CNN's Hanako Montgomery that Punch is now finally fitting in and relying less on the toy. He still uses it to go to sleep or calm himself down though.

Shunpei Miyakoshi

00:10:46

He's been doing his best to grow, learning from those early experiences. Now he's communicating with other monkeys, and it's great to see him reaching those milestones.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:10:58

Fans from around the world traveled to see him in person.

Zoo Visitor

00:11:02

I think we all could relate to him to some sense, being in an unfamiliar environment, not knowing the people around you and then just trying to fit in as much as we can.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:11:12

If you want to see videos of Punch, click the link in our description and subscribe to the CNN 5 Good Things newsletter for some extra cuteness.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:11:23

All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed the show, and if you did, send it to a friend so they can too. And join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing. Host David Rind speaks to Wired senior writer Kate Nibbs about why the Trump administration is not trying to rein in online prediction markets. Have a good day. Take care. Till next time.

CNN 5 Things