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.
Updates to Our Favorite Stories From 2025: Pt. 2
CNN 5 Good Things
Jan 3, 2026
We catch up with a woman who performed a butterfly wing transplant and hear about a breakthrough tracking tool that’s giving scientists an unprecedented look at the species. Nearly a year after devastating wildfires, small but powerful signs of recovery are beginning to reshape parts of Los Angeles. What began as a comedy show turned into a life-saving moment, and the start of an unexpected friendship. We check in on the gratitude trend that resonated far beyond one school’s hallway. Plus, after receiving a new heart, one athlete is still pushing limits and setting ambitious goals for the year ahead.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo Polanco
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Showrunner: Faiz Jamil
Senior Producer: Felicia Patinkin
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:00
Hey there, Happy New Year! Before we go full speed ahead into 2026, we wanted to start the year by checking in on the stories that stuck with us from 2025. I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and this is CNN 5 Good Things. Signs of hope are taking shape after destruction from the fires in Los Angeles, and a medical emergency led to an unlikely friendship. Plus...
Adam Marcum
00:00:21
Our small school district has brightened the day for a couple million people, I think, at this point in our side check.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:27
The sweet trend that reminds us that even the smallest moments can make the biggest difference. And then later on.
Rodney Cochran
00:00:33
I like to push myself and want to know what is possible.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:36
This athlete got a new ticker less than two years ago, but he's not done competing yet. And when we come back.
Sean Burcher
00:00:42
It 's still an open question exactly how they navigate, but we're still getting this data at an unprecedented level of detail.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:48
Hear about the revolutionary technology that's giving researchers a clear picture of how pollinators move so they can protect them.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:02
For decades, scientists have been chasing one of nature's biggest mysteries. How do monarch butterflies, weighing less than a paperclip, migrate thousands of miles to the same forests in Mexico every year to hibernate for the winter? Understanding how they migrate might be key to saving them.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:20
Over the last 20 years, the number of monarchs and other American butterflies has declined by 40% or more due to insecticides, climate change, and habitat loss. You might remember our story from October. When one monarch's journey south for the winter took a detour.
Janine Bendicksen
00:01:35
Somebody called and asked if we could rehabilitate a butterfly. I looked at it and I thought to myself, I know about a procedure. It took about five minutes, you know, it had to be quick.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:52
Janine Bendicksen is the Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, New York. She helped a monarch butterfly with a broken wing fly again, thanks to a little creativity, glue, cornstarch, and a wing from another butterfly.
Janine Bendicksen
00:02:06
I wouldn't call myself a plastic surgeon, but they look pretty darn good when I put them back together.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:12
'In a few days, Janine plans to travel to Mexico herself. She's not sure if she'll find her transplant patient, but she'll be able to track other monarchs thanks to new technology some experts believe is game-changing.
Sean Burcher
00:02:23
You know, it's this big, outstanding question in biology and in conservation, exactly how they navigate and the speed, timing and direction of migration. And so it was like just a natural target for us once we had a tag light enough for a monarch to carry.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:38
Sean Burcher is a senior research and development scientist at Cellular Tracking Technologies, who also produces tracking devices for wildlife.
Sean Burcher
00:02:46
'You put a radio transmitter on an animal, and you rely on receivers to pick up those transmissions and let you know where the animal is. And now we're just getting consistent real-time data from almost every single monarch we tag.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:58
Sean says they've tagged around 450 monarchs this year and have developed an app that allows anyone to track them. Scientists can learn what elements affect their movement and therefore target conservation efforts better.
Sean Burcher
00:03:10
What's good for conserving monarchs and increasing their populations will also benefit a multitude of species and not just other pollinators, even the other species that feed on pollinators, for example, or the plant species that rely on pollinators to pollinate them.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:28
It's been almost a year since devastating wildfires ripped through parts of Los Angeles. But even after so much loss, reminders of what's survived and what's being rebuilt are beginning to take shape as the city braces for a long recovery ahead. CNN's Nick Watt joins us now from LA with some updates.
Nick Watt
00:03:45
Krista, I've got two very positive symbols for you. One is Azul, the magic blue 1970s VW micro bus that was photographed somehow intact amongst the ash and rubble after the fire. A picture of her went viral at the time, and now VW has completely restored the bus, even custom mixing that distinctive blue paint and scouring the earth for one little replacement part they couldn't find. Eventually they did find it on dusty warehouse shelf. Somewhere in France where it had been sitting for decades. So what about all that ash and rubble that was around us? Well, a lot of people are still struggling, fighting with insurance companies for money, navigating permits, but I got another symbol of hope for you. The first rebuild has got a certificate of occupancy. Four beds, four and a half baths, it's fancy. And with tech, so it won't burn down again, like concrete, not wood trim, and sprinklers just all over the place. The developer is using it as a show home to show people what's possible. The hope, by summer, there will be some semblance of community back in the Palisades.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:52
The unthinkable happened at a comedy show in Spokane, Washington, a few months ago. But it actually turned into a sweet, unlikely friendship.
Drew Lynch
00:04:59
I call him my foster grandpa and he calls me his foster grandson.
Dick Wende
00:05:03
And I think I've got, at least till I'm gone, I've got a true friend.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:08
'Act comedian Drew Lynch still stays in touch with Dick Wende, that's what Dick's granddaughter Kayla told me. The two hit it off after the 83-year-old unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest during Drew's set.
Dick Wende
00:05:20
I heard two jokes of his, and then all of a sudden he started spinning. Just to change the view, I just looked over at my son, who was sitting beside of me. He said, are you all right? That's the last I remember.
Drew Lynch (comedy show recording)
00:05:33
Oh hey, everything okay? Is there a medic in the house at all?
Drew Lynch
00:05:41
Someone said that they would administer CPR then someone said I'll be that person's second He didn't have a pulse for more than five minutes So he was oh he was dead for over five minutes and then by some just grace of God he came back. He was revived before the paramedics even got there. So people in the people in that town, people in a crowd saved him.
Drew Lynch (comedy show recording)
00:06:00
If I could just take a second here just guys with you real quick cuz um That was incredible, dude.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:07
Drew said he was so moved by what happened that he decided to visit Dick in the hospital the very next day.
Drew Lynch
00:06:13
And we were like, yeah, I mean, he didn't get to see the rest of the show. So let's go spend some time with him. Let's go finish the show.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:24
Drew was there for hours, chatting it up with Dick and his family. The comedian learned that Dick had spent more than 50 years as a speech therapist. That hit home for him because he struggled with a stutter for most of his adult life.
Drew Lynch
00:06:35
That's another thing is like, gosh, we saved a good one. You know, we brought back a good person. I spent the whole time up to that point being a performer, but I was truly just a spectator of the human spirit. You don't see anything like that anymore.
Dick Wende
00:06:52
So I was supposed to be, I guess, at that concert at that time. I'm just so lucky to be here. That shows that everybody should know CPR, because it really made a difference in my life.
Adam Marcum
00:07:11
We set up a tripod and a camera with a microphone and on the microphone there was a sign with a prompt and all that said was, tell us something good that happened to you today or recently.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:22
Adam Marcum is the PR and communications coordinator from Monroe Local Schools in Ohio. We told you about the gratitude mic he set up last fall, which was a way to get students to share what's going well in their lives, no matter how big or small.
Adam Marcum
00:07:35
It started off actually really slow. A few students started and once they saw their friends and once it came back from lunch, there were times that we had a line of people waiting to do it.
Student 1
00:07:45
'My three-month-old brother smiled for the first time.
Student 2
00:07:48
I got to see a lot of my friends today, and they just spread positivity and stuff.
Student 3
00:07:52
I helped a friend out with their homework.
Student 4
00:07:55
I finally got a girlfriend.
Student 5
00:07:56
I ended the quarter with all A's.
Student 6
00:07:58
I think the best part of my day today was seeing all my teachers come to school and be happy to see us and like, smiling.
Student 7
00:08:06
I've been having a great relationship with my mom. We used to argue a lot and we could never be around each other, but now that I'm more open with her, we talk more.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:17
Adam posted those responses on social media, and they went viral.
Adam Marcum
00:08:21
Our small rural community here, our small school district has brightened the day for a couple million people I think at this point last I checked all over the country, outside of our country. I'm blown away by what our students have shared and the impact that it's had on such a huge scale. So that's what I'm happy about. My good thing.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:43
Adam says the school will keep posting positive videos about students and teachers. And the gratitude mic will be back later this year with a different positive prompt to switch things up.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:55
Up next, he won a medal for Team USA last summer, thanks to a new heart.
Rodney Cochran
00:09:00
I'm a competitive person, so I went looking for how do heart transplant patients compete? Can they compete? And what are their limitations? And I think that's probably what led me to the transplant games.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:12
Here are this transplant athlete's inspiring story and what's in store for him this year after a quick break.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:22
Last August, we told you about a group of athletes who got a second chance at life and turned it into something extraordinary.
Rodney Cochran
00:09:28
It's such a cool community, if you will, of people that have received a transplants, right? Everybody is thankful for the gift that they've been given. We all understand each other's journey and what we've all gone through to be here.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:44
'Rodney Cochran is a 50-year-old heart transplant recipient from O'Fallon, Illinois. He represented Team USA at the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany. He and nearly 1,400 athletes from 51 countries competed in the Olympic-style event, which is designed to promote organ donation and transplant fitness.
Rodney Cochran
00:10:01
I went in with no expectations and walked away very grateful and very happy.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:07
Rodney took home a bronze in the 30 kilometer cycling race for his age group and has been training ever since.
Rodney Cochran
00:10:12
The race was everything that I could have hoped it would be. So training has been full gas. I am on the bike five days a week. I am in the gym four days a weak. My wife is a fitness competitor so she's in the gym as well. So that's kind of a thing we do together.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:30
'And 2026 will be a big year for Rodney. In March, he'll celebrate his second transplant anniversary, and his next big competition is in June at the Transplant Games of America in Denver, Colorado. Rodney says he'll be racing for the Mid-America Transplant Team, which includes recipients from Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas. He'll compete in cycling, the javelin throw, and possibly a distance race.
Rodney Cochran
00:10:52
I'm grateful to continue to experience life and be with my wife and be around for my adult kids. I like to push myself and want to know what is possible. What can I achieve with, from an athletic standpoint, with this new heart?
Krista Bo Polanco
00:11:11
All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening. We're excited for what this year will have in store. And just know that whatever happens in the world, you can always count on Five Good things to focus on the positive. We'll be back next Saturday with a new episode and join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing, wherever you get your podcasts. Have a good day. Take care. Till next time.
