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.
A Love Story for the Record Books
CNN 5 Good Things
Nov 15, 2025
Hear why this school in Ohio has students speaking up. From painting to songwriting, this veteran helps others heal. A Sydney-based scientist is leading the fight to restore the largest living structure on the planet. The “Tall Tour” and its attendees reach new heights. Plus, this couple fell in love in 1941 – today, they’re world record holders.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo Polanco
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Showrunner: Faiz Jamil
Senior Producer: Felicia Patinkin
Editorial Support: Jasmine Amjad and Meghan Dunn
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:00
Hey there, welcome. I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and this is CNN 5 Good Things.
Richard Casper
00:00:05
If I can get them to say one thing they never said to anybody about their trauma, that's success.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:10
Hear how a Purple Heart recipient is helping thousands of his fellow veterans heal. And off the coast of Australia, the largest living structure on the planet is in trouble. Meet the scientist who's trying to save it.
Tyler Bergantino
00:00:22
It's one of those things that is going so well that you can't plan it as well as it's been going.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:26
The events nationwide that are helping people see eye to eye, and a love that's lasted so long, it's a world record. When we come back, what happens when teens get a hold of a hot mic at school?
Student 1
00:00:48
One good thing that happened to me today was, I checked my grades and I had all A's.
Student 2
00:00:54
I finally got a girlfriend.
Student 3
00:00:56
And I got my braces off recently.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:58
Schools in Monroe, Ohio are turning hot mics into gratitude mics.
Adam Marcum
00:01:02
So we set up a tripod and a camera with a microphone and on the microphone there was a sign with a prompt and all it said was tell us something good that happened to you today or recently.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:14
Adam Markham is the public relations and communications coordinator for Monroe Local Schools. The idea was inspired by an Instagram post of college students sharing their moments of joy. So a few weeks ago, he placed the mic in a hallway where junior high and high school students cross paths, recorded it, and posted the video on Instagram a few days ago.
Student 4
00:01:32
I woke up at the good time today. It's for school, so I didn't miss the bus.
Student 5
00:01:36
I got 100% on my German test today. [clapping]. Thank you.
Adisyn McSwain
00:01:41
There was a new girl at school today, and I think I made a new friend.
Adam Marcum
00:01:45
I was truly expecting kids to come up and say, I had a good breakfast. I had Starbucks this morning and it was so much deeper than that.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:52
Some students shared olive branches being extended at home.
Student 6
00:01:56
I've been having a great relationship with my mom because back then 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
00:02:08
And others talked about teachers who made them feel seen.
Student 7
00:02:11
I think the best part of my day today was seeing all my teachers like come to school and be happy to see us and like smiling.
Student 8
00:02:19
A good thing that happened to me today was Ms. Gates, she complimented my artwork.
Adam Marcum
00:02:24
I think it's so easy to forget the impact that you have as a human being. It's really cool to see the students share that. Not every day is a good day, but there are good parts to every day and I think that was another reminder just about how the little things can go a long way.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:42
'Earlier this week, the country honored Veterans Day. And Richard Casper, a 40-year-old Marine Corps veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and artist, is already thinking about how he'll celebrate next year.
Richard Casper
00:02:57
We just purchased a abandoned church to turn into the first ever 24 hour art and music center for veterans. We can not only use that space as a 24 hour beacon for veterans anytime they have trauma, but we can lease some of the space so we can start creating revenue that will just be lifelong revenue so we keep supporting people. And it's a great investment to have.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:18
'Richard is the co-founder and executive director of CreatiVets, a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tennessee that works to help wounded veterans heal through art, music, and now scriptwriting.
Richard Casper
00:03:29
My whole vision forever has been every art form, dance, theater, cooking, anything you consider art, I wanna get into in a very big way because most of the veterans who are taking their lives aren't seeking help and you really need to find each niche that they might fall in love with.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:44
Richard launched CreatiVets in 2013. At that point, he had been out of the military for about six years and was managing the effects of a traumatic brain injury he had suffered in combat. He says he struggled for a while, and that's when he found art.
Richard Casper
00:03:58
So I went to a community college, took some painting and drawing classes, and ended up changing my life. And what happened over a four year time of studying art was almost all my depression and anxiety went away.
Richard Casper
00:04:12
It was repurposing my memories, remapping the way I think about my experiences through art education. And so pair that with songwriting and trying to get my voice out about Luke Epson who was killed beside me saying, I don't want to cry in front of people but if I had a song I could share it with everyone and walk away now they know his story and I don t have to cry. So pair my songwriting with the art and it was a perfect recipe for success.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:34
He says success is ultimately about helping veterans understand what they're going through.
Richard Casper
00:04:38
At least 70% of the veterans I worked with directly, and that I hear from other people say, oh, I've never said this to another soul. That's success. If I can get them to say one thing they never said to anybody about their trauma, that's success.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:52
Richard was honored as a CNN hero in 2022, and today, November 15th, he'll be featured in a special called CNN Heroes: Onward and Upward. You can check it out at cnnheroes.com. And while you're there, voting is underway to crown this year's CNN Hero. So check out the five finalists and cast your votes.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:15
It's a structure so vast, it can be seen from space. I'm talking about Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Stretching more than 130,000 square miles and made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs, it's one of the most extraordinary ecosystems on Earth.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:30
But it's under threat. Rising ocean temperatures sparked mass bleaching events in recent years, turning the once colorful part of the reef a ghostly white. A team of scientists in Sydney believe there's still hope for the Great Barriers Reef's survival.
Emma Camp
00:05:44
Reefs matter because they only cover a small percentage of the ocean floor but over one billion people rely on things like fish stocks, storm protection and even pharmaceutical compounds that are found on something that originates from a coral reef. Despite their immense importance there is a real risk that we could lose reefs within our lifetime primarily because of climate change.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:08
That's Dr. Emma Camp, leader of the Future Reefs team at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Emma Camp
00:06:13
So my lab looks to try and find the world's toughest corals. We look at places where people don't normally look, so places like mangrove lagoons have corals, and these corals are really tough. They live in murky waters, hot waters, and we study the genetics, we study physiology of these corals, but then we work with communities to grow these corals up to try to get them back onto the reef and to try rehabilitate areas that have been damaged.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:39
'Divers and tourism groups are replanting thousands of these heat-tolerant super corals by hand. A slow, but hopeful rebuild. Since 2018, the Coral Nurture Program she co-founded has helped outplant more than 125,000 corals with a survival rate of about 85%.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:56
Another potential solution they're looking into is if nutrients or vitamins could give corals an extra boost to survive future heat waves. From reducing emissions to changing habits at home. Dr. Camp says saving reefs will take both innovative science and collective action.
Emma Camp
00:07:12
No matter where you are in the world, you're connected to coral reefs. They're a part of nature. Everything we do from when we get up in the morning to when we go to bed connects us to coral reef.
Tyler Bergantino
00:07:26
My name is Tyler Bergantino. I am a content creator and we're at Tall Tour New York.
Tall Tour recording
00:07:31
'How tall are you? 6'1. 6'11. I'm six foot one. 6'6. I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience, honestly. 7'3. Great seeing eye to eye with people man, it's the first time in a long time. 6-11? I'm 6 foot one.
Tyler Bergantino
00:07:45
Tall Tour is essentially a place where tall people can gather but all sizes are welcome. So it's a great place for tall people to find community and new friends and then also just for people to see a bunch of tall people in the wild.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:58
Heads up, Tyler himself is 6'9". He created the tour and says it all started with a few tall friends grabbing beers in Dallas. And now the tall tour has reached new heights with free meetups nationwide.
Tyler Bergantino
00:08:09
It's just been so cool and such a blessing to see everybody come in hunched over and then leave with their posture right and making new friends and sharing things that, you know, where'd you find those jeans, oh that's amazing, where did you get those shoes, just little things like that that just mean the world.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:24
And by the end, everyone lines up in heightabetical order, from shortest to tallest, to crown a tall king and queen in every city. In New York, the tall queen was 6'6", and the tall king towers at 7'4". Being tall might sound like an advantage, but it can also mean constant stares, cramped spaces, and feeling like you never quite fit in, literally or figuratively. So Tyler hopes the tall tour can change that.
Tyler Bergantino
00:08:49
If you're struggling with your confidence or your identity, no matter if you're tall, short, whatever it is that makes you different, just embrace who you are. There is nobody else like you. What makes you difference is what makes you special and what makes you unique.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:04
Up next, a couple's love story just earned a place in the record books. Stick with us, we'll be right back.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:13
'Together, this couple has shared after-work martinis, the occasional beer at lunch, and 83 years of marriage. At 108 and 107 years old, Lyle and Eleanor Gittens have just been named the world's oldest married couple ever by Guinness World Records.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:30
According to Longeviquest, which documents the world oldest people, Eleanor met Lyle back in 1941 at Clark Atlanta University, where he was a star basketball player. They got married during World War II on June 2, 1942. Shortly after, Lyle was drafted and sent to Italy to serve with the 92nd Infantry Division, all while Eleanor was pregnant with their son. That's when she moved to New York and met Lyle's family for the first time, where she spent years wondering if he'd ever come home.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:58
When the war was over, Lile and Eleanor reunited in New York to build their life together. The Centenarians have three children and now live in Miami to be closer to their daughter. When Longeviquest interviewed the longtime lovebirds, Eleanor shared that the secret to their success It's simple.
Eleanor Gittens
00:10:14
I loved him, he loved me, and that was it.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:25
All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening. And if you like the show, please consider giving us a good rating or review wherever you listen or sharing it with a loved one. It really helps us spread the good vibes, so would appreciate that. And join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing, wherever you get your podcasts. They explore why President Donald Trump's recent pardons are so outside the norm. Have a good day, take care. Till next time.
