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 Barber Who Pays Kids to Read
CNN 5 Good Things
Mar 29, 2025
A barbershop in Pennsylvania is boosting reading levels and confidence. Millions around the world are hooked on a Dutch city’s fish doorbell livestream. The National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC kicked off with a new activity for a good cause. Researchers in the UK are using AI to understand the emotions of a farm animal better. Plus, a former race driver lost his legs, but broke a world record in a different kind of race.
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo
00:00:00
'Hey there, it's a good day to look at the bright side, isn't it? People all over the world are playing ding-dong ditch for some fish. Plus...
Billy Monger
00:00:09
That moment that you know felt like the end of the world and the world was sort of falling down around you has actually brought you to like this destination where you're doing this incredible thing.
Krista Bo
00:00:19
This former race car driver had both of his legs amputated after a horrific crash, but his comeback story is nothing short of inspiring. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo, and this is 5 Good Things.
Krista Bo
00:00:36
We all know how good a new haircut can feel. It's a confidence boost and a fresh start. At City Cuts Barbershop in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, they're taking that feeling a step further when kids show up for a fresh cut. Jon Escueta owns the barbershop. And in 2017, he noticed that some of the kids in his community were struggling with public speaking.
Jon Escueta
00:00:59
So I figured, man, why not do something in the shop, so kind of get the public speaking and the comfortableness in order so they reach a certain age and it's a little easier rather than kind of have to work backwards.
Krista Bo
00:01:10
He said he talked it over with his wife, and she suggested having his young clients read whenever they got a trim and to offer an incentive. John turned this brainstorm into a program called Books by Kids, where kids get paid $3 to read a book of their choice out loud, whenever they come in for a cut.
Jon Escueta
00:01:27
I think three is a perfect number to kind of get them really, really interested because their eyes light up when you tell them you're getting paid to read. They're like, I am? And the goal is to improve their literacy and be more comfortable with public speaking.
Krista Bo
00:01:41
There's no word or time limit. And John says toddlers to teens get involved.
Jon Escueta
00:01:46
Just as long as we get the interaction and the effort with them, that's all that matters. Then you're gettin' paid.
Krista Bo
00:01:52
'Over the last eight years, John says hundreds of kids have participated, over 1,000 books have been donated, and more than $14,000 has been raised to help pay the kids to read. And the results are transformative. Take it from seven-year-old Hunter Velarde.
Barber (from City Cuts IG post)
00:02:07
What you reading?
Hunter Velarde (from City Cuts IG Post)
00:02:11
On Monday, he ate one apple.
Hunter Velarde
00:02:19
I feel good when I read that say cuts. I am gonna be reading a lot of books like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and Dr. Seuss.
Krista Bo
00:02:34
Hunter joined the Books by Kids program a few years ago and said he's saving up the money he's earned for something special.
Hunter Velarde
00:02:40
A drum set.
Krista Bo
00:02:43
'Jon hopes to expand the program and start a scholarship fund for college-bound students.
Krista Bo
00:02:50
Spring is finally here, which means it's also cherry blossom season. The famous pink and white flowers will bloom in cities around the world from late March to early May. This includes Washington, D.C., which is home to more than 3,500 cherry blossom trees and a famous National Cherry Blossom Festival that attracts millions of visitors each year. Peak bloom is actually expected this weekend. And this season, festival organizers invited visitors to take part in a tandem paddle boat race for a good cause.
Race Announcer
00:03:22
On your marks, get set, paddle! (cheering)
Catherine Brenner
00:03:28
We hosted our inaugural Stumpy's Petals and Paddles Race at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Fifty percent of the proceeds are going to the Trust for the National Mall's Cherry Tree Endowment Fund. So overall, helping restore and save the other trees in the area.
Krista Bo
00:03:44
Catherine Brenner helped organize this new race, which is named after an iconic cherry blossom tree named Stumpy. The National Park Service unfortunately had to cut down the beloved tree as part of project to strengthen the Tidal Basin against flooding. Something experts say will allow these beautiful trees to continue to bloom for years to come.
Catherine Brenner
00:04:03
Even my mother in Pennsylvania, like the background on her phone is a picture of Stumpy in bloom because it's just so adorable.
Krista Bo
00:04:10
118 tourists and locals ranging from three to 70 years old entered the race. Catherine says teams were pretty creative.
Catherine Brenner
00:04:18
One team's name was simply the unicorns, and they dressed up in inflatable unicorns. The peddling pandas wore panda onesies, so just a variety of things that made me really happy to see.
Krista Bo
00:04:33
49 teams raced from the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial and back. CNN affiliate WJLA reports the winning team was a college student from Florida and his sister.
Race Announcer
00:04:45
I see our winners!
Krista Bo
00:04:45
Who finished the race in five minutes. They won $50 bucks and a Boating in DC season pass. Catherine says she's already thinking about next year's competition.
Catherine Brenner
00:04:54
The Cherry Blossom Festival is such a big part of DC. So it's another way for people to enjoy the trees and of course know that they're giving back. But we also just wanted it to be a fun event.
Shiloh Hill on TikTok
00:05:08
All right, nobody freak out, but I just want to let you guys know that it's finally fish doorbell season again, which is the most wonderful time of the year.
Krista Bo
00:05:15
Shiloh Hill on TikTok is one of millions of people around the world hooked on a quirky invention in the Netherlands. The fish doorbell. It's a live stream where people can spot and report fish stuck at a canal lock in the Dutch city of Utrecht. And those fish are on an important mission.
Mark van Heukelum
00:05:34
In springtime they want to travel upstream because they instinctively know that they're shallow water and also it contains a lot more water plants and those are very nice spots to lay their eggs.
Krista Bo
00:05:47
Ecologist Mark van Heukelem noticed a lot of fish would get stuck in a traffic jam outside the main canal lock.
Mark van Heukelum
00:05:53
It's like one big maze for these fish. And it's a big problem because fish are so important for a good water ecosystem and for good water quality. And if they have to wait a long time for a lock or for an other obstacle, it's real big challenge for these fish.
Krista Bo
00:06:09
The lock stays shut most of the time to manage boat traffic and water levels this time of year. And it's hard to see the trapped fish because the water's murky, making them easy prey for predators. So Mark's idea was simple, but clever. An underwater camera streams live to the website visdeurbel.nl, which is Dutch for fish doorbell.
Mark van Heukelum
00:06:30
As soon as you push the button, the doorbell on our website, then a photo or screenshot is made from the live stream and then we see which fish and how many fish are on the photo. And from all the photos we can see, we can decide whether it's a good time to start and open the lock for the fish.
Krista Bo
00:06:50
They've got to be selective because it takes an hour to open the lock by hand. The fish doorbell's now in its fifth year, and they say over nine million people from all over the world watched the livestream last year, ringing the bell over 40,000 times. So one small click for you can be a big swim for them that'll help native fish thrive.
Pig
00:07:16
(Pig grunting)
Krista Bo
00:07:16
Does this pig sound stressed to you? That's what researchers in the UK are trying to figure out.
Prof. Melvyn Smith
00:07:22
The idea that a machine can tell the emotional state of an animal, perhaps in a way that we can't, I think could be really interesting.
Krista Bo
00:07:30
Scientists from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and Scotland's Rural College are developing a product called Intellipig. This technology aims to help farmers better understand the highly intelligent and emotional animals with AI, so they could step in sooner if something's wrong.
Prof. Melvyn Smith
00:07:48
What IntelliPig really aims to do is to develop a pig health station that could be integrated into an automated feeder. So there would be a camera built into the feeder and some lighting, looking at the animal's face as it goes to feed. And then the camera image would be processed by an AI algorithm.
Krista Bo
00:08:06
Professor Melvyn Smith says the AI algorithm is learning what each pig looks like and capturing data about their expressions and emotional state. Over time, they think and tell a pig can build a picture, quite literally, of how that animal tends to look when it's stressed, in pain, or doing just fine.
Prof. Melvyn Smith
00:08:23
Because that's something I was very good at doing, finding features that we can't detect.
Krista Bo
00:08:28
Professor Smith says most pig emotion research has focused on signs of stress or discomfort. But with this new technology, they want to change that.
Prof. Melvyn Smith
00:08:36
We're trying to expand the spectrum from the negative into the positive. The next step is very much to expand this from the face to the whole animal to be more holistic, seeing how the animal is moving, how it holds itself.
Krista Bo
00:08:50
Smith and his team aren't alone. Scientists around the world are turning to AI to decipher the facial expressions of all kinds of animals, from dogs and cats to sheep and horses. This kind of technology could be a game changer that would help us understand and treat animals better.
Krista Bo
00:09:08
No legs, no limits. Meet the man who turned a tragedy into triumph and shattered a world record in one of the world's toughest races. We'll be right back.
Krista Bo
00:09:20
'A split second changed Billy Monger's life forever. At just 17-years-old, the rising British race car driver was chasing his dream on the track until a horrific crash during a Formula Four race turned his world upside down. The accident was so severe, Billy had to have both of his legs amputated. But instead of letting tragedy slow him down, he decided to chase a different kind of race.
Billy Monger
00:09:47
The only time I ever actually think about it now, I'd say, is in moments like when I crossed the finish line and I could call myself a world record holder.
Krista Bo
00:09:56
'Last October, the now 25-year-old broke the world record for the fastest double amputee to complete an Iron Man. And for Billy, crossing the finish line was more than just setting a record. It was a powerful reminder of how far he had come.
Billy Monger
00:10:11
You think back to that moment and those dark times and I think it's more just like pride more than anything. That moment that you know felt like the end of the world and the world was sort of falling down around you has actually brought you to like this destination where you're doing this incredible thing.
Krista Bo
00:10:26
'He set the record at the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, which is considered one of the hardest endurance events in the world. He trained for a year to complete the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile cycle, and a full marathon. Battling jellyfish, gusty winds, and scorching heat, he finished the race in 14 hours and 23 minutes, two hours faster than the previous record.
Billy Monger
00:10:51
I was basically my own car, I was my own engine, I was my fuel, like slightly different to motorsport in a way where I wasn't having to rely on other people for this challenge.
Krista Bo
00:10:59
but it wasn't just about personal triumph. Billy competed to raise money for Comic Relief, a British charity fighting global poverty.
Billy Monger
00:11:07
This world record was positive for me and it gave me a lot, but also knowing for others that was a big fuel for the fire.
Krista Bo
00:11:13
And Billy isn't done. He's got his sights set on the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, where he hopes to represent Great Britain in the Paratriathlon. His story is proof that even when the road ahead looks impossible, every small step forward counts.
Krista Bo
00:11:35
All right, that's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. CNN's Arlette Saenz joins David Rind to break down why a state Supreme Court race next week is getting national attention.
Krista Bo
00:11:47
Five Good Things is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our technical director, and Steve Lichteig is the executive producer of CNN Audio.
Krista Bo
00:12:04
We get support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namarow. Special thanks to Amanda Davies and Wendy Brundige. And thank you for listening. And if you like the show, please consider giving us a good rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it with a friend. It helps us spread the good vibes. Take care. Till next time.
