podcast
CNN 5 Good Things
Saturdays are for sunshine — especially for your ears. With another election, ongoing wars and natural disasters, we know the news can be a lot to take in and we’re determined to share the bright side of humanity. Every Saturday, take a breather from the headlines and hear all the uplifting happenings across the world with 5 Good Things from CNN.
The Runner with the Streak to Beat at the NYC Marathon
CNN 5 Good Things
Nov 2, 2024
An 18-year-old mountain climber became the youngest ever to summit the world's highest peaks. The slime in your home could be the key to helping fight climate change – send these scientists a picture. Food insecurity is a problem for some Los Angeles residents, so this nonprofit is crop swapping. A cello-playing robot made musical history. Plus, an 81-year-old makes finishing the New York City Marathon look easy – he shares some tips ahead of Sunday's race.
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo
00:00:00
Hey there. Here's your weekly dose of feel good stories. Apparently the slimy, funky filth you find in your home could help slow global warming. Plus,
Dave Obeklovich
00:00:10
I start either with my right foot or my left foot, and I say the runner's prayer: Lord, if you pick up my feet, I'll put them down.
Krista Bo
00:00:19
'No one has finished the New York City Marathon more than this 81-year-old runner. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo, and this is Five Good Things.
Nima Rinji Sherpa
00:00:31
Every mountain has his own energy. And for you to climb a mountain, you have to be one with that energy. And you have to respect the mountain. The mountain humbles you.
Krista Bo
00:00:41
'That's Nima Rinji Sherpa. And last month, the 18-year-old became the youngest person to climb all 14 of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
Nima Rinji Sherpa
00:00:51
I was just happy, not just for myself, but for everyone who has supported for me. So it was just pure joy.
Krista Bo
00:00:57
The climbs demand immense physical and mental strength. But the fact that Nima is such a skilled mountaineer, it's no surprise he learned from his father and uncle who are also successful climbers. They're part of a small mountaineering community in Nepal that have long provided guides and porters for international climbing expeditions. But Nima says his fellow Sherpas don't often receive the same recognition as the Western climbers they support.
Nima Rinji Sherpa
00:01:22
Everybody talks about Sherpa being superhuman, but how many Sherpas we see being the face of a brand or being sponsor athlete? None, you know.
Krista Bo
00:01:30
Nima hopes to someday be the face of a big brand himself and plans to do what he can to inspire the young climbers to join the Sherpa community. Nima's next summit will be the world's eighth highest mountain, Mount Manaslu. He's planning to do it Alpine winter style with another mountaineer. This means they'll have no ropes, no supplemental oxygen, and no extra support.
Nima Rinji Sherpa
00:01:52
It has never been done in the history of mountaineering. And I think if we summit, it's a big thing. If you don't summit, at least we'll learn something new. I like to believe in good things and, you know, I like to believe in good outcomes. That's why I push myself so much.
Krista Bo
00:02:08
Have you ever found anything slimy or funky looking growing in your home? Well, before you get too grossed out and clean it up, just know that slime might be a microorganism that could hold the key to fighting climate change. That's what microbiologist Braden Tierney and his team are trying to find out anyway.
Braden Tierney
00:02:27
We're really interested in how life finds a way, especially when you don't expect it to.
Krista Bo
00:02:32
He's the executive director of a nonprofit research organization called Two Frontiers Project.
Braden Tierney
00:02:37
So by studying microbial life specifically and its adaptations to extreme environments, we can learn how it is able to consume or thrive off of some of the things that we also want to remove, like CO2 or other contaminants in the atmosphere.
Krista Bo
00:02:54
Braden and his fellow researchers have gone too far off places like volcanic events and deep sea trenches to find these small but mighty carbon eating microbes, a.k.a. extremophiles. And a week ago, they launched their Extremophile Campaign, asking people to look inside their homes for them and send them pictures.
Braden Tierney
00:03:15
So it could be like your hot water heater or your air conditioner, drip tray or different parts of your HVAC system or somewhere in the sink or on the dishwasher that, you know, is experiencing a lot of the gases or pollutants or things that we want to clean up. And the environment, just like the microbes living in volcanic seeps, are experiencing CO2 and learn naturally to clean it up there.
Krista Bo
00:03:37
So if the extremophiles can adapt to extreme conditions in our home, they might be able to help us slow global warming by aiding in a fairly new complex process called carbon capture. The idea is to grow these microbes found in weird spots in our home and a huge vat or a lake or something like that to help suck the carbon out of the air. Braden says about 100 people have signed up for the campaign so far. So if you see anything slimy, crusty or stringy growing on any hot or acidic surfaces in your home, send them a picture. We'll link the site in our shownotes. So it might sound a little weird. But Braden thinks the potential here is massive. These tiny organisms could be a huge part of the solution to our climate crisis.
Braden Tierney
00:04:21
'Great transformative technologies have a strong rooting and microbiology. All of Covid testing - that's possible because of an enzyme that was discovered in a microbe and an extreme environment in Yellowstone National Park. And I think a lot of the opportunities for carbon capture will come from it as well.
Krista Bo
00:04:44
Jamiah Hargins loves to eat good food and share it with his family, so much so that he decided to create a backyard garden at his home in Los Angeles. And he says he was pretty successful. A little too successful, in fact.
Jamiah Hargins
00:04:57
I had too much. So I called other gardeners to start what we call crop swaps. Then we started a farmers market. We harvested fruit from peoples trees, and then we decided to, you know, find money to grow food on front yards.
Krista Bo
00:05:08
In 2018, Jamiah turned this informal idea into a formal operation. He calls it Crop Swap L.A..
Jamiah Hargins
00:05:15
We aim to grow food on unused spaces in a way that creates jobs, local distribution, sustainability and reconnection to nature. So what we've done is taken front yards and built what we call microfarms.
Krista Bo
00:05:29
According to one study, 30% of L.A. County residents experience food insecurity. So Jamiah says these microfarms in backyards and front yards, can help feed more people, especially in neighborhoods where grocery stores and nutritious foods are hard to find.
Jamiah Hargins
00:05:44
Every microfarm also has its own self composting, its own seedling operation and its own solar panels, so that we're net neutral.
Krista Bo
00:05:53
Right now, Crop Swap L.A. manages three full micro farms and three small ones at schools. Altogether, Jamiah says they support about 80 families. He's open to expanding the operation outside of the L.A. area and encourages other crop swaps to get in the game.
Jamiah Hargins
00:06:08
Grow food for others who don't have a garden, and find a way to distribute it in a way that's equitable and culturally germane to your area.
Krista Bo
00:06:19
Swedish composer Jacob Muhlrad recently wrote a piece with a very unique musician in mind.
Jacob Muhlrad
00:06:28
'I got this crazy idea after seeing a robotic researcher called Fredrik Gran and that that he actually worked with them to industrial robot arms that could play the cello. And I thought that was very interesting because, you know, there's obviously a lot of self-playing pianos, but the string instrument is so intricate.
Krista Bo
00:06:51
This robotic cello, which is essentially two large 3D printed robotic arms attached to a cello, is not limited to the dimensions of the human hand. So it would play the instrument in a different way than a human would.
Jacob Muhlrad
00:07:04
Which for me, as a composer, it's kind of liberating to go beyond the human anatomy. When you, when you think about what to write for a cello.
Krista Bo
00:07:14
Jacob says music is basically like code. And in this case, his music was actually transcribed into code for the robotic cello when it played Jacob's piece at a concert hall in Malmo, Sweden, with the city's symphony orchestra earlier this month. It made history. He says it was the first time a robot cello had performed with a live orchestra. Jacob says he sees the future of robots playing acoustic instruments as its own art form.
Jacob Muhlrad
00:07:41
But I don't think it will ever replace live musicians. That's impossible, I think.
Krista Bo
00:07:54
Up next, meet the guy who has run the New York City Marathon more than anyone else.
Krista Bo
00:08:03
'For a lot of marathon runners, the first Sunday in November is a big deal. One of the most popular races in the world kicks off bright and early - the New York City Marathon. Every year the organizers celebrate the streakers. No, they're not running it naked. It's a special club of runners that have completed the marathon at least 15 times in a row. And this guy holds the longest streak.
Dave Obeklovich
00:08:28
My name is Dave Obelkovich. And I just turned 81, and I have the longest streak of consecutive finishes. That's 46 in a row. And I also have the greatest number of finishes in the New York City Marathon, and it's now 47.
Krista Bo
00:08:43
He's hoping to finish Sunday's race in under nine hours. That's about how long it took him last year. And he'll be wearing the same shirt he's worn for years now for the race.
Dave Obeklovich
00:08:53
'And it says: Finisher your every NYC marathon, 1976 - ????, and on the back, a speed limit sign. And it says no age limit.
Krista Bo
00:09:04
There are so many reasons why people run the 26.2 miles through the five boroughs. Some do it to see how long it will take to finish. Others do it to honor people's memory or raise money for important causes. And the perfect person to talk about it is CNN's Eryn Mathewson. Hey, Eryn.
Eryn Mathewson
00:09:21
Hey, Krista!
Krista Bo
00:09:22
So you've run the New York City Marathon before. Tell me all about it.
Eryn Mathewson
00:09:26
So I got a chance to do it in 2018. My friends and family came out. They made signs and cheered. It was so cool. The energy was just amazing, which honestly was really helpful because the course is kind of tough. I just wanted to be a part of the magic and try to break my personal record, which is a little under three hours and 40 minutes. Didn't happen that day, but hope to get another crack at it soon.
Krista Bo
00:09:49
Three hours and 40 minutes. That's so impressive, Eryn! But you're right about the energy. I went last year for the first time just as a spectator to support my beast of our friend, Brandon Shamy. He's running it again this year. And it was just so amazing to see like thousands and thousands of people coming together on a beautiful fall day and cheer for not only their loved ones, but like complete strangers. Like tons of high fives, cowbells, signs cheering like it was just incredible. So much fun. Do you know how many people are supposed to run this weekend?
Eryn Mathewson
00:10:23
First of all, Krista, I just want to say you're so right. All the people are so cool to see. And also, you're such a good friend. This year, there are over 50,000 runners expected to be at the starting line, and that includes wheelchair athletes and others with disabilities. And I know that your distance runner, Krista, has all this excitement made you want to apply next year?
Krista Bo
00:10:42
You know, yes. 2025 is the year I want to complete a marathon and I want to do it because, like, I want to be part of that 0.01% of the world's population that can say that they've completed a marathon. But like, I'm just not sure if I have the chops for the big leagues.
Eryn Mathewson
00:10:58
Krista, you can do a half marathon. You can definitely do a full. You're going to be so speedy. Don't just take my word for it. You should listen to Dave as well.
Dave Obeklovich
00:11:06
The mile is just fly by If you're if you're distracted and talk with someone or even a small group, if you're run with one other person, it takes your mind off the physical aspect of running and it's much easier to finish.
Krista Bo
00:11:24
All right, that's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Hear what the final days of the 2024 campaign trail are like from the CNN reporters that are along for the ride. And if you're feeling a little anxious about the election, we're spreading some good vibes on Tuesday with another episode to help you try to take your mind off of it for just a little bit. Check back in then.
Krista Bo
00:11:44
Five Good Things as a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson, Emily Williams and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers, our Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey as our production manager. Dan Dzula as their technical director, and Steve Lickteig is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Helen Regan and Katie Hinman. And thank you for listening. Take care. Till next time.
