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 ‘Glam Van’ Delivers Hope to Breast Cancer Warriors
CNN 5 Good Things
Oct 19, 2024
What's the happiest moment of your life? A filmmaker wants to know. How a breast cancer survivor is supporting women battling the disease. The longest running contest of its kind dares amateur filmmakers to create very short horror films. A New Jersey based arts foundation honors the past and future of the Cherokee Nation. Plus, a Canadian native makes history on the ice.
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo
00:00:00
Hey there. Here's your weekly dose of feel good stories. Hear why one breast cancer survivor has gotten behind the wheel to help hundreds of women battling the disease.
Paula Flory
00:00:10
I would love for every single person who visits with me to walk off the van feeling more whole and hopeful.
Krista Bo
00:00:21
Plus, how a native Canadian broke the ice and shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the first female coach of the NHL. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo, and this is Five Good Things.
Krista Bo
00:00:36
Earlier this year, filmmaker Michael Zervos hit the road armed with this camera. And the question.
Michael Zervos
00:00:42
What is the happiest moment of your life?
Krista Bo
00:00:44
Michael set out with two missions to break the world record for traveling to every country in the world and to collect stories that show how people find happiness everywhere. An initiative called Project Kosmos. Some of the stories he's collected are about big moments, like meeting a spouse for the first time. Or their accomplishments, like getting into a university. And sometimes there's smaller, more specific moments like this one, shared by a woman in Jordan.
Woman in Jordan
00:01:11
When I was a little girl, I was not allowed to ride a bike because in our culture it was not favored for a girl. I bought my very first bicycle and I had to learn how to ride it. I remember the breeze in my hair, the sound of the chain, the very few meters that I was able to paddle my way forward. One of them was incredible happiness, meaning that I might have had in my life.
Krista Bo
00:01:38
So far, he's made it to 109 countries. He spoke to us during a stop in Afghanistan. He said some of the most outwardly happy people he's met lived in the Pacific islands.
Michael Zervos
00:01:49
And they have this phrase that today is here, tomorrow is near, and the rest is a dream. And so they have this idea of just living, living in the now.
Krista Bo
00:01:58
Michael was a little nervous when he started the trip because he knew people would turn the question back on him. What's his happiest moment? And when he started the project, he wasn't sure.
Michael Zervos
00:02:08
I thought, okay, I'm going to be a big hypocrite.
Krista Bo
00:02:11
But he quickly realized that every day, waking up on this world crossing, story gathering journey was the happiest he had ever felt.
Michael Zervos
00:02:19
If one of these stories affects just one person, my trip would have been worthwhile because I'm already having the time of my life.
Krista Bo
00:02:31
It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And if you're in the New Jersey area, you might see Paula Flory's, pink and white sprinter van driving around. The breast cancer survivor from Princeton, New Jersey, has turned her own fight into a mission to support other women battling cancer. Paula was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2011. The news was a shock that changed everything for her.
Paula Flory
00:02:55
I was at a point in my life and still am when I had lots to live for, so I went full speed ahead into treatment.
Krista Bo
00:03:03
When things got tough during her treatment. She had a moment of clarity. Paula was so overwhelmed she felt the need to physically escape. She ran out of her house and into her yard, barefoot, with a bald head and one breast, and said that helped her feel grounded.
Paula Flory
00:03:19
I felt the sunshine on my face and the blades of grass under my feet. And I thought, this is a hurdle. This is a moment in time. And I will get through this and I will utilize what I'm learning to help other people.
Krista Bo
00:03:33
She knows how hard it can be for people with cancer to get themselves up and out of the house to get the support they need.
Paula Flory
00:03:39
So I thought, why not bring it directly to the person?
Krista Bo
00:03:43
'That's the idea behind her nonprofit, Move Over Breast Cancer. She brings non-clinical support services directly to women battling cancer with her mobile resource lounge and salon, affectionately known as the "Glam Van."
Paula Flory
00:03:57
So we do have head shavings, wigs, other head coverings, and then we do mastectomy bras and breast prosthetics or breast forms. And we do mini makeovers and everything is 100% free of charge, by the way.
Krista Bo
00:04:12
'Since the nonprofit's inception in 2020, Paula says Move Over Breast Cancer has helped nearly 500 women, including 65-year-old Kuki Livingston. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2021 and is in remission now.
Kuki Livingston
00:04:26
Once you get in that, you're relaxed because you know that there is somebody there, that you're not standing alone.
Krista Bo
00:04:32
Paula says move over breast cancer and the glam van offers not only makeovers, but hope and a sense of community.
Paula Flory
00:04:39
It started out with just going to do these individual van visits, but now we built an entire community of breast cancer survivors and thrivers, where we come together and just enjoy each other's company and it no longer is just about cancer. It's about being a woman and just connecting.
Krista Bo
00:04:57
For more information about the van and how to support them, check out moveoverbreastcancer.com. And to learn more about breast cancer research and prevention, go to bcrf.org.
Krista Bo
00:05:14
This one's for all my Halloween lovers and spooky season segments. I'm sure some of you are well into your scary movie marathons. I'm more of a "Hocus Pocus," "Halloween Town" girl myself. But horror film fanatic Rick Villanueva, says his favorite is a toss up between "The Exorcist" and "Phantasm."
Rick Villanueva
00:05:32
'A friend pointed out to me, You know those nights where you're feeling lonely - watch a horror movie. You won't feel so lonely after.
Krista Bo
00:05:42
So it makes sense that he launched Ten Scary Minutes, an online horror filmmaking contest.
Rick Villanueva
00:05:48
Ten Scary Minutes is the longest running online horror movie making contest. The whole idea is to create a horror movie ten minutes or less. This is kind of family oriented. Yes, you can be gory, slasher, scary, etc..
Krista Bo
00:06:08
The contest is now in its 12th year. Anyone can participate, but many of the contestants are in high school. And all of the productions are made with nonprofessional gear like iPhones, GoPros and free software available online.
Rick Villanueva
00:06:21
It's exciting to see how creative and imaginative people can really be and we're just that creative outlet.
Krista Bo
00:06:29
Last year's winner was a film called, "Sleepwalker," about a man who thinks he's in danger in his own home. It was written and directed by high schooler Raphael Jaurigue.
Actor played by Joshua Porter
00:06:39
Cassie, is that you?
Krista Bo
00:06:46
Rick said the film not only created the kind of suspense you expect from a scary movie, but also achieved high technical scores. The last day to submit a film for this year's contest is October 31st. Winners will be announced at the end of November and get $200 in prize money. Rick says win or not, he hopes to inspire people to keep creating.
Rick Villanueva
00:07:09
Get out of your comfort zone and learn to feel and enjoy being a little bit uncomfortable. The idea is to encourage you to try, try and have fun.
Krista Bo
00:07:25
All right, pop quiz! What music genre is honored during the month of October. I'll wait. No cheating! If you guessed opera. I'm very impressed. World Opera Day is on October 25th. Soprano Amanda Austin knows the art form is not everyone's favorite.
Amanda Austin
00:07:45
Some will say opera is glorified screaming, but I think it's a lot more nuanced than that.
Krista Bo
00:07:50
But Amanda said she developed a love for singing opera as a teenager.
Amanda Austin
00:07:54
What really attracted me to opera was the use of language. The voice is the only instrument that uses text, and opera is kind of amazing in that it's a living art form. It's this museum that is made alive by artists today that are singing, still singing the repertoire.
Krista Bo
00:08:15
Today she combines her talents as a singer and artist as the founding director of the Omni Arts Foundation in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which was established in 2020.
Amanda Austin
00:08:24
So Omni Arts began as an expression of a lot of different artists within my community who are artistically ambidextrous. So it's dancers who write poetry, and now we're pairing them with a composer who will set that poetry to music and that informs their choreography.
Krista Bo
00:08:43
'Next year, the Omni Arts Foundation will put on a show that highlights opera arias, traditional songs and visual art from the Cherokee Nation - and their connection to American jazz and other standards. The show was created in honor of Amanda's mentor, who's a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. It will feature several native singers, including Kate Morton, a mezzo soprano from Oklahoma, currently a student at Juilliard.
Kate Morton
00:09:06
The Cherokee language, the Cherokee experience was not present within the classical music canon. And that just was something that I wanted to change.
Krista Bo
00:09:16
Kate plans to create visual art and sing three traditional Cherokee prayer songs. Her favorite is called "Orphan Child." It highlights the will of Indigenous people to survive and communicate during the Trail of Tears.
Kate Morton
00:09:33
Everybody has a unique voice. Everybody has a unique story to tell and it's our responsibility to find our uniqueness and love it and share it.
Krista Bo
00:09:45
Omni Arts is still fundraising for the program, so if you're interested in making a donation or buying tickets, check out omniartsfoundation.org.
Krista Bo
00:10:00
'Jessica Campbell is now the NHL first ever female coach. Hear the trailblazer's story and what the opportunity means to her - next.
Krista Bo
00:10:13
'Jessica Campbell is in a league of her own. Earlier this month, when the puck dropped at the first NHL game of the season, the 32-year-old made history. Jessica became the first full time female coach in the league as the assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken.
Jessica Campbell
00:10:27
I'm humbled, obviously, to be in this position and to be the first, but that's never really where my focus is. It's always on the work, it's on the impact. It's it's on the job.
Krista Bo
00:10:37
'Growing up in rural Canada. Hockey was a huge part of Jessica in her family's lives. She played on the boys team until she was 17, then played on Cornell University's women's ice hockey team, before playing for Team Canada. Jessica told the sports blog, The Score, that getting into the pros in some capacity, was a dream that she shared with her brother Josh. But he died in a fatal car crash in 2002 at 18-years-old, just as he was signed to a team in the Canadian Hockey Junior League. Jessica told the blog she attributes her work ethic to her late brother and that she thinks everyday about how she gets to live out her brother's dream. Now that she's standing behind the Kraken's bench, Jessica wants to deliver for the team and hopes her journey inspires and paves the way for others.
Jessica Campbell
00:11:21
Though I am honored to be the first, I don't want to be the only. So I'm just excited to do my part now behind the bench.
Krista Bo
00:11:34
All right. That's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Host David Rind and CNN's David Culver talk about why China's sending pandas to the U.S. and warplanes to Taiwan.
Krista Bo
00:11:46
Five Good Things is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson, Emily Williams 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 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 Andrust, Nichole Pesaru and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Katie Hinman. And thank you for listening. Take care. Till next time.
