The Happy Pod: The chance encounter that became a lasting friendship

How do you update old systems without slowing your business down?

“It's not about modernization just to modernize.”

Or move AI from pilot to production. It's not the technology that's failing. It's the use case that you pick. Find out how global leaders are turning enterprise change in the real competitive advantage. Do it in a resilient way with speed and effectiveness.

Follow resilient edge business vitality podcast paid and presented by Deloy. Check out our new episodes wherever you get your podcasts. I really want to. So ask him to stop. He's still in handwork.

We're going to do a career with him. This is the happy pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritzson and in this edition. I like to learn what she's up to and get a perspective on the world that I don't get. Our friendship has given me an opportunity to slow down and to be grateful.

It's a great experience for older people and younger people to get together. I recommend it. Two women whose chance meeting led to an intergenerational friendship tell us why it's something we all need in our lives. The giant tortoises returning to an island in the Galapagos after nearly two centuries.

This really is the start of a new species. So as an evolutionary biologist, this is very exciting because here we are repopulating the island and it's really a new start. Plus, the Gen Z diverse restoring Indonesia's coral reefs.

Seeing the changes in growth of the coral from when we first transplant it until it grows gives us

a sense of pride. Why getting out into nature can be so good for our mental health and the US veterans reunited more than 80 years after serving together. We start in New York where two women have developed an unconventional friendship after a chance encounter on Christmas Day.

Back in 2021, 26-year-old Nina was showing friends around the city during the holidays. She was on the subway when she saw a leather wallet on the seat next to her, belonging to a then 84-year-old woman named Carol. Instead of handing it in, Nina decided to find Carol and personally return it to her. They've been friends ever since.

Five years later, one of Nina's posts about how they met has gone viral on TikTok. Now, aged 30 and 88, Nina and Carol have been speaking to the happy pods. Tamsin Selby about why they're born so special.

Nina began by explaining what it was like meeting for the first time.

It was really nice. She was so sweet and so she came and was cold outside.

“It was probably if I think it was probably the day after Christmas at this point.”

She handed me a card and the card basically said me finding her wallet was the best Christmas gift. Subsequently, she asked me, you know, if you're ever in the city or, you know, in her neighborhood to come by and maybe have a cup of tea together. And so I thought that was really nice and it felt like a genuine offer. She said that, and I've been hurried, she would have thought it was an empty invitation,

but because I was an older, she thought it was a real invitation, which it was. And she followed up on it and we became friends after that. Tara, what was your favorite thing to do with Nina? I'd love to go to her concert. She's a singer and she sings in Farsi Spanish and English.

And I also just like to talk to her. I like to learn what she's up to and get a perspective on the world that I don't get. They're probably more positive about the world that I am at this point and more ambitious, I'd say.

“The way that Carol lives her life is very ambitious and inspiring.”

Her social life, her friends, the way she keeps up with people, how active she is, how much she travels at her age and then also like everything that she accomplished in her younger years, you know, coming to New York City as a single woman.

I think, and that's why I think it's important for people to have these intergenerational friendships is because we have so much to learn from the people who are older than us.

“We consistently go to people who are age seeking advice, failing to remember that we're all”

kind of in the same boat. Why not go to somebody who has seen it, who's done it and who can offer you insights that come from a world of experience. I'm starting to work on a children's book with one of my friends. That's inspired by Carol and I is story because I want younger people to see value in those who are older than them. Nina, what would you say is the biggest lesson that you've learned from Carol? In the end, everything is going to be okay. Life is going to happen how it's

going to happen. Some mistake you make or something that you don't do to the level that she wants in the earlier part of your life is not going to determine whether or not you can be happy 50 years down the line. She didn't do everything traditionally. She did it in the way that made sense for her and that brought her happiness. She also brings a lot of joy to others and it reminded me that there are a lot of roads to joy and I just have to decide which path will be mine. I would encourage

people to make intergenerational friendships. There should be some sort of society in every community which young people need older people because it's it's very important to have that connection. It makes you remember your earlier life and makes you see life the way you saw it when you were younger and it's it's very comforting. I grew up in a culture that has a lot of reverence

“for people who are older than us and sees a lot of value in people who are older than us and I think”

that has been a little bit lost on American society. I think what you really need is to see people

is more than just their age. And finally, rather than speaking to me, was speaking to each other.

What would you say about how the last five years, how the other person has impacted you? Nina, do you want to go first? Our friendship has given me an opportunity to slow down and to pause into be grateful. I think every time I come to your home, I feel such a sense of calm and safety and love and it feels a bit like an escape because I feel like I can just kind of rest in who I am when I'm around you and I don't need to perform the experiences that we've had together are

so special and unique and our things that have enriched my life so much and you've also brought joy to the lives of the people in my life. I'd like to reiterate what she said that she's brought a lot of joy into my life and I just hope our friendship continues. It's a lot of fun. She's a

really smart, amazing person, a great friend. I'm so happy to have met her and that she's accepted

me into her life and into her circle of friends. I've introduced her to many of my friends. May lover, it's a great experience for older people and younger people to get together. I recommend it. Nina and Carol speaking to Tams in Selby. The Galapagos Islands, a thousand kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, are home to many species found nowhere else on earth. And the unique wildlife of the Accapego has faced a number of threats with some animals

becoming extinct, including a species of giant tortoise, which is appeared from Floriana Island more than a century ago following the arrival of humans. But now, more than 150 young reptiles from a closely related species have been reintroduced there. My colleague, Laila Nathu spoke to Dr. Evelyn Jensen, an evolutionary biologist who's been involved in the breeding program. The Floriana tortoise went extinct around 1840, but in the early 2000s

it was discovered that there was a living population of hybrids on one of the other islands. And so those hybrids were brought into captivity and their offspring are not the same species, but they have ancestry to the original extinct species. And so the hope is that they will have the best chance of survival and doing well on Floriana Island. Tortices are hugely important, especially in the global coast. They are the only large body to herbivore that's native to the environment.

And so they really are the ecosystem engineers doing the grazing, the seed dispersal, the

trampling, and basically making habitat for all of the other species. And just taught me through what

“reintroducing them to Floriana would entail how would scientists go about doing that?”

Well, I mean, they've spent years preparing the island for this, so there's been huge campaigns to try and reduce or eliminate some of the key invasive species. And then of course, for almost 15 years now, they've been captive breeding to get this population of juvenile tortoises.

I know but he's really sure how it's going to play out, but it can only be a good thing.

“The gladical islands have suffered from lots of invasive species and having the native”

ecosystem engineers back there should help restore balance and move the environment back towards a more natural state, the hope is that over the coming decades other species will have their populations increase as Floriana becomes more like it used to be. And presumably these tortoises are now going to be trapped and monitored and hopefully they will then breed the species was sort of run its course. So they have GPS trackers on them,

so they can look and see if their their movements and where they're going.

It's a relatively small group of young tortoises right now, eight to 13 years old,

and so they're not going to be reproducing themselves for at least another 15 years if not more. But this really is the start of a new species. So this is very exciting because here we are repapulating the island and it's really a new start for not the same Floriana tortoise, but a new Floriana tortoise. Dr. Evelyn Jensen. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the waters around Indonesia's spare monday islands, like within one of the most biodiversity

marine regions on earth, part of the coral triangle, many locals rely on the health of the oceans for their livelihoods from both fishing and tourism. But the reefs have been badly damaged from heavy shipping traffic, illegal fishing methods such as explosives and poisons, and coastal development. So as Les Thea Catopatti reports a group of young women decided to take action, planting new coral colonies on the seabed. They call themselves underwater gardeners.

Working together, they collect broken coral fragments that can still grow and then tie them onto metal frames, which they then place on the sandy patches of ocean floor where the reef wants to thrive. Dila is one of the volunteers. Seeing the changes in growth of the coral from

when my first transplanted it until it grows gives us a sense of pride, especially for us women who

can be directly involved and work hands on in the field. Difers must carry heavy oxygen tanks, decent incurrents, and spend hours underwater securing fragile fragments as another volunteer EM explains. It's actually not that difficult. We are already used to carrying tanks. They're not too heavy, collecting coral fragments and tying them underwater are so relatively easy for us to do. With the serenadean, a conservation activist also promotes river recovery through a program he calls

coral adoption, inviting the public to participate by supporting coral planting and monitoring its progress over time. Transplantation and adoption both involve replanting coral. Now we focus more on adoption because it involves the community. They help guard and care for the reefs. Videos of the diverse working underwater have spread widely on social media.

“Conservation Group say women often play a key role in spreading environmental messages”

because audiences respond strongly to their storytelling and visuals. Despite restoration work, reef health across the region remains fragile. Suffered in use of from Hasa and the University, study local reef and say that thriving coral cover is now difficult to find. To Japan, Karan Hidubiyata, swimmer per cent, is now very rare. What we mostly see is below 50 per cent. Karamomun to Kansen to Han Lunat. Corals need a gentle touch because the polyps are very

sensitive. These young women provide careful handling when planting them, which makes a very positive contribution. But the diverse day restoration alone is not enough. I invite young people to channel their energy into useful activities such as coral transplantation. Even if it looks like a small activity, we can have a very big impact and benefits for society in the future. Stop small things when snorkeling be careful your fins don't break coral.

“Another way is by not throwing rubbish into the sea. Healthy reefs are not only important for”

marine life. They also protect coastlines from waves, support fisheries and attract visitors with tourism spending, sustained island economies. A biggest hope is that coral reefs will not be damaged again. Another hope is that tourism here

In the reefs are damaged, there will be no more tourists coming.

“For this underwater gardeners, the work is far from finish, but with patience and persistence,”

they believe the reef can bloom again. We should stop ourselves to contribute to transplant activities to protect existing ecosystems so that future generations can fill what we feel today and can continue these transplant activities for our children and grandchildren. Coral restoration volunteer dealer ending that report from Les Thea Kertopati. Coming up on the happy pod how an unwanted tandem bike travelled thousands of kilometers

to transform para cycling in Kenya. There was no ladies for Tadim, so I started searching where I can get bikes. I really wanted to give the bike to Alice and we just had to work out how to get it across the Kenya.

“What do you say about the reef? I want to do something. I want to do something. I want to do something.”

I want to do something, I want to do something, I want to do everything that I want to do. I want to do something else, I want to do something else, I want to do it. I want to do something else, I want to do something else, I want to do something, but I want to do nothing, I want to do something. I want to do something really for you. I'm not going to do anything else. Let's do it in Handwerk. We are going to be together with the Führer. That's Handwerk.

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get to a BBC podcast.

What happens when a mandate becomes a breakthrough? I'm Nishita Henry,

special host of Resilian Edge, a business vitality podcast paid and presented by Deloitte. I sat down with two leaders who are redefining what enterprise transformation looks like. Jerry Hogerman from Deloitte and Sarah Ali Good from AWS took me behind the scenes on how manufacturing, government and global enterprises are evolving through major systems change. What excites me is when we have these breakthrough moments that this stuff doesn't happen by accident.

The triad of AWS of Deloitte of SAP being able to understand the value proposition that people seek, being able to architect that and then actually to define a roadmap to progressively achieve the goal really is what makes these successful. Getting your humans to change the way they're interacting with their technology, the way that they're following the processes, or just that they're reinventing altogether. And we're going to completely throw something out is very challenging.

Here's what stood out. The 2027 SAP deadline isn't a compliance problem. It's a strategic reset.

A chance to rethink how value was created. If your vision is across the 10-year horizon, your ROI is going to be different than if your vision is across a one or two year horizon. So how do you move decades of systems and data without slowing the business down? And how do you simplify operations while preparing for what comes next? From legacy systems to AI-ready infrastructure, the full conversation reveals how Deloitte,

AWS and SAP help organizations reduce risk and unlock continuous innovation. All of that and more on this special episode of Resilient Edge, find us wherever you listen to podcasts. Where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

“Where often told the best way to shed off life's stresses and relax is to immerse ourselves”

in the beauty of nature. It's advice which was put into verse by the Welsh poet William Henry Davis more than a hundred years ago. What is this life? If full of care, we have no time to stand and

No time to turn at beauty's glance and watch her feet how they can dance. No time to wait till

“her mouth can enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this. If full of care,”

we have no time to stand and stare. Well now new researchers provided some scientific backing to this finding that simply observing or standing and staring at one thing in nature every day for two weeks can significantly boost our well-being especially if we take the time to write down how we feel. James cumbersome went to a small park near London's Heathrow airport to meet psychologist Dr. Alison Greenwood who runs a charity that promotes the

mental health benefits of getting out into nature.

That's a bad sky. We're in South of Slinton. We'll hear from aeroplane. But that really helps us with our model because it kind of points out we still respond

“instantly very negatively to the found of an aeroplane because it's a foreign sound.”

Here we are. We're sitting in a very modest environment small environment but it is full of the patterns of nature. So tell us what should we be looking at? What is it doing to us when we're out here? You're looking at the fractal patterns of nature and fractals are self repeating patterns

when we look at the fractal patterns of nature it creases out alpha waves in our brains. An

alpha waves, an indicator of a wakefully relaxed state. These are the patterns that you only get in nature. Absolutely. You're going to walk. You'll see the patterns on a leaf. A very similar to the branches of a tree and they exist in very small bits of nature. They're also in the big bits of nature. So ocean waves, coastlines and the very exciting thing about fractals is the existing as well. If you look at the palm of your hand you'll see the patterns on your hand

quite similar to the patterns of the branches of a tree or on the back of a leaf and it's just a lovely reminder that we're not like nature. We are nature. We're part of the same natural world made of the same natural fractals. Most people's favourite sound is water and again it does not too difficult to imagine why our brains respond so positively to something that is so much a sign of survival. We are waters. Yes. I mean it's like quite a soft and cool

the fractal patterns of nature, soft fascination. The impact on the autonic nervous system in terms of switching us from our sympathetic nervous activations so that's our flight flight processes into our parasympathetic nervous activation. That's our rest digest. It's kind of instant when we go outside and there's that instant reaction physiologically that our body goes into like this I recognise. Hi my name's Tom. I came here about three years ago

having struggled with my mental health for the best part of my adult life. It wasn't until I came here that I've it all started to click and I started to realise that there was a reason why I would have that day where I'd spontaneously go to bushy park and to spend hours it was there subconsciously but now it's conscious. What difference does that make? It's huge. I now feel like I have some sovereignty over my own mental health. There's a lot of brilliant emerging science

about when we feel that sense of awe and wonder in nature. One of the theories is a kind of construct of small self. So when we are under a huge starry sky or on top of a mountain we can feel quite small. Now I love this construct as a psychologist because we spend all of our time picking people up. You are important. You do matter and actually in the natural world quite often we feel quite small and tiny and insignificant and rather making us feel bad. It actually is quite

reassuring we're just this tiny little part of this natural world and it's okay. Dr. Alison Greenwood speaking to James Cumerous Army. To a tale of friendship that has spanned more decades than most two military veterans in the United States have been reunited by chance 82 years after they

“fought alongside each other. The happy pod's Holly Gibbs has more. You were in the tank or right?”

Yes, yes. Robert Miller and Willard Smith both live in a car home in Naperville in Illinois. That's me in the service. It's from basic training at Camp Roberts, California.

war stories Willard noticed they had warned the same uniform. Notice that our hats are very similar and of course you wanted to wear it jointly and also you look at sharp. Robert and Willard had both served in the Pacific during World War II when they were teenagers, including fighting in the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. I said, you look to young to find this war. If they probably was true, 18 years old.

Willard recently turned 100 and Robert will do the same next month. Oh man, didn't think I'd make it that far. I'm looking forward to it for a certain degree. After leaving the military, both men got married, had children and became teachers. Reconnecting after more than eight decades means the pair can now enjoy reminiscing about all their shared history. And it brings back a lot of good memories.

“We had a good good run, I think, for a couple of soldiers.”

Willard and Robert ending that report by Holly Gibbs.

And finally, to a simple donation of a used bicycle that's making a big difference,

thousands of kilometres away opening up a new chapter for Kenyan Parasikling. Carrie Ruxton, a gym owner in Scotland, offered her daughters old tandem bike online, an offer seen by Alice Meringue, who'd been struggling to find a tandem to race with visually impaired cyclists. Five months later, with some help from the Scottish Kenyan community, the bike finally arrived in Nairobi on Valentine's Day and is now being prepared

for international competition. My colleague, James Copnall, has been speaking to Carrie and Alice. I put it on to this tandem Facebook page and I had quite a few inquiries, but when I read

“Alice's story and she told me that she sometimes had three people trying to use one bike.”

I really wanted to give the bike to Alice and we really just had to work out how to get it across Kenya. But luckily Alice had a contact in Glasgow, a Kenyan, and he came to pick up the bike and then it started its journey in fat last September. I almost lost hope a couple of times. And then suddenly she contacted me on the 15th of February and said it arrived yesterday,

which is Valentine's Day, the day of love. And so I thought that's amazing. It's been sent from

Scotland with love to Alice. In fact, the bike even had a little tart and ribbon tied to it for good luck. And so Alice told me she decided to call the bike Valentine. And Alice, tell us about why you've got in touch in the first place. Is it pretty difficult to get a good tandem bike in Kenya? Actually not adding bikes in Kenya, so when we started this cycling for people with disabilities and people with the eye problems, we didn't have enough

bikes. Only one gentleman who had the bike, I was at the Ebo cycling, so I decided to quit to join the para cycling because there was no ladies for a tandem. There were no bikes at that moment, so I started searching where I can get bikes. As Carrie said, it took quite a long time, several months for the bike to arrive in Kenya. That must have been quite an nervous wait, I guess. We were waiting for it, sure, sure. This year we have a para track race in Nigeria and we are hoping to use it,

because now we have the bike we want to share. And Carrie, you mentioned sending it off with love

“and that little tart and ribbon around it. What will it be to see it in international competition?”

Will you be proud? Will you be emotional? How will you feel? Do you think? Yeah, I definitely feel proud. I'm going to keep in touch with Alice and I want to follow everything that she's doing, I'm absolutely passionate about getting ribbon involved and sport. And so Alice is going to send me pictures and I'm going to keep in touch with her team. And Alice is one of the big goals to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, which are going to be in Scotland this time.

Yeah, we are hoping that the area will bring good results. Unfortunately in Africa, we are only having two teams for Tadembaik that is Nigeria and Kenya, so we are hoping as well here in Kenya to bring up more areas so that we can have more teams there. And a question for both of you, really, this story has captured quite a lot of attention around the world. And I guess there's something

quite powerful about that sort of sporting solidarity across borders across different cultures, Carrie.

Yeah, absolutely. And this story through the BBC has already done a lot of good because I was contacted by another person in Edinburgh offering a tandem-baked Alice, so she's going to get two bikes. Oh, wow, that is, that's great. Yeah, I felt so nice. I really have already contacted him

Games in Scotland, if Valentine the Bike makes it, the two of you might be up to meeting Glasgow.

“Yeah, I'll be proud. I'll be very much proud to meet her. Alice Moeringo and Carrie Ruxton.”

And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. If you have a story you think we should cover

with love to hear from you, just send us an email or a voice note to [email protected].

“This edition was mixed by Philippe Bull and the producers were Holly Gibbs and Rachel Balkley.”

Yet it is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritzson and until next time, goodbye.

We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about, it's got the dark web.

“And a cover in the furthest corners of the dark web. U.S. special agents are on a mission to”

locate and rescue children from abuse. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, the darkest web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get to a BBC podcast.