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- [00:00]
Ben
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.
- [00:06]
Martha
When Kohler, global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, asked me to be their ambassador for timeless, elegant, durable cast iron, I said I'm in. Soon after I was in their Kohler Wisconsin foundry watching molten iron, poured enamel applied by hand and the beautiful finished pieces ready to ship. Since 1883, Kohler cast iron has been crafted by incredible artisans and seeing it firsthand gave me a whole new appreciation for their craftsmanship. Now I am proud to lend my stamp of approval to my favorite Kohler cast iron products for their durability, beauty and enduring style. Shop my curated picks@kohler.com as the Kohler cast Iron Ambassador I say long live cast iron.
- [00:59]
Narrator/Announcer
Spring into deals with stay green premium 2 cubic foot mulch 5 bags for $10 plus stay fresh with up to 35% off select major appliances and save an additional $100 on select laundry pairs. Our best lineup is here at Lowes Lowes we help you save valid 3, 5, 6 mulch offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. See Lowes.com for more details.
- [01:22]
Nancy
Visit your nearby Lowes.
- [01:30]
Holly Gibbs
This is the happy pod from the BBC world service. I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition, one man's quest to improve his brother's life.
- [01:44]
Ari
He is just laughing and joking and the fact he can just talk to me like any brother would, you know, telling me off and stuff. It's like I got my brother back to talk to. It's something I've always dreamed of and we both just love it, you know.
- [01:58]
Holly Gibbs
We meet Ari, who created a communication system for his brother Ben. Also on this podcast, the rare Mexican amphibian found in a river here in the uk. The runner carried over the finish line of the Boston Marathon by two kind strangers.
- [02:15]
AJ Haradase
I was like shocked. Honestly. There was no reason for him to do that. There was no reason for either of them to do that. It was like insane. That was the greatest feeling ever.
- [02:25]
Holly Gibbs
And why the organizers of a nature festival felt the need to say this.
- [02:30]
Ben
Whilst we aim to be as inclusive as possible and certainly do not judge
- [02:35]
Narrator/Announcer
anyone, please do dress appropriately.
- [02:41]
Holly Gibbs
We start with a remarkable story of one man's determination to help his brother. Ben is 29 years old and has a rare genetic disorder which means he cannot walk, talk or move his hands. His brother Ari and Ari's wife Nancy became Ben's full time carers four years ago. They wanted Ben to be able to engage with the world, so they designed and built a communication and entertainment system that he can control with two head Switches. Ben used the system to speak to the Happy Pods. Helena Burke.
- [03:16]
Ben
Hello, my name is Ben. This is my sister in law, Nancy and my brother Aaron. It is nice to meet you.
- [03:22]
Helena Burke
So, Ben, how does your life now compare to what your life was like before you had this technology?
- [03:28]
Ben
My life is better.
- [03:29]
Helena Burke
And how does it make you feel to be able to communicate with people again after such a long time?
- [03:33]
Ben
Amazing.
- [03:35]
Helena Burke
What does it mean to you to have a brother that's put all this work into creating a technology for you that improves your life?
- [03:42]
Ben
Feel love. I feel love.
- [03:44]
Helena Burke
And what do you hope listeners of the Happy Pod take away from your story?
- [03:48]
Ben
Smart. I'm smart.
- [03:50]
Holly Gibbs
Helena also caught up with Ari and Nancy and began by asking them about Ben's condition.
- [03:56]
Ari
Ben, is it cool that we talk about tub 4A and your condition?
- [04:00]
Ben
Yes.
- [04:01]
Ari
Okay, so Ben has a condition called TUB4A related leukodystrophy. It is a condition that affects the myelin sheath in the brain. So as Ben grew, especially as a baby, we noticed that he had some delayed milestones, you know, balance issues and coordination issues. He essentially kind of was a normal toddler, but over time after that we started not noticing. He was kind of regressing, so he was falling down a lot more. He reverted to crawling from crawling. He needed a wheelchair. His speech started getting a little more broken, a little bit more slurred because his mouth wasn't able to make the words anymore. So over time, that's just the natural progression for these types of conditions. So essentially, Ben went from walking and talking as a little kid to, you know, being in a wheelchair, losing ability to use his hands, losing the ability to speak from a young age. So that's kind of how it goes. He's one of the oldest with this condition. Might be the oldest, but definitely one of the oldest.
- [05:02]
Helena Burke
We'll turn to the technology now. Can you tell me a bit about how it works? I imagine it's very complicated, but in layman's terms, how does it work?
- [05:10]
Ari
It's actually very simple. Ben's system is two switch based. So he has one switch that scans through options. It'll just go one by one through the different options on the screen and then he has another button that will select it. These buttons also have another way of working, is if you hold down the left button, it'll scan backwards or it'll do something else. And the right button, same thing. So essentially there are four inputs with that. We created software that uses that specifically those inputs specifically for Ben, for the things he wants. What we did was we stripped it down, said, hey, how can we make this really visual, really easy for Ben to understand things he wants to do? And just created a bunch of different apps and software and things that he can use that allow him to do the stuff he wants. So things like playing video games or, you know, watching his favorite TV shows or even searching the web, sending text messages, he can do that. So we have a keyboard in there that he can talk to us. And that was all stuff that we built using AI. Everything we build or anything that is built can be open and used to anybody. There's no licensing for it. It just allows you to of software. And we thought that was like really crucial for something like this, especially after, you know, going through so much time with Ben having nothing. It's like we want to make sure other families can see what's possible.
- [06:26]
Helena Burke
And for you guys as a family, what does life look like now that Ben has this tech to help him communicate with you and improve his quality of life versus before when he didn't have it?
- [06:36]
Nancy
Ben decided to move in with us in 2022 and it's been a night and day difference. It was 20 questions all the time with Ben. We were always asking him if he's comfortable, if he needed anything, and now he is telling us what he needs. He is independently changing the TV shows on his computer, he's text messaging us, he's playing video games. It's mind blowing. It's been a game changer. He is more engaged with the world now and it's incredible.
- [07:09]
Helena Burke
And yeah, obviously being a full time carer is a really big commitment for both of you guys. How did you decide that this was the right thing for you and you wanted to have Ben be in your house with you and spend your life with him?
- [07:20]
Nancy
I knew when I first met Ari that Ben was one of the most important people in his life. Ben was on the other side of the country and we would visit, but I always knew every time we left that something was missing in Ari's life. And when we came out here during the COVID pandemic, it seemed like it was meant to be. We didn't realize that Ben's condition was deteriorating at such a fast pace. And we knew that he needed more. He needed more advocacy, he needed more eyes on him. And Ben wanted us to stay. And it was just an easy decision for us. And we would choose this life again over and over because Ben's given us so much more purpose and it, yeah, we're just so happy to Be his caregiver. It's an honor to be his caregiver.
- [08:11]
Ari
I'm glad Nancy answered that because he's my brother so I would just be like, it was just, I'm, of course I'm gonna take care of my brother.
- [08:16]
Nancy
Yeah. Ben's my best friend.
- [08:18]
Ari
Yeah.
- [08:18]
Nancy
I didn't, he, I didn't realize that I was going to, you know, love Ben as much as I do now. And I can't imagine my life without him.
- [08:27]
Ari
He's awesome.
- [08:28]
Nancy
He's awesome.
- [08:29]
Helena Burke
What differences have you noticed in his mood since you guys developed this tech?
- [08:33]
Ben
So.
- [08:33]
Ari
So Ben has always been like super joyful. Even in the times where it was like the darkest, he's always had a smile, you know. But I will say this after those times to now using his software, he is just laughing and joking and the fact he can just talk to me like any brother would, you know, telling me off and stuff. He loves it and we love it and it's like, it's like I got my brother back to talk to. It's something I've always dreamed of and we both just love it, you know.
- [09:02]
Helena Burke
Do you think this would work for a range of other disabilities as well?
- [09:05]
Ari
Yeah, we've, we've already had a few people reach out who are playing Ben's games. We made a web app. You know, all of Ben's games are available online and we have a handful of people, one in particular that plays pretty regularly and sends us videos. So yeah, it's really cool.
- [09:20]
Helena Burke
And what do you hope that listeners of the Happy Pod take away from your story as a family?
- [09:24]
Nancy
We want people to know that despite having a rare disease and when you think all hope is lost, there's still, you know, meaning and you could still find joy in caregiving for somebody. We want to inspire people to look for more solutions for the person that they love. Ben shows so much determination and he never gives up and we want to show that we're not going to give up on him.
- [09:52]
Holly Gibbs
Ben, Ari and Nancy speaking to Helena Burke here in the UK, a 10 year old girl has made an unusual and probably life saving discovery in a river. Evie Hill was on holiday in Wales when she came across an axolotl. For those of us who don't play games like Minecraft, that's an endangered lizard like animal with gills sticking out of its head looking like feathers. They're usually only found in one lake in Mexico. The one Evie came across had bits of its tail missing, presumably the result of a run in with local predators. Experts say Evie probably saved its life by rescuing it. She and her mum, Melanie, have been speaking to my colleague Sarah Montague.
- [10:34]
Evie Hill
I was just playing by the bank at the river and I was moving things around, and I lifted up the green mat and there was this axolotl.
- [10:45]
Narrator/Announcer
Okay.
- [10:45]
Evie Hill
So I could tell it was an axolotl because I could see its gills and it had, like, quite a thick tail.
- [10:51]
Narrator/Announcer
What were your thoughts when you saw it?
- [10:53]
Evie Hill
Oh, my goodness. There's an axolotl right in front of me in the water. I ran back into the water trying to catch it, but all the mud, like, made the water all cloudy so I couldn't see it anymore. And I told mum, there's an axolotl in the water. She's like, no, there's not. You've probably seen some little lizard or something. And I asked if I could go back in the water. She said no, but I went back in the water anyway, because when I went back, I could see it in front of the water. I tried to grab it, but it swam up the current and digged its nose into a rock. And then I caught it.
- [11:26]
Narrator/Announcer
So what did you do with it once you've got it in your hands?
- [11:29]
Evie Hill
We brought it back to the van and we had to put it in a gravy jar because we had nothing else to put it in.
- [11:35]
Narrator/Announcer
What did your mum say?
- [11:36]
Evie Hill
Oh, my goodness. She actually has got an axolotl in a gravy jug in the van.
- [11:42]
Narrator/Announcer
Melanie, I've got to ask you, when Evie turned up with this thing, what did you think?
- [11:46]
Melanie Hill
To start with, I didn't actually think. I thought, it's not actually an axolotl, surely. Took a photograph of it and then did a Google search and it came up with axolotl. And then I was Googling all sorts of things about, can you find them in the water here? And. But the more I looked, the more I could see it's definitely an axolotl. I was just in complete shock that there's actually an axolotl. And I thought, why is it here? Why is it in our river?
- [12:12]
Narrator/Announcer
I mean, they're not native. I mean, I suppose it was probably quite lucky that you came across it, Evie.
- [12:18]
Evie Hill
Yeah. Because we rescued it and now it's got, like, a new home in our house.
- [12:21]
Narrator/Announcer
Okay, so it's your pet now.
- [12:23]
Evie Hill
Yeah.
- [12:24]
Narrator/Announcer
I imagine it's not in the gravy jar any longer.
- [12:27]
Evie Hill
No, we've got a tank and we're setting up a bigger one. What have you called it, Dippy? Because the bridge was called the Dipping bridge. And that's where we found it.
- [12:39]
Narrator/Announcer
Is Dippy. Well, does dippy look healthy?
- [12:42]
Evie Hill
No, it didn't look that good, but it started to recover.
- [12:45]
Narrator/Announcer
Now the home it's in now you're saying you're getting a bigger one. I mean, is this going to be a very spoiled axolotl?
- [12:51]
Evie Hill
Yeah, we've already got a big tank and like decorate it and get some new things.
- [12:57]
Melanie Hill
Dippy is definitely very spoilt at the minute. Everything it's needed we've just gone out and bought. We're quite excited by having the new pet and I think the novelty of the fact that it wasn't in a very good condition and we're getting to see it recover and it's made it a little bit more exciting than just going and getting one from a pet shop.
- [13:14]
Holly Gibbs
Evie and Melanie Hill speaking to Sarah Montague. To Uganda now, where a small group of women are trying to challenge cultural taboos around breast cancer. A lack of awareness about symptoms, poor screening services and strong beliefs in traditional healers mean nearly 90% of cases aren't diagnosed until the later stages. That makes it less likely people will survive and more likely they'll need a mastectomy to remove their breasts. But one group in Kampala is helping to boost women's confidence and persuade them to get life saving treatment. Halima Athuwani went to meet them.
- [13:54]
Halima Athuwani
I watch as Anna uses a knitting machine to make pieces of cream fabric.
- [13:59]
Evie Hill
I put a nipple sew in the middle.
- [14:04]
Halima Athuwani
She then uses a sewing machine to stitch the fabric to form a small pocket with a nub of thread for the nipple. She passes it to her colleague Warda. Warda fills the pocket with a spongy material. Beads are added to give it some weight and a more realistic shape. It's a project run by two women who are both called Margaret Okello. To avoid confusion, I will refer to them as Mrs. Okelo and Dr. Nyeko. Mrs. Okello was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
- [14:38]
Narrator/Announcer
I'm a breast cancer survivor. I lost both of my breasts, but thank God because I think he had a purpose for me.
- [14:48]
Halima Athuwani
Mrs. Okelo met Dr. Nikko at the Uganda Cancer Institute. Dr. Niko had also had breast cancer and had a breast removed. After chatting, they realized they had a shared passion helping more people to recover from the disease. So they set up the cancer aid organization.
- [15:10]
Narrator/Announcer
We needed to help our fellow ladies and gentlemen who suffer also from breast cancer to go and tell people out there that cancer can be treated and you can get cured and live your life.
- [15:23]
Halima Athuwani
The women used counseling and their personal testimonies to challenge false beliefs around breast cancer and encourage women to get treatment. One of the women Mrs. Okello helped was Waruda. When the doctor said she would need a breast removed, Warda was worried and refused. So the doctors sent her to Mrs. Okelo. At first, Warda didn't believe Mrs. Okelo had had her breast removed.
- [15:52]
Narrator/Announcer
So I say, is it the scar that you want to see? Here it is. And that was enough. When she opened for me her chest like this, I see her scar that she has really no breasts. That's what I come to say that maybe. Let me try and see.
- [16:09]
Halima Athuwani
Warda went through with the operation and started working for the project. Women without breasts still face a lot of stigma and superstition in Uganda. But Mrs. Okellow was also able to offer Warda another lifeline, a free artificial breast which would help her blend in.
- [16:30]
Narrator/Announcer
She gave me one, I put on. I found my chest is okay. I'm very smart. I want to also make this thing so that other people who come after me, they will also benefit the way I benefit.
- [16:41]
Halima Athuwani
They now charge 40,000 shillings or $10 for an artificial breast. This compares to $200 for medical grade silicone ones. However, they found even $10 was expensive for many patients. So they approached private companies like banks and NGOs for sponsorship. Today they make between 600 and 900 a year, depending on how much funding they can get.
- [17:10]
Narrator/Announcer
We can't escalate the price. No, it's not about profit making. No, it's about helping ourselves because I know what it means.
- [17:20]
Holly Gibbs
That report was by Halima Athuani. You can hear more on people fixing the world wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Coming up on the happy Pod, why Cambodia has a new statue of a
- [17:39]
Ben
giant rat to help people understand this. Still a big job to be done here in clearing the landmines.
- [17:51]
Martha
When Kohler, the global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, came to me and said, martha, we need an ambassador for our timeless, elegant, durable cast iron products. I said, I'm in now. Let me see the factory. Weeks later, I was suited up in coveralls and work boots, walking through their Kohler Wisconsin cast iron foundry. I stood next to the molten iron furnace, saw the hand applying enamel and touched the gorgeous finished products waiting to be sent out into the world. Since 1883, Kohler cast iron products have been forged and finished by the incredible craftspeople right in Kohler, Wisconsin. I'll tell you, I gained a newfound respect and appreciation for Kohler's Cast Iron craftsmanship. So now I'm lending my discerning stamp of approval to my most beloved Kohler Cast Iron products for their durability, beauty and timelessness. Shop my Kohler Cast Iron favorites curated on Kohler.com bring the warmth, character and enduring style of these timeless products into your kitchens and bathrooms. As the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say long live Cast Iron.
- [19:12]
Danielle Robaix
This is Danielle Robaix from Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club. Nothing compares to the anticipation of something new, a new start, a new year, a new home, or a new car. When it's time to get a new car, where do you start? Car shopping can honestly be a little overwhelming, but it should be fun. Buying your next car should be exciting. And it can be if you remember one thing. Cars.com cars.com has the tools and expert advice to help you figure out what vehicle is right for you. Their advanced search filters allow you to explore 2 million new and used cars so that you can find the perfect car. The site is so easy to use. Looking for an electric vehicle with a third row and leather seats for easy cleanup? Cars.com has you covered. A variety of tools and badges are used to help shoppers understand the price of a vehicle and find the best deal. And every review is written by a real person reflecting a real life experience, so don't take any chances. Do car shopping the easy way. Start your search with cars.com where to next?
- [20:16]
Trace Dominguez
Your social media feed says eat more protein. Track your sleep. Boost your VO2 max. Wake up up and cold plunge. Cleanse yourself of parasites. You're intrigued but confused. So where can you turn? Welcome to Health versus Hype, the show where we take the loudest wellness trends on the Internet and ask the questions only science can answer. What's real, what's exaggerated, and what is completely wrong? I'm Trace Dominguez. Each episode we show the science behind viral health claims, from high protein diets to cold plunges, Detoxing to sleep. Tech obsession. And we talk to the people in the middle of it all. Influencers, the curious, but more importantly, doctors and researchers. Not to cancel the trend, not to hype it more, but to understand it. Listen to Health vs Hype with the American Medical association on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Slow the scroll. Start asking better questions. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Take care of yourself this spring with great savings on all your favorite wellness brands. Now through April 28th save $5 when you buy three or more participating wellness items. Shop in store or online for products like centrum, silver, nexium, 24 hour, tums ultra strength or Smoothies tablets and Flonase spray. And save $5 when you buy three or more. Get these deals before they're gone. Offer ends April 28th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more.
- [21:49]
Holly Gibbs
You're listening to the Happy Pod. This year's Boston Marathon has provided many inspiring stories, but there's two in particular we'd like to bring you. Firstly, to an elite female runner who completed the race while 22 weeks pregnant. Kalihaga Thackeray finished in just two hours and 43 minutes, around 20 minutes below her personal best. She told the BBC's Sarah Dawkins what it was like.
- [22:17]
Kalihaga Thackeray
Very emotional, to be honest. What a day. It was chaos. Crazy. In the best way possible. Honestly, like, and I, and I knew going into this race, obviously there was going to be a lot of unknowns, more than normal and that's okay. But just so, so grateful that I got through that today and to do it like this far into pregnancy, I'm just, yeah, super grateful that I was able to do that today.
- [22:42]
Holly Gibbs
Not many kids will be able to say that they've run a marathon with their mum and their dad before they were even born.
- [22:48]
Narrator/Announcer
Right.
- [22:49]
Kalihaga Thackeray
I can't wait to tell him. He's got five finishers medals now and yeah, obviously we'll get loads of toys for his little room, but we want to put his little finishers medals up there first.
- [22:59]
Holly Gibbs
You've won European medals, you're an Olympian. Where does this today sit within those achievements?
- [23:07]
Kalihaga Thackeray
Oh, honestly, yeah, it really does put it up there for me just because it is such a special thing and to be able to do this now is just, yeah, incredible. And it's a different kind of hard, hard for sure than what I've ever done. I would say this is harder than a lot of, yeah, the European medal or these other things that I've achieved, but in a different kind of way, in a more meaningful way. And I think it just gave me like, more purpose than ever before.
- [23:30]
Holly Gibbs
So as we're sort of seeing this real shift in like elite sporting culture, do you think attitudes really are changing?
- [23:38]
Kalihaga Thackeray
Yeah, I do. I think it, I'm not alone. Like, it means so much to me because like, you can do both. You really can. And we can do it well. We can be a mom and also shoot for these crazy big goals, scary goals more than ever, like I. It's definitely not gonna, like, scare me away from any goals. I think if anything, it's gonna push me to, like, show my son what is possible. I just think that makes it even more meaningful for me. And yeah, I'm just honoured and excited to be a part of that, like, space and showing that, you know, other women who are pregnant or are going through pregnancy and trying to balance, you know, running as well or whatever sport they do, you can do both.
- [24:16]
Holly Gibbs
Meanwhile, the men's amateur race saw an incredible act of kindness by strangers. AJ Haradase fell over from exhaustion a few times, but then two of his fellow runners, Aaron Beggs and Robson D. Oliveira, stopped to put their arms around him and help him across the fin. In doing so, Aaron even sacrificed his personal best for the marathon.
- [24:40]
Aaron Beggs
You see the finish line and everything. And I looked at my watch and I was like debating. I was like, do I help? Do you not? Do I get a pb?
- [24:50]
Holly Gibbs
Yes, help me.
- [24:51]
Aaron Beggs
And for some reason, my instincts decided to take me over. I was struggling to get him up and if it wasn't for Robson to come over and help me. We've been able to get there 200 meters roughly. A long way to carry him. As we got the finish line, I had my arm around AJ and I was calling for the wheelchair. They keep going, flying past me and AJ and I was like, what are you doing? And I turned around and Robson was actually in a worse condition than A.J. so it just goes to show how much of a selfless commitment there was by himself as well.
- [25:28]
Holly Gibbs
AJ says he was overwhelmed by his fellow runners kindness.
- [25:33]
AJ Haradase
Like, I wasn't expecting anybody to pick me up, especially at that point in the race. Like, everyone is very close to that feeling. And also for, in terms of time to qualify for Boston again next year. We were approaching that barrier. I was like, shocked. Honestly, the more I think about it now, it's like there was no reason for him to do that. There was no reason for either of them to do that. It was like insane. That was the greatest feeling ever. Like, I told them directly, like, I can't put into words, like, how much that meant.
- [26:06]
Holly Gibbs
The three runners say they are already planning their next marathons. A statue has gone on display in Cambodia of a rat. But Magawa is not your average rat. He has sniffed out more than 100 landmines during his five year career and has even won medals for how many lives he saved. As Tamsin Selby reports, the statue of
- [26:30]
Tamsin Selby
Magoa is the world's first dedicated to a landmine detecting rat. According to the un, landmines remain an ongoing risk to Cambodia and more than a million people continue to work and live on land littered with mines and other unexploded ordinance. That's where African giant pouched rats like Magoa come in. Using their acute sense of smell, the rodents can detect a chemical compound within explosives and then alert their human handlers. During his eight year career, Magoa covered the equivalent of 20 football pitches in land and could search a field the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes. Magoa died in 2022 due to old age. Mick Rain is from the Belgian charity Apopo, who trained him in Tanzania.
- [27:24]
Ben
The areas we work in, there's normally a lot of metal contamination. So if you use traditional metal detection equipment, they detect every small piece of metal. And every time you find a small piece of metal, you've then got to investigate it carefully to confirm whether it is a landmine or an item of unexploded ordnance or whether it's just a fragment. So this takes a long time, but with the rats, they're purely looking for the explosive scent and they are a lot quicker.
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Tamsin Selby
The statue has been carved from local stone by artists and it was unveiled in Siem Reap to mark International Day for Mine Awareness.
- [28:05]
Ben
It wasn't just for a pawpaw or Magawa, but it was more for Cambodia as well. To help people understand there's still a big job to be done here in clearing the landmines. You know, we have got a permanent reminder in a prime position on the river. There's lots of people turning up, looking at the statue, taking selfies next to the statue, and I think it's been very, very well received.
- [28:29]
Tamsin Selby
Apopo says Cambodia has a Target Date of 2030 to become mine free. And it's safe to say rats like Magoa and the ones who come after him will make a huge contribution to that goal.
- [28:43]
Holly Gibbs
Tamsin Selby reporting. And finally, we've all been there turning up to an event and getting the wrong end of the stick. But here in the uk, a nature festival has had to issue a very important clarification after its upcoming event was mistaken for something else. Richard Hamilton has the story.
- [29:05]
Richard Hamilton
Now, what's worse, hosting an event to find that the odd person turns up naked or turning up naked to an event where everyone else is fully clothed. Leaving your Freudian nightmares aside for one moment, this was the dilemma facing the organisers and visitors to the Cumbria Nature Festival. It has now urged those attending to make sure they wear clothes after the event for naturalists was misunderstood at one aimed at nudists, the organisers took to Facebook to issue this clarification, which has been voiced by a producer after a recent inquiry.
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Ben
We need to clarify Cumbria Nature Festival is primarily aimed at naturalists, not naturists. Whilst we aim to be as inclusive as possible and certainly do not judge anyone, we're aiming the event at wildlife enthusiasts. Please do dress appropriately and if anyone else has booked in error, please contact us immediately for a full refund.
- [30:07]
Richard Hamilton
Sam Griffin, who's one of the organisers, added that they had not actually had to refund anyone so far. He said the announcement followed a misunderstanding and that it's quite common for people to hear the word naturalist and interpret it as something else. We're just wildlife enthusiasts rather than anything else, he said. On the positive side, he thought the confusion may have unwittingly turned out to be a marketing success, as their Facebook page had since gained a lot of followers and generated more ticket sales. According to a survey in 2022, 14% of the British population that's around 6.75 million adults describe themselves as naturists or nudists, up from 3.7 million a decade earlier. British Naturism, which has around 9,000 members, said many of them are deeply committed to spending time in nature, so it's understandable that the Cumbria Nature Festival might have aroused their interest. It went on to say that if the festival wanted to collaborate with them in the future, they'd be happy to oblige. The event starts on the 8th of May and will feature activities such as guided walks, workshops and storytelling sessions for fully clothed people of all ages.
- [31:31]
Holly Gibbs
Richard Hamilton reporting. And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. We'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. this edition was produced by Rachel Bulkley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Holly Gibbs. Until next time, Goodbye.
- [31:55]
Martha
Foreign.
- [32:01]
Trace Dominguez
Hey there. This is Thomas Germain, co host of the Interface, the show that decodes how technology is rewiring your week and your world. On this week's episode, Apple CEO is resigning and we'll look at what that means for the future of smartphones. We'll talk about whether your latest favorite band is actually a secret marketing ploy and how the AI data center boom has finally met its match. Public Backlash Listen on BBC.com or wherever
- [32:31]
Ari
you get your podcasts.