The Happy Pod: Saving a drowning man changed me

Summary

Summary: The Happy Pod – Saving a Drowning Man Changed Me

Podcast: Global News Podcast – The Happy Pod
Host: Oliver Conway, BBC World Service
Date: November 15, 2025

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Episode Overview

This special "Happy Pod" episode focuses on uplifting news and inspiring stories from around the world. Main topics include a dramatic water rescue and its life-affirming aftermath, Afghanistan’s women footballers making history, innovative albatross conservation, the revival of old family films, sustainable wine waste solutions, Texas' first Fat Squirrel Week, and a French musician who soothes wild animals with his songs.

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Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. Saving a Drowning Man – A Life Altered (01:10–07:18)

• Story: Rochelle Ruffing recounts the day she saved a drowning kayaker on Idaho’s Snake River and the impact it had on both their lives.
• Rescue Details:
  • Rochelle describes seeing an empty kayak and life jacket, then finding the man unconscious, head submerged.
  • She and others pulled him onto a paddleboard, then to a pontoon, where she performed around 12 rounds of CPR.
  • A more experienced man arrived, continued CPR, and the kayaker’s heart restarted just as the sheriff arrived for transport.
• Aftermath: That night, Rochelle worried about the kayaker’s prognosis, especially as a medical professional.
• Emotional Reunion:
  • Rochelle learned the kayaker survived, was walking and talking within hours, and attended dinner.
  • Five years later, she was a guest at the kayaker’s wedding.
  • The kayaker’s father embraced Rochelle, both overcome with emotion.
  • Rochelle feels almost maternal towards the man she saved.

Notable Quotes:

• Rochelle Ruffing:
  • “I was extremely tired. And then out of the blue, this really strong man that has a lot of experience...did the last couple rounds, and he was able to really get the heart started.” (02:54)
  • “I just embraced him and hugged him. I just sobbed and I was just really grateful that he was alive.” (04:39)
  • “I just feel like, kind of like he’s kind of like one of my children. I have four children and he could easily be one of them.” (05:31)
• On the importance of CPR:
  • “There were probably 25 people gathered and I was the only one that raised my hand when the gentleman says, does anybody know CPR?...CPR made a miracle, and the kayaker is proof of that.” (06:37)

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2. Afghan Women Footballers Defy the Taliban (07:18–10:02)

• Story: The return of Afghanistan’s women’s national football team to international competition after years in exile due to Taliban prohibitions.
• Details:
  • Team participates in FIFA Unites Women’s series despite Afghan federation opposition; recognition marks an unprecedented FIFA move.
  • Triumph not in medals, but in visibility and the act of playing.
  • Players come from refugee communities worldwide, with little preparation time, but managed a victory and, more importantly, unity.

Notable Quotes:

• Khalida Popal, former captain:
  • “It is fantastic. We are making a history and I'm so grateful for FIFA for investing and trusting us and believing in women's empowerment.” (08:21, also repeated at 01:38)
  • “We have never given up on the women of Afghanistan. We have never given up the hope and we are their voices.” (09:39)
• Goalkeeper Aliah Savdari:
  • “Seeing my teammates reunited and playing once again in exile… was so emotional and feeling proud in the same time.” (08:46)

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3. Saving the Black Footed Albatross (10:02–14:25)

• Story: Scientists move endangered albatross eggs to safer islands in Mexico to save the species threatened by climate-induced habitat loss.
• Conservation Efforts:
  • Eggs are moved from Hawaii's battered Midway Atoll to Guadalupe Island, Mexico, and placed with foster Laysan albatrosses.
  • The project’s success is shown as 127 chicks have hatched and returned.
• Personal Reflections:
  • Dr. Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya expresses both the hope and sadness inherent in conservation.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Montoya:
  • “We were worried whether the eggs would be accepted by the Laysan foster parents, but... they raised the chicks as if they were their own.” (12:42)
  • “Bruno was the first albatross to return to Guadalupe three years after he left the island. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I compare it to the day you see your child born.” (14:01)

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4. Home Movie Day – Reliving Lost Memories (17:21–21:26)

• Story: Home Movie Day in London helps people restore and view old family films, sparking emotional reunions with past generations.
• Personal Vignettes:
  • Michael views reels shot by his grandfather, sees his late father as a young man.
  • Shona watches Zimbabwean footage featuring her father and relatives she’d only known through stories.

Memorable Moments:

• Michael:
  • “My dad passed away last year, so if he’s on here, that would be quite sort of special just to sort of see him at that time.” (18:40)
  • “I’m watching him at the beginning of that journey.” (19:59)
• Shona:
  • “I don’t even know what to say because it’s good to see my dad and then obviously old family that died ages ago.” (20:25)
  • “It’s weird seeing your parents as young people, isn’t it?” (21:16)

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5. Champagne’s Golden Grapes – Wine Waste Innovation (21:26–24:12)

• Story: Celia Roussin’s company transforms grape waste from champagne production into superfood for vineyards, reducing pollution and chemical use.
• Key Points:
  • Wine-making produces vast amounts of organic waste, mostly skins and seeds.
  • This biomass can pollute, but holds beneficial molecules useful as natural plant treatments.
  • The company extracts these molecules for use as an alternative to pesticides, with growing acceptance from vineyards.

Notable Quotes:

• Celia Roussin:
  • “This biomass... would cover the entire city of Rome in Italy.” (22:23)
  • “This waste has superpowers. It has amazing molecules...We’re using these molecules as superfood for the vineyards as a substitution to pesticides.” (22:54)

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6. Fat Squirrel Week in Texas (24:12–26:18)

• Story: Texas hosts the first “Fat Squirrel Week,” a fun contest mirroring Alaska’s “Fat Bear Week,” promoting engagement with local nature.
• Highlights:
  • The winning squirrel, “Chunkasaurus Rex,” is hailed as the fattest in preparation for winter.
  • The event helps make wildlife accessible and relatable for all Texans, regardless of their comfort in nature.

Notable Quotes:

• Carol Ann Brannon, Park Ranger:
  • “These kind of campaigns that show the silliness and expose people...that we can all exist together.” (25:21)
  • “Chunkasaurus is living his best life these days, post winning and crowning of being the fattest squirrel.” (25:07)

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7. Plume Sings to Animals (26:18–29:20)

• Story: French singer-songwriter Plume is invited to play for animals at zoos and sanctuaries worldwide, claiming music connects him with creatures from cows to elephants to rhinos.
• Experience & Method:
  • Started singing to cows after reading they enjoy music – they responded affectionately.
  • Now performs for diverse species; adjusts style based on animal.
  • Some animals, like elephants and even wary rhinos, have surprisingly warm reactions.

Notable Quotes:

• Plume:
  • "I usually choose love songs because I feel like the intent is very important, and the animals can feel it somehow." (15:06 replayed at 27:17)
  • “With animals you never know what to expect. But I would say the craziest for me has been with the rhinos.” (28:29)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Drowning Rescue & Emotional Reunion: 01:10–07:18
• Afghan Women’s Football Team: 07:18–10:02
• Black Footed Albatross Conservation: 10:02–14:25
• Home Movie Day & Family Memories: 17:21–21:26
• Wine Waste to Vineyard Superfood: 21:26–24:12
• Texas Fat Squirrel Week: 24:12–26:18
• Plume the Animal Serenader: 26:18–29:20

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Tone & Style

The episode is uplifting, with a gentle and hopeful tone. Stories celebrate resilience, kindness, conservation, and the power of community, blending heartfelt personal accounts with lighter, quirky tales.

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Further Listening

Listeners interested in these themes can seek out other "Happy Pod" editions and “People Fixing the World” on the BBC World Service for more solutions-focused journalism.

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For comments or to share a story, contact the team at [e-mail] or watch interviews on YouTube (search for 'The Happy Pod').

Transcript

[Oliver Conway]

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[Rochelle Ruffing]

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[Oliver Conway]

This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Oliver Conway and in this edition.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

And I just embraced him and hugged him. I just sobbed and I was just really grateful that he was alive.

[Oliver Conway]

The woman who saved a man from drowning and then watched him walk down the aisle. A return to the international stage for Afghanistan's women footballers.

[Celia Roussin]

It is fantastic. We are making a history and I'm so grateful for FIFA for investing and trusting us and believing in women's empowerment.

[Oliver Conway]

We meet the team saving the black footed albatross from extinction.

[Michael]

Also, my dad passed away last year, so if he's on here, that would be quite sort of special just to sort of see him at that time.

[Oliver Conway]

The festival bringing old family videos back to life. And after Fat Bears of Alaska, we hear about the Fat Squirrels of Texas. We begin on the Snake river in the US State of Idaho. Five years ago, while out paddleboarding, Rochelle Ruffing came across a man who was drowning. Robin Rachelle worked tirelessly with onlookers to give the man multiple rounds of cpr and eventually they managed to restart his heart. Half a decade on, Rachelle attended the man's wedding, a joyful celebration that may never have happened if she and the others hadn't stepped in to save his life that day. To respect the man's privacy, we're referring to him as the kayaker. Rachelle spoke to Harry Bly about how the day unfolded and as she put it, the. The miracle of what happened next.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

Right as we were turning to go back to shore, I saw the empty. The empty kayak and then I saw life jacket. His head was suspended under the water. We pulled the kayaker out of the water, got him onto a stand up onto a paddle board and maneuvered him over to a pontoon boat. I think I did about 12 rounds of chest compressions. I was extremely tired. And then out of the blue, this really strong man that has a lot of experience, he was a kayaker or a guide. He did the last couple rounds and he was able to really get the heart started. When he came on board, the kayaker was starting to take some breaths. I was starting to feel a pulse. But this gentleman just came on and did the last couple rounds. Then about that same time, the county sheriff showed up with his boat and was able to transport the kayaker to the speedboat and take him back to shore to get on the ambulance. But I laid awake that night with visions of the kayaker in a wheelchair or ventilated or. I know too much as a medical provider, right? And I kept thinking. I kept thinking about this poor boy's mom and where is she and how do I get a hold of her? Because he was clear across the United States from his mom and she. I was told that she was in route trying to get there, but my heart just. I didn't sleep a wink.

[Oliver Conway]

You left him in the care of. Of medics. Tell me about the moment you realized the kayaka had not only survived, but he was doing okay.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

So he was traveling with three friends and they text me, I believe it was about 11am the next morning on Saturday. And they said he's walking and talking and he pulled his tube out. So they had invented. And I didn't. Honestly, I didn't believe in my. So I called him. I said, are you sure? And they. Yeah, he's talking and they are going to discharge him. Would you like to go to dinner? And I said, of course. And I just embraced him and hugged him. I just sobbed. And I was just really grateful that he was alive. It's hard to put into words. And I told him, I said, seeing you dead was haunting and it was scary.

[Oliver Conway]

This was five years ago. But that's not the end of the story. Tell me about meeting the kayaker again at his wedding. What was this reunion like?

[Rochelle Ruffing]

His dad approached me and he said, are you the one that. That saved him? And I said, yes, I did I said, I think I did 12 rounds of chest compressions on him. And he just embraced me and he just sobbed and hugged me. I was really emotional that whole weekend. And I don't. I don't know why. I just. I don't. I just feel like, kind of like he's kind of like one of my children. I have four children and he could easily be one of them. And I still get emotional thinking about it. It was really a privilege to be there. And also, sometimes I, like, I can't believe this happened. You know, sometimes it's still good for me to see, like, he's walking and talking and normal and living a normal life and he's purchased a home and he's proposed and. And I think he'll become a father in many ways.

[Carol Ann Brannon]

You.

[Oliver Conway]

You saved his life, but he. He's changed your life.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Oliver Conway]

There are lessons from. From this entire story here, not only for people to be safe when swimming or around water, but for everyday people to know what to do if something goes wrong, how to resuscitate, how to do cpr.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

You know, when, when the accident happened, There were probably 25 people gathered and I was the only one that raised my hand when the gentleman says, does anybody know cpr?

[Plume]

Wow.

[Rochelle Ruffing]

And these are people that are outdoors. They're. Kay, they're rafting. They need to know cpr. You never, ever know when the opportunity is going to arise. And it is really important to be prepared because you can make a miracle. CPR made a miracle, and the kayaker is proof of that. And I would want people in my. In my path to know CPR and just be prepared.

[Oliver Conway]

Richel Ruffing talking to Harry Bly. Now it's a comeback four years in the making. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the country's women's football team was banned. But the Afghan players, who live in several different countries as refugees, have recently returned to international football, taking part in the FIFA Unites Women's series. They played Tunisia, Libya and eventual winners Chad. And although they only managed one victory, their participation was seen as an act of defiance against the ban on women's sport in Afghanistan. Marion Straughan has the details.

[Marion Straughan]

There were cheers for the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, as he greeted the Afghan Women United football team and they gave him a named shirt. FIFA recognised the team in an unprecedented move against the wishes of a national football federation. For the players, also a significant act of defiance against the Taliban's ban on. On women's sports. Here's the team's former captain, Khalida Popal.

[Celia Roussin]

It is fantastic. We are making a history and I'm so grateful for FIFA for investing and trusting us and believing in women's empowerment.

[Marion Straughan]

In fact, FIFA changed the venue for the tournament to allow the team to take part. It was originally due to be held in the United Arab Emirates, but the Afghan players were denied visas. Goalkeeper Aliah Savdari explained what it meant.

[Carol Ann Brannon]

To it was an amazing opportunity for us to be as a team. After four years of hard working and advocacy, seeing my teammates reunited and playing once again in exile, it just hits the friends and it was so emotional and feeling proud in the same time.

[Marion Straughan]

The team had a tough task though, with the players travelling from countries like Australia, England, Italy, Portugal. They had just two training sessions before the games began, but they improve, winning their last match 7 nil for the.

[Carol Ann Brannon]

Final game against Libya. We were quite organised because we had some trainings together and we were, you know, playing as a team and it was a really good game. We really enjoyed it.

[Marion Straughan]

The women say they're using football to raise their voices for the voiceless, the women back in Afghanistan. Here's Khalida Popal again.

[Celia Roussin]

We have never given up on the women of Afghanistan. We have never given up the hope and we are their voices. We are sending out the message and I'm super proud of each one of these players standing there with all the challenges that they have gone through, they have not given up and they are celebrating unity and that's the most beautiful thing.

[Oliver Conway]

Khalida Popal ending that report by Marion Straughan now to a scheme that's using birds from one species as far as foster parents for others under threat. The black footed albatross nests mainly on low lying islands in Hawaii. These islands are now facing more hurricanes as a result of climate change and could eventually disappear because of rising sea levels. So scientists have been moving black footed albatross eggs from Midway Atoll in the North Pacific to the nests of another type of albatross on a Mexican island off the west coast of Baja California. My colleague Myra Anubi has been finding out more. My name is Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya. I lead the albatross conservation project involving lysan and black footed albatrosses in Guadalupe Island.

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

It's a spectacular species. The wingspan is over 2 meters wide and they have the ability to stay in the air for months, only landing to feed. Some of them can live up to 40 or 50 years and they form very close social bonds with each other.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

So what's the plan? Well, the simple answer is to encourage them to move and set up a new colony somewhere safer. And they do have the perfect place for them to go. Guadalupe island, off the western coast of Mexico.

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

Guadalupe island is more than 1,200 meters above sea level and experiences far fewer storms and hurricanes than Midway.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Dr. Montoya has worked in conservation on Guadalupe island for 20 years. He's part of an organization called Grupo de Ecologia y Conservacion de Islas. Now they've made their island a haven for seabirds by removing 50,000 goats and 1,000 cats. The residents are very proud of their work, even creating a song about the birds sung here by Natalia Arroyo. First, they tried to get black footed adult albatrosses to nest on Guadalupe by setting up replica statues known as decoys on the cliffs and playing recorded courtship sounds. But that didn't work. They decided to move their eggs instead, taking them from the nests in Midway to new homes in Guadalupe. This precious cargo was taken to the nests of another albatross species called the Laysan. Dr. Montoya and the team had been watching the colony for some time and were able to identify adult Laysan that had lost their own young.

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

We were worried whether the eggs would be accepted by the Laysan foster parents, but we were grateful that they were well received and they raised the chicks as if they were their own.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

The truth is, you're actually taking eggs away from another albatross. Do you feel bad about doing this?

[Oliver Conway]

Si, Definite en el moment?

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

Yes, definitely. When you take an egg from an albatross on Midway, you feel the sadness of taking them from the parents. But if you don't, then the next day that egg could be washed away and die. So while you feel uncomfortable, you know it's the best thing you can do for that egg.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Every year they moved more eggs and by 2024, 127 black footed chicks had successful and flown the nest. You have so many albatross chicks and eggs that are growing. How does it make you feel to see the success of this project?

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

You feel two different emotions. You feel joy because they've survived and will continue their life on the ocean. But you also feel sadness as you're not sure of their future and if you will see them again.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Usually, albatrosses spend their first few years out at sea before returning to the nest.

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

Bruno was the first albatross to return to Guadalupe three years after he left the island. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I don't have children, but I compare it to the day you see your child born.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

More have been returning every year, and what's really exciting is that some of the young black footed albatrosses have been observed practicing courtship dances.

[Oliver Conway]

In Mexico. There is a saying, el papadelos pollitos, which means the father of the chicks, and I am happy to feel that way. Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya, speaking to Myra, a newbie for People Fixing the World, which you can find wherever you get your BBC podcasts and still to come on the Happy Pod.

[Plume]

So I usually choose love songs because I feel like the intent is very important, that the animals can feel it somehow.

[Oliver Conway]

The man charming animals with his music.

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[Oliver Conway]

In the days before smartphones and digital cameras, if you wanted to record moving footage of your loved ones, you had to use cameras with reel to reel film or videotape. Decades later, much of this footage is gathering dust in attics, with the machines needed to play it becoming increasingly rare. Back in 2002, a group of archivists decided to start running home movie days, inviting people to dig out old films and have them restored and screened at events around the world. Will Chalk went to one in London to witness the excitement of seeing family footage for the first time in years.

[Michael]

Hi, I'm Michael. I have got some reels that my grandfather shot mostly of my older brother, because this is before I was born. So I think it's footage of my mom pushing my brother around in a pram, playing on a playground.

[Julio Cesar Hernandez Montoya]

You think?

[Oliver Conway]

But you don't know.

[Michael]

I've seen some. I've held it up to the light and seen through, so I can definitely spot my mom. And so we'll see if my dad shows up as well, or possibly even my grandfather. I mean, everything is so well preserved because I've still even got the boxes that have my grandfather's name on them, and I can see that he actually processed them in Texas. So the post date on them is April 21, 1976.

[Oliver Conway]

Is everyone that you're expecting to see today still with us?

[Michael]

My dad passed away last year, so if he's on here, that would be quite sort of special just to sort of see him at that time.

[Oliver Conway]

Well, I think the guy is waiting to, to look at your film, so I'll leave you to it.

[Marion Straughan]

My name is Thomasin. I'm from Huntley Film Archives. Amateur. Her movies have been about for a hundred years now. So we've got this extraordinary breadth of social history. Complete, unique documents. Brings those photo album pictures to life and you see people moving about again and, yeah, it's just magical, really. I'm Louise Pankhurst. I'm a film archivist and I run London's Home Media Day, which I hold every year. And it's an international day. It was started by archivists in the United states back in 2002 when they realized that no one was giving people advice about the home movies and no one was really collecting home movies at that time.

[Michael]

Well, I Think we're gonna get to see the first reel of the little stack of reels that I brought with me. Oh, oh, artistic footsteps.

[Oliver Conway]

We've got a bit of horror film, this one.

[Michael]

Yeah. Oh, there's my mom.

[Oliver Conway]

So we're watching footage of your. Your dad, your brother and your mum from just before you were born. Yeah, obviously, so much has changed, especially.

[Michael]

Because my dad passed away last year. I reflect a lot on the journey that he went on, moving to the States at that point time. This is also really hilarious. Looking at my sibling in the buff in Texas. You know what, my dad, you know, he built a family and supported us, and I'm watching him at the beginning of that journey.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

My name is Shona. I'm watching my dad's old home videos, filmed probably in early 80s in Zimbabwe. I don't even know what to say because it's good to see my dad and then obviously old family that died ages ago. And this is my husband.

[Michael]

Obviously.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He never met my dad. He didn't meet most of my uncles. So now I can actually have to tell him, oh, that's Uncle Solomon there.

[Oliver Conway]

So I've heard all the stories. To see them live in pictures just brings it all to reality. So is your. Your dad passed away then?

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yes, he's been gone now 20 years.

[Oliver Conway]

So what's it like seeing him in his element, moving around, laughing, joking with people? Yeah, young.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Oh, it's great. It's great.

[Oliver Conway]

It's weird seeing your parents as young people, isn't it?

[Narrator/Advertiser]

It's like I saw one with my.

[Oliver Conway]

Mom and I was like, oh, my mom.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yeah, she was a hottie there.

[Oliver Conway]

Shona, ending that report by Will Chalk. Do you have any idea how many grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine? Well, it is apparently several hundred, but for each grape there's also waste, most of which is sent to landfill. But in the rolling vineyards of the Champagne region of France, Celia Roussin is trying to change that. Jacob Evans has been speaking to her.

[Celia Roussin]

My company is called Pepi Tresins. It means golden grapes, because we're looking at what is golden in the grapes and what we do. We value the waste from the wine streams.

[Oliver Conway]

So what sort of waste is there from wines? Is it like excess grapes from when they make the wine, or is it the skin of the grapes? What is it?

[Celia Roussin]

So we're talking about the peeps, the seeds, the skin, and sometimes the little wooden parts, leftovers after pressing the grapes to make wine.

[Oliver Conway]

And how big an issue is this and where is your research focused or where does your company work?

[Celia Roussin]

So the issue is actually kind of big and the opportunity is massive because this biomass, this vegetable waste represent 20% of the overall grape. And to give you perspective, we're talking hundreds of tons in France. And if we had to put all of the wine waste in one city in the world, it would cover the entire city of Rome in Italy.

[Oliver Conway]

That's incredible, isn't it? There's a huge problem. So what normally happens to this waste?

[Celia Roussin]

So today this waste is valued for cosmetics or biofuel. It goes to landfills and it can pollute the land. And that's a pity because actually this waste has superpowers. It has amazing molecules in to eat. And this is what we're doing. We're using these molecules as superfood for the vineyards as a substitution to pesticides.

[Oliver Conway]

So you get the, the waste, what do you do with it then?

[Celia Roussin]

We work with partners directly in the vineyards and we extract the grape seed extract that we are using for application on the vineyards to prevent fungal disease or to prevent issues when the crops.

[Oliver Conway]

Are going to grow. And has there been big uptake recently? Did the vineyards appreciate it?

[Celia Roussin]

Yeah. So the company was created two years ago and we have started experimentation with more than five domains. Next year it got a major positive answer because there is increasing pressure on regimentation and also so we all need solutions, you know, to go out of pesticides. So yeah, the answer is good so we can help vineyards to grow better and grow in the future.

[Oliver Conway]

Celia Roussin, talking to Jacob Evans. A few weeks ago, we reported on Alaska's Fat Bear Week, which celebrates the brown bears bulking up for hibernation. But it's not only in the frozen north that animals are getting ready for winter. Down in Texas, they just hosted their first Fat Squirrel Week. And Riley Farrell has been finding out more.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Everything's bigger in Texas, and that includes squirrels. Down in the Lone Star State, 16 squirrels squared off for the inaugural Fat Squirrel Week, courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife. The goal crown the chunkiest champion of hibernation prep. I spoke to park ranger Carol Ann Brannon, who came up with the idea and revealed the result.

[Carol Ann Brannon]

This year's winner of Fat Squirrel Week was Chunkasaurus Rex from Dinosaur Valley's state park.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And how is Chunkasaurus Rex basking in his victory?

[Carol Ann Brannon]

Chunkasaurus is living his best life these days. Post winning and crowning of being the fattest squirrel, especially now that the cold front has hit Texas.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

How do contests like these impact visitors connection with nature?

[Carol Ann Brannon]

I grew up in the outdoors I grew up camping and hiking, and wasn't until I went to college and was exposed to people of more different backgrounds that I realized it's a privilege to be exposed to nature in a way that I don't feel uncomfortable in the outdoors. And I say all that because it's been more apparent since becoming a park ranger that, you know, anything from a simple squirrel can scare a visitor. And so I think these kind of campaigns that show the silliness and expose people to the fact that these critters are just existing out here just like we exist at home and that we can all exist together.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I have to know, will this competition occur again next year?

[Carol Ann Brannon]

I think it has to.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

This year's runners up, Chunk Norris and Stanley the Texas Tank better bulk up next year, fellas, because Fat Squirrel Week is officially a thing.

[Oliver Conway]

Riley Farrell reporting. Throughout history, there have been stories of people who can talk to the animals, from St. Francis of Assisi to Dr. Dolittle. But our next tale may have more in common with the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the French singer songwriter Plume is in demand at zoos and animal sanctuaries around the world for his ability to charm creatures using nothing more than a guitar and his voice. He's been talking to Nicky Cardwell.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

In the corner of the paddock, Plume sits on a chair and starts serenading the elephants. Almost instantly, the entire a herd, including a baby, rushes over. He doesn't flinch at the sudden charge, just carries on singing. As the huge creatures stop in front of him, swaying and making sounds, they're completely captivated. But how did Plume discover that he.

[Oliver Conway]

Had this very unusual talent?

[Plume]

This whole thing began when I read that cows like music. That music is soothing for them. So at the time, I was living in the countryside with my grandma, so I thought, why not try it? There are lots of cows around. And so, yeah, I did. And it was a very magical experience because they all came running to listen to me and they were like rubbing their heads against me and it was very special. At the time, I was singing the Beatles, my go to for the human audience, so why not with cows? And yeah, they seem to like it. So I usually choose love songs because I feel like the intent is very important. And, yeah, I'm like, convinced that the animals can feel it somehow. So, yeah, it's what I go for. I do a French pop folk music. And it's funny because my new song that I've been singing kind of makes animals fall asleep. I guess it's kind of like a lullaby in some way. So yeah, it's been funny to witness. I know some other animals, like parrots, they like something that has more rhythm to it. So I play different kind of songs for them. With animals you never know what to expect. But I would say the craziest for me has been with the rhinos. I was told they wouldn't approach and he came right against me and I even like his horn was touching me and stuff. So that was definitely scary but very special and magical.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Plume has now sung for dozens of different species, including bears, lions, lemurs, owls and okapi. But there is still one creature he wants to serenade.

[Plume]

Actually, there's been hotels and I've been told there's too dangerous, which is kind of funny because I just eat like elephants and I can't do others. But yeah, I hope someday I can manage and find a way to do it.

[Oliver Conway]

Now. Report by Nicky Cardwell. And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. If you'd like to comment on it or tell us a story you think we should include in a future episode, we'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is Global [e-mail] and you can now watch some of our interviews on YouTube. Just search for the Happy Pod. This edition was mixed by Holly Smith and produced by Holly Gibbs and Rachel Bulley. Our editors, Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time. Goodbye.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on.

[Oliver Conway]

That's why he works behind the scenes.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Ensuring every light is working, the H.

[Oliver Conway]

Vac is humming, and his facility shines.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

With Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces.

[Oliver Conway]

Plus 24. 7 customer support.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

His venue never misses a beat.

[Oliver Conway]

Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.