The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup

The Optimist Daily
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Do you like the stories from around the world that recognize and celebrate the people and events making a positive change? Tune in to The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup, where our solutions-focused stories continue, and hear behind-the-scenes discussions from the people bringing you the news.

  1. (Guest Interview) Hope can rise: two sisters in Gaza turning rubble into building blocks | Earth Prize 2026

    5 hrs ago

    (Guest Interview) Hope can rise: two sisters in Gaza turning rubble into building blocks | Earth Prize 2026

    Tala and Farah Mousa received thousands of messages after they won the Earth Prize. "You gave us hope we had completely lost," people wrote. "You showed us we can be seen." They were sheltering in a tent when those messages came in. This episode is about what it takes to build something: a real, physical method for turning rubble into building blocks, while living inside the rubble. Arielle speaks to the teenaged sisters from Gaza about the idea that came from a textbook the morning after their home was bombed, the competition that brought their work to the world, and what they want for their community, their generation, and the ones who come after them. Connect with Build Hope Palestine: Follow Build Hope Palestine on Instagram: @build.hope The Earth Prize website: theearthprize.org Further reading: The Optimist Daily articles on Earth Prize 2026 regional winners Part I and Part II Learn about the Earth Prize 2026 global winner Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422438 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    17 min
  2. From a 340-year slavery law finally repealed to pancakes for cigarette butts: 10 solutions this week

    Jun 12

    From a 340-year slavery law finally repealed to pancakes for cigarette butts: 10 solutions this week

    A high-risk breast cancer diagnosis used to mean one thing: chemotherapy. A large UK trial just found that 68 percent of those patients could skip it safely, based on a genomic test that already exists and is already in use. Arielle and Karissa also get into the pigeon liver finding that stumped scientists for over a century, a California city that voted to permanently ban data centers, and France formally repealing a law that had been sitting on the books since 1685. Stay tuned until the end for this week's Emissary Shout Out! Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422400 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    22 min
  3. Pancreatic cancer cracked, hepatitis B cleared, and wild mice who run for joy

    Jun 5

    Pancreatic cancer cracked, hepatitis B cleared, and wild mice who run for joy

    An oncologist cried at her desk when she read these latest trial results. Researchers put exercise wheels in empty fields and sand dunes, and wild mice found them and ran, unprompted, for no reward. A new drug just cleared hepatitis B from the body entirely for one in five patients. Not suppressed. Cleared. Arielle and Karissa also get into a 55-year study proving that banning toxic forever chemicals actually works, the surprising reason zebra striping cuts hangovers, and why Sweden's new screen time guidelines are aimed at parents, not kids. Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422347 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    23 min
  4. David Attenborough's 100-year secret and seven other solutions this week!

    May 29

    David Attenborough's 100-year secret and seven other solutions this week!

    Sir David Attenborough just turned 100! Arielle and Karissa cover his 10-minute secret to a long life along with seven other solutions this week — belugas who prove that their species is capable of recognizing themselves, hemp plastic that survives boiling water, and an ocean sanctuary that might make fishermen richer by protecting the fish they can't catch. Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422300 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    18 min
  5. (Guest Interview) She calls herself a mermaid now: How Swim Sista Swim Is Changing Who Belongs in the Water

    May 22

    (Guest Interview) She calls herself a mermaid now: How Swim Sista Swim Is Changing Who Belongs in the Water

    Stephanie McKenzie has been swimming since she was a child. She came to Swim Sista Swim as an instructor and, as you'll hear in her voice, is a vibrant and confident woman on all counts. Yet she still feels a twinge of doubt every time she walks into a public pool alone, still notices that more often than not, she's the only one there who looks like her. That's what Swim Sista Swim is trying to change. In this episode, Arielle talks with founder Carol Burrell, instructor Stephanie, and participant Janet Rose about why swimming has historically felt out of reach for Black women, and how together, they are changing that narrative for themselves and future generations. Carol just launched a second programme called Mandem Swim, which gives Black men access to the same safe learning space and sense of community so that they, too, can take advantage of their city's waterways. Connect with Carol Burrell and Swim Sista Swim: Email: carol.burrell@canalrivertrust.org.uk LinkedIn: Carol Burrell Canal & River Trust: canalrivertrust.org.uk Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422279 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    33 min

  6. May 8

    Gene therapy restores hearing, Gaza teens win a global prize, and eight more wins

    Europe's first stadium built exclusively for women's football is going up in Brighton! And the most interesting design decision wasn't the pitch. It was the size. Arielle and Karissa cover ten solutions this week, including a single injection that gave a child her hearing, two teenage sisters in Gaza who are up for a global environmental prize, and what China just crossed in green hydrogen capacity. Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422193 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily or Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    20 min
  7. Antarctic whales by the hundreds, the UK's generational smoking ban, and more positive news this week

    May 1

    Antarctic whales by the hundreds, the UK's generational smoking ban, and more positive news this week

    For the first time in history, clean energy grew faster than global electricity demand and fossil fuel generation actually went down. That's not even the most surprising thing in this episode. Arielle and Karissa cover ten solutions this week, including a UK law that bans the legal purchase of tobacco forever, a bridge that was never going to have a car lane, and the growing case for making your own life harder on purpose. Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1422154 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    20 min
  8. Good news for donkeys, rats, wildflowers, and people who hate step trackers

    Apr 24

    Good news for donkeys, rats, wildflowers, and people who hate step trackers

    This week, a 58-day protest campaign just convinced Etsy to ban all animal fur starting this August. Germany spent decades digging coal out of the ground, leaving craters 200 feet deep. This month, the last one opened for swimming. And Cambodia unveiled the world's first statue dedicated to a landmine-detecting rat. Arielle and Karissa also get into why wildflowers are thriving in city cracks (turns out they love stress), the donkeys that have kept one Spanish national park fire-free for nine years, and the research that makes a pretty good case for leaving your step tracker at home. If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes

    21 min
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Do you like the stories from around the world that recognize and celebrate the people and events making a positive change? Tune in to The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup, where our solutions-focused stories continue, and hear behind-the-scenes discussions from the people bringing you the news.

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