The Happy Pod: Running topless because I'm proud of my scars
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We meet a woman who started running marathons topless after having both her breasts removed because of cancer. Louise Butcher tells us she wanted to display her mastectomy scars with pride. She says she wants to empower other women and show that surviving the disease is about power not pity.
Also: Preserving voice notes from almost a hundred years ago. The so called 'speaking letters' were recorded on small discs and sent through the post.
Do chips from someone else's plate really taste better? Scientists put the common belief to the test.
A project to save bats in Nigeria, where they're often associated with witchcraft.
Plus: the comedian making her debut in her eighties; and the choir helping people get their voices back after a stroke or brain injury.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson.
(Photo: Topless marathon runner Louise Butcher. Credit: @louisebutcher39)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | This is the happy pod from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:14.7 | I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition. |
| 0:17.4 | Even though I've lost my breasts, the scars are there to remind me that I survived a |
| 0:23.0 | disease that tried to kill me. We meet the topless runner showing the world her double |
| 0:28.6 | mastectomy scars with pride. Also on this podcast, |
| 0:32.7 | Hello, Mom and Dad. And me has been able to cross you from Jersey City. |
| 0:38.3 | I get home on my furlough, I want you to have a lot of oranges there. |
| 0:41.7 | The girl I told you about in one of my letters, we're going out canoeing. |
| 0:45.4 | Preserving voice notes recorded nearly a hundred years ago. |
| 0:50.0 | Why a chip you take from someone else's plate really does taste better? |
| 0:54.7 | And the woman who's been recognised for helping to protect endangered bats in Nigeria. |
| 1:00.5 | Bat's plant for us because you're always dispersing seeds. |
| 1:03.9 | Bat will manage insect populations. |
| 1:05.8 | But are really valuable ecological friends. |
| 1:14.1 | We started to... are really valuable ecological friends. We start with a woman who is trying to inspire others to embrace their bodies, no matter how |
| 1:20.2 | different they might be. Louise Butcher had both of her breasts removed after having cancer. |
| 1:26.0 | Although it was only in her left breast, |
| 1:27.9 | Louise chose to have a double mastectomy. |
| 1:30.3 | She is now known online as the topless runner |
| 1:32.9 | and runs, as the name suggests, |
| 1:34.8 | with her scars proudly on display. |
... |
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