The Happy Pod: Sharing stories, one phone call at a time
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 February 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We speak to Joe Bloom, the man behind the social media account 'A View From A Bridge' which shares people's meaningful conversations to millions online. The idea is simple: an old-school phone is placed on a bridge and strangers are invited to pick it up and share their stories. Famous faces such as Max Richter, Cynthia Erivo, Paul Smith and many more have all bared their souls. Plus, the 13-year-old boy who saved his family after they were swept out to sea off the coast of Australia - Austin Appelbee has been described as a 'hero' by emergency services. We meet Leo Gottesman, the 82-year-old goalkeeper. We also hear about pledges to make Addis Ababa the best city in Africa to be a mother and raise a child -- and, as the Winter Olympics get underway in Milan, we look at the hotel in Scotland producing the world's best curlers. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Presenter: Celia Hatton. Music composed by Iona Hampson.
(Image: Cynthia Erivo contributing to A View from a Bridge. Credit Joe Bloom/@aview.fromabridge)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:12.0 | I'm Celia Hatton, and in this edition, |
| 0:14.9 | how the placement of an old-school phone in an unusual locations |
| 0:18.8 | led to hundreds of people telling their stories and millions of |
| 0:22.8 | views. |
| 0:23.7 | There's so much shared experience and there's so much reassurance to be had from the shared |
| 0:28.9 | human experience. |
| 0:30.3 | Just knowing about that kind of reminds us of who we are. |
| 0:34.2 | Also, a lot of things went through my mind, happy thoughts. I think that kept me going. Yeah, so much going through my mind. I was really scared. |
| 0:44.2 | The teenager who swam for hours to get help after his family were swept out to see, why one man has devoted his life to preserving rare varieties of rice. |
| 0:55.1 | The city trying to become the best place to raise a child. |
| 0:59.7 | This program is a source of immense joy for our community. |
| 1:04.5 | Our neighborhoods don't have enough space for the children. |
| 1:08.1 | It brings me so much joy just to spend this time together. |
| 1:11.8 | And the 82-year-old goalkeeper still showing younger players how it's done. |
| 1:17.5 | I think I'm worth my place in the team and I'm still making saves. |
| 1:22.7 | When I get to the stage where I think I'm letting the side down, I will retire. |
| 1:32.7 | First, let's start with a social media account that's using a relatively simple concept |
| 1:38.5 | to attract millions of views online. |
| 1:42.1 | If you had told me back when I was a kid that I'm going to study to become a kindergarten |
| 1:45.9 | teacher, everyone would laugh in your face. |
... |
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