The Happy Pod: The 88-year-old veteran given nearly $2m by strangers
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Australian 'kindness influencer' who raised nearly two million dollars to help an elderly US veteran. Samuel Weidenhofer flew thousands of miles to find Ed Bambas after being told he needed help. Ed, who's 88, was still working in a shop because he couldn't afford to retire, having lost his pension and healthcare. Also: one of the few people ever to walk around the world says he was inspired to keep going by the rescue dog he adopted along the way. Tom Turcich spent seven years making the journey with Savannah, who he describes as the best possible companion. The family of a US Air Force serviceman have been reunited with his dog tag, seventy years after it was lost. We hear how a young woman in the UK is trying to dispel the stigma surrounding a medical device known as a stoma bag, by turning them into fashion accessories. Plus some very big baby news as a US zoo prepares to welcome a very rare elephant calf. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world. Presenter: Alex Ritson. Music composed by Iona Hampson
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. |
| 0:13.3 | I'm Alex Ritson and in this edition. |
| 0:16.6 | And he's here. |
| 0:17.5 | And still working? |
| 0:18.9 | Yes, I have to. |
| 0:20.0 | Why do you have to keep working? |
| 0:21.6 | Retired from General Motors in 99. In 2012, they went bankrupt and they took my pension away from |
| 0:28.0 | the 80-year-old shop worker given nearly $2 million by strangers around the world. One of the few |
| 0:35.1 | people ever to walk around the world says he was inspired by his |
| 0:39.0 | rescue dog. And when things were difficult for me, I would look at her and she would walk every |
| 0:44.8 | mile with her tail out high and happy to see what's up ahead. And so I tried to sort of resemble the |
| 0:49.6 | same thing where no matter what's going on inside, I would try and just do my job every day, walk those 24 miles. |
| 0:56.0 | Also, I'm so passionate about telling people what they can do and what they should do, |
| 1:02.1 | and they shouldn't let it stop them from doing anything. |
| 1:05.1 | The young woman determined to remove the stigma surrounding a medical device, |
| 1:09.7 | how a metal detectorist in the UK reunited a family in the US |
| 1:14.0 | with an important part of its history, |
| 1:16.3 | plus some big baby news. |
| 1:18.9 | She's our youngest member of the herd. |
| 1:21.2 | She's a first-time mom. |
| 1:23.0 | Her due date is at about 659 days. |
... |
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