The Happy Pod: The decades long wait for the World Cup
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We now know the 48 nations that will be competing in the summer's FIFA World Cup. The final two sides to qualify - Iraq and the DRC - have each waited decades to return to the competition. We hear from jubilant fans of both teams.
Also, a small rural village in South Korea, which is at risk of extinction, is celebrating the birth of a baby for the first time 17 years. A community in Washington DC has come together to rebuild a bookshop that was destroyed in a fire. An ancient abbey in the north of England is experiencing a tourism boost thanks to a Taiwanese pop star. A British schoolgirl has invented a pair of glasses designed to help people with dyslexia. In Japan, people have been taking part in a Grand Prix like no other: an office chair race.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:15.0 | I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition, elation from football fans. |
| 0:20.2 | So many years, 52 years. |
| 0:22.4 | I never even got the chance to experience this. |
| 0:24.7 | Same, bro. |
| 0:25.5 | For us, it's 40 years. |
| 0:27.3 | It's 40 years. |
| 0:28.0 | I'm 33 in my life. |
| 0:29.1 | I've never been able to support a team in the World Cup, man. |
| 0:31.9 | Iraq and the DRC have defied the odds to qualify for this summer's tournament. |
| 0:37.6 | Plus, the first baby to be born in 17 years in a small South Korean village. |
| 0:43.7 | A lot of the people in the village are quite old. |
| 0:46.4 | From the story we read, they gathered in the town centre to kind of celebrate the arrival of the baby. |
| 0:52.3 | The bookstore in Washington, D.C. that rose from the ashes with thanks to the local community. |
| 0:58.6 | Day after the fire, I go across the street to that business, and I'm like, do you still have |
| 1:02.3 | that open? When can I move in? And she was like, tomorrow, like, whenever. So it's honestly |
| 1:07.1 | been awesome. We like, we have a great community. The ancient abbey in the north of England getting good publicity on the other side of the world. |
| 1:14.3 | There's one Chinese celebrity who have the wedding blessing in here. |
| 1:19.1 | So I flew from China and to here to have the weddings. |
| 1:24.0 | And the schoolgirl on a mission to help people around the world with dyslexia. |
| 1:34.5 | We start with two teams who have qualified for this summer's Football World Cup after decades of waiting. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.