The Happy Pod: The injection that saved my sight
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We hear from a woman whose determination to avoid going blind has inspired her doctors to develop a new treatment for a rare eye condition. Nicki Guy says the injection of a low cost, water-based gel has been life changing and given her the chance to see her son grow up. The treatment has already helped restore the eyesight of dozens of other people with hypotony - which can cause the eye to collapse, leading to blindness.
Also: the new Barbie doll that's designed to help improve understanding and acceptance of autism. A neurodiverse writer says she hopes it will help young girls understand it's not something to hide or be ashamed of. A revolutionary way of treating some cancers is being offered to people in the UK with an aggressive form of leukaemia for the first time. Research has shown genetically modifying the patient's own cells to recognise the blood cancer, can extend their lives or, in some cases, offer a cure. Plus, how one man's regular habit of having gumbo at the same restaurant twice a day may have saved his life; the 24-year-old in charge of protecting the Pacific Ocean around the remote Pitcairn island; and the amateur football team who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in English footballing history by beating a side from the Premier League.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Presenter: Valerie Sanderson. Music composed by Iona Hampson Picture: PA
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.4 | We definitely do not have quiet days anymore in American politics. |
| 0:12.5 | Our podcast will help you cut through all the noise. |
| 0:15.9 | Make sense of what's happening in the US, with new podcast episodes arriving throughout the week. |
| 0:20.8 | AmeriCast, Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.5 | This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:33.8 | I'm Valerie Sanderson and in this edition I was just like I'm not giving up |
| 0:37.9 | I refuse to accept that this is how it's going to be |
| 0:40.7 | there has to be something else we can do |
| 0:42.5 | there's got to be another way |
| 0:43.7 | it's incredible it's life changing |
| 0:45.8 | it's given me everything back |
| 0:47.9 | how one woman's determination led to a new treatment |
| 0:51.5 | that's giving people their sight back |
| 0:53.7 | a new form of cancer giving people their sight back. |
| 0:59.1 | A new form of cancer therapy is extended to help people with an aggressive form of leukaemia. |
| 1:02.7 | We are able to offer them years and potentially a cure. |
| 1:07.7 | So this is, of course, revolutionising the way we tackle this cancer. |
| 1:12.7 | A new doll designed to help understanding and acceptance of autism. |
| 1:16.7 | It was brilliant. It was such a proud moment and just knowing that so many other children are going to have that exact same reaction and that so many little girls are going to be able |
| 1:21.0 | to see themselves in a doll. |
| 1:23.0 | Also, how one man's routine of having gumbo twice a day may have saved his life. |
... |
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.