Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Learning to read in your 30s

Episode Date: May 10, 2025

We meet a man learning to read in his thirties, and inspiring others. He overcame embarrassment to share his journey on his TikTok, Oliver Speaks. Also: laughter yoga; rehoming chimps; and an 81-year-old female Ironman.

This is the HappyPod from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jaleel and in this edition... I can say, oh, it makes me feel great, but it makes me feel like it's tearing me apart and putting me back together. It's the beauty of destruction and bliss. The 35-year-old man who's learning how to read and taking his social media followers on the journey with him. Also... You're kind of acting out things and make sounds like whoop, whoop, whoop and then you all go off with your lawn mowers, weaving it out of everybody and then everybody's laughing together.

Why unleashing your childish side could be good for your health. The lab chimps being given new homes in Liberia. And? I think I was motivated to make the most of my life by that, you know, that you've only got one life and make the most. We meet Ayan Gran, the 81-year-old swimming, cycling and running extreme distances just because she can. When was the last time you learned something new?

Oliver James spent most of his life not being able to read. But at the age of 32, he decided to teach himself. And despite being embarrassed about this, he shared the experience on TikTok gaining hundreds of thousands of followers. He spoke to Simran Sohal about getting his first ever book a gift from his partner five years ago. It just literally opened up one door for me to go, hold on, why don't you just read? I still have the book. It's 365 Quotes to Live Your Life By by R.C. Reblato. It changed my life. It also brought me closer to understanding like this is a journey. When I first went to school, I had

some kind of like some learning issues and some behavioral health issues. So they placed me into a special needs class with the ADHD and the hypertension deficit disorder. It was really hard for me to focus and pay attention and just be a participant in class. They had a program. It was more on like restraining and getting me to behave in class. It kind of took away from my learning. What made you decide you wanted to learn to read at 32? It's never one thing, but I think once I hit in my 30s, it started to kind of think in like, okay, all of the tools I was using, you learn

how to, you know, to make it, you learn how to build a structure on how to take care of yourself, even though you struggle at reading or struggle at math. It was like different things. Like, oh, I want to learn to read so I can take a girl on a date or I want to be able to message people. But all of these things accumulated to like, okay, you want to learn how to have independence, freedom, you know, take care of yourself. When I first booked a flight, my partner had to book flights for me. Those things started to sink in. I was getting job

offers to travel and I can't read the emails or book the flights. I'm like, I need to learn how to read so I can do at least these basic things. And what made you want to start documenting your journey on TikTok? I don't know completely. I was feeling inside that I wanted to stop having the shame and the pain about not knowing how to read. I just didn't know how to go about it. One day I came into the house and I was talking to a partner and she's like telling her all

this stuff. I was real big into fitness stuff and I was posting everything about fitness. I was telling her about my normal me, but the social media seemed to fit and stuff. And she was like, well, why don't you just show them you, tell them that you're working on reading. So I literally went to the camera that same day, one in my car, turned on the video, and I was like, what's up, I can't read.

It changed everything. It was just like doors started to just open. I think that's the best part about this is that I'm telling them as I go along. Right now, I just got a reading evaluation, my spelling's at a fourth grade level, and my reading's at a fifth grade level. And I'll be doing tutoring lessons two hours a day for five days a week, like school. What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn how to read?

Lean into the struggle. I know that might sound really simple, but for when I started learning how to read it was all about like finish a book, read a book, read a book. You know, you start a race, you want to finish it type thing. You don't you forget the fact that you signed up. lean into the to the parts where it's just like, I don't even know what's going on. Good. That you're right where you need to be. I don't even know what I'm reading. Good. I don't even know what these words say. It looks like gibberish.

Good. Like it's like, just keep going. Like you don't have to know what you're doing. That's not the object. I guess you say objective of the learning to read. You know, I'm writing a book right now. So that should be coming out. And I'm hoping that that becomes like, I see these books and they say like, New York's best time seller or something. I don't know, I just don't even know what the heck that means,

but I know it's good. And I'm like, I wanna be one of those. Well, one of the other big things I wanna do is I'm trying to get into college. So I'm working on like how I can go to like a college. I wanna figure out like how to get an education that I was kinda like, I didn't really learn. I didn't really get the education in the format of sitting in a class and learning, seeing

people and seeing teachers and seeing students and enjoying things and being a participant. Those are some of my biggest goals and learn my independence, learn how to take care of myself, being able to stand on my own two feet, have my own structure of how I'm taking care of myself as an adult. How does reading make you feel? I can give you a very cliche answer and I can say, oh, it makes me feel great, but it makes me feel like it's tearing me apart

and putting me back together. It's the beauty of destruction and bliss. There's books that rip me into pieces and I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't even know if I can handle this, but then it heals a part of me that has been missing for so long. To a non-reader, they'll be like, what is he talking about? But that's the beauty. Find out what I'm talking about because it'll open up things in your mind that you can't even explain to the out of your mouth. Like the words can't even explain it.

Oliver James speaking about the joy and pain of reading. Now, what if there was a way to improve mental and heart health, boost immunity and improve sleep with minimal effort and all for free? Well, fans of laughter yoga say there is and it's all just a session away. The laughter yoga movement which celebrates its 30th birthday this year was started by Dr. Madan Kattaria in Mumbai whose research found we can reap the health benefits even when we're only pretending to laugh. And this week we had World Laughter Day. So what better

time for our reporter Stephanie Prentice to speak to Kerry Sanson, an expert in the field who's out to convert even more people this summer. So often we leave laughter to chance and you know we all remember that time when we had a good belly laugh with a friend, but laughing within a group is such a good opportunity to make connections, to feel safe. And we have this thing in laughter yoga where you fake it till you make it and the body doesn't know the difference between fake laughter and real laughter. So you get the benefits from laughing through laughter yoga because we start off by encouraging the laughter to come and then sure enough after a while it becomes natural. So in practice is it people doing a normal yoga session and you're amusing them, are you telling

them jokes or is it a physical thing that you're doing to provoke the laughter? We have a little warm-up, we're moving the body a little bit, we have this clapping and chanting. So there's a wonderful chant which is ho ho ha ha ha. We get everybody to get going with the chants while clapping the hands. Everyone's encouraged to have eye contact with each other. We then create the laughter by having little exercises. You're acting out things like pretending to start a lawnmower and make sounds like whoop, whoop, whoop, and then you all go off with your lawnmowers across

the room and you're weaving in and out of everybody laughing as you're pushing your imaginary lawnmower and then everybody's laughing together. And we've probably all heard the phrase contagious laughter, but that the thing isn't it? There's lots of scientific research within laughter and that's why the founder Dr. Madan Kittaria, he looked at the research, he's a medical doctor and he realized that the benefits from laughter, there were so many of them and yes this contagious thing of when you hear people laughing. For me, I think it's allowing the childlike playfulness. And a couple of years ago, I did a session

with international refugees. So we didn't have any language to communicate with. But that's the wonderful thing. You don't need a language, because we're not relying on a sense of humor, we're not relying on jokes. I'm at the Wilderness Festival this year doing some laughter yoga. It's going to be a room of 50 people all saying yes, yes to coming together and laughing and just having that freedom and no expectations and just going with it.

And there has been research into how laughter Yoga can do things like boost immunity. How do you think that works? We are releasing all the stress hormones from the body and we're inducing endorphins. So the immunity is boosted as well because we have all these these happy hormones going around the body and we're coming also into it's a rest and repair if you like we're allowing that stress to drop away and that the body can come into this to this healing mode because it's feeling full of all the good stuff. So to me that all sounds completely wonderful but what about the people listening that maybe couldn't imagine acting out a lawnmower? What would you say to those people that want to try but might feel a bit embarrassed or

a bit nervous? I think because it's a communal thing and that everybody's doing it at the same time, there's no individuals in it. It's like everybody's in it together. Clap in, we're laughing, we're breathing. And I've seen people start off, you know, quite shy maybe on the outsides. But after a while, once they realise what's going on, you can see they just get in with it. Dr. Madan Kattaria. Right, we've decided we'll be holding a Happy Pod Laughter yoga session as soon as possible in the office. Please email our boss at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk to help us get approval.

Let's head to West Africa now and a project that's providing new homes for a group of chimpanzees. They'd been brought to a lab in Liberia by a research company. Then when the firm quit, a lab in Liberia by a research company. Then when the firm quit, the animals were abandoned on a collection of river islands. Local people cared for them before a charity stepped in to build dedicated facilities on the islands. Jacob Evans has the story. For decades they were experimented on, before being dumped on six tiny islands dotted across the estuary of this remote Liberian river. But for this handful of chimpanzees, today marks the start of a brand new chapter. They're being brought to the mainland, where they'll soon be joined by the 50 or so other

chimps living along the island chain, while brand new, bespoke facilities are built for them back on their islands, for them to live out the rest of their days in peace. The work is being carried out by the charity Humane World for Animals, which took responsibility for the chimps a decade ago. Katie Conley is the charity's vice president of animal research issues. Back in 1974, a US-based research organization was interested in doing experimentation on chimpanzees. And they chose to start a laboratory in Liberia and started taking chimpanzees from the wild, buying them from people who had them as pets, creating this colony to use for experimentation. And they ended up in the mid-2000s deciding they no longer wanted to do experimentation on the chimpanzees. And that is when they placed different groups on these six different

estuary islands. Many of the chimps are old and suffer from long-term health issues because of their trauma, so they can't be assimilated into the mainland populations. The new homes will have shelter for extreme weather and dedicated veterinary facilities so that they can be treated on the islands. There will also be new food preparation and administrative facilities, all of which have to be chimpanzee-proof. They still will have access to the large islands that they always have.

I mean, that's what's interesting about this this project is most sanctuaries start with an enclosure and then look to expand to let the chimpanzees out into a more natural environment. And in this case they already had that natural environment where they were living like chimpanzees, building nests and roaming where they want. Sedating and transporting dozens of chimps while protecting their wellbeing is certainly not an easy operation. And sometimes you need the chimps to help you out. Dr. Richard Sunye is the head vet who told me about the group of six being transported today.

We had Will, we had Hani and Goofy as the two adult females, and then Nabeen as well as the two juvenile boys. Hany, she took on the responsibility of comforting everybody in the group, telling them it's all going to be okay, it's going to be okay. She had a calming effect. Humane World for Animals have made a pledge to care for these chimpanzees for the rest of their lives. So getting this process underway is an important moment. I feel so privileged to be part of this project, to be part of the team that has made it happen. And ultimately, you know, the chimps are the ultimate winners in all this.

This is a milestone, you know, I'm the icing on the cake. That was Dr Richard Sasunye ending that report by Jacob Evans. Still to come in this podcast, how tackling inequality in scientific research could save lives around the globe. If you understand cancer in Africa, you actually also further your understanding of cancer in Europeans, in Syria, a country scarred by over a decade of civil war, they've become much more than that, a vital lifeline. The Barseba Centre in Homs is one of many that have continued to operate offering

counselling, education and support. Ella Bignol has been speaking with Motaz Menno, one of the centre's coordinators and Najud Mahmoud, whose local centre just outside Aleppo helped her start her own sewing business. Aman Community Center in Al-Khaldiyyeh, the center provided us with services during a time where we all needed, especially the families in the neighborhood. It also availed many opportunities to us all. The moment I received the equipment, I had everything I needed to start working, sewing clothes for children, for men and for women. And I do see that I'm running a successful project." That is remarkable resilience, Nujood. All of this through more than 13 years of civil war in

Syria. Tell me more about how that has affected you. about how that has affected you. Since I was 16 years old, I used to do some work in sewing. I used to do it as a hobby, but then the war came and we had to be displaced several times, me, my family and my children. I had to leave the thing that I used to love. After we went back home and we got through the phase of the war, the first thing I thought of was to go back to the thing I loved to do.

Then it became something that I had to do. My husband and my son were injured. So at the same time, I had to think of a way that I could also support the family and to help them as well. This gave me a push to think about running my own business and to lead it myself. And thank God, now I can say I'm happy with this. And to bring you in, Motaz, you run a similar community centre in Homs. Tell me about the services you provide there. As a community centre, we work as an information hub. When someone arrives to their hometown, they find everything is different. We provide this information to them through our counselling

or external referrals to other NGOs within our local area. We provide psychosocial support, we also provide counseling based on gender-based violence and we provide child protection services to unify the people who came back to our city to mainstream integration you can say. And as the country adapts to new leadership, what are your hopes for the future, both for yourselves and your respective community centres? I really hope that similar projects to the one I benefited from continue because the majority of people need them and I know a lot of other women who truly need such projects and they are waiting for their chances just

like I got my chance. Our hopes is to build our communities back to their original status. That's our biggest hope. We hope also to be able to provide a much better quality of life. And do you think you can do it? Yep, we can. Motaz Menno and Najud Mahmoud speaking to Ella Bicknell about their hopes for Syria's future. Now to a man who's dedicated his life to helping develop cancer treatments which work better for African people. Decades of bias in the way medical research is carried out means that new medicines, as well as the tools used to diagnose some conditions are mainly tested on people of European heritage. This

can lead to treatments not working as well for those not represented in the research. Dr Yao Bidiako, who runs a biotech firm in Ghana, told Myra Anubi he was inspired by the death of his father. I had for a long time focused my research on infectious diseases like malaria and so on. But when my dad got cancer, I realised that you know what, cancer is also a problem in Africa, but it's a problem that we don't hear very much about. Cancer currently already kills more people than malaria does. And it's not just about rising numbers. Cancer behaves differently in different populations.

And that matters when it comes to treatment. But because most cancer research today focuses on people of European descent, we know far less about these differences. Cancer is a genetic disease. And so to understand cancer, you need to understand the host or the person with cancer. And there is growing evidence that people of African descent in particular, certain cancers appear to be much more aggressive. Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. But this isn't just an issue that affects people in Africa. It actually touches on people of African descent from all around the world.

If we take all the genomic data that we have in the world, 78 to 80% of it will come from people of European descent, less than 3% will come from people of African descent and less than 1% will come from people on the African continent. And if data doesn't include people from Africa, then scientists are missing vital clues about how cancer behaves and how to treat it effectively. However, this is exactly what Dr. Bidiako's company, Yamachi, is trying to change. So what we are trying to do is generate more data so that we can narrow that gap. Actually

going out and recruiting patients with cancer and generating genomic data, sequencing their genomes. A bit of science here. Genome sequencing is basically reading our DNA. So these are the instructions that make us who we are. Understanding those genetic instructions, that helps scientists spot patterns like which mutations could lead to cancer. And to gather that data, Dr. Bidiako and his team have partnered with hospitals in nine countries across Africa. Tunisia, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa. We've been doing this for just around, you know, just under five years. So far, we have probably recruited close to 2,000 people with cancer across different projects.

In the next three to three and a half years, Yamachi will hopefully have generated 15,000 genomes from people with cancer and as a collection will represent the largest single collection of African genomes. The idea is that this data could then be used to develop better tools for diagnosing cancer, as well as treatments that work better for African people. And hopefully we will catch cancer very early and so then at a time when it is much more easy to treat and that will mean that we'll have many more cancer survivors. Dr. Videaka hopes that what they find in this data could transform cancer care not just in Africa

but around the world. The truth about the African continent is that it is the most genetically diverse population on the planet and it is where our species evolved from. So the best example I can give is a big bowl of M&Ms of different colors. Every color you can imagine is in Africa. If you understand cancer in Africa, you actually also further your understanding of cancer in Europeans, in Asians, in Latin Americans, because at the genetic level, they all trace their ancestry back to the continent. Pharmaceutical companies are starting to take notice, paying for access to the data that Dr. Bidiako and his team are collecting. Dr. Bidiakko's vision is starting to become a reality. What

do you think your late father would say if he could see some of the work that you've done today? Well, I hope he'd be proud. I believe he would be. I think he'd be most proud of the fact that I'm building something here. So looking to make a contribution to the global discourse around cancer. That was Dr. Yao Bidiakko. And you can hear more on people fixing the world wherever you get your BBC podcasts. An Ironman competition is something most of us would find impossible at any age. A four

kilometre swim, then a 180 kilometre bike ride followed by a full marathon. Even just one of those requires amazing levels of fitness. So it's all the more impressive then that Edwina or Eddie Brocklesby is still taking part. Wait for this at the age of 81. She's been talking to Katie Smith. I think that it motivates not only me but a lot of other old people in the charity, older people in the charity that I run. You know that it's not too late to get out there and get active and be sociable. Have you always been an active person? I didn't do anything at all until I was 50, 51.

I went up to watch a friend doing a marathon and I was totally motivated by that. And I came back and said to my husband, you know, I'd love to do that half marathon, I think it was. And he said, you couldn't even go three miles into Northampton. And that was true. And I think it was that challenge that got me going and I did. And he died sadly, not that much later. And I think I was motivated to make the most of my life by that, you know, that you've only got one life and make the most. Yeah. I'm so sorry to hear that. But it's amazing, isn't it? Sometimes the legacy that people

can leave within us, that power of doing it for others. And how did it progress? Because I think there's a lot of people who will be listening right now who will think, well, a half marathon up to an Ironman, that's quite a big leap to make. So what was the progress through to that point? What motivated me, I think, was that my older son was doing an Iron Man down in Lanzarote. And I think it was sort of waiting for him to come around the corner

when he was doing the marathon bit. And that was the bit that I thought, you know, I'm going to have a go at this. How do you take, I mean, literally your first step into it. For some people, it's such a huge prospect in your mind, isn't it? A marathon, a huge swim, a massive, massive cycle. How do you address that? How do you begin? I think the key one was the swimming. I couldn't swim.

You know, I could just about manage a width of the water breast stroking. So actually to really learn to swim that late on was a critical thing. But before that, yes, I had done a bit more running from the age of 50 odd onwards. So yes, I didn't do triathlon until I could swim a bit. And to actually get out the swim and finish, you know, the swim was absolutely key for me. And then the rest of it's fun, you know, to get out on the bike and closed roads. Do you think that you're ever underestimated, Eddie, because of your age? When you go to events like the Half Marathon that you've done recently, do you think people look at you and think, oh, gosh,

does she need extra help? Does she need some support? Because she is, she is a bit older. Well, as I came through, I did tell the commentator as I went under, you know, I was 82, I think it was going to be the following day or something like that. But yes, I mean, it is fun to be older and people say, what? So friends of yours who are similar ages, they must look at you and think, wow, there's, you know, maybe a slight bit of envy there for how active you've been and how much you've looked after your body. But what advice do you have for people who may be starting to feel like they're struggling to keep so active, things are creaking a little bit, you know, starting to get harder?

And I think it is to get as active as you can but also offer the sociability that makes a difference too. To get out in the fresh air, to go for a walk, whatever pace with other people is vital I think because you know that tick several boxes and so I would encourage everyone to get out. We always try to build in a social element so people want up socially and then preferably cup of tea or coffee after. Fantastic. CH-26. Oh sorry, that sinks. I'm still walking. Can you hear it?

Is that your watch talking to you? Let me tell it so shut up. Sorry. Hard to believe she's 81. That was Eddie Brocklesby and it just goes to show it's never too late. And you can hear more inspiring sports stories like that on Not By The Playbook wherever you get your BBC podcasts. And that's all from the HappyPod for now but if you have a happy or inspiring story to share we'd love to hear from you. Just email us or send a voice note to globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. And you can now watch some of our interviews on YouTube. Just search for the

HappyPod. This edition was mixed by Chris Ablacroix. The producers were Holly Gibbs and Rachel Bockele, the editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janet Jaleel, until next time, goodbye.