Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Panda pair bring joy to San Diego

Episode Date: August 10, 2024

We hear about the giant personalities of the panda pair bringing joy to the crowds at San Diego Zoo. The super relaxed male and curious, playful female are the first pandas sent to the US from China in more than twenty years.Also: How Botswana celebrated its first gold medal at an Olympics with a nationwide party - and an afternoon off work. We hear from a woman who's defied tradition in southern Iraq to set up the region's first all female cafe. We visit Amsterdam's Offline Club -- where people have to ditch their smartphones and talk to people in real life. For the first time ever, there's space at the Olympics for breastfeeding and childcare. And how gold was followed by diamonds for one champion at the Olympics.Our weekly collection of happy stories and positive news from around the world.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is The Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson, and in this edition, uploaded on Saturday the 10th of August...

They're just amazing and they have tons and tons of personality. And it makes me really happy that we can offer some bit of hope, some inspiration for the world to have a little brightness in their day. We hear about the cheeky habits and conservation role of the first panda pair set to the US for more than 20 years. We meet the woman who defied tradition to open the first all-female cafe in southern Iraq. A dream, big dream, make it happen and you will find the support. Make your dream happen. Also, if you don't have any support, because you must support yourself.

Plus... This was extraordinary. It was something that most people didn't expect. They wanted to go there and bring happiness to his people. Botswana celebrates sprint victory at the Olympics with a party and time off work. Also in this podcast, a reporter in the Netherlands surrenders her smartphone reluctantly and meets people at the offline club. I really believe that it's important to take some time off of my screen. I think a lot of us are craving authentic connections with people. And the parrot with a record-breaking memory.

What's this called? Oak. What's this called? Plant. What's this called? Rock. We start with an adorable duo that have just made their public debut at San Diego Zoo. The giant pandas have been settling in after arriving from China,

the first of the bears sent to the United States for 21 years. Its hopes in Bao and Yunchuan will help global conservation efforts. The Happy Pod's Holly Gibbs spoke to Marco Wendt, a wildlife ambassador at the San Diego Zoo Alliance. So what are this pandastic pair like? We have a five-year-old male. His name is Yun Chuan. Now he, by the way, super relaxed panda. His favorite thing to do is eat and sleep. So I was told he likes to be slow, to wake up in the morning and to rise, which I completely identify with. He loves to munch on his bamboo and take that very prioritized

midday nap and then go back to bamboo again. So very laid back male panda. And we also have Xing Bao. Xing Bao is our four-year-old female, very different than Yunun chuan she is a very curious panda and a playful panda to boot so we can't wait to open up our conservation doors and welcome the public to come get to know these two beautiful vibrant pandas gosh i think i relate to a slow morning and wanting a midday nap you indeed both do they have any cheeky habits if yun chuan happens to see his diet arriving near his habitat and he doesn't see the wildlife care specialist get to the food right away, he'll make a small little sound just to let them know like, hey, I see the food and you know what? I would really like to have it now, which I

think is adorable. Also for Sing Bao, she's been known to not only explore her habitat, but also solicit play from her panda buddies out in China in the past. So I just think they're just amazing and they have tons and tons of personality. And how have they been settling in? They have their own special new enclosure. Exactly right. We want to make sure it highlights their natural tendencies or natural ecosystems. So when guests enter our Panda Ridge habitat, they will be immersed in that beautiful southwestern area of China. The other day, I was just watching Yun Chuan splashing around in his pool. And it was really funny to me because he would run to his pool, plop that fuzzy butt right into the water and

then hop back out and go to his bamboo, munching some bamboo and go right back to the water again. So I think they're really enjoying this fresh San Diego lifestyle. And why do you think the pandas are so popular? I've been talking about this a lot. You know, at times I've noticed it's hard sometimes for the public or human beings to connect with an animal that's not a mammal. There are certain attributes of mammals that we can respond to, and especially when you think of the word neoteny.

So by that I mean an adult creature or animal, human being, showcasing more juvenile features. So in this case, it would be the large ears, the big eyes. And I think that's what really gravitates towards people. They want to protect it. Wildlife communicates. We just have to learn how to listen. On a serious note, how will having these pandas in San Diego Zoo help with global conservation efforts?

What is getting me most excited, you know, I've been doing this for about 28 years, started at the zoo when I was 16. The amount of support and the passion is really inspiring for me that the world is getting united for wildlife. And it makes me really happy that we can offer somebody of hope, some inspiration for the world to have a little brightness in their day. Are you hoping that the pandas might breed and you can have a family of pandas? I mean, who doesn't want to see a baby panda? But yes, a breeding is part of the idea and the hope and the aspirations that we have. And their public debut is on the 8th of the 8th month, which is the day that I'm speaking to you. Was that

intentional? Because I know the 8 is quite a lucky number to some people in China. You know, I haven't heard any of that, but that's good to know as well. I mean, it feels pretty lucky to me. I can tell you it is a beautiful day and it feels right. I feel it's a very appropriate number, I think. What I am most excited about is to see the faces of children see a giant panda. I get to communicate with a variety of different children from all over the world. For me, it doesn't matter if you're the emperor of the world or a kid from the barrio. This is going to be for everyone. I want the public to understand that they are part of all of this. I see people every day coming here and getting emotional.

I'm getting emotional right now even thinking about it. Just seeing them get connected to wildlife from all over the world. The opportunities that people have to thrive and to experience this and to unite makes it an important scenario. It's why we do what we do. We want people to rally and to make that positive change in the world. Marco went from the San Diego Zoo Alliance. The president of Botswana gave everyone in the country the afternoon off work on Friday so they could celebrate a remarkable achievement, the country's first gold medal at the Olympics. Super sprinter Letzli Teboho's win in the men's 200 metres on Thursday

was a moment to cherish for the entire nation. But he also made history for all of Africa as the first runner from the continent to win the Olympic men's 200 title. He dedicated his victory to his mother, who died in May. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to African continent. It means a lot to everybody who was rallying behind me. And for the team that was behind me when we heard about my mum's passing, I was grateful for them because personally, I thought my career was over. But the team, they made sure I take each and every day how it comes and make sure that I come here with a healthier body and a healthier mind. People across Botswana celebrated on Thursday night

with dancing and music. The Botswanan athletics journalist Kalistas Kalanzo spoke to Isaac Fannin the morning after the race. I think I slept half the night after being anxious the entire day waiting for that race. I mean, what a performance by Taboho. Where did this come from, do you think? Look, this was something extraordinary. It was something that, you know, most people didn't expect it to go the way it went. But to him, it was an emotional race. You know, he was doing this for his mother.

As he has always been saying that he wished his mother was there with him during the final or at the entire Olympics. He wanted to go there and bring happiness to his people back home in Botswana. His mother has obviously been a huge part of his life. For him, how's the reaction been like in Botswana? I know the president has just announced some good news for you. You won't be working this afternoon, is that correct? We won't be working this afternoon. You know, the nation has been celebrating since last night.

You know, people have been dancing in the streets. People have been dancing in the streets. People have been partying all night. The celebrations are going to continue until his arrival that is planned for next Tuesday. We expect the celebrations to spread across the country. We expect him to go on that tour of the country, showing off the gold medal. This is so big. It's something that a lot of plenty has gone into for many years. It's something, it has been an intentional program

that we wanted to show out there. We wanted to show the world that, you know, Botswana has always been known as a 400-meter country, but we wanted to come up with something special. And the best way that something special could happen has been through Litsile Teboho. You know, he has been dominating since his days as an under-20 up to now as a senior athlete. So we can only expect the best from him.

And not only for himself, but also as an inspiration to other, you know, young athletes that are coming up in this country and the continent as a whole. Sprinting has always been something that was foreign to Africa. We were always known for long distance, but now here we are. We have joined the sprinting world and we are not leaving anything to chance.

We are going for everything that's out there. Calistas Colanzo. Follow your dreams if you have support and follow them if you don't, the words of one young woman in Iraq who defied tradition to open a cafe by herself with the hope of creating a safe space for women. Joan Jamil opened Joan's Cafe in the southern city of Basra earlier this year, spurred on by a mission to succeed and a love of coffee. Stephanie Prentice has been speaking to her. It's morning in southern Iraq and a cosy cafe in Basra is making coffee for the pre-work rush, all seen in a slick Instagram video.

Here, vintage teacups from England are on display in an old wooden cabinet. Designer light bulbs dangle from the ceiling and delicate glazed pastries line the counter. But things weren't always so sweet for the cafe's owner, Joan Jamil. Her dream of a safe space for women to meet didn't come easily. In a city dominated by cafes for young men and shisha culture, cafes she says women don't feel comfortable walking into, let alone attempting to open as a business. It's good, good vibes, but not comfortable for women because of our culture.

In the south of Iraq, there is a traditional culture. In the middle of Iraq, in Baghdad or north of Iraq, no, it's very normal. If any girl would want to open a cafe, it's normal. But in the south, no. I'm the first one in the south area, not just Basra. Despite the traditional views all around her, Joan was determined and went to speak to her family about her idea. It's very, very, very difficult from my parents, from my dad. But one person supports me, it's my sister.

She told me, go for it and let's see what happen. When I open it and I challenge myself, challenge my family, challenge my dad, challenge my community, all community. After that, after when they come and see my cafe, it's simple and there's good vibes and old and vintage vibes. It's something new on south of Iraq. So they support me. Now the comfy space is busy day and night. The cookies, cakes and sweets are all sourced from businesses run by women in the area. And on Instagram, Joan has more than 10,000 followers watching her daily stories about her new life.

On the ground, she says women treat the cafe like a second home. And now she wants a second second home. I like to open in Nasriyeh, also south of Iraq. And there is no cafe, no woman there. A dream, big dream, so big and make it happen. Make it happen and you will find the support. And make it happen, make your dream happen. Also, if you don't have any support, because you must support yourself.

Joan Jamil ending that report from Stephanie Prentice. And you can find Joan on Instagram at joans.cafe. Last week, we asked you to tell us about a time someone had been kind to you. And we received this story from Shannon in Vancouver, Ireland, about meeting a kind stranger while travelling around Ireland. About 20-ish years ago, I was in my very early 20s and was travelling all by myself for the first time. While I was there, I relied a lot on the kindness of strangers. I was there for about three and a half months, and by the time it was time for my flight home, I was definitely out of money.

Luckily for me, my mom said she could transfer some money into my account, so I caught the train into Dublin and hailed a cab to get me and my luggage to my hostel. Knowing I was out of cash, I asked him to stop at an ATM on the way. Unfortunately, the money hadn't arrived in my account yet and I just about panicked. So I got back in the cab and I'm almost in tears as I explained to the gentleman driving what the situation was. I told him I needed a ride to the airport in the mornings and that if he was willing to pick me up again then I was sure the money would be in my account. Luckily for me he was very understanding and agreed. So next morning he picked me up we stopped at the cash point again and thank god this time the money was there and I was able to pay for both of the trips and add a tip for him. When I thanked him profusely for his act of kindness,

he told me he had a daughter and hoped that if she were ever in a similar situation that someone would do the same for her. So I'll just give a huge shout out to any and all cab drivers who have taken pity and shown such kindness to hapless tourists such as myself. You are all beautiful people who make the world a much better place. Shannon from Vancouver Island. And if you have an act of kindness you think would make us

all smile from a taxi driver or indeed anyone else, do send us an email or a voice note to globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. Coming up in the podcast. Being a mom is a very powerful thing. Let's just give us the support that we need. For the first time, Olympic and Paralympic athletes have dedicated facilities for breastfeeding and childcare. It's estimated there are nearly five billion Thank you. Media, cameras, emails and calls really make us happy. While the people behind a scheme in the Netherlands called the Offline Club think we'd all be more content if we ditched our phones occasionally in favour of making real-life connections. They hold regular events at cafes in Amsterdam and our intrepid correspondent Anna Holligan went along to find out more.

Welcome. So glad to have you here. So you can hand in your phone with me. The woman at the door, Naveen, takes my phone and places it in what looks like a hotel mini fridge. It looks like it doesn't fit. Maybe I'll... Okay. No, no, no. I will make it fit. Inside, it's a hip cafe. People are getting settled on sofas, sipping on kombucha or fresh fruit smoothies, pulling out books and notepads. My name is Ilya. I'm one of the co-founders of the Offline Club.

We really don't want people at all to even have to think about their phones. It's been scientifically proven that even when you have the phone turned off in the same room as you are, you experience subconscious stress. I am a foreign correspondent. I'm a mother. I feel like it's going to make me more anxious not being able to know if I'm needed somewhere. I think in the first 10 minutes it might be uncomfortable because we're so dependent on our phones.

Once you have done this a couple of times, you realise that things can wait. All right, so here goes. The three-hour event's broken up into four chunks. Later on, we're all going to talk to one another. That's fine. I'm good at talking to people. But first, we are encouraged to just sit quietly. And phone-lessly.

Just looking around and everyone looks quite chilled. But everyone seems to be completely and mindfully immersed in the moment. I think I need to really work on this digital decompression. After an hour, it's time to get up and speak to the other people in the cafe. You're strangers and yet you're here sharing a swinging sofa. I don't think this would happen in many places. Yeah, I really like this super bright yellow sofa, the swinging. I just thought this is the space for me. I really believe that it's important to take some time off of my screen.

And I think it's way more meaningful when you share this experience with somebody else. It's a beautiful setting. Do you feel like a frustration that you can't put it online and get the dopamine hit of all of those likes it would generate? I really feel relief of not having to do it, knowing that I can't. What we've discovered so far is that there's really a need for connection in today's world. So we didn't expect people to also really come for the social part, to meet people in a very low-key, easy way without social pressure. I think a lot of us are craving authentic connections with people.

I work in social media. That's how I started. It's really toxic. I've seen just the addiction rise and the need to be on the phone. It scares me a little bit. At the end of the event, I'm surprised to see not everyone's dashing to retrieve their phone. You were one of the first to queue and get your phone back. What does this moment feel like? Feels like ****, to be honest,

because I'm going to be back to my phone addiction. I wouldn't call it addiction, but usage of phone. But yeah, I'm going to learn all the ideas they were given to kind of limit my phone usage why were you so eager to get it back oh no I think I was not actually you've put your phone back on to get directions but also to share contact details with each other that's a connection in the real world yeah we did Yeah, I didn't expect it, honestly, like to happen like this, but I am happy. I didn't expect it either, but I've really enjoyed my time at the Offline Club. And I'm maybe even just a bit reluctant to be returning to the updates and interruptions of the real world?

Anna Holligan reporting there. And you can hear more about the offline club and other ways to cut your smartphone use on people fixing the world wherever you get your BBC podcasts. And if you've ever tried or succeeded in ditching your phone, let us know how it went. And now for a couple of other stories we've spotted this week. A zoo here in the UK is celebrating the birth of what it describes as one of the rarest animals on earth. Persian onagers, which are related to donkeys, only survive in the

wild in two small protected areas of Iran, with fewer than 600 of the creatures remaining. Conservationists at Chester Zoo say the birth of what they call the leggy youngster, who's been named Jasper, could help safeguard the species from extinction. They say his mum, Mazita, is doing a fantastic job, while Jasper is said to be full of energy and enjoys playfully kicking up sand as he races around his habitat. And a parrot has been honoured by Guinness World Records for a feat of memory, correctly naming a series of items within three minutes. Apollo's owners say they hope to highlight the natural intelligence of animals, as Charlotte Simpson reports. You've earned a plaque. You're now a world record bird.

Four-year-old Apollo, an African grey parrot from Florida, secured the record after successfully identifying 12 items, including... What's this called? Oak. What's this called? Plant. What's this called? Rock. Apollo achieved the feat back in 2023, but only received his plaque recently, which his proud owners shared with his 2.8 million followers on TikTok. Dalton and Victoria said they trained Apollo together by giving him examples of correct and incorrect responses, helped along by promises of his favourite snack, pistachios. Apollo the parrot who certainly no bird brain. Now back to Paris 2024 and for the first time in history,

Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are breastfeeding or caring for small children have access to dedicated facilities. In the past, children haven't been allowed in the athletes' village. But as Nishat Lada reports, the drive for change has come from mothers who've competed at past Olympics. I cried a lot on the bus ride to the Olympic Village, and I was just watching videos and looking at pictures of her. And then I got there and I just could not sleep without her.

American marathon runner Alifine Tulyamuk competed at the Tokyo Olympics in the midst of the pandemic, where the marathon site was in the north of Japan. She was mostly able to be with her husband and her six-month-old baby Zoe, who she was breastfeeding, except on the first night in the athlete's village in Tokyo, where children were banned. I slept away from my baby for the very first time. I was so engorged at night at like 1am. I was pumping. Like I called them and she's crying. She's losing her mind because

she doesn't understand why her mom is not there. I am just so happy that it's now changed to where they actually have facilities for them. That is pretty incredible. The issue of when to stop breastfeeding was one that Kenya-born Tulia Mook had to wrestle with. I always planned that I was going to breastfeed for three or four months. Then I'm going to stop and then that will still give me about two and a half months before the Olympics. But then once my daughter arrived, I realized that stopping breastfeeding was not in the cards for me. Such experiences prompted the International Olympic Committee and Paris 2024 to offer a creche in the athlete's village with space and

privacy for breastfeeding mothers to pump and store their milk. There are also nappy changing and play areas. Emma Terho, a former winter Olympian, is chair of the IOC Athletes Commission. We want to encourage this possibility for a female athlete to continue their career. We wanted to make sure that there is space where they can be in quiet and in privacy, still being able to focus on probably the highlight of their career. The group and mother, which advocates for sporting mums, was set up by middle distance runner Elisa Montano, who famously in 2014 ran while heavily pregnant. I felt that we haven't seen what it looks like to be a woman in my career, to visibly see her being pregnant, having her babies and continue her career. So I'm just going to do it. You know, that's why I ran

eight months pregnant at USA Nationals. Travelling to races whilst breastfeeding was also a challenge, something Tulia Mook encountered at the Tokyo Games. The race was moved up an hour to 6am because of the heat. I ran out of time to pump. And then I got to the starting line, you know, we had tents for Team USA. There was no like a place for me to like breastfeed and or pump. Nobody was thinking about the fact that they might be active to a breastfeeding and what do they need? Montano, they're welcoming the Paris initiative says more needs to be done. What I'd like to also see is at all of the venues that they're safe and respectable lactation accommodations provided with like electricity to be able to pump your breast milk and know that there is a safe space for you to store your breast milk. The big barrier

is also financially. You can have a nursery, but you need to have like a caregiver on the other side and you have to be able to pay for that. For Tulia Mokit, simple. All mothers deserve the full Olympic experience. Being a mom is a very powerful thing. Let's just give us the support that we need. US marathon runner Alifin Tuliamuk, ending that report by Nishat Lada. And just before we go, you may remember on an earlier episode of the Happy Pod, we talked about some of the couples competing at the Olympics in Paris. Well, the romance of the city, it is after all the city of love, seems to have had quite an effect on one pair.

After China's Wang Jiachong won gold in the badminton mixed doubles, her boyfriend and fellow Olympian Liu Uchen greeted her with a bouquet of red and pink roses. Before delighting the crowd by getting down on one knee and proposing. Huang wiped away happy tears as she said yes and showed the ring to the cheering fans and later called it very surprising. And of course, if you have an unusual marriage proposal story, we'd love to hear from you.

And that's it from the Happy Pod for now. If you have any stories you want to share that will make us all smile, our address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Annie Smith. The producers were Holly Gibbs, Siobhan Leahy and Rachel Bulkeley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time. Bye bye.

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