Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: What makes people instinctively kind?

We meet a woman whose near death experience as a teenager inspired her to study why some people are willing to risk their lives for others. Dr Abigail Marsh was rescued by a stranger after a car accident and wanted to understand what drove him to help her. She says altruists, those who instinctively help without expecting anything in return, are more sensitive to the needs of other people -- but we can all learn to be kinder.

Also: we hear from a man whose willingness to help others led him to donate a kidney. It went to a woman he'd become friends with after he supported her through a personal tragedy.

We find out about an Australian scheme to help dads and their kids be healthier, which also showed the benefits of rough and tumble play. And it's inspired a project at a prison in Scotland that aims to make dads better role models by playing with their kids. It's hoped that helping them become better parents will make them less likely to reoffend.

Plus, why a crying horse soft toy has been a surprise hit with young workers in China, and what its like to be a patient helping to develop new medical treatments by volunteering for a clinical trial.

Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

(Presenter: Jannat Jalil. Music composed by Iona Hampson)

(Photo: Dr Abigail Marsh. Credit Georgetown University)

WSJ Your Money Briefing - What’s News in Markets: Fed Chair, Layoffs, Meme Stock

What could the new nominee for Federal Reserve chair mean for markets? And is corporate cost-cutting good or bad news for investors? Plus, which meme stock is trying to turn its fortunes around? Host Krystal Hur discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.


Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt - Introducing: What’s The Plan? with Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin

Today we’re popping into your feed to tell you about a new series, What’s The Plan?

What’s The Plan is one of America’s largest live, participatory political conversations, designed to inform, mobilize, and grow the pro-democracy movement. 

A weekly guide to the state of democracy and how we fight back against authoritarian threats in the United States.

Hosted by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Co-founders of Indivisible. What’s The Plan isn’t punditry, it’s people-powered politics in real time.

New episodes every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/WhatsThePlanwithLeahandEzrafd

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Legal Blinkers, Moral Hazards

Lawyers love legal reasoning. It promises a clean, clear path through sticky, tricky territory. But legal reasoning can enable grotesque real-world outcomes, like torture, or arresting journalists, or masked government agents detaining and disappearing people. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is in conversation with Joseph Margulies, Professor of Practice of Government at Cornell University. Margulies litigated some of the biggest cases of egregious human rights violations of the post-9/11 “War on Terror”, an experience that informed his recent piece in the Boston Review: The Moral Stupefaction of America. Margulies explains how, when we allow obscure legal language to overshadow moral imperatives, we can end up in very dark places. The line from waterboarding at black sites to executing American citizens in the streets is a straight one. And there will be a lawyer willing to write a memo for all of it. 


Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More or Less - Could Europe use its financial muscle to strong-arm the US?

Could European Nato members use their large holdings of US shares and bonds to put pressure on America? It’s a question that some in Europe found themselves asking as the geopolitical crisis over Greenland escalated and leaders desperately tried to think of ways to dissuade Donald Trump. It is true that trillions of dollars of American financial assets are held in Europe. But the devil, as ever, is in the detail. Tim Harford talks to Toby Nangle, a journalist with the Financial Times, to drill down into the numbers.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Engineer: James Beard

It Could Happen Here - It Could Happen Here Weekly 217

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. 

- Gaza and the Board of Peace feat. Dana El Kurd

- Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota

- Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota, Pt. 2

- To Catch A Fascist: An Interview with Christopher Mathias

- Executive Disorder: Alex Pretti Shooting, DHS Funding Bill & Rojava

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone

Sources/Links:

Gaza and the Board of Peace feat. Dana El Kurd

UNOCHA on ceasefire violations - https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/humanitarian-situation-update-353-gaza-strip 

BBC on the Yellow Line - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgxl6zkenqo

Aljazeera on the 20 point plan - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/16/us-declares-phase-two-of-gaza-ceasefire-but-what-did-phase-one-deliver 

The Huffington Post on Putin’s invite - https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/donald-trump-has-invited-vladimir-putin-to-join-his-gaza-board-of-peace-kremlin-says_uk_696e0478e4b0fb912e9948f8?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1768820090 

Aljazeera on Board of Peace - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/18/trumps-board-of-peace-appears-to-seek-wider-mandate-beyond-gaza 

Who is Nikolay Mladenov - https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/1/15/who-is-nickolay-mladenov-the-diplomat-tasked-with-disarming-gaza 

Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota

Rent Support for neighbors in Phillips:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-phillips-families-in-urgent-need

Rent Support for neighbors in Central:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/critical-rent-assistance-for-central-neighborhood-families

Rent Support for neighbors in Powderhorn:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-powderhorn-families-in-crisis

Supplies for Political Art Making:

https://givebutter.com/spno

Protective Gear for Legal Observers:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-equip-twin-cities-legal-observers-with-ppe

Diapers and Menstrual Supplies:

https://secure.everyaction.com/jLLKnfwWk0qdptMbYLoyPQ2

Abolish ICE Shirts:

https://www.eaglescreenprint.com/printshop/p/defend-612-abolish-ic3-wnj6e

Northstar Front Line Street Medics:

https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/northstarhealth

Twin Cities Swoletariat Bail Fund:

Venmo: @TCSwoletariat

Cashapp: $TCSwoletariat

To Catch A Fascist: An Interview with Christopher Mathias

Preorder Chris' book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Catch-a-Fascist/Christopher-Mathias/9781668034767 

The article Chris mentioned about Spit & Dan: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/death-in-the-desert-2263332/

Executive Disorder: Alex Pretti Shooting, DHS Funding Bill & Rojava

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=fHjlCV6d7gVSHjiN&t=1222&v=Amhb8PK_an8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388288892112

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/25/politics/video/bovino-dana-bash-full-interview-digvid 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/26/greg-bovino-agents-victims-pretti-minneapolis-shooting/88361659007/ 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758.107.0.pdf 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758.109.0.pdf 

https://www.startribune.com/ice-raids-minnesota/601546426 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115968824541011312 

https://bsky.app/profile/vanhollen.senate.gov/post/3mdg7b7k5nc2q 

https://newrepublic.com/article/205723/dem-senator-harsh-new-takedown-trump-hits-home-breaking-point 

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-287 

https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2015826728644391063?s=20

https://x.com/MayorFrey/status/2015917704725622985?s=20

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/greg-bovino-demoted-minneapolis-border-patrol/685770/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIM7ap12vPo

https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2016564180757725221?s=20 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/politics/stephen-miller-alex-pretti-trump 

https://x.com/cspan/status/2016557604282011748?s=20 

https://prospect.org/2026/01/26/ice-trump-democrats-funding-department-homeland-security-alex-pretti-minnesota/

https://www.axios.com/2026/01/26/senate-democrats-dhs-funding-government-shutdown

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/us/alex-pretti-protesters-minneapolis-invs

https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/04/29/patriots-plane-guantanamo

https://www.audacy.com/national/sports/pats-team-plane-apparently-used-for-ice-deportation-flights

https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/04/29/new-england-patriots-charter-jet-guantanamo

https://apnews.com/article/ihan-omar-vinegar-attack-minneapolis-385a30eaf6acc40d6ba5c6c45c09304d

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Introducing: Betrayal s5

Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. 

Listen here and subscribe to Betrayal s5 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Global News Podcast - Epstein files: More than three million new pages released

The US Justice Department releases millions more pages of files in its Epstein investigation. Victims of the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, have promised to fight on, after they accused the US Department of Justice of protecting abusers. Also: Mexico's president warns that US tariffs on countries helping Cuba could trigger a humanitarian crisis. Claudia Sheinbaum's comments come after President Trump signed an executive order threatening additional tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba. Iran’s foreign minister insists his country is ready to discuss its nuclear programme with the US. Anti-ICE protests take place across the US following fatal shootings in Minneapolis. We look back at the life of the Emmy-winning actress, comedian and screenwriter Catherine O'Hara who has died at the age of 71. And, Bridgerton season four is on our screens. The Regency era drama is number 1 on the streaming platform, Netflix.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk