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CNN 5 Good Things
Starting August 1, 2026 all new episodes can be found over in the CNN 5 Things feed. Search "CNN 5 Things" wherever you get your podcasts. How about a break — for your ears? At CNN, we know the news can be a lot to take in. So each week, 5 Good Things offers you a respite from the heavy headlines and intense news cycle. Treat yourself to something fun and uplifting every Saturday as we share the bright side of life from all over the globe.
A “Ted Lasso” Star Scores A Real-Life Soccer Contract
CNN 5 Good Things
May 16, 2026
Turns out “fútbol is life” wasn’t just a line for this “Ted Lasso” star. A commencement speaker gave graduates more than words of wisdom. We’ll tell you how mountain gorillas rebounded from the brink of extinction. A new children’s book honors the Chinese immigrant behind America’s Famous Bing cherry. Plus, meet the man traveling the world without ever stepping on a plane.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo Polanco
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Senior Producer: Felicia Patinkin
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:00
Hey there, welcome to CNN 5 Good Things. I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and let's get the good vibes rolling.
Alyssa D'Costa
00:00:06
You were all so confused because you were like, "no way this is real, like this can't be real."
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:11
This graduating class got a very generous gift. Plus, hear about a major conservation success story decades in the making for our closest relatives. Later on, just 12% of children's books feature Asian characters. Meet an author and an illustrator working to tell more of these stories. Then meet a traveler who quit his finance job to see the world in a very unique way.
Omar Nok
00:00:32
There's a lot more good in the world than one would think.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:36
We gotta take a quick break, but when we come back, a TV star is lacing up his boots in real life.
Dani Rojas
00:00:45
Futball is life!
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:47
'If you're a fan of the Apple TV show, "Ted Lasso," you know that that was the motto of Mexican soccer star Dani Rojas from the show. And it seems that life has indeed imitated art for the actor who plays Dani, Cristo Fernandez. The 35-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico is officially a pro soccer player after he signed a deal this week with U.S. Club El Paso Locomotive in the USL Championship. The move comes after he completed a two-month trial with the team.
Cristo Fernandez
00:01:13
'Since I was a kid, football was my life. It's part of my culture. I started playing professionally when I was 15-years-old. And I was this close to my debut for a couple of years of my dream.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:26
That was a video he posted on his Instagram back in March when rumors were swirling that he was trying to go pro again. This week, Fernandez wrote about the career switch saying, as my amigo Ted Lasso once said, "'When you believe, life finds a way.'"
Dani Rojas
00:01:40
Futbol is life, amigos.
Alyssa D'Costa
00:01:43
We were all so confused because we were like, no way this is real, like this can't be real.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:48
The class of 2026 at North Carolina State University's Wilson College of Textiles got the surprise of a lifetime, thanks to this year's commencement speaker, Anil Kolchhar.
Anil Kolchhar
00:01:59
'It is my privilege to announce today that in honor of my father, my wife Marilyn and I are providing a graduation gift to cover all the final year education loans incurred by the Wilson College graduates during the 25-26 academic year.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:21
The gift was inspired by Anil's late father, who came from India to study textile manufacturing at NC State nearly 80 years ago. While it's unclear how many of the 176 students in the graduating class had taken out loans this school year, the school says they're going to see a substantial amount of debt reduced.
Anil Kolchhar
00:02:38
So my wife and I hope we have unshackled some of that so that you can go out with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks, build lives.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:49
For Alyssa D'Costa, the generosity didn't feel real at first. She graduated last Friday with a degree in fashion and textile management.
Alyssa D'Costa
00:02:56
It was just honestly truly amazing that like I get to be a part of this college. I got to have an amazing college experience and now I get some loan forgiveness out of it and I don't have to stress about my loans as much. And luckily not only does it benefit me, but a bunch of other families as well.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:12
'The unexpected surprise lifts some financial burden for Alyssa as she prepares to start her master's degree this fall at NC State. The 21-year-old is a first-generation college graduate. She says her parents immigrated from Bangladesh in the 80s and worked hard for decades to pay for all five of their kids' college tuitions.
Alyssa D'Costa
00:03:29
My dad was a taxi driver and my mother was a preschool teacher. We didn't have the funds, so we didn't have to take loans out. And so not only does it help my parents, it helps me a lot, too. I wouldn't be able to do anything without any of them.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:44
There's some hopeful news for some of our closest relatives. Mountain gorillas once on the brink of extinction are making a rare comeback due to decades worth of conservation efforts in the mountains of Rwanda. A new Netflix documentary narrated by David Attenborough is now giving people a closer look at the animals behind that remarkable recovery.
Tara Stoinski
00:04:02
One of the things that's fun about the movie is that it highlights how much they're so like us. We share a common humanity and they really need us. They need our help, but also we need them. And that's because they care for the second largest tropical rainforest left on the planet. They keep these forests healthy through their natural behaviors.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:23
Tara Stoinski is the CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, an organization focused on protecting gorillas and their habitats. They also collaborated on the documentary. In the 1980s, the mountain gorilla population in the Virunga region had dropped to around 250. Today, that number has climbed to roughly 600.
Tara Stoinski
00:04:41
'They are the only non-human great ape on the planet that's increasing. We've been able to show that it is the direct protection on the ground. It is having people with them every single day, 365 days a year, that has really contributed to their increase. So it's an amazing conservation success story.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:01
'From anti-poaching efforts to veterinary care and long-term health monitoring, that hands-on protection helped turn the tide for a species once thought to be disappearing. Last year alone, Tara said conservation teams removed more than 4,000 snares from forests in Rwanda and Congo. And while mountain gorillas remain endangered, researchers say their recovery is proof that long-term conservation can make a huge difference.
Tara Stoinski
00:05:25
Dian Fossey thought they'd be extinct before the year 2000, and instead they're increasing, so it's pretty amazing. And I'm super proud of all the science. I love seeing that we're still learning about gorillas after 60 years, and we still have so much to learn. They're teaching us all the time.
Livia Blackburne Book Talk
00:05:41
So a tall tale is something that's kind of really exaggerated. You know, you might have a tall guy, but he's not just tall, he's really, really tall, and it's kind magical.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:53
That's author Livia Blackburn.
Livia Blackburne Book Talk
00:05:54
So how about this, once upon a time, there was a....
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:58
She and illustrator Julia Kuo have been reading to kids from their new children's book, Bing's Cherries Around the West Coast, at events celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Julia Kuo Book Talk
00:06:08
There's a fruit that we might talk about today? Cherries! Cherries!
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:15
'It turns out that the bing cherry, famous for its deep red color and heart shape, is named after a Chinese immigrant. And now Livia, who is Chinese American, and Julia, who was Taiwanese American, are making sure a new generation knows his story. Bing's Cherries is a folktale inspired by the real-life horticulturist who helped cultivate one of America's most popular cherries, which are coming into season now. It's believed that Ah Bing came to Milwaukee, Oregon from China in the 1850s. After working on a farm there for more than 30 years, all while sending money to his family back in China, his employer named a dark, cross-bred cherry after him. And since then, he's been credited with changing the international food market.
Livia Blackburne
00:06:55
The first time I heard the name Bing cherry, I was talking about growing grocery shopping with my mom and she said, 'oh, we want Bing cherries. Those are the good ones.' And even then I remember thinking: oh, that's a funny name, it almost sounds Chinese. And it was years later when I found out that there's a good reason why it sounds Chinese
Julia Kuo
00:07:15
And, you know, this whole time, like growing up in America, you grow up with your Johnny Appleseeds, your Paul Bunyans, and to imagine that there was this Chinese immigrant man this whole times who is equally important and like left a legacy that was like equally delicious, it was mind blowing.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:33
The authors believe there's an opportunity for children's literature to feature more Asian American stories. According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, which reviews the majority of children's books published in the U.S., only about 12% of the children's books feature Asian characters.
Livia Blackburne
00:07:48
When I heard about Bing's story at first, it really made me proud to be Asian American because it reminded me that Chinese Americans have been here, they have been contributing for a long time and you know, we are American. And I hope that kids will be able to have that realization as well.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:06
For Livia, the story is much more than a tall tale about a sweet treat. It's also the story of America.
Livia Blackburne
00:08:11
I think it's important to have positive stories of immigration out there to remind people that, you know, we are a country of immigrants and immigrants have made big contributions to the country and I think every kid deserves to see themselves.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:26
Up next...
Omar Nok
00:08:30
It occurred to me this style of travel allows you to see more, so you're not just going from point A to point B.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:36
From camel rides to cargo boats, this man is taking the scenic route around the planet.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:45
'Most people see the world by booking flights, but Omar Nok left home in Egypt with a very different goal -- circle the globe without ever stepping foot on an airplane.
Omar Nok
00:08:55
It occurred to me, this style of travel allows you to see more. So you're not just going from point A to point B. You also want to see everything in between. So it allows me to see more of the world.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:06
He quit his job as a financial analyst for Amazon in 2022 to travel the world full time, something that was out of reach growing up. CNN spoke to him from his latest stop in Honduras.
Omar Nok
00:09:17
Travel is not a big thing in our family. And if someone travels outside of Egypt, it's like the event of the year. But traveling outside of the Egypt, exploring the world, it just brings some tears to my eyes sometimes because it's just so different and so unexpected of how I thought my life would turn out.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:34
'And this isn't his first no-fly adventure. Two years ago, he made a shorter trip from Egypt to Japan over the span of nine months. But this time around, he estimates this trip could take one to four years to hit all seven continents.
Omar Nok
00:09:47
So I'm hitchhiking, I'm on busses, trains, small boats, sometimes camel before, a horse before, two horses before. I camp a lot also, which is awesome because you're in nature and stay in hostels. So definitely not a luxury type of trip.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:07
'On day 228 of the journey he's almost a quarter of the way through. He told us he planned to cross into Mexico from Belize as he continues heading north through Central America. Some of the highlights he says he's done so far -- hitchhiking with Venezuelan immigrants through South America, attending an ayahuasca ceremony in the Amazon rainforest, and accidentally joining a pilgrimage in India.
Omar Nok
00:10:27
I had no idea what I was getting into and then I found myself inside and they thought I converted into Hinduism and everyone was so excited.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:37
And while the journey is about seeing the world, it's also changed how he sees people.
Omar Nok
00:10:41
I learned that I can never truly know a place until I go there, and especially also the people. There's a lot more good in the world than one would think.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:56
All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening. We hope you liked the show, and if you did, let us know. Leave us a good rating or review wherever you listen, and send this episode to a friend. Be sure to join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing, wherever you get your podcasts. Take care, until next time.