The Mood Elevator

Oh Canada Hello once again and welcome back aboard the Mood Elevator, for our penultimate daily trip around the sun of good news. Remember of course that you can find this show at moodelevator.org, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. But for now, let’s bring on the headlines. Sympathetic cop replaces boy’s stolen game console with his wwn And we begin in Texas, where a 9 year-old boy had his Xbox, controller and games stolen, along with family TV. But this is the Mood Elevator,...

Welcome once again to the Mood Elevator. And never has there been such a need for good news as this week. So, let’s get straight into it. Denver to hire homeless residents for day jobs – no strings attached And we begin in Colorado, where the city of Denver is embarking on a mission to employ the homeless. If you’ve ever watched The Wire, you might be familiar with the concept of day-labourers; people who are picked up and do a single day’s work for a day’s pay. Well Denver is making...

Welcome once again to the Mood Elevator, the acceptable face of Mondays. Here’s a brief hit of good news, for Monday 31st October. World's largest marine reserve created off Antarctica And we begin in Antarctica, or in a stretch of land just off it, where a coalition of countries have come together to create the world’s largest marine wildlife reserve. The new protected area in the 1.9 million mile Ross Sea was setup by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living...

Welcome once again aboard the Mood Elevator. Turns out the episode I had for Monday was a bit delayed thanks to some hosting issues, but if you’re hearing me now then you’re ready for some good news. And if you’re not hearing me now, then something’s gone seriously wrong and you definitely need some good news. Oh, and I sound different because my studio computer is being updated, but I didn’t want to wait. Formerly paralyzed, Robert MacDonald finishes Toronto marathon When a Canadian man...

Dog alerts neighbours to owner's crash And we start with a traditional animal rescue story. This one’s set in New Zealand, and involves a car accident. A 55 year-old man lost control of his car, went through a fence and rolled several times. He tried walking to safety but ended up sleeping in his car, but his dog had a better idea, by running to a nearby house and raising the alarm. Louisiana flood victim wins $1 million lottery in ultimate change of luck Things were looking bleak for 72...

Thank you once again for stepping aboard the Mood Elevator. Here’s some news to make you smile, for Thursday 13th October. It’s a purely European issue today, so let’s get started. Endangered rhinos bred in the UK have given birth to healthy babies And we begin in the UK, specifically Port Lympne wildlife park in Kent, where two critically-endangered rhinos have bred. There are only around 700 of these beasts in the wild, but as of this week we now have two more, who’ll stay with their...

Welcome to the Mood Elevator, some good news for Monday 10th October. Police officer who saved boy from drowning meets him as a grown man And we start in Columbus, Ohio, with the story of James Poole and Christopher Jones. Poole, a police officer rescued Jones when he was just five years old, and the young man says he’s never forgotten the name of his rescuer. This week they reunited after nearly 20 years, when Christopher saw a photo of the policeman on a local Facebook group. He...

I'm still here. Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I'd hoped to bring you a new episode this week, but circumstances out of my control have meant this hasn't been possible.

School surprises beloved custodian after losing car in crash When a custodian at a school in Dunwoody, Georgia lost his old beaten-up car in an accident, his colleagues got together with an online car dealership and fixed him up with a new set of wheels. The car had been a little bit famous, after appearing in a film called Miracles from Heaven, but since the accident, Grey, the custodian had to get to and from work on his own steam. Now he’s driving a 2015 Mazda 3, just because his...

New Zealand and American runners help each other after collision Let’s start with the Olympics, and New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin, who collided in the middle of her 5,000 metre semi-final with the USA’s Abbey d’Agostino, four laps from the end. Instead of carrying on, the US runner picked up Hamblin and they both continued. But moments later, d’Agostino fell and it was Hamblin who picked her up, walking with the injured athlete to finish the race. Father with autistic son creates a...

Chicago police buy and install pool for 6-year-old shooting victim We begin this week with 6 year-old Taccara Morris, who was wounded in a shooting in July near her home in Chicago. She made a full recovery and is now out of hospital, and to encourage her to venture outdoors again and play, Chicago police raised money to buy her a paddling pool, then turned up not long after her release from hospital, to fill the pool with water and toys. Teen who biked 50 miles to college gets new car...

Paralysed woman defies odds, hikes Appalachian trail And we begin with the story of Stacey Kozal, who was paralysed a year ago in a car accident, and is now currently hiking the Appalachian Trail thanks to the help of computer-powered legs. She started the hike in March and is now hoping to finish in about a year’s time. Chefs dish up surplus food from Olympic Village to Rio’s hungry And I have another story of food redistribution for you. Two chefs in Rio are working to make over 5000...

Man with bride’s father’s heart walks her down aisle at wedding This story spread very quickly around the web this weekend. It concerns Jeni Stepien from Philadelphia, whose father died 10 years ago but whose heart was donated to Arthur, from New Jersey. Jeni wrote to Arthur and asked if he would walk her down the aisle, so he did. After marrying on her ‘deathbed,’ this bride made a miraculous recovery after quitting 1 food And in other wedding news, Jessica Bean from Queensland thought...

Rare Amur leopards born at Twycross Zoo And we start with Twycross Zoo which isn’t all that far away from me, who are celebrating the news that one of their amur leopards – who represent one of the rarest big cat species in the world – has just given birth to two cubs. Follow the link in the snow notes if you want to see the pictures. Sisters separated 40 years ago in Korea reunited working in same US hospital The Guardian has the story of two women from South Korea who started working...

Walmart employee gives homeless man shoes from his feet We begin with the story of a supermarket employee in Georgia – the American state rather than the country – who gave his shoes to a homeless man sitting outside. Phil, the employee had once been homeless himself. You can see a photo of Phil by checking the show notes or going to moodelevator.org. Heart of gold hero saves eight lives in the Junction This next story needs a bit of setup. David Dearman is a labourer who’s fallen on...

Unprecedented Alzheimer’s drug slows disease by 80 per cent And we start with news from the New Scientist, about a drug that’s been 30 years in development, but which seems to be having a big effect on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug, called LMTX is producing promising results for people with mild to moderate symptoms, and has so far been tested on nearly 900 people, against a placebo. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Its funds helped discover the gene linked to motor...

Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov breaks world hot air balloon record, lands safety in WA Now, remember the Russian hot-air balloonist from Thursday’s episode? Well, I told you I’d give you an update, and I’m pleased to say he made it, and in record time. Fedor Konyukhov now holds the record for circumnavigating the globe in a hot-air balloon, having managed it in just over 11 days. Strangers on a train: GO riders unite to help Syrian family get to their destination Now, in case you...