The Happy Pod: Filling the empty chair left by my best friend

快乐小舱:填补我挚友留下的空缺座位

Global News Podcast

2026-04-19

26 分钟
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单集简介 ...

We meet the man helping to tackle loneliness by offering strangers somewhere to sit and chat. Dean Perryman started the Empty Chairs project, honouring the memory of his best friend. After he posted the concept online, it has been replicated around the world. Also: How technology has allowed a dancer with a muscle-wasting disease to see herself performing on stage again. A headset allowed Breanna Olson to control a digital avatar with her brainwaves in real time. Plus, we meet the 95-year-old swimmer still breaking records and showing no signs of slowing down. Brazil gets its own tartan. And we introduce you to Marcus, the black labrador too friendly to be a guide dog, but who's found his calling supporting cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world. Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson Photo: Dean Perryman hosting an Empty Chairs event in his distinctive orange hoodie. Credit: @EmptyChairsUK
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单集文稿 ...

  • This is The Happy Pod from the BBC World Service.

  • I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition.

  • The man on a mission to fill empty chairs.

  • The thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was this idea of the empty chair, where he would have always sat.

  • So I was like, what can I do to kind of have an impact on that?

  • And I was like, well, I'm not good at many things,

  • but I'm OK at chatting and I'm good at drinking beer, so let 's go to the pub.

  • Let's just see if there's anyone there that wants to chat.

  • We meet Dean, who created the campaign in memory of his best friend.

  • Also on this podcast, the cutting-edge technology helping one dancer be on stage again.

  • It's magical and exhilarating.

  • It's a new way of expression to be able to move in a new way.

  • The 95-year-old swimmer still breaking records.

  • Plus why Brazil now has its own version of a classic Scottish tartan.

  • And this stillness, this calmness, it's so incredibly powerful.

  • That's where the magic starts.

  • That's where the cancer recovery starts, the healing physically and emotionally.

  • Meet Marcus, the Labrador too lazy to be a guide dog, now helping people in his own special way.

  • We start with a man who is turning his grief into a campaign to help others feel less alone.

  • Dean Perryman started Empty Chairs after his friend Rob took his own life.