July 14, 2019

EP. 300 — 17 Exciting Happy News Stories More People Should Hear

Where do you get your news? Because whether it’s from a range of sources, from a curated Twitter feed, or from one nightmare cable channel monetizing hate, there is more happening than any one of us can track. The world is all news all the time. A lot of it seems grim. But what if we told you those true sad stories exist beside a range of incredible good news? What if we told you there are all kinds of bright spots across the world if you know where to look? And what if at least one of the stories features a “hybrid bear-monkey” you WILL want to see?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by old pals Soren Bowie and Katie Goldin for a celebration of awesome news you probably missed. From the struggle to save the environment to the fight against world diseases, you’ll discover everyone from young kids to entire countries pitching in and helping. So hurry up and listen, to gain the upbeat energy you need to defeat the slew of terrible things also going on these days (and don’t forget to hit up the footnotes for those sweet sweet hybrid bear-monkey pics).

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/17-exciting-happy-news-stories-more-people-should-hear

Recent Episodes

January 26, 2020

Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/

January 19, 2020

How’s your local shopping mall doing? Have you checked on it lately? Swing by sometime, because its department store might’ve turned into a call center or a hospital or a go-kart track. On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by the one and only Kai Ryssdal (Marketplace, Make Me Smart) for a look at surprising, strange, and shocking stories from all over the U.S. economy. Discover an international pig flu, a 26-word statement that built the modern Internet, and more amazing ways cash is ruling everything around you. By the way, if you’re an American listener, you spent the past few years funding an astonishingly huge bailout. Surprise! Listen for details!

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

January 12, 2020

Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/