The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup
With Arielle Tiangco and Karissa Garcia
Do you like the stories from around the world that recognize and celebrate the people and events making a positive change? Tune in to The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup, where our solutions-focused stories continue, and hear behind-the-scenes discussions from the people bringing you the news.
Episodes
March 27, 2026
Touching the Veiled Christ, urban coyotes, and the truth about your allergies
Arielle and Karissa are back this week, and the stories span everything from marble sculptures in Naples to coyote dens in American cities. A museum in Naples opened its barriers so blind visitors could touch the Veiled Christ, led by blind guides who know that experience firsthand.
Urban coyotes are raising pups closer to you than you think, and on purpose. If your spring allergies have been brutal lately, new research explains why the season itself has changed. Those three stories alone are worth pulling up a chair for, but there are seven more waiting!
If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421930
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 20:32 min
March 20, 2026
From psilocybin to ocean robots: 10 solutions you'll actually want to hear about
This week, Arielle and Karissa cover a tiny African island paying locals to protect its rainforest, the lion DNA case that just sent two poachers to prison, and new research on music, overthinking, and quitting smoking. Oh, and the hummingbirds are on their way.
If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421894
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 21:33 min
March 13, 2026
Golden frogs are back, bacteria are eating cancer, and cherry blossom season is almost here
Spring is in the air, and so is this week's roundup of solutions, breakthroughs, and good news worth sharing.
Arielle and Karissa are back together after last week's Sambhali Trust guest interview, and they've got a full lineup: wildlife conservation wins, medical milestones, an environmental project decades in the making finally paying off, and some surprisingly simple advice about what you're actually eating. Plus, a closing quote about cherry blossoms and hanging on to the good times
If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421850
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 14:46 min
March 06, 2026
(Guest Interview) From 18 Women to 80,000: How Sambhali Trust is Empowering Girls in India | International Women's Day 2026
This episode is dedicated to Badan Kanwar.
In the early 1990s, a woman named Badan Kanwar was widowed in Rajasthan, India. Her world shrank the way it does for widows there — she lost status, voice, and belonging. Her son, Govind Singh Rathore, watched. Years later, he founded Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur, an organization providing education, vocational training, legal support, and safe spaces to women, girls, and gender minorities pushed to the margins. He started by inviting one woman's two daughters to come learn with him. The next day, 18 women showed up. Today, Sambhali Trust has reached roughly 80,000 people across Rajasthan.
In this special International Women's Day episode, we tell the story of Sambhali Trust through four voices:
- Govind Singh Rathore, Founder of Sambhali Trust, on the grief that became a movement
- Shereen Arent, President of Sambhali US, on how she stumbled into this work and couldn't walk away
- Rajshree Rathore, Head of Education at Sambhali Trust, who joined as a college student-tutor and now leads the programs she once taught in
- Monica, Sambhali's first-cohort graduate (2007) and now central staff—going from the girl who always sat in the back to someone the whole community calls when they need help
This is a story about what happens when you give people closest to a problem the resources to solve it themselves. It's about the domino effect of doing one good thing.
And it's about how change doesn't always take a generation—sometimes it happens faster than anyone expected.
Note: This episode contains mentions of domestic violence. Nothing graphic.
If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421813
Support Sambhali:
- Donate, volunteer, or sign up for the newsletter: https://www.sambhalius.org
- Contact Shereen directly: info@sambhalius.org
- Sambhali Trust (India): https://www.sambhali.org
The Optimist Daily:
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 48:22 min
February 27, 2026
New Year, New Us: The Optimist Daily Weekly Roundup goes bigger with 10 solutions
It's our first episode of the year! And the Optimist Daily Weekly Roundup is officially refreshed. Karissa and Arielle kick off the new format (hello, "tasting menu" of all ten weekly solutions), explain the difference between Emissaries and Optimists, and share a new perk: Emissary shout-outs celebrating the people and organizations doing good in the world.
If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to podcast@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421756
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 18:13 min
December 19, 2025
Holiday gifts for a loved one with cancer + a powerful Miwuk land-back victory near Yosemite
This week, Arielle and Karissa dive into two very different but deeply connected stories about what it means to truly support healing. First, we unpack new research on what people going through cancer actually find helpful during the holidays, and why practical support often means more than cozy socks and inspirational mugs.
Then they travel to the Sierra Nevada, where nearly 900 acres of ancestral land have been returned to the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation in a landmark cultural and ecological restoration near Yosemite.
They close with some seasonal reflections, a big thank you to listeners, and a look ahead at how they'll be revamping the podcast in 2026 to bring you even deeper, more useful solutions-focused stories.
If you have thoughts on today's stories, ideas for what you'd love to see in the new version of the podcast, or just want to say hi, send a message to social@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421349
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 21:00 min
December 12, 2025
Should kids be banned from social media? Inside Australia's bold online safety experiment
Australia just became the first country to ban social media accounts for kids under 16... but will it actually keep them safer online? In this episode, Arielle and Karissa unpack the data that pushed lawmakers to act, the huge loopholes critics are worried about, and the real trade-offs for teens, parents, and platforms. They also ask a bigger question: who should be responsible for protecting kids on the internet in the first place?
Have thoughts on the ban or ideas for better solutions? Share your take at social@optimistdaily.com.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421254
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 24:39 min
December 05, 2025
Holiday health etiquette plus the first female crash test dummy is (finally) here
This week, Karissa and Arielle tackle two big, very real-world solutions: how to gracefully ask friends and family if they're sick before a holiday hangout, and why the U.S. finally introducing its first female crash test dummy is a major win for road safety and equity. They unpack expert advice on setting health boundaries without drama, explain how the new THOR-05F model closes a decades-long safety gap for women and smaller drivers, and share a quick round-up of other uplifting stories from The Optimist Daily.
They also spotlight an excerpt from Barnet Bain's upcoming book How to Be a Friend in an Unfriendly World and explore how deeper friendship and human connection can be powerful tools for personal and collective well-being. (You can read the excerpt and preorder the book here.)
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421212
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 19:19 min
November 27, 2025
Thankful for optimists: a Thanksgiving shout out to The Optimist Daily community
In this special Thanksgiving mini-episode of The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup, Karissa and Arielle press pause on the usual headlines to say thank you. They share what they are personally grateful for this year, celebrate the Emissaries and listeners who keep solutions journalism alive, and invite anyone who isn't already to support the work through donations, shares, and word of mouth.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421174
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 05:09 min
November 21, 2025
From bike buses to art therapy: The uplifting solutions changing everyday life
In this week's episode of The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup, Arielle and Karissa return from a fall break with a fresh wave of uplifting stories, diving right into two standout solutions of the week. First: the "bike bus" phenomenon turning school mornings into joyful, community-powered parades across the world. Next: surprising new research revealing how art gallery visits (and even looking at reproductions) can measurably lower stress and inflammation.
Plus, find out a little more about Swim Sista Swim, Hands United, Move Over Bob, and Amy Howlett-Johnson, our featured Changemakers these last couple weeks. And meet this week's inspiring Local Changemakers: Shower The People and Bounty & Soul.
It's a hopeful, human-focused episode full of community, creativity, and small changes driving meaningful impact.
Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1421119
Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary.
Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky.
The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy.
Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http://
PLAY 16:09 min