Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Five real advances in science, medicine, technology, and the environment, each verified against the original reporting. In this episode: The Great Barrier Reef experienced six mass bleaching events between 2016 and 2025, and a monsoon earlier; Sport in Mind has supported more than 60,000 people since its founding in 2010; University of Hong Kong researchers created a corrosion-resistant stainless steel (SS-H2) that could reduce; Large-scale peatland restoration in Indonesia reduced wildfire hotspots by up to 22% in restored areas during; Agrilo, a $10 soil test developed at MacEwan University using smartphone cameras, is now being deployed.
Five Things Going Right is a daily five-minute podcast covering real, verifiable progress in science, medicine, technology, and the environment. Every weekday, hosts Grace and Josh walk through five stories that actually happened, each checked against the original reporting from sources like the WHO, the IEA, Nature, and university research. A calm, fact-grounded start to your day. New episodes every weekday morning.
Welcome, this is 5 things going right, the news that's actually good. 5 stories, 5 minutes, all of them true. Hi everyone, I'm Grace. Today is Thursday, August 13th, 2026. And I'm Josh. Let's dive into today's stories. The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral system on the planet, has faced six mass bleaching events from 2016 to 2025. This is largely due to warming oceans. That's right. Before the 1990s, bleaching along the reef's 1,400 miles of coastline in northeastern Australia was considered exceptionally rare. But earlier this year, a monsoon brought some relief to the reef, aiding its recovery. While monsoons can offer temporary help, the six bleaching events in a decade highlight a systemic vulnerability. Episodic weather can't reverse the underlying issue of ocean warming without addressing it directly. A recent report highlights how sport and movement are being used to combat loneliness and isolation. Three groups are leading this effort, and one of them is Sport in Mind. Sport in Mind was founded in 2010 and has supported over 60,000 people since then. It all started with the intention of helping a friend who was unwell. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have developed a new type of stainless steel called SSH2. This material resists corrosion and could potentially replace expensive titanium components in green hydrogen production. According to the researchers, SSH2 could reduce structural material costs by about 40 times. This would make seawater-based hydrogen production more economical. However, the details on the mechanism behind its corrosion resistance and its full performance data compared to titanium are not fully explained. In Indonesia, large-scale peatland restoration has been a significant success. Led by the Indonesian Peatland Restoration Agency, these efforts reduced wildfire hotspots by up to 22% in restored areas during the 2019 El Nino. Peatland fires that year were down 38% compared to 2015. However, Indonesia's peatland restoration mandate ended in 2024, and the work is now fragmented across several ministries, raising concerns about the program's continuity. Agrilo is an innovative soil testing system developed at MacEwan University. It uses a smartphone camera to read color changes and measure soil nutrients, costing about $10 per test. It's now being deployed more widely, and is paired with a virtual reality training platform called AgriloVR to ensure consistent use among farmers. However, the current information doesn't provide data on adoption rates, farmer uptake, or changes in fertilizer efficiency or crop yield so far. We appreciate you listening. Until next time. That's it for today. That was 5 things going right. Come back tomorrow for 5 more.