Five Things Going Right: September 28, 2026

Five real advances in science, medicine, technology, and the environment, each verified against the original reporting. In this episode: A ketogenic diet produced the greatest improvements in liver and metabolic health compared to other diets; Ice baths, massage, compression gear, and supplements have mixed effectiveness for workout recovery, with ice; Guatemala's La Aurora Zoo has for the first time raised tropical gar fish in captivity and released hundreds; A group of formerly incarcerated women sued and won to get air conditioning in every Texas prison; Archaeologists risked their lives to save approximately 30,000 artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum during.

Stan Berteloot is a French-American journalist, marketing strategist, and AI expert based in Princeton, New Jersey. A University of Maryland journalism graduate, he navigates the intersection of storytelling, technology, and culture. As Head of Strategy and CTO at Nytro Marketing, he pioneered AI-driven content creation, launching the AI in Marketing podcast. He also hosts Back in America, a podcast exploring American identity through in-depth conversations on race, misinformation, and AI ethics. Start your VoiceStream free trial today!

📚 Sources:

• https://scitechdaily.com/losing-the-same-weight-didnt-produce-the-same-health-benefits/
• https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reveal-what-workout-recovery-techniques-actually-work/
• https://phys.org/news/2026-09-guatemala-survival-vulnerable-fossil-fish.html
• https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/lioness-justice-formerly-incarcerated-prison-air-conditioning
• https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/archaeologists-risked-their-lives-to-save-thousands-of-treasures-from-isis-terrorists/

What is Five Things Going Right?

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 Five Things Going Right, the news that's actually good. Five stories, five minutes, all of them true. Hi everyone, I'm Grace. Today is Monday, September 28th, 2026. And I'm Josh. Let's dive into today's stories. A new study from Wash U Medicine has some interesting findings on weight loss and metabolic health. They conducted a randomized clinical trial with adults who have obesity. Right. And what's fascinating is that participants lost about 10% of their starting weight across three different diets. However, the health outcomes weren't the same for each diet. The ketogenic diet stood out, showing the greatest improvements in liver and metabolic health. It highlights that losing the same amount of weight doesn't guarantee the same metabolic benefits. The report didn't detail which other diets were tested or how long the benefits lasted after the intervention ended, though. Workout recovery. The University of Bath has been looking into common recovery methods like ice baths, massages, compression gear, and supplements. Their findings suggest that the effectiveness of these methods is mixed. An important takeaway is that feeling less sore doesn't always mean your muscles have fully recovered. They also pointed out a potential downside to using ice baths too frequently. While they might reduce soreness, they could interfere with other parts of the recovery process. The report emphasizes these nuances rather than endorsing a single best method. In conservation news, the Marine Conservation Center at La Aurora Zoo in Guatemala City has made a breakthrough with the tropical garfish. They successfully raised these fish in captivity for the first time and released hundreds of fry into the wild. The tropical gar is a vulnerable species, known for its torpedo shape and alligator-like snout. Often called a fossil fish, the report doesn't mention the survival rate of the released fry or the long-term impact on the population. And there's no word yet on whether the breeding program will continue. Let's talk about a significant legal victory in Texas. A group led by formerly incarcerated women has been advocating for air conditioning in Texas prisons. That's right. They worked through the Lioness Justice Impacted Women's Alliance and sued to require air conditioning in every Texas prison. This is a big win, especially considering the harsh summers in Texas. Lastly, a new study sheds light on a daring rescue of artifacts in Syria. Archaeologists saved around 30,000 artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum. This happened as the city was under threat of capture by ISIS in 2014 and 2015. The workers risked their lives to move the artifacts to safety. The study documents the entire rescue operation, which was crucial in preserving these pieces of history. That's all for today's stories. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back with more updates next time. Take care. That's it for today. That was 5 Things Going Right. Come back tomorrow for 5 more.