The Happy Pod: Why I danced for seven days straight

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Oh, look. You just got added to a meeting about coordinating another meeting to prepare for the pre-meeting ahead of the follow-up meeting, which will, of course, require a recap meeting. And then another meeting. It's your booking point. Book with Southwest and an error plane mode. Behind every company's success story, there's a CEO with a judgment call, a $1.6 billion bet that Wall Street just didn't get, a crisis that pressure tested the company's values, a choice to disrupt everything with AI. Join me, Jimmy Allen from Bayneck Company, as CEOs from the Economist, Mars, Khan Academy, and more reveal the decisions, tension and conviction that define them. This is Fathers mentality, the CEO sessions.

1:04Season two, stay curious. This is the happy pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Helena Burke and in this edition, we find out how and why a man in Nigeria danced for seven days straight. On the top day, I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply, but I always remember why I started and I kept going. And I kept going. We look at the impact of the millions of free books given to children by Dolly Parton and how her dream is now being expanded. Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home for the books. You will never know unless you try. The story of a theatre worker who's gone from sweeping the aisles to performing on center stage. The 11-year-old chess prodigy who's made history as the youngest woman grandmaster ever.

2:07And how a man in Scotland played the long game, spending 25 years pulling off the perfect prank on his best mate. Hi Kevin, remember me? And it was with a picture of someone wearing the top in London. Who is your passion? I have no idea. We begin in Nigeria where a dancer has waltzed his way into the record books. Benjamin Daniel or Ben Dancer's, he's better known, shuffled, swayed and spun his way through seven days of almost non-stop dancing. The 33-year-old was attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon using the challenge to highlight the struggles faced by professional dancers across Africa. I asked Ben what it was like to keep the rhythm going for 168 hours straight. I started from the first day the pain was intense.

3:09On the third day I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply. But I always remember where I started. I said we have a target and we have to keep going. And I kept going. And I had the right scene. They were with me, they understood my goal. Ben fell in love with dance as a child and he since built a career as a professional dancer in Nigeria. But his years in the industry showed him that there were some serious problems. There are no structures that helps protect the dancers and then give them a sustainable and long life. If you look at the situation of producers and writers in music, they get published, they have royalties that keeps them going even after their career. So for dancers, once you dance on a video set, once you dance maybe on a production, that's all. They just pay you for a production that you did and that's all.

4:10You have to pay for your medical because you have to take care of your body because our body is our tool. You pay for the rehearsal space, that's pay for costumes and all of this. So by the time you come back, there's not so much that you can leave with. Ben wanted to bring the world's attention to the plight of African dancers. So he knew he had to do something big. The current Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon is five days and seven hours. Ben knew that with enough training, he could beat it. I was swimming for my bread control. I was boxing. I was being weightlifting and I was being cardio. I was being yoga. So all of these things helped to prepare my body, prepare my mind for the seven days, paying I was about to embark on. After two years of preparation, Ben took to the stage in the city of Lagos. The Guinness World Record rules stipulate that for every one hour of dancing,

5:14you can have five minutes of rest. What I did was I will dance for eight hours. Then have 14 minutes. So it is enough 14 minutes that I'll go to my resting room. In those 40 minute breaks, Ben would sleep, use the toilet, and get checked by a medical team. But what about eating and drinking? I was eating on the stage. You will see there's a little table by the side. While I'm still dancing, I'm still eating. There were many times Ben wanted to give up as he felt his body or mind start to give way. But the constant stream of people coming to cheer him on kept him going. They would come during their walk time, they would drive to me, they would check if I'm still standing. Because at a point, people were doubting if I was going to make it. So they kept coming to check. So every time I see them, I get the courage to push.

6:17I feel like giving up whenever I see their faces and their laugh and their smile. Even when I'm in pain, I will smile at them. I will thank them for coming and I'm still dancing. Ben is still waiting for his record to be officially ratified. But he's already achieved his bigger goal, shining a global spotlight on Africa's professional dancers. Beyond dance as an entertainment, dancers are costumes of culture globally. For Africa, for every part of the world, dancers are costumes of culture. I knew that the victory was not for me alone. The whole world, the dancers, now they have a voice. There's new hope for the new generation. Ben dancer. The death of Dolly Parton six weeks ago sparked an outpouring of grief and love from across the world. But the Queen of Country wasn't just beloved for her music. Dolly was almost as well known for her philanthropy as she was for her songs.

7:18Since 1995, Dolly Parton's imagination library has been delivering free books to children every month. Today, the charity operates across five countries. In the wake of Dolly's passing, the scheme is now being expanded here in the UK, meaning tens of thousands more children will receive free books every month. Alfie Tobert has the details. Growing up poor with 11 siblings in rural Tennessee, books weren't a big part of Dolly Parton's childhood. Well, we didn't have books in our home because there were so many of us kids and Daddy told us not to bring books home because kids just chew on and peon them and do whatever kids do. So he said, I can't afford to pay for books. It was Dolly's father's inability to read or write that inspired her to do something about low literacy rates in the United States. Now, he was one of the wisest men I've ever known, but I knew in my heart this inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true.

8:22So inspiring kids to love to read became my passion and my mission. In 1995, Dolly launched the imagination library in her hometown in Tennessee, sending a book a month via post to children from birth until they turned five. The program grew rapidly. Really, the imagination library only had humble ambitions at the beginning. It was only ever supposed to be for Dolly's local town, but it goes so well in the local town. It goes countywide, so well countyguys, it goes statewide. And today it's up to sending books to one in five children across America. That's Steve Corris from Dolly's Charity, the Dollywood Foundation. The imagination library was so successful in the US that it expanded into Canada in 2006, followed by the UK, then Australia, and most recently Ireland. Steve says more than 340 million free books have now been given to children through the program. It's amazing. I mean, we continuously hear stories of family saying to us,

9:24they can't really believe that it's such a great service because it's a free book that gets delivered through the letterbox every month. And it's a real nudge reminder for parents and families to sit down with their children and read. There's a robust body of research showing that reading to young children helps their cognitive, linguistic and emotional development. Books can also teach children important lessons about values like kindness and optimism, like Dolly's favourite imagination library book, The Little Engine That Cood. All the dolls and toy animals begin to smile and cheer. Puff, puff, chug, chug went the little blue engine. I think I can, I think, I can, I think, I can. The imagination library is now being expanded in the UK. The program, which currently operates in three boroughs in London, will soon be available in ten boroughs. Steve Corris says this expansion will see an additional 120,000 children become eligible for a

10:24free book every month. So really what we're trying to do across many London boroughs is to provide a community wide experience for children to get involved in the program so that within a whole community you'll have the same children all and going to school, having read the same books. We usually start off with communities enrolling 10, 15% within their first six months of starting. But we know through other communities that was worked with that, you know, we can get up to 80, even 90% of the local area becoming involved in the program over time. For London parents like Harriet's and her daughter Sienna, the imagination library has been life-changing. It looks at us, Sky. It looks at us. Wow. What do you think is about to shout? There's a shark in the park. There's a shark in the park. Next page. We read together every day and that's been made possible because we get a book once a month, so it's been a huge difference. And now that it's being expanded, what difference do you think it will make overall for children in the capital? This is going to make a word of a difference

11:26because what is going to mean is that parents that have to worry about buying books, because buying books can be quite expensive. Throughout her 60-year career, Dolly Parton sold over a hundred million records, wrote some more than 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards. But the star said her greatest achievement was delivering books to children across the world. Before he passed away, my daddy told me that the imagination library probably was the most important thing I'd ever done. Now I can't tell you how much that meant to me because I created the imagination library as a tribute to my daddy. Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books. The first step is always the hardest, but you will never know unless you try. The late Dolly Parton ending that report by Alfie Tobit. To another performer now, this one on the other side of the world in Australia. Ellen Ebb's was working as an usher at the theatre royal Sydney, helping people get to their seats

12:28and cleaning up after performances. As she watched the musicals, the 24-year-old dreamed of being on the stage herself. Two months ago, Ellen stepped into the spotlight for the first time at the same theatre where she used to sweep the aisles. In a production of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof, I spoke to Ellen about her journey from the stalls to the stage. I came straight out of Drone School, graduated, moved back home and was like, right, let's get, as we call, a mogul job. And I started working at theatre royal Sydney as an usher, and I loved it. I was like, this was like a hack for a person that is trying to be in theatre, getting paid to what shows every night. And performers that I looked up to so much, and every night just felt like a free masterclass, to be honest. And when you were in the theatre and the performance was going, were you ever imagining yourself up there on the stage? I definitely was quietly manifesting it, but truly I was, I would kind of

13:32tell myself, okay, maybe in like five years time, I would be up there. You tell me about how you came to be cast in Fiddler on the Roof. You originally auditioned for a different role, didn't you? Not the role of Hodor that you ended up getting. I did a self-tape, and then I got called into the room, and they called me back for the title, which is actually the oldest star. So I presented the title material, and then the next callback was actually the final, and that was with Jordan Fine, the director from the original region's park, Open Air Production. And I presented the title material, and then he was like, okay, can you leave the room for one second? And I was like, oh God, what's what I've done? And then they actually got me to do the Hodor material. Two weeks later, my agent called me, and I was on the way to dinner with my friend, and I was like walking on the street, and she called me, and I was just like in complete shock. I just fell to the ground and like started crying, because I just, I could not believe it there that I

14:36booked the show. What was opening night like? How did it feel when you first stepped out onto the stage, and the same theater where you used to work? It was crazy. It was, I've never felt a feeling like that, even just coming into the wing. I got a wave of emotion that I wasn't really expecting, because the fire exit door was right near the wing. And like, as an usher, you need to check the fire exits, and I would always take my time and, you know, look around, sit, look in the wings, and like try to get a peak, because I was the closest you could get to the stage as an usher. And so when we walked on the stage, I was like, oh my God, I could just like see myself as an usher in that area, but this time I was performing. And then as soon as that curtain kind of lifted, I could just see a packed theater under this wall of energy. And then I could see the usher on the side. I just immediately, the tear came out of my eye, because I was just like, this is so crazy. Like this is so full circle. And so yeah, it came out into it, so I just, yeah, I couldn't

15:42hold it in. It was truly incredible. And when you're on stage performing, do you ever see your old colleagues out out in the stalls? Yes, of course, every single night, and they used to love it, because I could see them. I'd be like, okay, there's Cianna at door one, James is at door two. I could see who was who and who was where. So I could like feel their energy and like cheering me on. And on the closing night on Saturday, just gone, it was so cute. They all came in for bows, and there was like 15 ushers on either side of stage left, right, screaming and cheering, and all like filming. It was just so beautiful and really, really nice to have their support throughout the whole thing. Ellen Ebs. Coming up in this podcast, how two decades of mysterious emails and a missing football jersey came to a head. I instantly knew it was the top. It was the E top. I was just lost for words.

16:47I couldn't believe that the fact that it was literally 25 years as well. Behind every company's success story, there's a CEO with a judgment call, a $1.6 billion bet that Wall Street just didn't get, a crisis that pressure tested the company's values, a choice to disrupt everything with AI. Join me, Jimmy Allen from Baynec Company, as CEOs from the economist, Mars, Khan Academy, and more reveal the decisions, tension, and conviction that define them. This is Fathers mentality, the CEO's sessions. Season two, stay curious. Our mission is 24-7 access to fresh food for all. This is Hota Kotby from Joy 101 with Hota Kotby, and that was Jelae Hemings. She and her husband created nourish and bloom market. When we decided to open this 24-7 AI grocery store, people thought we were crazy, but our first store was completely community-funded,

17:49and when your family and your friends bet on you, it hits a little differently. And the city of Atlanta took notice and decided to be part of the change. But the city actually put dollars behind that change, and said that the big-box stores won't come will build our own. One community-funded store became several, but eradicating food deserts across the country takes more than a village. We won the AT&T Small Business Contest ramp, and that was what we needed to open the first AI-powered shipping container grocery store in the country. Having a powerhouse like AT&T stand behind you, takes it to a whole new level. Connecting changes everything. AT&T. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilion. It's stock up sale time, which means you can save big by stocking up on all your personal care favorites. Now through November 3rd, shop in store and online and save $10 when you spend $25 or more on participating products like Dove, shampoo, and antiperspirant, skin-timmed razors, larial conditioner, Q-tips, cotton swabs, trace mA hairspray,

18:49and Jurgons Moisturizer. Offer ends November 3rd, restrictions apply. Overs May varied. Visit Albertsons, Vons, or Pavilions.com for more details. This is Steve Covino from Covino and Rich. All right, quick round of trivia before we get back into the show. But we're doing it differently this time. Every guy listening right now, you're contestant. No buzzers, no calling in. Just answer honestly to yourself. Here we go. You got a belly and a little chest that won't go away no matter what you try. Gasped by the middle of the afternoon, no drive left in the tank, and lastly, you lacked that confidence in mental edge. Fellows, here's the thing. Those are classic signs that your testosterone has been sliding. And nothing drags it down faster than extra weight. The good news? Emerging research suggests that getting rid of it may actually be more effective than TRT. So why not take matters into your own hands? Strip off the weight that tanks your testosterone with Bioma GLP-1 booster. Every serving is packed with science-backed and third-party tested ingredients that crank up your natural GLP-1 production. So you can enjoy a leaner physique, surging energy, and increased drive.

19:54Visit bioma.health slash GLP-1 and use code CR Show to get 15% off your first order. That's bioma.health slash GLP-1 code CR Show for 15% off. An 11-year-old girl has become the youngest chess player in history to achieve the title of woman grandmaster. Badana Simanandan, who's from London, reached the milestone at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. Lucy Etterson has the details. When Badana Simanandum sits down to face her opponents, the 11-year-old needs a booster seat to lift her high enough to see across the chessboard. But that hasn't stopped her reaching incredible heights. On September the 27th, Badana earned her third woman grandmaster norm at the annual Chess Olympiad in Samakand. Norms are games at elite tournaments that count towards international titles. Securing her third norm meant Badana had met all the requirements to become a woman grandmaster.

20:58I didn't really know that I got my final norm and I didn't realise I was the youngest to do so either, but yeah, it was up in snow. I feel like it's kind of sunk in a bit. Badana first started playing chess at the age of five during the Covid lockdown. After discovering an old set that belonged to her father, she quickly became fascinated by the game. I really liked how the pieces looked, especially the night and the queen. I wanted to use them as toys outside of chess, but then my dad told me that the next person who got the board wouldn't be able to play chess properly, so instead he taught me the basics and how to play and then I liked it so from that I kept on playing. By the age of eight, Badana had become the youngest player ever to draw against a grandmaster at a European championship. A year later, she became the youngest female player to beat one. I kind of just kept going to tournaments and I enjoyed it as well. I had to learn a lot more about the game and still a lot more to learn now.

22:03And then I learned about concepts and things like that. And then I kind of just searched up videos on YouTube and just found them and so what I liked and I just enjoyed it. While chess remains a male-dominated sport, female participation is growing rapidly. According to the International Chess Federation, the number of women and girls taking part is increasing across every region of the world. The Women Grandmaster title is the highest female only distinction in chess. The most prestigious achievement overall is the open-grandmaster title which can be earned by players of any gender. 44 women in history have achieved that honour. Could Badana become number 45? For now, the 11-year-old says she's taking things one move at a time. I'm not sure what exactly is next. I don't think I have like a set. I just want to keep playing tournaments and enjoying chess and see how far I can go. But down to 7-Undan ending that report by Lucy Adjacen.

23:05If you're under the age of 40, there's a good chance that most couples you know met on a dating app. But for many singles, swiping is more frustrating than fruitful. Mary Timby was feeling exactly this way when she decided to try and find love in a very old-fashioned way. On a whim, she flew from the US to Ireland for a matchmaking festival that's been bringing people together every year since 1857. There, she met Jason. My colleague Sheila Flynn spoke to the couple about their unconventional love story. I had been to the festival three to four times in the past. I kind of come back for the Irish traditional music and the culture. And yeah, I see Mary in the matchmaker bear and here we are today. Mary, tell me what your first impressions were of the festival and whether it lived up to expectations or was different. The culture here is just the warmth and I felt really at home. I felt very welcomed. I had ran into a couple women from Jersey and I told

24:10them, oh, there's this matchmaking festival in the student varna. I think I'm going to stop by and we just sort of joined forces and went to the festival together. The next day, I woke up and my Irish Airbnb host said, how was it? How was it? Did you meet anyone? What do you think? And I said, well, you know, it was kind of slow. The age group was older and my Airbnb host said, you should you should go back tonight because I heard that the younger folks come out at night and I said, okay, I'll I'll give it another try. So we're at the matchmaking bar and I go to the bar to get a drink and there's this handsome Irishman there. I was staying open. I didn't think much of it and then he came up and said hello. Yeah, I went over and introduced myself. A conversation was kind of flown at the time and it just felt really genuine connection. But unfortunately I didn't have much time in my hands. So I got her name and I said, oh, sure, I might see you around. And then the next day, I found her on social media and I sent her a text and I said, look, here's my number.

25:13I'd like to maybe meet for a coffee. It wasn't nothing kind of over fancy or anything like that. I'm glad you followed up. Yeah. And what had both of your expectations been about actually finding a match at the festival? There is no formal program to this festival. You don't go and get matched. You go, you dance, you connect and that's how the festival has been for 160 years. So let's go back to your courtship and how it developed. When I sent a message, I wasn't really expecting anything back. So when I did get a response, I just shoved it to myself. We were kind of just chatting for a while and then I can ask Mary was she around from much longer? And she actually told me that she was returning home. So I was a bit devastated about that but didn't... I extended my trip for the boy. And we went to dinner and conversations just flowed and there was a connection and I just kept extending my time here. I mean we've really fallen in love. I did eventually have to go

26:19home to real life and that was so tough. It was. It was hard. It was very hard. Tears at the airport, it was very tough to start a long distance relationship but it ended up being a really great opportunity for us to slow things down a little bit from the world. If you got responses from people saying because of you, I got this idea to go to List Student Varno. I have received many messages saying, hey I'm going to List and Varno because I saw your video and I'm so excited for them and excited that they're taking that chance to put your phone down and put yourself out there and good things will come to you. You know it may be at a matchmaking festival in Ireland or it may be on a hike or it may be on a boat ride but I think just putting yourself out there is really defected by a squeaky guess. Sometimes you just got to take the leap forward and see who you go. Mary Timby and Jason Mangon. We end this episode in Scotland with a prank between friends that

27:24lasted for a quarter of a century. It began in 2001 when Kevin Hill went searching for his favorite football top, a green and white Celtic strip with the name of his favourite player on the back. He couldn't find it. A few weeks later he started to receive strange emails updating him about the jerseys whereabouts. Stephen Godden has the story. Ian Wright's brief spell at Celtic at the turn of the century was a less celebrated chapter in the Arsenal Legends career but for one fan it brought together his two footballing loves in one perfect present. My name is Kevin, massive Celtic fan. To have my absolute hero sign for us and be able to have his name on the back of a team shirt is just amazing. But to Kevin's school friend Chris the strip provided an opportunity for some friendly revenge. Kevin played a prank on me and I was determined to get him back. I took his Celtic strip unbeknownst to him with Ian Wright in the back, very recognisable strip,

28:28sent it off round the world, set up a fake email address and sent them periodically photographs of it in exotic locations. Hi Kevin, remember me? Yeah that's right, it's your Ian Wright Celtic strip and it was with a picture of someone wearing the tops in London. Who was the person? I have no idea. I've a new somebody who's going holiday, I'd send it off for them and say like just get a random stranger, ideally in front of a recognisable landmark, hold up the strip, get a photograph and job done. I think it was Barcelona. It went to Venice. It then filmed its way to Turkey. Chicago, Lake Michigan, Puerto Rico. I was asked to go, Machu Picchu, Vegas. Vegas, yes it did go to Vegas. Easter Island, of course, was a cracker. If you had to pick out one favourite. I would say it's Christ the Redeemer in Brazil because it's a place that person I would love to go to, so the fact that my strip's been there but I haven't is quite a cool story I think. But any worthwhile prank needs a good reveal. I got an invitation to his wedding and I thought

29:33right this was a perfect time, gathered everyone around and said Kevin got a little surprise for you. Hey, how you doing? Come and have a look at this. Hand over the present and the opened it which was obviously the photo book with all the photographs on the return of the strip. I instantly knew it was the top. It was a D top. I was just lost for words. I couldn't believe that the fact that it was literally 25 years as well, so nice number. I've got a slight confession. It's not the original strip. I'm afraid to say it's not. Oh no. The original lost somewhere in South America. A convincing replacement was hard to find. The solution involved eBay and iron on lettering. A lot of love went into that. I was waiting to say you've done very well then. Still friends? Of course. Absolutely. Yeah. You're done. Thanks. Kevin Hill and Chris Robertson. And that's all from the happy pod for now. We'd love to hear from you.

30:35As ever, the address is global podcast at bbc.co.uk. I'm Helena Burke and the editor is Karen Martin. Until next time. Goodbye. Part of why I blew the whistle was I didn't want to lay in bed in 20 years. Having seen another million people die. I know that I could have done something when I had a chance. This week on the interface, we're talking to Francis Haugan, the Facebook whistleblower who leaked the documents that changed how the world saw social media. And now she is the subject of Aaron Sorkin's latest movie, The Social Reckoning. So join me, Thomas Dermain, and me, Jess Maddox, for the interface. Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcast.