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Saturdays are for sunshine — especially for your ears. With another election, ongoing wars and natural disasters, the news can be a lot to take in. To share the bright side of humanity, CNN Audio recently launched a new weekend edition of the flagship 5 Things podcast. Every Saturday morning on 5 Good Things, take a breather from the headlines and hear all the uplifting happenings across the world. We sat down with CNN Audio Producer and Co-Host Krista Bo for a behind-the-scenes look into its development and story selection process. 

Tell us about this exciting new Saturday edition of 5 Things. Where did the inspiration come from, and what was it like developing the show? 

We are so excited about 5 Good Things because the world could use a reminder that there’s a lot of good happening in the world. It’s important to stay informed, but we know the news can sometimes get overwhelming. We wanted to offer people a chance to unwind and feel a sense of hope about what’s going right. We’re deeming Saturdays for sunshine and smiles to start the weekend on a positive note! 

It took about six weeks to find our groove, but we’re having a lot of fun with it. It’s been really rewarding to share these stories. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. 

I was born and raised in New Jersey, and I’ve been at CNN since 2017. I worked in TV covering mainly politics until podcasting called my name in 2021. I’ve been with CNN Audio ever since, where I cover the latest news on 5 Things. Telling listeners the five things they need to know five days a week is a pretty wide net! But it’s important to me to have a life outside of work. I’ve found going dancing on the weekends has been fun and therapeutic for me. I also crushed my first half marathon last fall, and I intend to run a full one in 2025 after I get married. 

How does the story selection process work? 

We look for stories where we can hear from the people living them. It’s a privilege to share how proud people are about the differences they’re making in their communities and how they’ve overcome adversity. Scientific breakthroughs and acts of kindness are changing people’s lives for the better. History is being made and records are being broken, so we want to tell those stories. 

When we consider a story, we put ourselves in the listener’s shoes and ask: does this make me smile or giggle? Give me a sense of hope? Tell me something surprising I didn’t know already? Is it a conversation starter? If the answer is ‘yes,’ we pursue it. 

What do you hope audiences take away?     

We want people to know that there are things happening every day that are worth celebrating and smiling over. We hope the more people hear about the best humanity has to offer, the higher the chance those good vibes will stay – and spread! 

🎬   CNN Watchlist

A show so good it needs two networks: CNN is airing a special encore presentation of HBO’s highly acclaimed talk show Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturdays at 8P/ET, following its airing on HBO on Friday nights.