Your Brain is Wired to Seek Out Bad News - Here's The Good News You Need Anyway with WVXU's Lucy May

“In a time that feels very dark and hopeless, they're finding hope in the humanity of others, not just what they're doing, but what they see communities doing to help.”

- Lucy May, Cincinnati journalist, on one of the stories of the year that brought her hope


“I'm thinking about the ripple effect and the fact that you know, who started this? It was one person who said, ‘Geez, you know, this is this massive issue happening on a national scale. And I can either choose to feel completely powerless, like I have no agency and lament it, or I can just say, What's one more thing I can do?’”

- Jackie Congedo, on the local person who started the program Grocery Buddies this year, to fill in the gap when SNAP benefits fall short


In a year dominated by heavy headlines, in this episode of The Upstander Ripple Effect, we made a deliberate choice to end with hope and light. Joined by longtime journalist and host of WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition, Lucy May, the hosts explore why our brains gravitate toward bad news—and why seeking out “points of light” is not naïve, but necessary.

Through powerful stories of wrongful conviction, radical forgiveness, and neighbors stepping up for neighbors, the episode makes the case that hope is an act of courage — and essential for us as upstanders to keep moving forward.


This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Center for Storytelling. Subscribe here https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity

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Episode Resources

Watch Lovely Jackson, the documentary about Rickey Jackson
https://www.amazon.com/Lovely-Jackson-Matt-Waldeck/dp/B0DZ28SSMC

Listen to the Cincinnati Edition episode covering Rickey’s story
https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2025-10-20/rickey-jackson-lovely-jackson-innocence-project

Find out more about the Grocery Buddies program
https://grocery-buddies.org/

Listen to WVXU coverage of the Grocery Buddies
https://www.wvxu.org/news-from-npr/2025-11-01/as-snap-benefits-run-dry-grocery-buddies-are-footing-their-neighbors-food-bills

https://www.wvxu.org/local-news/2025-11-11/snap-recipients-shutdown-grocery-buddies-cincinnati

https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2025-11-26/cincinnati-community-comes-together-to-fill-gaps-in-hunger

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Read Kevin’s column about Ja’Marr Chase and his handling of the rude fan who wanted an autograph

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/2025/06/30/cincinnati-bengals-jamarr-chase-plane-tiktok-fan/84412070007/

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