The Bear of Bad News Episode 4

IntroHello, my name is welcome to the Bear of Bad News, I’m your host LorBear, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so I won’t! This is your weekly recap of positive news stories from around the world. Articles included in this broadcast were originally published from March 22-28 2026.The stories in this episode are sourced from various news outlets and publications. The Bear of Bad News does not conduct independent fact-checking or verification of these stories. Listeners are encouraged to review original sources for accuracy and complete context. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of third-party reporting.Which is a fancy way of saying I read it, I didn’t report it, and here are this week’s stories:Articles March 22nd to 28th 2026He was arrested while repainting Dallas’ rainbow crosswalks. He’d do it all againhttps://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2026/03/25/he-was-arrested-while-repainting-dallas-rainbow-crosswalks-he-said-hed-do-it-all-again/The US’s largest offshore wind farm just produced its first powerhttps://electrek.co/2026/03/25/us-largest-wind-farm-just-produced-power-for-the-first-time/Hawaii tests asphalt made with recycled plastics and fishing nets for sheddinghttps://phys.org/news/2026-03-hawaii-asphalt-recycled-plastics-fishing.htmlHow iNaturalist app users have fun while aiding sciencehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-inaturalist-app-users-have-fun-while-aiding-science/Anonymous donor gives $1M to hospital nurses pay off student debthttps://local12.com/news/nation-world/anonymous-donor-gives-million-dollars-to-hospital-nurses-pay-off-student-debt-healthcare-generous-giftA soothing study session: Students cram in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw as musicians playhttps://apnews.com/article/music-students-amsterdam-concertgebouw-2cd5161649aca5e4264f1000c7e0e11cDiscarded oyster shells may pull rare earth metals from polluted waterhttps://phys.org/news/2026-03-discarded-oyster-shells-rare-earth.html#google_vignetteEU Parliament wants to ban Nudifier appshttps://www.heise.de/en/news/EU-Parliament-wants-to-ban-Nudifier-apps-11226458.htmlListening to music for 24 minutes may ease anxiety, study findshttps://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-music-minutes-ease-anxiety.htmlA South African reserve shows how carbon can catalyze rewilding conservationhttps://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-south-african-reserve-shows-how-carbon-can-catalyze-rewilding-conservation/A Tale of Two ParagraphsAnd that is the end of this weeks articles, hopefully they added a little positive joy to your life. Before we end, I have our final segment of the show, something I like to call A Tale of Two Paragraphs.In this segment, I take the first and last paragraph from an article on substack or another similar source, and read them to you, to encourage you to go read the article yourself. Many people forget the power of the written word to move us, and how intriguing the middle of the story is. The less I read the better, but people often want to know how we got to endings more than the endings themselves, and maybe then you will go exploring the substack and read the paragraphs in between.This weeks article is from substack, entitled “I Stumbled Across My Boyfriend’s ChatGPT and It Ended Our Relationship,” it comes from Lindsey Hall. Her paragraphs are short, so more than one is included for clarity.I find out my now ex-boyfriend had been questioning his feelings and attraction to me in the most dystopian, laughably modern way possible: ChatGPT.Laid on his couch, midnight on a Friday, I was working late as he snoozed blissfully on my shoulder when my phone died in the heat of a client exchange.“S**t,” I mumbled. Pivoting, I grabbed his laptop off the floor to run my final, fatigued, glassy-eyed client response through AI.As I powered his computer, his ChatGPT - almost poetically - was already front and center on the screen.As I copied and pasted my email — I peered to the left side of the screen and that’s when I saw it in the sidebar: a past chat titled relationship issues and uncertainty.A few paragraphs in between and an ending of:In the end, I had wandered by accident into the back office of his love for me and found the paperwork. The doubts, the calculations, the small private notations beside my name. Maybe this is ordinary. Maybe all love looks less romantic under fluorescent light.But after that, I could not return to the front of the house and pretend I had not seen the ledger.You can find more musings from Lindsey, as well as, photos of her cat and more insights on life at OutroWe hope you enjoyed our show everyone, thanks for tuning in, and until next time, I hate to be the Bear of Bad News, so I won’t! Have a good day.Thanks for reading The Bear of Bad News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebearofbadnews.substack.com