In this podcast excerpt, host Shankar Vedantam announces a new weekly series called My Unsung Hero, inspired by the Unsung Hero segment that concludes each Hidden Brain episode. The show is positioned as an antidote to the despair many feel from news and social media, aiming to restore hope by sharing brief, human‑centered stories of ordinary people offering presence, courage, or lifesaving help. Several speakers—including Tony Ludlow and unnamed contributors—share personal testimonies of moments when strangers or helpers stood with them, offered a comforting touch, or saved a loved one’s life. Shankar explains that each episode will feature a single act of heroism, big or small, that transformed a life. The launch is slated for October 7, and listeners are encouraged to subscribe to receive the full episodes.
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Hey there, Shankar here. I want to tell you about a new show we are launching. It's called My Unsung Hero, and it's inspired by the segment at the end of every Hidden Brain episode where we thank someone who helped us. Here's the reason we started the new show. For years, you've told us that the Unsung Hero segment at the end of our episodes is one of your favorite parts of the show.
So we wanted to give you the opportunity to share I put my elbows on one of the windows and completely lost it, just sobbing. A person came up, put their hand on my left shoulder, and just left it there. No words, just presence.
He just stood with me. He stood there with me for maybe 20 minutes. We didn't have any conversation, but he just—
My first response was to say, no, no, no, I'm fine, I'm fine, I got this. And she looked at me with the most assertive, strong look on her face and said, I'm helping you.
My Unsung Hero is designed to be an antidote to the despair so many of us feel when we turn on TV news or scroll through social media. The stories in the show will remind us of the many ways people are brave, Generous and kind.
She took my hand and she leaned in forward real close to me, and she said, Tony Ludlow, I expect greatness from you. And I'd never heard anybody challenge me with that kind of thing in my whole life.
Each week, we'll share a story about a moment when one person helped another in a time of need, and we'll show you how these acts of heroism Some big, some small, transformed someone's life.
You could have done nothing. You could have just driven away. So I would say thank you. Thank you for saving my mother's life. Thank you for preserving her dignity.
You changed my life, and it's probably impossible for you to know how many lives you've changed. But if, if that's—
Thank you for making me feel heard.
We're going to feature some of the episodes of the new show in this feed, but the best way to get all the episodes is to subscribe to My Unsung Hero. My Unsung Hero, coming October 7th. I promise it will make you feel more hopeful about the world.
