WBUR's Kind World to Launch Holiday Series

WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, will launch a special holiday edition of Kind World beginning Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The five-part series will highlight stories of kindness and the profound effect that one act can have on individual lives. The series will air on WBUR’s Morning Edition (5 a.m. – 9 a.m.) on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and every Thursday after that until Christmas Eve.

“At WBUR, we feel a responsibility to tell stories across the human spectrum, from the heartbreak that so often dominates our journalism, to the acts of kindness, generosity and caring that characterize so much of human existence,” said WBUR General Manager Charlie Kravetz. “Kind World is a commitment on our part to seek out and tell stories that capture this essential part of our lives. These stories are moving and elemental parts of the tapestry of life in the 21st Century and we are proud to bring them to our listeners. Our goal is to reflect the complexities of our existence and the full range of human conduct. Kind World acknowledges the good that is so pervasive in our lives, our relationships and throughout our communities.”

Kind World was born as an online experiment in 2012. WBUR’s then Digital Producer Nate Goldman (now at New York Magazine), proposed the idea to explore people’s experiences with acts of kindness to WBUR’s iLab, the station’s incubator for new projects. Kind World debuted as a simple Tumblr with user-generated content, and its popularity led to stories being developed for WBUR radio. Today, in addition to its seasonal radio run, it is a podcast and an ongoing online project at wbur.org.

The 2015 Kind World series on WBUR’s Morning Edition will spotlight exceptional people who put the needs of others first, such as a doctor who goes above and beyond her Hippocratic oath and comforts a family through terminal illness; an instructor who takes a chance on a woman in a wheelchair who wants to learn aerial acrobatics; and a young man who saves the lives of a group of women and orphans during his mission to rescue massacre survivors in the Congo.

“For Kind World, we set out to find unforgettable stories of people who have changed the lives of others,” said Erika Lantz, associate producer for the WBUR iLab who’s producing the Kind World series. “I think these stories will have a profound impact on listeners.”

The series will air on WBUR’s Morning Edition (5 a.m. – 9 a.m.) on Tuesday, November 24; Thursday, Dec. 3; Thursday, Dec. 17; and Thursday, Dec. 24. Subscribe on iTunes or read the full story after the radiocast online at the Kind World website. Listeners can share their own stories and thoughts on the series on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #kindworld.

Major funding for the WBUR iLab is provided by Biogen, committed to the community, science education and carbon neutrality. Explore more innovative projects on the WBUR iLab website.