Leela and I were thrilled to do another super cool video interview – this time with The Hindu. We really loved chatting with reporter Praveen Sudevan, who’s always so well researched and engaging. Thanks for giving us the chance to chat and talk about our mission!
What’s our mission, you asked?
Why do we produce a weekly world news podcast for smart kids and curious adults? WHY do we want kids to hear news that’s happening beyond their neighborhood. No. Let me try again. Why do we want kids to eagerly look forward* to hearing world news?
Because hearing about what happens around the world makes us better people. Simple. Learning more about subjects we might not hear otherwise (space, nature, festivals around the world, people and cultures different to us) makes us more open minded and more empathetic people. These are not just super important life skills (parent alert! parent alert!), but also make the world a better place.
But there’s more.
As we said in our conversation with Praveen, since producing Newsy Pooloozi I’ve come to realize how monochrome mainstream media is. How much it focuses on politics and economics (with an unnecessarily large helping of crime and violence too). When actually there is SO MUCH MORE happening in the world.
For instance, we could do stories about nature every week. And we’re not just talking about cute cat stories (though we like those too!) or the doom and gloom of global warming. But what about the head-butt cows in Botswana or the leopards wandering into a South African resort or the naming convention for hurricanes? And space, my goodness, there is so much happening up in space that is super cool to learn about. (Did you know a chicken nugget was recently launched into the stratosphere? Not to mention Elon Musk’s car that’s orbiting Mars. You didn’t know? Find out. And what NASA’s call for the public to help map Mars?)
And then there is the latest and wackiest in the world of technology. Monster wolf robots anyone? Or what about the recently developed super squid bot? Or how about getting a 3D dinosaur into your bedroom?
Oh, and we are culture vultures too. (Was it obvious?) We’ve covered the different creative ways cities have hosted pandemic-friendly events (cinema on the river anyone, or how about a drive-through art gallery?). And we’ve heard about all the fabulous festivals happening around the world – from all the different spooky ones that go beyond Halloween to Bonfire Night in England, Diwali in India or Guru Nanak’s birthday that Sikh’s celebrate.
And then there are the oddball stories we like to end every show with – from cats and foxes that steal shoes to “cocoa snow” falling in Switzerland and how about that blue lobster found at a Red Lobster restaurant.
See. News doesn’t have to be boring. In fact it rocks.
*I was so thrilled yesterday when the mother of some listeners to Newsy Pooloozi said that her two young boys love the podcast so much that they now find it on their school laptop every Wednesday afternoon all by themselves!
So go on, have a listen yourself. New episodes are posted every Wednesday. Be entertained and informed!
