Episode Transcript

EPISODE 74 – “Quick Dip” of news this Thanksgiving week

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OPENING STING – LEELA: “New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!” 

THEME MUSIC 

LEELA: Hello and welcome to this quick dip episode of Newsy Pooloozi. I’m your host Leela Sivasankar Prickitt and, as ever, I’m joined by…

MAMA: Me – Lyndee Prickitt. But I’m also called Leela’s mom.

LEELA: First and foremost… 

BOTH: Happy Thanksgiving!

LEELA: We hope everyone is having a Thanksgiving break – we sure are! 

MAMA: And, Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish listeners too! 

LEELA: But we know the news doesn’t stop for the holidays, so we’re not leaving you high-and-dry.

MAMA: Oh, no. To make sure you have some cool conversation to share around the table this week 

LEELA: Here we go! 

MAMA: First up, it’s  – 

BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The big news story of the week!”

MAMA: Europe is fed up. Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in capital cities across the continent as renewed coronavirus restrictions are brought in by governments trying to tackle another wave of deadly infections

LEELA: In the Belgian capital, Brussels, some protesters threw fireworks at police officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. 

MAMA: They’re opposed to the use of Covid passes, which stops the unvaccinated from entering places, like restaurants or bars. This comes after fresh protests in the neighboring Netherlands against their new lockdown rules.

LEELA: Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in Austria, Croatia and Italy as anger grew over the new restrictions.

MAMA: Next up – 

SCIENCE STING – LEELA: “The world of wow, wow, wow… In other words – science!”   

MAMA: Ever wondered what would happen if, you know, an asteroid came hurtling towards the earth? 

LEELA: I’d run! 

MAMA: Never fear! The world’s first-ever planetary defense mission is here!

LEELA: Phew! 

MAMA: NASA’s   – Dart for short – is blasting off in California. This spaceship is designed to knock into an asteroid the size of a football stadium.

LEELA: Which is not a threat to earth, right? 

MAMA: Correct. This asteroid, called Dimorphos, is far, far from earth. And the Dart mission is going to see if it can change the orbit and direction of Dimorphos.

LEELA: Ah – like a test-run to see if it can prevent any damage from future asteroids?

MAMA: That’s right. Bingo! And now 

TECH STING – LEELA/MAMA: “It’s time for…. Technology News, technology news, tech news!”

LEELA: A Japanese café is showing how robots can create human connections. No really, you heard me right. 

MAMA: The Tokyo-based, Diverse Avatar Working Network  

LEELA: Otherwise known as DAWN. 

MAMA: Is a café staffed by robots operated remotely by people with severe physical disabilities. 

LEELA: The operators are referred to as “pilots” and can control the robots from home. 

MAMA: So, if the pilots are in a wheelchair or bed, it doesn’t matter, as long as they can operate a mouse or tablet. 

LEELA: Or even a remote that uses your eye movements to control it. How cool is that? 

MAMA: It’s no wonder the experimental business won the grand prize in the prestigious Good Design Awards this year. 

And finally… 

ODDBALL STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Step right up, step right up… Have a go at the lucky dip machine… What’s it gonna be today, eh? An oddball, no doubt!”

LEELA: It’s not odd – it’s a dream come true: pillow fighting enters the combat sports arena!

MAMA: Yes, you can’t make this one up. Pillow fighting is no longer just for slumber parties. It’s moving out of the bedroom and into the boxing ring thanks to the PFC. 

LEELA: The Pillow Fight Championship, of course. 

MAMA: Which will hold its first live, pay-per-view event of the “professional combat sport” in Florida on January 29. The creators say it’ll deliver all the drama of hand-to-hand combat without the gore of mixed martial arts or boxing. Pretty well, I think we might have to call our Florida correspondents – appropriately known as the Power Kids for a special review of this one.

LEELA: Oh, yeah! They better not get caught napping!

THEME MUSIC

LEELA: And that’s all we have for you in this special quick dip Newsy Pooloozi. 

MAMA: But in case you want more…

LEELA: And you’re wondering what Thanksgiving actually is.

MAMA: Then please go back in our archive, which you’ll find on the Podcasts page of our website 

LEELA: That’s newsypooloozi.com – p-o-o-l  o-o-z-i.com

MAMA: Check out Episode 22 – our special gratitude episode where we give you the low-down on what Thanksgiving is. 

LEELA: I like to think of it as a day to pig out and eat lots of pies! Oh! And say what you’re thankful for. Which would be… wait for it… wait for it… wait for it… all of you listening, of course!

MAMA: Ditto from me! Thanks so much for listening and for telling other people about us too! 

LEELA: And sending in your story ideas – and knock-knock jokes – we love those!

MAMA: We do actually. Thanks for making us laugh. 

LEELA: And laughing at us! Wait. Yeah. Yeah, ok!

MAMA: You can laugh at us If you enjoyed this dip in the news pool of information then do subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Alexa or wherever you listen. While you’re at it… give us a good rating. 

LEELA: Or better still, leave us a review! It’s Thanksgiving – spread the love! Alrighty then – see you next week in the happy, splashy Newsy Pooloozi!

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