Episode Transcript

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

THEME MUSIC

LEELA: Hello and welcome to Newsy Pooloozi 2021. Happy new year!! I’m Leela Sivasankar Prickitt.

MAMA: And I’m Lyndee Prickitt.

LEELA: And we’re the Newsy Pooloozi team who produce this weekly world news podcast

MAMA: The only weekly world news podcast by and for kids, by the way

LEELA: Correction. And we usually broadcast from our high-tech studio in New Delhi (Under the bed!)

MAMA: Because that’s the best sound

LEELA: And the most fun

MAMA: But not this week.

LEELA: Because we’re in England where I was born.

MAMA: Yes, we’ve moved from semi-locked-down Delhi, to fully locked-down London as luck would have it. We had planned to do a handful of great British stories… Alas, we’re stuck at home.

LEELA: In the closet.

MAMA: Because it has the best sound.

LEELA: You said it. And kicking off 2021, of course our big news story of the week is… The vaccine is here, the vaccine is here the end of the pandemic is surely near! Or is it? Also, it’s a new year, so time for resolutions. We’ll hear from an American park enthusiast, who turned his resolution to help save America’s national parks into a full-on campaign. In tech news, we’ll find out how magic wands are a reality. And finally, in case you missed NASA’s latest soundtrack yep, you heard me right we’ll play you the most recent sounds from space. But that’s not all since it’s a new year, we’ve decided to spice up the Five Fab Facts that we end each show with.

MAMA: Yep. Because Newsy Pooloozi is a whirlpool of news and information, you get a lot of background info.

LEELA: otherwise known as general knowledge,

MAMA: which we recap each episode with our five fab facts. But we’re spicing it up this year… You’ll have to listen to the end to hear how.

LEELA: But first, it’s time for…

STING: “Now it’s time to tackle the Big NEWS story of the week!”

LEELA: In case you haven’t heard… since Newsy Pooloozi did take a little break over the holidays the vaccine is here! Here, there and everywhere!

MAMA: Yep, India, the UK, the US and most places in between.  And as a little reminder: A vaccine is a substance used to help your body produce antibodies which is the thing that fight disease.

LEELA: So surely that means the end of the nasty old coronavirus is near?

MAMA: Well, yes and no.

LEELA: Oh, brother.

MAMA: I know. There’s never a simple answer. Well, firstly, as we did discuss when news of the vaccine trials first came out You need to get the majority of your population vaccinated before it will mean life can go back to normal. And doing this is no walk in the park. It’s more of a military operation

SFX: SOLDIERS MARCH SOUND

As it takes a lot of what we call logistics to get the vaccine from the laboratory, shipped all over the world to a clinic near you and you into that clinic and the jab in your arm.

LEELA: Ewww! But, I know, I know. A little jab is worth it if it means I can start seeing my friends again.

MAMA: And probably not just one jab but two, which is more logistics and challenges.

LEELA: And the front-line workers get it first and those most vulnerable, like the elderly… OK, OK. I get it. It’s going to be a while.

MAMA: Spring at best, maybe summer. And, again, just a people getting it is not enough. The majority of your population needs it for it to really be effective. And a majority is?

LEELA: More than half in other words: at least fifty percent.

MAMA: Yep. Although it’s thought that 60-70% of the global population must be immune to stop the virus spreading easily and that’s billions of people. And then there is the new strain one that was first really noticed here in the UK and an even more tricky one showing up in South Africa to contend with… though early reports seem to suggest that the vaccines can be altered or tweaked to work against them.

LEELA: Phew. So, we have to keep marching on. “Ten huts! One, two, three four, one two three four!”

Be positive but stay negative.

MAMA: You said it!

MAMA: Speaking of being positive it’s the new year. Got any new year resolutions?

LEELA: Uhhhhh, to do my homework before I play?

MAMA: See… that’s the problem with new year’s resolutions when we set unrealistic goals no matter how laudable or praiseworthy, they are we are more likely to fail. How ‘bout playing for a shorter period of time, doing your homework, then playing some more?

LEELA: Uhhhhh, yeah….

MAMA: Come on is there anything more interesting you’d like to achieve or even just try?

LEELA: I know! To learn how to edit audio, so I can help you edit the podcast.

MAMA: OMG, that would be so awesome. That’s a pretty big one, that you’ve started already.

LEELA: Well, it is the new year. What about you?

MAMA: Oh, so many resolutions!

LEELA: I thought you said not to overdo it…

MAMA: I know, I know… OK well, one thing I’d really like to do is get our podcast up on YouTube.

LEELA: (\We’re gonna do videos?!

MAMA: No no no, just put the audio out on YouTube as lots of people go there for podcasts too. Why, do you want to do video?

LEELA: Yeaaaaaah…

MAMA: Well, that’s the cool thing about the new year – it’s a time to assess what we want for the next year. But sometimes inspiration can strike at any time.

LEELA: Like us doing this podcast. Because we were stuck in lockdown.

MAMA: Exactly. And like our next story too, in fact. About Robbie Bond the young American nature lover on a mission to save America’s national parks. Not all 423 necessarily, but the ones at risk of losing their protected status.

LEELA: Not just that but he wants to build an army of kids to join him in “speaking up for parks”.

MAMA: Well, we caught up with Robbie over the holidays.

LEELA: And asked him where his inspiration came from.

ROBBIE – CLIP 2 (not transcribed)

LEELA: So, I know you’re on Instagram and you’re trying to build awareness. But what else does your organization do?

ROBBIE – CLIP 1 (not transcribed)

LEELA: Whoa! What a great idea! I want to see those! So, you know we’re an international kid news podcast with listeners all over the world. What would you say to kids who aren’t in America what can they do? Besides not use single-use plastic bottles and bags. And definitely not leaving their trash in parks.

ROBBIE – CLIP 3 (not transcribed)

LEELA: Yeah, good point. There are a 101 national parks in India and 15 in the UK though you can walk all over the countryside here, thanks to all the public right-of-way paths. But in India there are loads of places that need some TLCP that means, tender loving care and protection!

MAMA: Oh no I have a feeling another resolution is coming on…

LEELA: It’s good to have goals, Mama! Thanks a lot, Robbie awesome talking to you and let’s keep in touch for sure!

STING: “What’s that? I’ll tell you what. That’s the halftime bell! Which means… it’s time to hear what’s making news around the rest of the world. Hold on tight, it’s around the world in 80 seconds.”

It’s time to check in with the other big news stories happening all over the world.

MAMA: Votes are being counted after people in the American state of Georgia voted for their senators. And not for the first time. They voted in the general election but it was too close to call so there’s a runoff. If Republicans win one of the Georgia Senate seats, they’ll retain control of the upper chamber. But If both candidates lose, Democrats will control the Senate, House of Representatives and White House.

This comes as US President Donald Trump was heard in a phone call asking a Georgia election official to find the votes, he would need to be declared the winner of the state in the recent general election, which he lost.

One of the world’s most famous teenagers is now an adult. Swedish Eco-warrior Greta Thunberg turns 18 and shows no signs of leaving behind her campaigning. She’s given up buying new clothes though she won’t judge those who don’t embrace her lifestyle choices.

And finally, get your kitchens ready for some fire because popstar Rihanna is writing a Caribbean cookbook. The iconic American singer says she’s taken advantage of her time in quarantine, perfecting recipes from her Caribbean roots that she wants to share with the world.

LEELA: Weeeyeeew– thank you very much for that wrap around the world………. And now…

MAMA: Abraa ka dabra!

LEELA: Tee-al-icka-boom!

MAMA: it’s time for

RUN STING: “It’s time for…. Technology News, technology news, tech news!”

MAMA: so, when I was growing up there was a cartoon about how life could be in the future called

LEELA: the Jetsons!

MAMA: Ah, yeah, I’ve told you this before.

LEELA: Oh yeah, like how they talk to their microwave to turn it on or the same with their vacuum cleaner, I mean Hoover. It’s Kind like a Alexa, but to operate everything in the house.

MAMA: Yes, in fact it’s now called the “Internet of things.” Because things can now have sensors and software inside them

LEELA: To connect them online so we can operate them remotely.

MAMA: Right! Only were not really living that life, yet are we? And I don’t know many people who are.

LEELA: Yeah, good point.

MAMA: Well, according to one of our tech correspondents, Maya Bull, maybe we just need a magic wand.

LEELA: A what? A magic wand? Maya, tell us more.

MAYA: Thanks, Leela. I really wish this annoying pandemic would go away.

Because then I could zip down to London and we could visit the “Wands and Wizards Exploratorium.”

It’s a five-story building full of magic. Well magic and science. Or as their website puts it:

MAMA: Wands and Wizards Exploratorium is five floors of magic exploration where magic is brought to life with science, technology and design. Complete with a sweet shop and cream parlor.

MAYA: How cool is that? A part-magic part-science museum. They give demonstrations on how things from fantasy can be made real. Like floating in the air or even casting a spell. Or using a magic wand. Yep.

A real. Magic. Wand. That can unlock a treasure chest. Or turn alight on and off.

How? Well, these wands use the same sensors and circuits that are in household devices connected to the internet. In theory, a wand could even control things like a TV or a hoover. And what’s the coolest thing? You don’t just get a theatrical demonstration on how it works. But you can make a magic wand yourself too! Sign me up, please! I wonder if it could control my little sister too…

In England, this is Maya Bull reporting for Newsy Pooloozi!

LEELA: Ahhh, thanks a lot Maya! Can’t wait till this lockdown is over and we can meet at the “Wands and Wizards Exploratorium”! And finally…

STING: Step right up, step right up… Have a go at the lucky dip machine… What’s it gonna be today, eh? And odd ball, no doubt!

LEELA: Yep odd and truly out of this world…

MUSIC

LEELA: What’s that, you ask? Well from space to sound… NASA’s new project turns up the volume on space’s most extreme happenings. Did you know you can’t hear a peep in space or an explosion for that matter?

MAMA: Space is vacuum it has no air and without air no sound, because what we call “sound” is actually vibrations in the air.

LEELA: But thanks to NASA’s new “data sonification” project, we can get a sense of the sounds from space…

MAMA: Researchers from Nasa’s Chandra X-ray center have taken three iconic events from their archives and translated different frequencies of light into different pitches of sound.

Like this, crab nebula…

LEELA: That’s a remnant of a supernova powered by a windy newton star! It’s a bit …. out there get it.

MAMA: (laughs) Yes, thank you I get it!

LEELA: But you have to admit… it’s super cool too!

MAMA: We’ll put a link to this on our Facebook page so you can see and hear the whole thing…

LEELA: But first… It’s time for…

STING: “And it’s time to wrap up the podcast with the top… five fab facts heard today. Here goes”

FAB FACT NUMBER 1

MAMA: A vaccine is a substance used to help your body produce… what exactly?

Antibodies – which fight disease!

FAB FACT NUMBER 2

LEELA: America has how many national parks, which are protected wildlife areas?

423.

FAB FACT NUMBER 3

MAMA: And how many national parks are in India and the UK?

There are a 101 national parks in India and 15 in the UK though in Britain you can walk all over the countryside here, thanks to all the public right of way paths.

FAB FACT NUMBER 4

LEELA: What is the “Internet of things” mean?

Household objects can have sensors and software embedded inside them to connect them online so they can be operated remotely.

FAB FACT NUMBER 5

MAMA: Space is vacuum without air, meaning what doesn’t exist in space?

Well, sound as we know it because what we call “sound” is actually vibrations in the air.

LEELA: And with that we’ve come to the end of this episode of Newsy Pooloozi.

MAMA: Phew it was a little tricky in a new studio, on an old laptop with some pretty basic software.

LEELA: But we did it! Wasn’t much else to do here in locked down London!

MAMA: True… Stay safe, y’all!

LEELA: And if you liked what you heard, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button pretty-pretty-please.

MAMA: And while you’re at it… give us a like or better still, leave us a little review. We love hearing from you and will continue to read them out from next week!

LEELA: See you then… We’ll leave you some room in the bubbling Newsy Pooloozi!

-ends-