We’re back! Happy new year of the horse, magical mushroom powers, Egypt’s ancient Indian graffiti, Spain’s fiery horses and spying dogs
Hello, hello newsies!! Yes, we’ve taken quite the long Christmas, New Year, errrr, January break! Yes, work, school and life took over a bit (which happens more and more that Leela is a TEENAGER now, can you believe?!). But, we’re back in time for the… new Chinese New Year, yay! Or should we say, neeeehaaaay! Because, yes, it’s the Year of the Horse for 2026. We’ll give you the low-down on what that represents and, as ever, what the zodiac calendar means.
EPISODE- 204
LEELA: Hello, we’re back at last! This episode… Happy horse year, mushroom traders, ancient graffiti, fiery horses and nosey dogs
OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”
THEME MUSIC
LEELA: Hello and welcome to Newsy Pooloozi – the news pool for curious kids and adults! I’m your host Leela Sivasankar Prickitt and, I’m joined by the big story explainer and sound effects finder – otherwise known as my… mama!
MAMA: Hello, hello. I’m Lyndee Prickitt. Oh, it feels good to be back in the newsy pool-oozi!
LEELA: I know. We’ve been crazy busy, but I’ve missed this round up of important –
MAMA: And wacky
LEELA: World news! Alright – this episode…
Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! It’s the year of the… wait for it… wait for it… Horse! We’ll give you the low down on what that represents and, as ever, what the zodiac calendar means.
Have you heard the one about the underground mushrooms that trade like Wall Street brokers? This is a story that gives new meaning to mushy “fun guys!”
Ancient graffiti has been found in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings – but you probably won’t guess from whom or what “words of wisdom” were left 2000 years ago.
In Spain horses leap through blazing bonfires in an old-old ritual of fire and faith.
And did you ever think man’s best friend might be able to understand every word you say, like, literally? It’s barking mad – so you better listen to the end to found out how.
OK then, let’s dive on in. First up, it’s the…
BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The Big news story of the week!”
MAMA: Oh, yes, it’s that time of year when… we look East and say… Happy Chinese New Year!
LEELA: Ah yes! The time of year when countries across Asia, especially in China, celebrate the start of the new year.
MAMA: You got it. And as we’ve covered in the past, listeners would know that every year the date for Chinese New Year changes because the holiday is based on a lunisolar calendar.
LEELA: Lunisolar is like... luni, which means moon, and solar, which means sun. So, it’s a calendar of the moon and sun cycles, and when there’s a new moon and solar cycle...
MAMA: It’s considered a new year! There’s more to it than that, but suffice to say, the new cycle typically happens in the Spring, so that’s why Chinese New Year is celebrated after the December 31 new year holiday.
LEELA: And you may also remember that for every Chinese New Year, there’s a new animal!
MAMA: Ha! Yes! You’re talking about the Chinese zodiac calendar! As many of you may remember, the Chinese zodiac calendar is a repeating cycle of 12 years, with each year represented by a different animal.
LEELA: So, for example, last year, 2025, was the year of the snake! And 2026 is the year of the....
MAMA: Wait! Let's hand this over to our Taiwan correspondent, Yuching Liu. Take it away Yuching!
YUCHING: In the Chinese zodiac, which follows a 12-animal cycle, the horse is the seventh animal. Each year is believed to carry the spirit and energy of its animal! And the horse represents passion, independence, strength, and personal growth!
Those born in the Year of the Horse are thought to be energetic, self-reliant, quick witted and natural adventurers. They love freedom and tend to chase their goals.
But they can sometimes be impatient and a bit stubborn, just like a real horse!
SFX OF HORSE
To prepare for the Lunar New Year, my family like to clean and organize the house.
SFX OF SWEEPING
It symbolizes letting go of old energy and making room for new opportunities! I also like to buy new clothes, because who doesn’t?
SFX OF CASH REGISTER
SFX OF EATING (BOWL STIRING, PEOPLE CHATTING)
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the family gets together and has a big, delicious feast, normally at the grandparents’ house.
SFX OF FIRECRACKERS
After the dinner, the children go play with the firecrackers, and this is one of my favorite things to do when celebrating Chinese New Year!
In my opinion, the best part is when we get red envelopes. Red envelopes are filled with money, and you don’t just get one, but one from every family member!
The envelopes give good wishes and luck for the new year.
Happy Year of the Horse! 新年快樂，馬到成功！
From Taiwan, this is Yuching Luing for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks, Yuching! Fabulous as always.
MAMA: Yes, and here’s to a great and energetic new year!
SPORTS STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “It’s time to play ball… Score… Sports News!”
MAMA: As many of you may know, one of the world’s biggest events is just over.
LEELA: Yes, we’re talking about the 2026 Winter Olympics in the northern Italian city of Milan…
MAMA: And the Italian ski resort of Cortina.
LEELA: It all started February 6 with a dazzling opening ceremony.
MAMA: And as usual there were standout performances in skiing, ice skating and hockey.
LEELA: But the big question is – which country took the most golds….??
MAMA: Drumroll, please…
SFX OF DRUMROLL
MAMA: The winner goes to winter powerhouse Norway – with 41 medals in total! Yes, the Norwegians set a new all‑time Winter Olympics record with 18 gold medals – the most ever gold medals won at a single Winter Games.
LEELA: Close behind was the US – with 33 medals – and host country Italy with 30. What an impressive array of skill and strength it all was!
MAMA: Waaaah!
[SOURCE: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026]
NATURE STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The call of nature. Get on your safari suite. Or squeeze into your scuba gear. And get ready to hop into a jeep. Or submarine. Submarine. Because Mother Nature is calling! Nature.”
LEELA: I love a good strong fungus, don’t you, Mama?
MAMA: Ahh, maybe… I mean, stir fried mushrooms are delicioussssss. But athletes’ foot... not so much.
LEELA: Eeew. Foot fungus. That’s gross. No, I’m talking about the kind of fungus that lives underground.
MAMA: Ah, you’re talking about (my-cor-EYES-ahl) mycorrhizal fungi. Which to everyone else out there, mycorrhizal fungi form vast underground networks that supply plants and trees with vital nutrients, did ya know.
LEELA: I did, indeed! In fact, mycorrhizal fungi have been in the news lately since the awarding of a big prize often referred to as the “green Noble Peace Prize.”
MAMA: Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of this. It’s officially called the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.
LEELA: Right. Well, it was recently awarded to Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist and professor at a university in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
MAMA: Well, then, that sounds like a story for…
LEELA: Tofunmi Fagade, who’s based in Amsterdam. Alright then, over to you, Tofunmi.
TOFUNMI: Thanks guys.
Yes, Toby Kiers, who is originally from the U.S., won the award for her work in showing how important (my-core-EYES-ahl) mycorrhizal fungus is to the environment.
But what does it actually do?
Through their underground network of threads, fungi take carbon – kind of like food made by plants – from the roots of trees and plants.
In return, they give back important nutrients the plants need to grow.
And here’s the cool part.
Some of that carbon gets locked onto tiny minerals in the soil, which makes it really hard for it to float back up into the air.
But it gets even more interesting.
Toby Kiers say this underground fungus networks act kinda like traders on Wall Street.
I know it’s weird but stay with me here.
See, instead of money, they trade nutrients.
The fungi hand out important things like phosphorus and nitrogen to plants, and in return, they take carbon.
It’s almost like they’re running a marketplace underground, deciding who gets what based on what’s needed.
That’s not all.
It’s been shown that plants that interact with these mycorrhizal fungi make bigger, sweeter flowers which attract more bees, butterflies and birds for pollination!
How cool is that?
Who would have thought that something in the same group as mildew and mold could be so important to the world, right?
In Amsterdam this is Tofunmi Fagade, reporting for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks so much, Tofunmi
MAMA: Yeah, that was super meaty. Well, for a fully-veg story.
LEELA: Ha ha… And for the record... is it fun-gee? Fun-ghee? Fun-jai? Fun-guy? Fun-gus? I mean, how do you say it?
MAMA: Apparently, all of the above! And depending on which pronunciation you choose, you can have some fun with fun-gus.
LEELA: I see, so perhaps we should get Daddy in on this?
MAMA: Why? Because he's such a fun-guy?
LEELA: Yes! But I mean, how mush-room or patience do our listeners have for more mushroom jokes?
MAMA: Yeah, we better put a cap on it! Get it? Like cap-mushrooms??? Anyone?
LEELA: OK, we’re done!
[SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/science/toby-kiers-fungus-tyler-prize.html
WORLD WRAP STING – LEELA: “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.”
There’s trade uncertainty around the world after the US Supreme Court said President Trump IS NOT allowed to use so-called “emergency powers” to put special taxes, or super high fees, on products coming from other countries. So many of those taxes will go away. But… some fall under different laws and will stay in place, causing confusion and insecurity.
Staying with the US, a powerful blizzard is still battering the East Coast, dumping historic amounts of snow on New York City and forcing travel bans as the Northeast faces one of its worst winter weather events in 150 years.
Tensions are rising in Iran as more people are taking to the streets in protest about strict rules on how they must dress and behave in public. Adding pressure, US President Trump has told Iran it has some two weeks to stop building dangerous weapons or else there will be quote, “really bad things.”
Final preparations are underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. NASA’s Artemis II will send four astronauts on what’s known as a lunar flyby in early March 2026. That’s ten days of circling the moon and testing systems for a FUTURE landing. So watch this space!
[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ew5jlqz87o
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-coast-blizzard-warning-storms/
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/20/politics/supreme-court-trump-tariffs-illegal/index.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/1/12/what-we-know-about-the-protests-sweeping-iran
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii/]
ACE STING – LEELA/MAMA: “Now it’s the ace part of our podcast: Arts, Culture and Entertainment. Darling.”
MAMA: Well, today's ACE story is about a Catholic festival that takes place in a town about 100 kilometres west of Madrid in Spain, which involves riding horses through fire.
LEELA: Wow! That sounds... dangerous?
MAMA: Doesn’t it? But the point is purification. Fab fact for you here – did you know in many many global traditions, fire is considered a great purifying element, burning away impurities for a fresh start.
LEELA: Hmmm, like, when you burn or set fire to something, water for example, you can burn away all the impurities like bacteria and stuff?
MAMA: Exactly!
LEELA: So, the festival uses fire to purify the horses? Doesn’t it also, like, burnthe horses?
MAMA: Apparently not! But I know who can fill us in with more on this hot story...
LEELA: Great one, Mama. Ok, Nina and Marcky Granena, take it away, you guys!
NINA: Thanks guys. Las Luminarias is a festival held every year in San Bartolome de Pinares to honour Saint Anthony the Abbot, who, in the Catholic tradition, is the patron saint of domesticated and farm animals.
MARCKY: Not to be confused with Saint Francis of Assisi. Who is the patron saint of all animals, and the environment.
NINA: As you heard, the festival involves riding horses through the middle of a bonfire. This is thought to purify the animals for the spring.
MARCKY: But don't worry! The horses don’t get hurt. The riders wrap up their horses’ tails and manes, so they don’t catch fire, then they apply some fire-proof gel for good measure.
NINA: I mean, it is pretty controvertiol. The festival gets a lot of criticism from animal rights activists who say the tradition is cruel and can potentially harm the horses.
MARCKY: Well, I guess if the horse gets burned, so does the human riding it. Not sure how that matters....
NINA: Nevertheless, the tradition has been going on for centuries and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon.
MARCKY: I think it’s kinda cool actually. It reminds me of those people who walk on hot rocks or embers.
NINA: Yep, firewalking is an even older tradition.
MARCKY: I guess people throughout history have considered fire a ‘hot’ trend.
NINA: Ughhhh....q cringe
In Barcelona, this is Nina and Marcky Granena for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks for that fiery report, you guys. Those poor horses, though!
MAMA: Yeah, the things we do for tradition, huh? You know… some people from Tamil Nadu walk barefoot across glowing embers of coal as part of religious ritual called Thimithi – in honor of a Hindu goddess.
LEELA: Yikes! Why??
MAMA: Well, this isn’t about purity but a show of courage and devotion.
LEELA: Wow, so from horses in Spain to people in India, fire really is seen as a way to, I don’t know, connect with something bigger.
MAMA: Is that your hot take?
LEELA: Ha ha… Yes, it is, thank you very much!
[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42630398
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-festival-horses-idUSKBN1F12F0
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/madrid-spanish-horses-spain-catholic-b2902398.html]
MAMA: So, Leela.
LEELA: So, Mama.
SFX OF CLASS AND SCRIBBLING
MAMA: So you know what we call it when people scribble or carve things into desks or bathroom walls or even spraypaint buildings or bridges…
LEELA: Uh, you mean graffiti?
MAMA: Yep. Sometimes it’s simple but really kinda silly stuff, like, “Dean was here.”
LEELA: And sometimes it waaaay worse…!
MAMA: Exactly. Well, did you know people have been leaving graffiti for thousands of years???
LEELA: Crazy. And you’re not talking spray paint, are you? But like…
MAMA: Well, itchings and sometimes paint, yes. But, no, not like the bright and vivid spray paint under bridges. Still – wild to think our ancient forebearers did that.
LEELA: I guess we’ve always had a desire to say, “Hey – I was here!”
MAMA: I know, right? And actually, it’s proving pretty helpful to historians and archaeologists because it shows us just how far humanity travelled and what all they achieved and WHEN.
LEELA: So, graffiti is another form of bookkeeping???
MAMA: I guess if you look at it that way. Well, get this – recently archaeologists in Egypt found graffiti in…
SFX OF CARVING AND CAVE
… an INDIANscript carved inside the Valley of the Kings, as in where the Egyptians pharaohs – as in or should I say mummies – were buried!
LEELA: Wait, INDIAN writing… in Egypt? I mean, that’s super far away!
MAMA: It is. These inscriptions are about 2,000 years old. They were written in scripts like Tamil‑Brahmi and Sanskrit.
LEELA: Man, those Indian traders sure did get around!
MAMA: Yep. Back then, India and Egypt traded a lot, spices, beads, even pepper. The Indian traders weren’t the only ones to leave graffiti in the tombs, visitors from other places, like Greece, did too.
LEELA: But Greece is closer.
MAMA: Right. And that’s the interesting news here – this graffiti shows what a culturally advanced civilization India was writing systems, travellers and ideas that reached across continents. These little graffiti marks show India was part of and helped shape the ancient world.
LEELA: Cool! So, well, wait – what was the graffiti actually of, I mean what did it say.
MAMA: Well, OK, these traders were a little more straightforward in their showing off… I mean, one even stone carving was something like, “Cikai Koṟṟaṉ came and saw.” Just like, you know, “Dean was here.”
LEELA: Whoa… that’s deep.
MAMA: As all great graffiti is.
[SOURCE: https://www.thehindu.com/news/india/tamil-brahmi-inscriptions-found-in-egypts-valley-of-the-kings-shed-light-on-ancient-trade-links/article67890123.ece
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tamil-brahmi-inscriptions-found-in-egypts-valley-of-the-kings-trade-links-ancient-india-kingdoms-1498763-2026-01-15]
LEELA: And finally, let’s see what the lucky dip machine has for us this week.
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: So what if I told you that according to a new study, some dogs can actually eavesdrop on their humans!?
MAMA: I’d say it’s a good thing we have a cat.. Tell me more.
LEELA: So, in a new study in the journal Science, researchers found that some “genius level” dogs can understand new words at the same level as an 18-month-old human.
MAMA: Genius level dog? What is that exactly?
LEELA: Like border collies...
MAMA: Those black-and-white sheep herding dogs?
LEELA: Exactly. They’re a super smart breed of dogs. And some of them are considered geniuses because they can understand a ton words.
MAMA: Ok, so the genius border collies... they can also eavesdrop? And how does one test for that?
LEELA: Well in one case, they had two humans holding a new dog toy, let's say a stuffed bunny. They were playing with it, talking about it, saying "stuffed bunny” repeatedly, while the dog sat nearby. They did not address the dog directly.
MAMA: Ok...
LEELA: And then they put the stuffed bunny in a pile of other toys in the next room. The dog was told to go get the stuffed bunny, and he correctly picked it out!
MAMA: Wow. So, just by hearing and seeing two humans talking about something, the dog was able to comprehend what it was by name. Very impressive!
LEELA: Right?! Can you imagine the implications, though? Like, for all those dog owners out there, do they know that their pets are listening to their conversations? Taking mental notes of all the – possibly sketchy – things they say?! It’s kinda creepy, to be honest.
MAMA: Well, only if the dog could tell anyone those sketchy things. And as far as I know, dogs don’t speak human. And, let’s face it, we should be more worried about our devices listening to us than our dogs.
LEELA: Well, there is that. Still, kinda strange to think of man’s best friend ‘dog-umenting’ all we say… I think I prefer the absolute indifference of my cats…
[SOURCE: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq5474
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5667604/genius-dogs-learn-new-words-eavesdropping]
FAB FACTS STING – LEELA: “And it’s time to wrap up the podcast with the top five fab facts heard today. Here goes…”
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 1 – China and countries across Asia mark the Lunar New Year, which shifts dates each year. What calendar system determines when it’s celebrated?
Lunisolar calendar
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 2 – An American scientist wins a big prize for her work on how mycorrhizal fungi form vast underground networks. What do these fungi provide to plants in exchange for carbon?
Nutrients like phosphorus and nitroge
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 3 – Archaeologists uncover ancient Indian inscriptions carved inside Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. About how long ago were these graffiti marks left?
Around 2,000 years ago
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 4 – Spain’s Las Luminarias festival sees horses leap through fire to honour a Catholic saint. Which saint is celebrated as the patron of domesticated animals?
Saint Anthony the Abbot
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 5 – A new study shows some “genius dogs” can eavesdrop on humans and learn words just by listening. Border collies can understand words at the level of what age in human children?
18 months old
And don’t forget, if you want to test yourself later on, then go to the Lucky Dip page of our website, newsypooloozi.com, that’s pool-o-o-z-i, and take this quiz online in your own time!
LEELA: And that almost brings us to the end of this episode of Newsy Pooloozi! But first…
MAMA: We would like to thank the lovely Jyoti Chauhan for her production help and Julie Noce for helping write this episode!
LEELA: Y’all rock!
MAMA: And we’d like to think you, our loyal and…
LEELA: Patient!
MAMA: Oh, so patient listeners for hanging in there as we tended to work, school and, well, life.
LEELA: Totally! We’ll see y’all in a month, though, so don’t go away!
MAMA: Yes, we’ll keep the pool full for the next few weeks!
LEELA: Alrighty then, see you next week in the happy, splashy giant Newsy Pooloozi!
-ends-