Kid News This Week: NASA astronauts stuck in space, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule breaks record, Taylor gets political, Banned Book Week, Saturn’s loss
We get spacey this week… Well, I mean there is a LOT of space news this week. Like those two NASA astronauts who are... stuck in space! Find out WHY and when they’re coming back home to Earth! Plus, Space X’s Dragon Capsule makes history. In entertainment news, Taylor Swift gets political – saying who’s she’s gonna vote for and why she’s announcing it, but that’s not all… She also has a big “hit” for getting out the vote.
Plus, it’s time to talk about book-banning – find out what censorship means and why it’s such an important issue this week. That’s not all… the planet Saturn is going to lose something iconic – but is it all just an illusion of grandeur? No idea what that means or has to do with space news? Well, you gotta listen till the end to find out!
EPISODE – 184
LEELA: This week… NASA astronauts stuck in space while the Dragon capsule splashes down, Taylor gets political, Banned Book Week, and Saturn will lose something iconic.
OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”
THEME MUSIC
LEELA: Hello and welcome to this rather spacey episode of your favourite world news podcast!
Yes, this is Newsy Pooloozi – the pool full of news and information. I’m your host, Leela Sivasankar Prickitt and I’m joined by my… producer… my sidekick… and my mama.
MAMA: That’s me, Lyndee Prickitt, cueing up the spacey sound effects for this episode!
LEELA: That’s right, we have not one, not two, but THREE space stories for you this week.
Starting with…
Two astronauts who are... stuckkkk innnn spaaaaccceeee! Find out WHY and when they’re coming back home to Earth!
And space access Dragon Capsule makes history…
And now entering in entertainment news Taylor swift gets political – says who’s she’s gonna vote for and why she’s announcing it, that’s not all…
Plus, it’s time to talk about book-banning... find out what censorship means and why it’s such an important issue this week.
And Saturn is all set to lose something iconic – but is it all just an illusion of grandeur? No idea what that means or what has to do with space news? Well, you gotta listen till the end to find out!
OK, news fans, let’s dive on into the news pool. First up, it’s the…
BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The big news story of the week!”
MAMA: Today’s show will be filled with stories that are “out of this world!”
LEELA: As in stories that are so spectacularly and totally great.
MAMA: Well, yes, but also specifically stories about space! As in, things happening beyond our little green and blue planet.
LEELA: Ahhh, got it. Okay so, what do we have first?
MAMA: Okay, first is a tale about some astronauts who are ...dun dun duuuuuun… LOST IN SPAAAAAAAAAACE!
LEELA: Ah! Like the Netflix series from 2018? I caught a few of those episodes before they got cancelled. Not bad, actually.
MAMA: Aaaaactually... That show was a reboot of the Lost in Space that I watched as reruns as a kid waaaaaay back in the 70’s!
LEELA: They had TV back then?
MAMA: Ahhhemm, watch it, girl. Yes, we even had indoor plumbing too, can you imagine?
LEELA: Okay, what about these astronauts who are lost in space? Where are they actually?
MAMA: OK, so perhaps “lost” is not the right word... more like “stuck” in space, or shall we say, delayed.
LEELA: Delayed? As in, their intergalactic bus is late. Sounds scary…! So, what’s happens next?
MAMA: Well, there are two astronauts named Sunita Williams an American of Indian origin, in fact and Barry Wilmore, also from the US, who took a trip in June to visit the International Space Station....
LEELA: Also known as the ISS... the huge space station that hovers above Earth.
MAMA: In what’s known as low orbit.
LEELA: Indeed. And which was built as a collaboration between the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
MAMA: We got some stunning fab facts coming out here! As we give the background to the story, you are so on point, Leela. Well, Sunita and Barry, two astronauts representing NASA...
LEELA: Which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
MAMA: Correct! They’re the latest NASA astronauts to get stuck on the ISS!
LEELA: Ok, so many things to unpack here, Mama. First, what do you mean “stuck” on the ISS? And second what do you mean “the latest,” like, there are other astronauts stuck up there in space too?
MAMA: OK, OK, you’re right. Let’s back up. So, this past June, Sunita and Barry took a spacecraft to the ISS. They were supposed to stay for just eight days....
LEELA: I feel a “but” coming...
MAMA: You are so right. Buuuuuttttt... the spacecraft they used to get there was having troubles.
LEELA: Didn’t they try to fix it?
MAMA: Of course, they certainly did tried! The astronauts and their crew back on Earth spent two months trying to remedy the problem, but to no avail.
LEELA: Uh oh… Hence the duhh duhhh duhhhh!
MAMA: Well, the crew determined that it was just too risky to use the same spacecraft to come back to Earth, so the astronauts have to stay on the ISS until another mission of astronauts arrives and they can hitch a ride back down!
LEELA: And when is that exactly?
MAMA: Well, February of next year!
LEELA: Wow! So instead of the planned eight days, they’re going to spend like eight months in space! How do they feel about all that? Are they scared? Or worried?
MAMA: Good questions… So, let’s head to our Space Correspondent, Krisha Bang, for some more details. Take it away Krisha!
KRISHA: Thanks, you two! So, yeah, Barry and Sunita are the latest astronauts to be stuck on the ISS.
You might not know this, but apparently, it’s a pretty common occurrence!
Yep, there’ve been other astronauts stranded on the ISS... Russian, American, you name it!
This time, it’s because the spacecraft they used to get there was plagued with problems.
It was a matter of being better safe than sorry! Good choice, I would say!
During a recent press conference from space, Sunni and Barry said they were fine with their extended stay.
They’ll miss their families, of course, but as astronauts, well, space is kind of their “happy place,” right?
The one thing they did not mention was all the... if I may be so bold... kind of ICK stuff that they might have to experience because they’re staying up there longer than planned.
We all know that astronauts float around randomly because of the lack of gravity, but do you know how the lack of gravity affects the human body?
Muscles and bones get weak, and eyesight can change because the fluid inside our intricate human bodies moves around so weirdly.
There’s also the possibility of looking like a chicken in space – with a giant puffy face and skinny legs.
But they’re not complaining. Not sure I would be so Zen about it all.
With both my feet planted firmly on the ground in Delhi,
This is Krisha Bang, reporting for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks Krisha! I also LOVE space news and documentaries and explorations… but I am also very happy observing it all from the place of terra firma – which is Latin for firm ground or land.
MAMA: I hear ya.I am very happy down on earth. But are we grateful to those who want to explore?
Well, they aren't the only ones who went up, up, and away on a space mission.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/09/science/boeing-starliner-nasa-astronauts-spacex/index.html]
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/astronauts-stranded-space-starliner-history
https://apnews.com/article/stuck-astronauts-boeing-starliner-nasa-1933b64f91ba06713e57446e2dbee1c4]
MAMA: So… as we mentioned, Barry and Sunita will be returning to Earth in February on another spacecraft. Well, it’s going to be something called the SpaceX Crew Dragon
LEELA: Ah, SpaceX you say? As in Elon Musk’s company. They will really get around these days, right?
MAMA: Correct. In fact, that same kind of spacecraft, called a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, just made anothersuccessful journey to outer space, But this time, not with NASA astronauts, but for private citizens.
LEELA: Private citizens? Like just normal you and me people?
MAMA: Kind of. This mission was meant to give non-official astronauts the chance to walk in space, and test out new space suits. There was a billionaire CEO, a retired Air Force lieutenant, and two Space X engineers. And earlier this week, they successfully splashed down to earth.
LEELA: How cool is that? Did they go to the ISS?
MAMA: They went three times higherthan the ISS! And that’s alsowhat made the mission so record breaking. They went to the highest orbital altitude that humans have reached since the Apollo mission in 1972!
LEELA: And how high is that exactly?
MAMA: A mere 870 miles or 1,400 kilometers! The mission was record breaking, andrisky by way.
LEELA: Risky for sure!I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but during a spacewalk, you have to be attached to a rope or string or something, so you don't just fly off into outer space!
MAMA: Correct. That's because there's no gravity in space. So you just float into a vacuum of nothingness if you're not tethered to the spaceship?
LEELA: I Shudder to think!
MAMA: But this latest Crew Dragon mission was extrarisky because the space capsule doesn’t have a pressurized airlock.
LEELA: What’s that?
MAMA: It’s a mechanism that keeps the inside of the spacecraft pressurized, when other people are doing spacewalks outside.
LEELA: And pressure is important because?
MAMA: Well, without getting too technical, we as humans are used to the effects of gravity and atmospheric pressure on our bodies, so we needa certain amount of pressure or else our bodies would explode! But let’s circle back. NO one exploded, because all four people on the Crew Dragon had their special pressurized suits on. And as I said, they’re all back on terra firma.
LEELA: Whew! Good to know. I guess now, even more people will want to take a trip to outer space and do a spacewalk?
MAMA: That’s what they’re hoping for! The company providing the rides, SpaceX, is hoping to eventually do long-term missions to the moon and Mars!
LEELA: Hmmm, for now, I think I may just settle for them all with my friends. That is on Terra firma.
MAMA: Agreed! But we're not done. Earthlings, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
After NASA issued an alert for an asteroid, the size of a stadium set to make a close approach to Earth on Tuesday, it did not. Okay, so the alert was that it would come within 1 million kilometers of our lovely planet, but still even a small diversion off its course could have had major consequences.
Alas, it's passed without any deviation or movement from what was expected, for you.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-launches-private-mission-civilian-spacewalk-rcna168436
https://www.livescience.com/why-is-space-a-vacuum.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/asteroid-alert-nasa-2024-on-b2610177.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.”
MAMA: The conflict in Middle East spreads to Lebanon, where neighboring Israel is being accused of planting explosives in handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah. Nine people are killed and worries of war are escalating.
In Eastern Europe, raging floodwaters hit several towns in the Czech Republic and Poland, cutting off many towns. In fact, over 10,000 are told to leave their homes with rescuers were working around the clock to help those stranded.
Heavy rain also overwhelmed the east coast of the US, with many towns in North Carolina badly hit by severe floods that cut off and damaged roads for several days.
And big changes at Instagram for young users. Yep, those under 16 years old will be placed into new 'teen accounts', which means they'll have more restrictions. We’ll have more on this story in our next episode!
[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7xnelvpepo
ACE STING – LEELA/MAMA: “Now it’s the ace part of our podcast: Arts, Culture and Entertainment. Darling.”
MAMA: Yes, this is a story about politics and entertainment mixing.
LEELA: And also, about the most amazing and just wonderful as person ever, in my humble opinion, Taylor Swift. As anybody who has seen the wonderful Taylor Swift documentary, Miss Americana, will know that the superstar was praised when she was very young.
MAMA: Via a grumpy old comedian called David Letterman many years ago
LEELA: For not speaking out on politics.
MAMA: But...
LEELA: As you'd see in the movie, the world-famous musician changed her mind and while she's not a political activist kind of entertainer, she was not a fan of Donald Trump.
MAMA: Nonetheless, that didn't stop some Trump supporters from creating mischief by making it seem as though she was endorsing Donald Trump after all.
LEELA: Endorsing means supporting somebody in election. So, she had to take the bold move of posting on Instagram that she was not endorsing Mr. Trump, but indeed his opponent Kamala Harris.
MAMA: The superstar said she wouldn't normally want to say who she was voting for, but she felt she had no choice but set the record straight.
LEELA: But that wasn't all.
MAMA: She also encouraged everyone to research and learn more about candidates and even more importantly, she encouraged everyone to register to vote.
LEELA: Well, there's not something called "The Taylor Effect" for nothing. Some people say everything she touches goes viral.
MAMA: Well, guess what happened to the voting URL to register to vote that she included in her Instagram handle?
LEELA: Four hundred thousand people clicked through from Taylor Swift’s Instagram account to a federal voting information site in 24 hours!
MAMA: Super impressive. To be clear, you can't register to vote from that site.
LEELA: Voter registration is done by each state, which the site she directed people to helped take them to their own state voter webpage.
MAMA: So, some social media posts said Taylor inspired nearly half a million new voter registrations isn't accurate.
LEELA: Still, very impressive she got that many people to find out how to vote.
MAMA: We will probably never know how many people she directly influenced to vote.
LEELA: But we certainly know she's racking up another "hit" for democracy.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/22/1201183160/taylor-swift-instagram-voter-registration
MAMA: And now moving on from entertainment to something that often affects it, the important topic of censorship.
LEELA: Ah – when something like speech, movies, or even books are suppressed, which means blocked or banned.
MAMA: Yes, that’s what censorship is – the suppression of speech, any public communication, or other information like you said books or movies or even songs, usually because they’re deemed as harmful or even just because they object or disagree with it.
LEELA: But… what I might object to – like a particular Radiohead song played over and over, you might just love.
MAMA: Yes, meanwhile, I'm not too keen on a lot of music that is a bit, well, shall we say spicy, especially for young ears? In fact, I find it downright objectionable. And yeah, maybe in a certain way I could see that it could be a little harmful.
LEELA: But you wouldn’t ban it?
MAMA: I might for you, under my roof, because maybe it violates our personal family or house rules. But… censorship and banning gets tricky when governments outright ban things, because, well, as you’ve pointed out, one person’s naughty might be another person’s nice.
LEELA: Same with books.
MAMA: Indeed. In fact, it’s a hot topic that’s raging in parts of the US, where a lot of books in some places have been under the scanner.
LEELA: In fact, there’s a whole week there dedicated to this topic of banned books, isn’t there?
MAMA: Yup. So, I think we need to head across the oceans for more on this from our US correspondent, Matthias S from California.
LEELA: Over to you, Matthias.
MATTHIAS: Thanks, you guys.
So, people have been banning books for centuries, but the numbers are increasing a lot in the last few years.
Get this the American Library Association reports that last year alone people asked for over 1,000 books to be banned from schools and libraries!
And that’s a 20% increase from the year before.
I know what you’re wondering… why are books banned in the first place?
Well, sometimes it’s because of offensive language, even what’s known as “bathroom humour” and, well, the age-level appropriateness of those things too.
But also, books might be banned because there’s offensive racism in them or viewpoints that don’t fit with everybody’s social or political leanings.
It gets tricky, that’s for sure!
Especially when I tell you some of the books that have been banned in the past are considered classics today, like To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Charlotte’s Web and even the dictionary!
You see, some argue that it’s fine for parents or educators from a school district to have the right to decide just what reading material children are exposed to and when.
But others disagree. They say this is a form of censorship.
They believe ideas, even the offensive ones, should be talked about, even debated, so young people can learn about the horrors of history – and even alternative viewpoints rather than hide them and hope they go away.
That’s why a group started the Banned Books Week from September 22-28 – to promote the value of and I quote of “free and open access to information… in support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.”
Well, I guess like any good book, there’s two sides to every story!
Happy reading, everyone!
From California, this is Matthias S, signing off for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks so much, Matthias! I love a good book to read.
MAMA: So do i..
https://www.npr.org/2024/06/04/nx-s1-4941240/book-bans-schools-libraries-censorship
https://readingpartners.org/blog/five-more-childrens-books-you-didnt-know-were-banned/
https://www.procon.org/headlines/banned-books-top-3-pros-and-cons/]
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: Oh, yes, this one is oddball, alright. At least on the face of it.
MAMA: Do tell… I believe the oddball machine has picked out another space story, in keeping with our astronomical theme today, that’s correct.
LEELA: Yes, ma’am. Let’s have some music dramatic for this, please.
MAMA: Oh, dramatic, spacey oddball, okay, I got that.
MUSIC
LEELA: So, Mama, if I say Saturn, you say…
MAMA: Jupiter.
LEELA: Hmmm. OK, let me try again, if I say what’s the most noticeable or famous thing about Saturn, you’d say…
MAMA: Ah, I got this… It’s rings!
LEELA: Exactly. Which are made up of…?
MAMA: Well, billions of particles – some are super small, like grains of sand, while others are huge, like chunks the size of a mountain.
LEELA: And most are made up of…
MAMA: Ice! All of which are constantly circling the planet. And we here on Earth can see them because the planet is tilted a little bit.
LEELA: Exactly, my science teacher would like you. Well, what if I told you they're just in a few months' time? These iconic rings are going to Wait, wait, wait for it.... disssss-ahhhh-ppearrrrrrr! Poof – gone.
SFX OF MAGIC WAND
MAMA: Ohh gosh. Can you explain that, please? Because that sounds super epic. I mean, if it's so big, why didn't we lead with it?
LEELA: Well, with most epic things, this is more of an illusion of grandeur – as in a grand, magnificent… illusion – you could say.
MAMA: Wait, it’s just magic or deception?
LEELA: Well… See, as you know, with any astronomical event...
MAMA: Astronomical as in things like eclipses, meteor events, planetary collisions... that kind of thing
LEELA: Yes. Well, those kinds of things can often be seen by us – here on Earth.
MAMA: And sometimes we can't. It all depends on where the Earth is in its orbit around the Sun,
and where these celestial occurrences, as in things happening out in space, are happening in relation to us on Earth. So, depending where Earth is, we can or can't see things happening up there in space, right?
LEELA: Yes! That’s the whole point – that’s what’s going to happen with Saturn’s rings! In a few months’ time, Saturn will be situated in such a way that from our perspective here on Earth, we won’t be able to see its rings!
MAMA: Uhhh, what?
LEELA: See, in March next year, Earth will be in-line with the edge of those rings, making them LOOK like they’ve disappearrrrrrrrrred!
MAMA: Oh… Kinda like trying to look at the thickness of a piece of paper from, like, super far away... You just can’t see how thick it is when it’s far away. Can you?
LEELA: Exactly. It’ll look like they’ve – poof! – disappeared.
MAMA: But it's just an optical illusion, and then later, it'll come back into view?
LEELA: Yep.
MAMA: Phew! Well, it’s reassuring to know they’re not gonna be gone for good. This is sat-turning out to be a great story indeed!
LEELA: Uhh… that’s a bit of a stretch, Mama.
MAMA: Well, it does feel like we've reached a sat-turning point!
LEELA: OK, then. I think we’d better stop before we “ring” this one to death.
MAMA: Baddoopbahhh!
LEELA: Aaaaaand we’re out.
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 – Stuck in space… two astronauts will spend 8 months on the ISS instead of their planned 8 days because of a fault with their spacecraft. What is the ISS?
The International Space Station
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 2 – Because of the lack of gravity up there in space, some strange things can happen to your body. Like what?
Like the fluids move around in strange places giving you so called “chicken legs” and making your face puffy
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 3 – Popstar Taylor Swift gets political by officially endorsing or backing Kamala Harris for US President, while also encouraging people to vote. But while she included a URL, there’s not one single website that registers voters, why is that?
Because in the US, voter registration is done by each state
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 4 –The last week of September is “Banned Books Week” in the U.S. meant to fight censorship, which means.
Banning or blocking speech, movies, books, etc
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 5 – Saturn’s iconic rings will soon disappear for a few days from March to November simply because they’ll tilt out of Earth’s view. What are those rings actually made up of?
Billions of particles – some small, like grains of sand, some the size of mountains, which are made up of ice
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 like a swimming pool. 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… We have a fab review from Apple Podcast to read out… from someone called Rainbowie or Cason, From Vernon Hills Illinois who writes…
MAMA: “I’m a huge history buff, and love to learn about the things going on around the world right now. Your podcast has helped me do just that! My favourite part of your podcasts is The Lucky Dip Machine.”
LEELA: Why, thank you very much, Cason! Love it.
THEME MUSIC
If you enjoyed this dip in the coolest pool of news and information then HIT that subscribe button on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Alexa or wherever you get your podcasts.
While you’re at it… Give us a good rating. Or better still, leave us a review! Go on – we’ll read it out loud if you do…
OK then, newsies, we’ll see you next week in the happy, splashy giant Newsy Pooloozi!
-ends-