Newsy Pooloozi turns 5! Plus world conflicts, AI in schools, chess at E-Sports World Cup, Taylor’s new album, chimps and orcas act strange, toddler fights snake (snake loses – find out how!)
This is our 200th episode, folks. Yes, indeed. And not just that – we also just completed FIVE YEARS of this world news pod for kids! Yep, Newsy Pooloozi turns 5! And coming back after a long summer break, we have a doozy of an episode for you – from a wrap of all the conflicts brewing around the world to AI education in schools, chess at the E-Sports World Cup, Taylor Swift announces her latest album, New Zealand’s former PM shares her secret power, chimps put hair in their orifices (yes!), orcas act strange and a toddler fights a snake (and the snake is the loser – you won’t believe how!). All that and more this episode!
EPISODE – 200
LEELA: Hello!!! We’re baaaacccck!!!And, boy, do we have a doozy of an episode to make up for lost time! We’ve got a wrap of the biggest summer news, tech news, sports news, arts culture and entertainment too (dahling), wacky but worthy nature news and, of course, an oddball story to leave you with a smile. Plus – OMG – this is our 200th episode – yes, we have cake!!!
OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”
THEME MUSIC
LEELA: Hello, hello – I’m Leela Sivasankar Prickitt. And…
MAMA: I’m the sidekick (and Mama) – Lyndee Prickitt.
LEELA: Now, before we begin – first, thank you for the long summer break, we NEEDED it.
MAMA: I sure did!
LEELA: Well… before we present the news from around-the-world… can we please take a minute to… dah dah dah daaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…
MAMA: To say…
BOTH: Happy birthday to us!
LEELA: FIVE years and then some!!!
MAMA: Wow! We must really like each other to do this for so long.
LEELA: The popcorn and ice cream helps.
MAMA: Oh, that’s so true. Speaking of… some celebration cake with your ice cream – here you go.
LEELA: Oh, so pretty! A Newsy Pooloozi cake!!! With a globe, microphone and…
MAMA: Those stick figures represent our 30+ kid correspondents who’ve helped us bring you the BEST
LEELA: And funniest –
MAMA: world news. We’ve got kid correspondents from across the US, UK and India.
LEELA: Obviously – as I’m an Indian American born in England, living in New Delhi, India.
MAMA: Yep, we got our home bases covered.
LEELA: But we go BEYOND our bases.
MAMA: Oh, yeah, we’ve got correspondents covering Mexico, Finland, France, Spain…
LEELA: Germany, Netherlands, Norway…
MAMA: Dubai, Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh…
LEELA: Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan…
MAMA: Australia and New Zealand...
LEELA: And even the island nation of the Maldives!
MAMA: I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed with this little podcast of ours… Not bad for an unpaid passion project born out of the 2020 lockdown.
LEELA: I know, right? Not bad, Mama.
MAMA: Not bad, Leela!
LEELA: And not bad, kid correspondents’ team.
MAMA: Yep, especially those of you who research and write such great stories all by yourself!
LEELA: For sure!
MAMA: And thank Jyoti and Julie who provide the writing and production help. You know, I hear these other podcasts rattle off a massive list of people who help produce a single episode and it always makes me pretty proud of what we do with a teeny-tiny team!
LEELA: Well, it DOES help so much getting all the sweet messages and encouragement from YOU folks – the listeners!
MAMA: Yes, totally!! Y’all keep us doing what we do. It’s no wonder the New York Times called us one of the 30th best podcasts for kids! And Common-Sense Media, Mashable…
LEELA: And Harvard asks you to speak as an expert on “educating kids outside the classroom.”
MAMA: OK, OK, before our head swells, let’s eat some cake and get on with the news!
MUSIC UP
On this mammoth episode…
We’ll give you the latest on the wars and conflicts bubbling up around the world.
Plus, a look back at the 80th anniversary of the monumental nuclear bombings on Japan – and what it means for today’s conflicts.
In tech… Far from banning AI in schools, China and the US encourage their students to learn how to harness artificial intelligence.
World chess champ embraces tech too, winning the first chess tournament at the e-Games World Cup.
In entertainment news – the world’s biggest popstar announces a new album is on the way. (Yaaaay!)
New Zealand’s former Prime Minister kills it with kindness and reveals her superpower: empathy
In nature news, chimps primp (with grass-in-their-ears, you heard me right) and killer whales are on the attack again.
And finally, what does an Indian toddler do when a slithery repitile arrives… Oh, you’ll never guess! You really gotta listen to the end for this one, trust me!
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: Speaking of anniversaries... we’re gonna be talking about a BIG anniversary on the world stage – the 80 years since the end of World War II and, more specifically, the big bombing of Japan 80 years ago this month.
LEELA: Oh, yikes, yeah… You’re talking about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, right?
MAMA: Indeed. But first… let’s catch up on all that happened this summer while we were away.
LEELA: You mean at the beginning of summer when it seemed like we might be on the edge of another world war…?!
MAMA: Exactly. Things were pretty scary there for a few days in the Middle East, with Iran and the US getting into the mix. If you remember, Israel is in the middle of a horrible conflict with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
LEELA: Right, but why Iran? And why the US???
MAMA: Well, first of all Israel thinks Iran support militant groups, like Hamas. So it launched surprise airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
LEELA: Woah… Iran has nuclear weapons?
MAMA: Well, it has nuclear power and research facilities. And, the US believed Iran was dangerously close to building a nuclear weapon.
LEELA: That’s when the US joined in with its own strikes to try to stop Iran’s nuclear program before it could go any further, right?
MAMA: Oh, you were paying attention – well done. Of course, that made Iran really mad, so it fired back with missiles at Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East.
LEELA: Yes, that was pretty scary…
MAMA: Totally. Thankfully, other world leaders quickly called for calm, and helped stop the fighting before it got worse
LEELA: And now?
MAMA: Well, Israel’s turned its focus back to Gaza, saying it plans to take over the territory. Well, they’re saying “free Gaza” but others are saying “occupation.”
LEELA: But the worst thing is all the kids caught in the middle of this, right?
MAMA: I know. Schools are destroyed; education is non-existent. But worse, there isn’t enough food.
LEELA: And that wasn’t the only conflict this summer, right? I mean, Russia is still waging war on Ukraine, right?
MAMA: Sadly, yes. People have been hoping the two countries would end their conflict, but most recently Ukraine said no thanks to a land-swap proposal put forward by the US.
LEELA: And Ukraine’s also not happy about a summit between the US and Russia about to happen in Alaska either, right? I mean, because it wasn’t invited.
MAMA: Right. Ukraine doesn’t want to be sidelined in conversations involving its fate.
LEELA: I get that!
MAMA: And – just to finish this cheery summer conflict wrap – even two normally peaceful, Buddhist countries were at each other’s throats a few weeks ago.
LEELA: Ah, that would be Thailand and Cambodia – two beautiful countries nearby in Southeast Asia – which got into a serious fight over old border disputes near ancient temples.
MAMA: And when you say fight, you mean…
LEELA: Gunfire and rockets. Landmines and airstrikes. Serious stuff.
MAMA: There’s a ceasefire now, but over 40 people were killed and a third of million people displaced, as in had to leave their homes, because of this age-old spat that resurfaced. Crazy.
LEELA: And, I guess, it’s all ironic that this is happening as this year marked 80 years since the end of World War II, right?
MAMA: You got it. And specifically, this month, 80 years since the US dropped two nuclear bombs
in Japan.
LEELA: On the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
MAMA: It was the only time in history when nuclear weapons were ever used.
LEELA: But lots of other countries now have nuclear weapons too, don’t they? I mean, I know India does. And neighboring Pakistan.
MAMA: Yep. And Russia, France, China, North Korea and Israel.
LEELA: And there’s speculation Iran is on the brink of having them as well.
MAMA: Right. But after what happened 80 years ago in Japan, no one has dared do use them again because of the absolute massive destruction that it causes
LEELA: So, all the countries who have nuclear weapons, do they just agree to not blow each other up?
MAMA: Yeah, kind of. Because if we all start bombing each other up…
LEELA: They’ll be nothing left!
MAMA: And that is “mutually assured destruction,” or MAD, which is an officially recognized strategy: if two nuclear-armed powers go to war, both will be destroyed so in theory neitherwill risk starting one. Get it?
LEELA: I do. But let’s hope the world leaders with access to the button do too!
MAMA: I hear ya!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/zelenskyy-dismisses-trump-putin-summit-1.7605175
https://apnews.com/article/timeline-veday-hitler-surrender-wwii-3b2bdf0118c2deb2570148f4d3196728
TECH STING – LEELA/MAMA: “It’s time for.... Technology News, technology news, tech news!”
MAMA: We have two – count them – two tech stories this week.
LEELA: Eww la la.
MAMA: First up, did you know there’s been a big change in education when it comes to using artificial intelligence?
LEELA: Oh, really?
MAMA: Yeah, when the tech first came out schools and teachers were all stressed out about how AI programs, like ChatGP or CoPilot or whatever tech brand you like, were going to ruin kids and make it far too easy for them to cheat on their homework.
LEELA: I have no idea what you could be talking about…
MAMA: Right… I mean, in a way, neither do I – I never understood what the fuss was about – you just have to give face-to-face written tests, and you’ll soon find out what knowledge kids have retained and how they can organize their thoughts. But what do I know…
LEELA: Ummm… back to the news, please, Mama!
MAMA: Right! So now, instead of being threatened by AI, schools in China and the US are encouraging their students to USE AI!
LEELA: Right… even in our school we’re being told it’s ok to us AI as a tool – just not to, you know, write an essay or presentation for you. Like entirely. Otherwise, where’s the learning…?
MAMA: Exactly. Well, for some background… From this September, China is making it mandatory for children in primary and secondary schools in the country’s capital Beijing to take at least eight hours of AI classes a year.
LEELA: To be able to use it better as a tool?
MAMA: Exactly. Well, then people in the US said, hey, wait – that’s gonna give Chinese students an advantage…
LEELA: So now they’re doing the same thing?
MAMA: You got it. Nationwide training on AI will be happening in the US too. Along with
guidelines about how to properly use AI.
LEELA: Of course.
MAMA: Of course. Interestingly, though, in China students and universities are helping BUILD AI models to suit their needs.
LEELA: Rather than it just BE tech companies creating something that they can monetize.
MAMA: You got it again.
LEELA: Super interesting… Ok, though, that’s not the only interesting tech news this episode, is it?
[SOURCE: https://www.9ine.com/newsblog/ai-in-education-the-space-race-for-ai-literacy-in-schools
ACE STING – LEELA/MAMA: “Now it’s the ace part of our podcast: Arts, Culture and Entertainment. Darling.”
LEELA: Well today’s ACE story is something I am VERY excited about
MAMA: Hmm let’s see, is it about cats?
LEELA: well I do love them, but no….
MAMA: Ummm, volleyball?
LEELA: Nope!
MAMA: F1, swimming, basketball, the ocean?? Hold on – those are not arts and entertainment related stories… are they?
LEELA: No, no, and no! You were closer with your first guess. I’ll give you a hint… this person does like cats
MAMA: Oh, oh oh oh! how did I not guess this? Is this story about Taylor by any chance?
LEELA: Yes! This is a monologue about how amazing, strong, cool, AND talented she is!
MAMA: Oh…. Okay…...?
LEELA: Haha, no I’m kidding that would probably bore a lot of people. So instead, I’m just going to share her new and very exciting news!!
MAMA: Ooo, do tell!
LEELA: So just yesterday TAYLOR SWIFT ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WAS GOING TO RELEASE A BRAND-NEW ALBUM!
MAMA: Whaaaaaat! I thougth she just came out with an album?
LEELA: Well, yes, she did but last year. She announced THIS one on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast when she opened a mint green brief case and said “this is my brand-new album, The Life of a Showgirl” at exactly the twelfth of august at 12:12 A.M!
MAMA: Wow! But why all these twelves?
LEELA: Well, this is her twelfth album! On her website you can pre-order a vinyl, cassette, CD, and a poster (all of which the cover art is blurred) but the main colour is Portofino orange glitter, which means that the album’s colour will most likely be glittery orange!
MAMA: Gosh – TWELVE albums?? She is prolific! (Which means, clearly, super productive!)
LEELA: wow! I’m touched by your praise! Well, I could spend all day talking about this, but we can have a deep dive into Taylor another time! Buuuut, since this is our 200th episode, here is a little fact about Taylor: she has spent MORE than 200 weeks at NO.1 on the billboard artists top 100 chart!
MAMA: Well! Then it’s meant to be!
[SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/arts/music/taylor-swift-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl.html
https://variety.com/2025/music/news/taylor-swift-announces-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl-1236487135/]
KINDESS CORNER STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Kindness corner. Cool. They did what? Seriously? What? How cool is that! No way! Cool.”
MAMA: So, you’ve heard the expression, “kill ‘em with kindness,” yes?
LEELA: Oh, yeah! A very effective technique of using kindness with people who are being nasty to you – it really throws them off!
MAMA: Well, a former world leader has made a career out of it. That and her other superpower… empathy!
LEELA: Ah, yes, that cousin of kindness. To have empathy means to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – to see something from another person’s point of view.
MAMA: Yep. But did you know it could be used effectively on the world leader stage?
LEELA: I did not. But I gueeeeesss it makes sense?
MAMA: Yep, we’re talking about the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern, who’ just written a book about this.
LEELA: I remember her being one of the youngest people – never mind women – to become a Prime Minister, right?
MAMA: She was indeed! She stepped into the role at 37 years old and managed some pretty big disasters during her time.
LEELA: Sounds like we’re about to get a story from our Kiwi team in Wellington, New Zealand.
MAMA: That would be Elana Murphy, over to you!
ELANA: Thanks guys. That’s right, Jacinda Ardern has written an autobiography called A Different Kind Of Power.
It’s about her life before, during and after her career as PM from 2017-2023.
But the main take-away from the book is: Jacinda is a very empathetic woman. People are calling it her superpower.
She has led New Zealand through tough times, including the horrible terrorist attack in Christchurch on the Muslim community in 2019 that left 51 people dead.
She responded strongly and empathetically, and took practical actions like passing stricter gun laws, and speaking out about hate content online.
But I think her most impressive achievement was taking care of us during COVID-19.
She decided to “go hard and early” with a strict lockdown that saved many lives. Only about 3000 people died of COVID in New Zealand.
Although ultimately, her zero-COVID strategy was overwhelmed by more infectious variants.
It was all too much for Jacina, who famously resigned in 2023 saying she just didn’t have any fight left in her.
Jacinda talked a lot about her ‘imposter syndrome’- that’s when you think your successes are due to luck or chance, rather than your own abilities, and that you’ll eventually be exposed as a fraud.
And it’s something a lot of people experience, even me!
Sharing your anxieties is pretty brave for a world leader, and it made people like her even more.
This is Elana Murphy in Wellington, New Zealand, reporting for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks Elana!
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.”
MAMA: As we know, animals do some pretty amazing things.
LEELA: Well, we DO kinda have a whole segment for it!
MAMA: Haha, that’s true
LEELA: Well one amazing thing animals do is caterpillars turning into butterflies.
MAMA: Yes! And there are other times when animals do some pretty silly things.
LEELA: Like wearing salmon as a hat?
MAMA: Right again. You rightly remembered from a previous episode that a group of Orca whales near Seattle had been spotted wearing dead salmon on their heads.
LEELA: Yep, and if memory serves, scientists never really figured out why they were doing that.
MAMA: Yes again! They speculated that it might have to do with animals following a trend, you know, like WE humans do.
LEELA: Cool!
MAMA: Yes! Well anyway, last month a group of scientists put out a paper studying all sorts of strange animal behavior.
LEELA: I remember hearing about a group of chimps at a wildlife reservation in Zambia in Africa that started putting blades of grass in their ears after one chimp started doing it.
MAMA: Exactly, then 10 years later in that same wildlife reservation where the “grass in ears” trend took off, chimps started sticking grass somewhere else. In another orifice.
LEELA: Another orifice? As in a hole? So, you mean, chimps were like sticking grass up their nose?
MAMA: Try again.
LEELA: Their mouths?
MAMA: Nope.
LEELA: I mean there aren’t that many holes left, so...
MAMA: Alright, alright. Yes. A chimp at that same reservation in Africa started sticking blades of grass in its rear. And like in the other cases, copycat chimps followed along.
LEELA: So you’re telling me there were a bunch of chimps walking around with grass sticking out of their... butts?!?
MAMA: I know, right?! Hilarious! And funny that they would copy each other. But it just goes to show you that sometimes you just want to go along with the crowd.
LEELA: I guess. So, what other strange animal behavior is in that report?
MAMA: Well, since we were talking about Orcas... there have been some cases over the years of Orcas ramming into boats off the coast of Spain.
LEELA: Oh, I remember! In a recent episode we had a report from Nina and Marcky Granena about some incidents. Have there been more?
MAMA: There have indeed! In fact, let’s go over to them now in Barcelona for an update on the latest strange Orca behavior.
LEELA: Well, over to you guys!
NINA: Seeing as 2025 is the 50th' anniversary of the movie Jaws...
MARCKY: Da... na....
NINA: We thought a Jaws-related Dopening would be appropriate.
MARCKY: Da ...na.. da... na...
NINA: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....
SFX OF WATER SPLASHING
NINA: Another case of, not sharks, but Orcas behaving strangely off the coast of Spain.
MARCKY: We’ve covered this story many times for Newsy Pooloozi. In the most recent case, two people had to be rescued from their yacht off the northern coast of Spain.
NINA: But the other cases of orcas ramming boats tend to happen in suthern Spain, in the Strait of Gibrallter...
MARCKY: Also known as “orca alley”!
NINA: Yep. It‘s basically the same every time. Two or three orcas calmly, yet with purpose, ram into boats or yachts until the rudder falls off. Then they lose interest and move on.
MARCKY: But scientists say, for sure, don’t call these incidents “attacks”.
NINA: Right. Because while the orcas are raming into these boats, they’re not making any aggressive behavior.
MARCKY: Like splashing around or making vocalisations.
SFX WHALE NOISE
NINA: But you never know with Orcas. They’re pretty fierce. In fact, earlier this year, there was a study about how Orcas in a pod....
MAMA: That’s what a group of orcas is called, a pod.
NINA: Yes, orcas in pods near Australia and South Africa often work together to go hunting.... FOR GREAT WHITE SHARKS!
Wow. Orcas eating great whites?! That’s nuts. But I knew we could tie it all back to Jaws.
From Barcelona this is Nina and Marcky Granena for Newsy Pooloozi!
[SOURCE: https://discoverwildscience.com/chimpanzee-grass-fashion-social-learning-1-344744/
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/chimpanzees-caught-copying-human-habits-in-bizarre-new-fashion-trend-scientists-stunned-by-viral-primate-culture/articleshow/122795532.cms?from=mdr
https://people.com/two-sailors-rescued-spain-killer-whales-attack-yacht-11777341
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 you know how in journalism they say, when a dog bites a man, it’s not a story, but when a man bites a dog....
MAMA: It’s a great story. Yes, I know that one. Are we talking about journalism 101 today?
LEELA: No. We’re talking about a little boy who bit...
MAMA: A dog.
LEELA: No. Worse. So, you know how here in India, we have a problem with a certain kind of reptile... in fact more people die from this reptile in India than anywhere else in the world.
MAMA: Ugh. Yes.... snakes.
[silence]
MAMA: Wait. You’re telling me that a little boy... bit. A. Snake??
LEELA: Yes, you guessed it! Wild right? A 2-year-old boy here in India sunk his teeth into a cobra after it wrapped itself around the boy’s hands.
MAMA: Hold on. So, a little toddler had a cobra wrapped around his hands, and he decided to BITE IT?
LEELA: Yes! Okay, well the cobra did bite the child, who was rushed to the hospital for treatment, but the boy lived! And the snake died!
MAMA: Wow….. I mean, if a snake sinks its teeth into me, I’m crying out in pain in a panicked mess. Biting the snake back would have been furthest from my mind!
LEELA: Hahaha well I guess sometimes that survival instinct just kicks in! It makes sense to me. If someone bites you, it’s only fair they expect to be bitten back!
MAMA: I guess in that little boy’s case, once bitten, twice...the pain you shall receive! Hahahaha.
LEELA: And that almost brings us to the end of this episode of Newsy Pooloozi! But first…
MAMA: We have a VERY important announcement to make…
LEELA: Yes, this is a big one, folks.
MAMA: After a LOT of thought we've decided that in order to keep bringing you a quality news podcast…
LEELA: And for Mama’s sanity!
MAMA: We'll be producing MONTHLY episodes now.
LEELA: We know, we know – news is a daily beast... but it was either this or draining the pool and, well, we’re just not ready to do that yet.
MAMA: Nope. So, to keep this little news pod for kids alive, we'll be doing monthly wraps of all the weird, wacky and important world news to keep our loyal listeners – as in YOU – informed!
LEELA: As ever, if you’re free and want to become part of this podcast – then do drop us a line. Just head to our website, newsypooloozi.com – p-o-o-l o-o-z-i.com
MAMA: And, as ever, please smash that subscribe button, leave us a review or, even better, tell a friend about us!
LEELA: Alrighty then, we’ll now see you again in a month’s time – mid September – see you next week in the happy, splashy giant Newsy Pooloozi!
-ends-