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Hello and welcome to The Week Junior Show.
I'm Bex and I'm joined by writers Joe and Eve from The Week Junior, the magazine making sense of the world for 8 to 14-year-olds.
Now, in a week where a very powerful storm swept across the US and Japan's pandas returned to China, we're going to be talking about some of the other stories that entertained and interested the Week Junior team.
Make sure you're listening closely, because at the end of this episode we'll be asking a question about what you've heard.
And if you answer it correctly, you could win a prize.
Now in this week's issue there is an interview with author Jeffrey Boakye for National Storytelling Week, where he revealed the song that cheers him up when he's sad is Fire in These Hills by Imagine Dragons.
What a great choice.
Now, it got me thinking, what song cheers you up when you're sad?
Eve, go for it.
Well, my favourite film is Tangled and I really love the song.
I've got a dream where all the characters are in a tavern and they're all sharing their hopes and dreams.
I just think it's such a fun, upbeat song.
So I'd probably go for that one.
That is a great choice for a Disney song.
Absolutely.
Jo, how about you?
Well, while I'm sad, I really like listening to some old pop, punk and or pop songs from the noughties.
So stuff like Busted, McFlight, Atomic Kitten.
And a song I really like, even though it's quite cheesy, is Thunderbirds Ago by Busted.
I think it was written for the film Thunderbirds from 2004, although I've never actually seen the film.
But the song is cracking.
And it starts off with the actual Thunderbirds theme, doesn't it?
And you're like, immediately you're into it.
Eve, you've reminded me, thinking of Disney songs, Zero to Hero from Hercules.
Love that song.
One of the best feel-good songs ever.
But also.
Another classic for me is a song called Spanish Flea, which listeners may not know, but I'll do a little rendition of right now.
It goes...
You get the idea.
That's it.
If anybody wants to hire me for backing singing, of course, please feel free to get in touch.
So if you want to tell us about a song that cheers you up when you're sad, you can send an email to hello at theweekjuniorcouk or leave a voice note at funkidslivecom.
Slash theweekjunior.
Just grab a grown up, look for that big red button and record your voice.
If your voice note is played next week, you could win a Week Junior roving reporter badge.
So last week, we asked listeners what the one thing they'd take with them to space is.
So we had a voice note here from Ezra.
Hi, it's Ezra.
If I could take something to space, it would be a Rubik's Cube because I really like solving them.
My best time is 13.17 seconds.
Ezra, 13.1 seconds.
Eve, the look of shock on your face there.
That is incredible.
I can't even solve a Rubik's Cube.
That's so cool.
I'm jealous, Ezra.
Teach me your ways.
I'm the person who takes off the stickers and just re-sticks them all.
So I'm absolutely not in place to do that.
We also had another voice note from Esme.
Hi, The Week Junior.
My name is Esme.
I'm 10 years old and I would bring my Kindle up into space.
And before that I would charge it and download loads of books because in case I get bored, I can just read on my Kindle with my book.
I love everything about this.
I love that Esme has thought about charging it, making sure it's ready to go.
Fabulous.
Esme, thank you so much.
That was excellent.
And how about Frankie?
So what I would bring would be my cat Dottie, because I want to see how she floats in space, because she follows me around.
So she would float with me.
Jo, how do you feel about floating cat in space?
I quite like the idea.
Someone pointed out that it's quite similar to me suggesting kind of throwing a Frisbee last week.
I mean obviously kind of, you know we need to make sure the cat's safe.
But it's kind of like seeing how an object this time a living object, a cat would travel, travel in space.
You know, sort of give it a gentle shove and see how far it goes.
I feel like I'm not being very fair to cats here, but...
Oh my God, imagine a cat in a little spacesuit, a cat in an astronaut suit.
That'd be so cute.
A gentle shove of a cat in a spacesuit.
What a choice of things there.
Thank you so much to Ezra, Esme and Frankie.
We love hearing your voice notes.
So if you want to send us a voice note this week about a song that cheers you up when you're sad, just let us know.
At funkidslivecom.
Slash theweekjunior.
Now let's turn our attention to the latest magazine.
Let's talk about what's been in the news headlines this week.
Jo, what story do you have for me?
It's the main story on our UK news pages and it's about a letter sent by UK Education Secretary Bridget Philipson to head teachers in England that said people should not be using mobile phones during the school day.
So in the letter, Philipson said mobile phones have no place in schools, should not be used in lessons or at break times, should not be used as calculators or for quizzes during class, and that teachers should not be using their own phones in front of children.
Now Ofsted, which is the organization that oversees schools in England, will be inspecting schools to check on their mobile phone policies.
And technology secretary, Liz Kendall, said the government is determined to ensure technology enriches children's lives, not harms them.
And just under a week before Philipson's letter, on the 19th of January, the government launched a three month consultation asking for opinions on the impact of technology on children's well-being, including from young people themselves, parents and teachers.
One of the aims of this is to decide on a suitable age for children to access social media.
The new guidance about mobile phones applies only to schools in England because education is dealt with separately in each country in the UK.
In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales there are different guidelines about mobile phones, but it's usually left up to schools to decide how strict they need to be.
And finally, some people did express concerns about the government's announcements.
For example, Paul Whiteman from the National Association of Head Teachers said schools need support from the government, not the threat of inspection.
That's going to be a big thing to try and make sure happens, I think. keeping schools phone free.
But yeah, interesting ideas there.
Thanks, Jo.
Eve, what's another story you've seen in the news this week?
So this story is also from our UK news page and it's about a girls football team in Edinburgh who have been given a new trophy after they realised that the boys winning team had been given a much bigger reward than they had.
So South Morningside Primary School girls football team had been really thrilled when they won the Edinburgh Schools Cup, but were soon disappointed when they received a small plastic trophy, while the boys got a much bigger trophy.
So the girls stood up for themselves and wrote a letter to the Edinburgh Primary Schools Sports Association to ask for fairness with the trophies.
And they were then given a much bigger trophy to match the boys' one.
And one of the players called Caitlin said, I feel proud because we stood up for ourselves.
And I just thought it was a really lovely story.
That is a great story.
I'm going to definitely go back and make sure I check that out in the magazine.
Thanks, Eve.
Now, moving on, it's time for my favourite part of the show.
This is Real or Rubbish, where I have to hear a story and guess if it's true or false, fact or fake news.
The answer, of course, will be revealed at the end of the show, and we've all had a bit of a chance to think about it.
So Eve, I think it's your turn this week.
It is.
So this story is about an out of this world holiday.
And I'm wondering, Bex, would you ever consider going on holiday to space?
Look, I would like to go because it's a cool story, but I think realistically I would be terrible in space.
I think I'd panic.
I think I'd worry about where my next chocolate bar was coming from.
I just don't think I'd thrive.
Well, in 2032 it could be possible, because a company has unveiled plans for the first ever hotel on the moon.
And it would be an inflatable hotel put together on Earth and then pumped up once it reaches the lunar surface.
And it can hold up to four guests and they can stay for five nights.
And guests can enjoy gazing at the stars or looking down at Earth, going on lunar walks and even playing golf.
So, Bex, what do you think?
Will humans really be able to take a mini break to the moon soon?
Or is this just a lie in the sky?
Eve, are you telling me basically it's just a massive bouncy castle?
Yeah, it kind of is.
So when you said hotel, I was thinking gosh, it's going to have a lot of rooms, but it's just four people or four rooms, did you say?
Just four guests.
Just four guests.
And playing golf on the moon.
Hang on a second.
Will that work?
Is the gravity all right for that?
Does that work?
Well, I guess that's part of the fun, you know.
And imagine going home and saying, wow, I played golf on the moon.
Because the gravity, people can walk on the moon because, you know, Neil Armstrong did.
So they can walk on the moon.
But I guess the gravity is just a bit different.
So you'd be playing golf with slightly different gravity.
And also, though, it would be so tricky because there are craters everywhere.
Your golf ball would get lost in places you didn't expect.
I mean, that's basically just the golf course is already made for you.
The craters, they can just be the holes where you're aiming.
So, you know, perfect.
Nature's golf course.
And I suppose we'd have to have people like running it as well.
So somebody would have to be there with you to like, because it's a hotel, you want some kind of level of service, right?
Yeah, you'd need a hotel manager, wouldn't you?
Because they're not just going to send up the four guests and say, have fun.
See you in five days.
So yes, I imagine there will be staff managing the inflatable hotel and making sure that everyone's properly fed and entertained.
In my head, I was thinking, gosh, 2032, look, that's the future.
It's actually not that far away when you think about it.
You know, this could happen.
In a few years, we could book it, Bex.
We could go.
We could have a week junior trip to the moon.
That sounds great.
I mean, you know what?
I know I said I was a bit skeptical, but I would go.
It's just the idea.
It just feels like the inflatable aspect of it has really thrown me.
That's the thing that I'm nervous about saying yes to.
So I'll consider whether I'd be over the moon to go across to space or not.
While we think about our book of the week, which is Finn's Epic Fails by Phil Earle.
So here he is to tell us a little bit more about it.
Hello, my name is Phil Earle and I am the author of Finn's Epic Fails, the first of a new series about year seven, student Finlay NO.
Hope.
He's starting secondary school.
His life is pure torture.
He describes himself as the world's greatest fail magnet.
He's got an awful big brother, a despicable young sister, a dad who, for some reason, since his parents divorced, has won nothing but Lycra for cyclists.
And everywhere he turns, he's beaten down.
He's the underdog.
Awful things happen to him.
It's kind of a book for people that might like Lottie Brooks or might enjoy Wimpy Kid.
For me, it was the equivalent of reading a book called The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, which I read when I was about 11 or 12 years old, which I absolutely loved.
Anyway...
I hope Finn is the sort of underdog that you want to read about.
I hope it makes you smile.
It's out now.
And thanks ever so much for listening.
Bye.
Lovely stuff.
If you'd like to win a copy of Finn's Epic Fails, stay with us until the end of the show to find out how you can enter our prize.
Draw to win a copy.
So we've got a special visit on this week's episode by Science and Nature Deputy Editor Stevie.
Hey, welcome back to the show, Stevie.
Hi, Bex.
I'm happy to be here.
Hey, thanks for joining us.
Now, you're here to talk about the new issue of Science and Nature.
So go on.
What do we have this month?
Yeah, it's a good one this month.
So this issue we're traveling into the animal world to find out the weirdest and wackiest ways that animals like to find love.
So obviously it's Valentine's Day coming up in a couple of weeks.
And the animal kingdom have some strange, really quite weird ways.
There's like affectionate nuzzling.
There's love dances.
But one of my favorites is the Adelie penguin dance, who searches for the smoothest rock to give a female and if she accepts, the rock becomes part of the nest.
That's so cute.
I love that.
Oh, my goodness.
I'd love someone to give me a smooth rock.
That's really sweet.
What else do we have in the issue?
Well, on 11th of February, it is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
And we've got loads of features to celebrate these hero scientists.
We talk to dinosaur detectives, Susanna Maidment.
We grow crystals with Dorothy Hodgkin and do some off-screen coding with Larissa Suzuki.
That's quite a lot of stuff to do.
It must have been quite inspirational for you as well to get to read about those people and write about them.
Yes, definitely.
It was really good.
They're amazing females.
Oh, wicked.
Lovely.
There's lots to do there.
So when is the new issue out, Stevie?
It's out today, so you can grab your copy now.
Oh, my goodness.
Thank you.
I'm going to go read more about penguins.
Brilliant.
Thank you very much, Stevie.
Now it's time for our big debate.
And the question is, should lynx return to Scotland?
Joe and Eve will go head to head on this one and take a side each on the argument.
But before we hear from them, here's what you need to know.
Hundreds of years ago, Eurasian lynx roamed wild in Britain.
The species can be found in Europe and Asia and is Europe's third largest predator.
Now lynx no longer live anywhere in Britain, but they have been reintroduced to parts of Western Europe.
In February, a partnership of charities called Lynx to Scotland will hold discussions with people in northern Scotland about the possibility of introducing the lynx back into the wild.
The scheme would need to be approved by the Scottish government, who say it currently doesn't intend to do so.
So should Lynx return to Scotland?
Joe is team yes, Eve is team no.
Each of them will have 60 seconds to make their case, and then I'll make up my mind on who I agree with more.
So let's hear from Joe first, who thinks Lynx should return to Scotland.
Joe, I'm going to get up my clock here.
I nearly got up the calculator, but that is something else entirely.
Yeah, so whenever you're ready, Joe, take it away.
Alright, so lynx are a native species that once roamed wild in Scotland, so really they have a right to be there.
They'd have a positive impact on the environment too because, as hunters, they naturally control the number of animals in an area, with positive knock-on effects for other animal and plant species.
By helping to keep roe deer numbers down, for example, they'd reduce the need for culling, which is when animals such as deer are deliberately killed to keep populations down.
And managing deer numbers is helpful because roe deer eat plants and young trees.
And although lynx could attack and kill sheep, there are ways to pay farmers back for losses.
And finally, introducing lynx would be great for tourism.
Who wouldn't want to see a lynx in the wild?
To me, it sounds amazing.
If lynx are brought back, I'll be on the next train up.
Thank you very much, Jo.
Yeah, you're right.
Maybe they were meant to be there.
Maybe that's their right to be up in Scotland.
But I'm guessing Eve has other ideas.
So Eve, whenever you're ready, take it away.
Well, to start with, lynx prey on sheep and their reintroduction would be really worrying for sheep farmers whose entire livelihood relies on their sheep.
And although they could be compensated for that, it could take a while for them to get the money.
And it would also be dangerous for wildlife in the local area.
Foxes, hares and rabbits would be at risk of being attacked by the lynx.
And that doesn't seem fair on those animals.
The lynx might not even adapt very well to living in the wild in Scotland anyway.
Last year four lynx were actually illegally released into the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland and they didn't adapt to their new home, and one of them actually died.
So this might be because Scotland's lynx population actually partly died out all those years ago because their habitat was destroyed.
They need large forests to survive and thrive and this could be difficult to recreate for them.
And is it worth all that effort?
I don't think so.
OK, Eve's given her professional opinion there.
It's not worth the effort.
But I want to know, of course, what all of the listeners and readers think of this one.
So have you been swayed either way?
Tell us.
You can vote online at theweekjunior.co.uk slash polls.
You can also email your thoughts to us at hello at theweekjunior.co.uk or send us a voice note.
Just go to funkidslive.com slash theweekjunior.
Scroll down until you see that big red button, then grab a grown up and record your voice.
You might be in next week's episode.
In the last Big Debate, we asked you if schools should reward attendance.
So let's find out what the Week Junior listeners and readers voted.
Eve?
64% said no.
You shouldn't get something just for turning up at school.
Interesting.
OK, we've got a voice note here from Bella to tell us her thoughts.
Hello Week Junior, my name is Bella and I'm 11 years old.
I think prizes for attendance are actually pretty unfair, because you shouldn't get a prize just for not catching a cold.
If you get sick or have to go to the doctor, you lose the prize, even though you didn't do anything wrong.
It makes school feel like a competition to see who has the strongest immune system, instead of who is actually working hard.
Plus, just showing up and sitting in a chair doesn't mean you're actually learning anything.
It just means you're there.
We should be rewarded for things we can actually control, like being kind or trying our best, rather than just rewarding people for not having a fever and sitting in a chair.
Look, Jo and Eve, you are great at the big debate, but I think Bella might be better.
Yeah, I think, yeah, I agree 100%.
What a size argument.
Some great soundbites in there from Bella.
You shouldn't get an award for not catching a cold.
What a note there.
Okay, Bella, thank you very much for that.
That was brilliant.
Jo, we've also had some opinions sent in, right?
Yeah, we did.
I feel like I might be out of a job soon, so I need to relish this.
One said if students are rewarded for just attending school, they will be used to it and think everything they attend will get a reward even later in life.
Another said no rewarding attendance just puts pressure on students to attend if they're unwell and results in higher staff and pupil illness overall.
And another said it would encourage pupils to go to school and not think it's boring at.
So lots of people got in touch this week.
Like we said, if you want to get in touch about this week and the links in Scotland, all you've got to do is head to theweekjuniorcouk slash polls.
Now speaking of getting in touch.
Every week, readers of The Week Junior send lots of messages to the inbox to tell us what they've been up to.
And editorial assistant Elena is here to share some of her favourites.
Hey, Elena.
Hi Bex, hi everyone.
Well, last week, Rahul told us all about the Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal and the controversy that followed.
And James sent us a voice note to tell us what he thought.
About the football match.
I think it wouldn't be fair to make them forfeit the match, because they're already really wound up and if they and if they're forced to forfeit the game, then it will be really unfair and they'll, And they might even start a fight with the referee because they got even more wound up.
Thank you, James.
And yes, maybe you're right.
It's such a complicated situation and you don't want to make people even more angry.
James just wants to keep things peaceful.
Joe, as a football fan, what do you think?
Well, when it first happened and I think I said this on the podcast last week I was leaning towards maybe a forfeit or just feeling like kind of something was amiss and Senegal should have had some kind of punishment.
But I kind of agree with James now.
It's...
A lot of time has passed.
You can't really make and forfeit now.
It'd just be carnage and chaos and everyone would be upset.
I feel like we just need to, everyone just needs to calm down.
There'll be more tournaments in future.
Morocco will have more chances to win.
So yeah, what's done is done.
Let's all be peaceful and move forward into the future.
Yeah, a week later, I do think the time has passed.
Let's just let it be.
We also had a message from Lottie who sent us a picture with a great grandma.
She said, my great grandma turned 100 last week.
She loves paper crafts, so I made her a bird from the how-to in issue 527 to stick on her window.
Big birthday.
Happy birthday to Lottie's great grandma.
I'd love to know her name.
I personally don't have great grandchildren yet, but I know I would find it so special if I got something like this.
Lottie, I absolutely love your craft.
That bird is so pretty.
The pink looks really nice.
I'd love to see some more of those.
They look so nice.
And happy birthday to your great grandma.
100 is amazing.
Yes, please tell us her name and we'll give her another shout out next week.
And finally, I believe Joe is going to tell us about a message we received as well.
Joe, the floor is yours.
I did.
I received an email from sisters Ellen and Alice, who are fans of the Week Junior show.
They listened to last week's Real Rubbish, which was about Fula, one of the Shetland Islands, celebrating New Year's Day on the 13th of January.
Ellen and Alice emailed in to say that, like Fula, a community in Pembrokeshire in Wales also celebrates New Year according to the old Julian calendar.
So on the 13th of January people in the Gwine Valley celebrate Hen Galan, which is Welsh New Year's Day.
Thank you to both of you for your email and a pair of roving reporter badges are on their way.
I love when the week junior readers keep us on our toes.
Thank you so much, Ellen and Alison.
Thank you so much, James and Lottie.
And thank you as well to everyone who sent in their messages once again.
I actually, before I leave, I have an announcement to make.
Sorry to everyone, but next week will be my last week on the podcast because I'm moving away.
I'm really going to miss doing this and reading all of our readers' messages.
So please, for my last week, fill our inbox with things.
I want to read and listen to as many messages as I can.
Soak it all in.
And remember, if you send us a voice note and it's played on the podcast, we will send you a Roaring Reporter badge.
So this is your chance and see you next week.
Yes, we want lots of messages for Elena for next week, please.
Thank you very much, guys.
Now it's time to turn our attention back to the magazine this week and the favourite stories our team have picked.
Joe, who is your hero of the week?
My Hero of the Week is Sasha Nash, who has become the first woman to lead the Red Arrows, which is the Royal Air Force's aerobatic display team.
Nash said she was six years old when she wanted to join the RAF, telling BBC News she was inspired by air shows and seeing the speed and excitement aircraft displaying at those events.
Oh, how exciting um eve.
What have you found out about this week?
So we've got a feature about the upcoming um winter olympic games in the magazine, which is also our cover story, and a fact i learned while reading it is that during the 1964 winter olympic games, which were held in austria, there wasn't enough snow and so the army had to bring it down from the mountains.
Oh wow, that's so cool.
What a weird job that the army had to do there, but worth it, I imagine.
Now, the story I saw this week was kind of all over the shop.
I've seen it in loads of places.
It was about a climber who's climbed a skyscraper in Taiwan.
Now, this is, I think, one of the world's tallest buildings.
He climbed it without ropes or safety nets.
It's the Taipei 101 skyscraper.
It's 508 meters tall and it has 101 floors.
That's loads of floors.
Like...
Even doing the stairs would exhaust me.
So climbing it from the outside is massive, to be honest.
So yeah, I think it was broadcast on Netflix as well.
You can see a picture in the magazine as we speak right now.
So lots of stuff to check out in there.
But right now, before all of that, before we let our listeners go and check out the magazine, we've got to talk about the real rubbish.
Because Eve, can you remind me what this story was, please?
Yes.
So this is about the company that has plans to put an inflatable hotel on the moon in 2032, which can hold up to four guests and they can stay for five nights.
Right.
So my thought is we're in 2026 right now.
2032, it doesn't seem that long away.
It feels like.
I know the hotel won't be built, but do we have the technology to create it?
An inflatable hotel on the moon?
I'm a bit worried about that.
Um also, just the idea of an inflatable hotel on the moon always funny, unless you're very, very rich.
Maybe people have a lot of money and this is a thing people can do if they're very rich.
I mean, i imagine the prices would be, would would be high.
Uh, if you're gonna have four people there at time, i'm gonna have to say the story is rubbish just because there's something about it that doesn't ring true for me.
So i'm gonna say the story this week is rubbish eve.
Okay, drum roll, please.
It's real now.
Oh, my God.
We've tricked you for the first time this year.
A US-based company called Galactic Resources Utilizations is behind the plans, and it won't be a cheap visit.
Prices could start at around £7.5 million per person for a five-night stay.
So...
We may not be booking that trip to the moon.
Yeah, I don't think we can make it just yet, but you never know.
When they bring prices down, perhaps we can take that group trip.
Now finally, it's time to listen up to the bit of the show that gives you the chance to win a copy of our book of the week.
This week, it is Finn's Epic Fails by Phil Earle.
So all you've got to do is answer a question about something that's been said in this episode.
And if you think you know the answer, grab a grown up and head to theweekjuniorcouk to fill in our online entry form and enter the prize draw before the closing date of the 5th of February at midday.
Congratulations to Melissa, who won a copy of The Monsters at the End of the World in a recent giveaway.
So the Week Junior team will randomly select a winner from all of the entries with the correct answer.
And if you're under 16, you must have a parent or guardian's permission to enter, and terms and conditions apply.
You can find out more at theweekjunior.co.uk slash terms.
So are you ready?
Listen up.
In which country did the 1964 Winter Olympics take place?
And, as Bec said, if you know the answer to the question, go to theweekjuniorcouk forward slash listener to enter our giveaway.
Lovely.
Thanks, Joe.
That is pretty much it for this week's show.
Thank you, of course, as usual, to Joe, Eve, Elena and Stevie.
Next week, we'll be back to discuss more of the fascinating stories happening in the world.
And don't forget to send in your voice notes for a chance to have your voice on the podcast and to win a roving reporter badge.
And, of course, please do rate, review and subscribe, or follow us, wherever it is you get your podcasts from.
If you like The Week Junior Show, you'll love The Week Junior magazine.
Head to theweekjunior.co.uk to find out more.
Bye.
For five pounds by heading to theweekjunior.co.uk forward slash podcast offer.
