Hello and welcome to The Week Junior Show.
I'm Bex and I'm joined by writers Jo and Eve from The Week Junior, the magazine making sense of the world for 8 to 14 year olds.
In this week's episode we've got lots to chat about, including Lunar, New Year celebrations, Larry the Cat's big anniversary and the Winter Olympics.
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 of the magazine, there is a double page spread brimming with facts about Pokemon to celebrate 30 years of the game.
And it got me thinking, what is your favorite Pokemon?
Eve, you can go first.
Well, I'm going with quite a basic answer, but because my name is Eve, I'm going to go for the Pokemon Evie, because it sounds like my name and it's just really cute.
And also, I used to have this game when I was younger that my brother and I used, which was like a big Pokeball, but when you opened it it was actually a games console.
I think we got it from a charity shop or something and you could play Pokemon on this.
It was really cool.
So yeah, when I think of Pokemon, I'm thinking of that and missing it.
I don't know where it's gone now.
Hopefully in the loft, so i can go and get it.
Hopefully you'll see it again.
Uh joe, how about you?
Well, I had good fun with this one.
It was a nice trip down memory lane.
I thought of so many Pokemon I used to like, but the one I've gone for, it's called Zapdos.
It's a legendary electric and flying type Pokemon.
I didn't remember this.
I did have to research this.
And it's this spectacular yellow bird with frightening eyes.
It's got this long beak and pointy tufts all over its body.
And special mention also to Dodrio. which is a bird with three heads.
I think I just like bird Pokemon.
I was going to say, I think maybe you'd like birds.
Guys, we all know about me.
I'm up for anything, but I'm not a big fan of Pokemon.
Just never was my style, to be honest.
So Eve, you said you were going to go basic with Evie.
I'm going to go even more basic with... with the classic Pikachu.
It has to be Pikachu.
He's yellow and cute and you know where you stand with him, because you know he is, I think, a good character, a good guy right, Eve?
Yeah, he's a good guy.
He's a winner.
We love Pikachu.
It's going to have to be Pikachu as my favourite Pokemon, but I'm sure many listeners right now are thinking, oh my goodness Bex, get it together and get your Pokemon knowledge up.
So if you want to tell me what Pokemons I should like or what your favourite Pokemon is, please do send us an email.
Go to hello at theweekjunior.co.uk or leave a voice note at funkidslive.com slash theweekjunior.
Just grab a grown-up, look for that big red button and record your voice.
If your voice note is played out next week, you could win a Week Junior roving reporter badge.
Now, last week, we asked listeners what their dream pet was.
We got a message here from Dylan.
Hello, my name is Dylan and I'm seven years old.
The pet I would like is a baby lion, because lions are my favourite animal and baby cubs are really cute.
Thank you.
Bye.
And I love your Week Junior shows.
Oh, my goodness.
I mean, I'll always play a voicemail that compliments us at the end of it.
A baby lion.
That's a great shout.
I think that'd be awesome.
They can protect you and they'd be cute.
Thank you, Dylan.
Now we had another one here from Ria.
Hello, The Week Junior.
My name is Ria and I'm 11 years old.
If I could have any animal as a pet, it would be a spider monkey because they're really cute.
And it'd be funny when they do cheeky things.
And my mum and dad will be very happy.
This is Spider-Man with the monkey.
Bye.
I love your show.
Again, another compliment.
Thank you very much, Ria.
A spider monkey is a great shout.
I love one of the reasons being because mum and dad won't be very happy about it.
I mean...
Fair enough, Ria.
I assume they would know if you had it in the house.
So yeah, you'd have to kind of manage expectations there, but two excellent choices.
So thank you so much to Dylan and Ria.
And if you want your voice to feature on next week's podcast, send us a voice note at funkidslivecom.
Slash theweekjunior and tell us what your favorite Pokemon is.
Now I think we need to turn our attention to the latest magazine to talk about what's been in the news this week.
So Eve, what story do you have for me?
So there's been lots of news about Lunar New Year celebrations this week, and that's because Lunar New Year began on the 17th of February and it's being celebrated by Asian communities across the UK and around the world at the moment.
And the festival is marked by colourful parades and dances, loud fireworks and families gathering to eat traditional food.
And the date of the Lunar New Year depends on the arrival of a new moon.
And it changes every year, but it's always between the 21st of January and the 20th of February.
It's also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, and it has lots of other names in different countries.
And this year is the year of the fire horse, which symbolizes moving forward, confidence and strength.
And it's based on the Chinese zodiac, which is a system of where each year is represented by one of 12 animals that repeat in a cycle.
And there are also five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
And the animal changes every year and the element every two years.
So the next fire horse year will be in 60 years, which is crazy.
But in this week's issue, on page seven, we wrote about how people have been celebrating across the UK.
And then on our That's Unbelievable page, which is page 29, we also wrote about someone who has become an unlikely New Year hero this year, which is Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.
And you might be thinking why?
But pictures of him have featured on lots of decorations in China.
And it's because the Chinese translation for Malfoy contains the words for horse and fortune, which I think is really cool.
And he's just kind of been all over decorations in China, which is really fun.
And I'd love to know if any of our listeners are celebrating Lunar New Year this week.
So please do send us pictures or a voice note to tell us what you've been up to.
Absolutely.
I wonder what Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the films.
I wonder what he thinks of the whole thing, because that would be very weird but ultimately very cool to have your picture everywhere.
Right, Eve?
Yeah, I actually believe that he posted a picture on social media yesterday of because he's currently on Broadway playing Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
And I believe he posted a picture of himself in costume in front of some decorations behind him.
Oh, I love that.
OK, he's leaning into it.
Excellent.
Now, thank you so much, Eve.
Joe, what's another story you've seen in the news this week?
It's a story from Amazing Week 4 section.
It's about Larry the Cat celebrating 15 years as 10 Downing Street's Chief Mouser.
10 Downing Street in London being the UK Prime Minister's official home.
Larry's jobs include greeting guests, testing antique furniture for napping quality and, of course, keeping the rodent population down.
Over his 15 years in the role, he's become a very well-known and popular figure and has now served six different prime ministers.
I was going to ask how many pro ministers he's seen.
It's quite interesting that he's been there longer than so many other people.
But yeah, congratulations to Larry.
15 years is an excellent, excellent innings there.
Right now, moving on, it's time for Real or Rubbish.
This is the bit where I hear a story.
I have to guess if it's true or false, fact or fake news.
This week, Joe, I believe you're going to try and trick me.
So a team of scientists at the University of Maryland in the US have applied themselves to a very stinky problem and have invented smart underwear, which is technology that measures how many times a person farts in one day.
The smart underwear is actually a small device that clips onto someone's pants.
It detects hydrogen and other gases that are produced when someone lets rip.
The scientists tested the device on 19 adults and found that they parked 32 times a day on average, which is more than twice the average usually reported in medical textbooks.
The aim of the device is to gather information and learn about people's digestion.
But are fart pants real or does our story carry a whiff of suspicion?
I mean, the fact you've used the phrase fart pants, this is a news podcast, Joe.
This is a very important news podcast.
I know.
Because my question was going to be, why?
Like, why have these been invented?
But so to figure out digestion, as in how long it takes for something to get into your system and then get out, I guess,
Yeah, I don't know the specifics, but I think.
But farts are generally considered to be almost like a marker of how good your digestion is.
Because I suppose, if I mean I suppose, if you've got a bad stomach, or if you eat certain foods that play with your stomach, upset your stomach, you tend to fart more during the day.
I thought you were going to say, oh yeah, and then it masks the smell.
But it literally, it's just a little counter, it's a little tattletale in your pants telling you how many times you farted.
Yeah, it sort of gives the game away for you.
It measures the gases that are being released.
Yeah, so nothing escapes the notice of scientists.
It measures the gases as they come out.
Would you volunteer for this programme, Joe, if it is indeed real?
Would you be happy to wear fart pants?
I think I would.
I think I'd contribute to science.
I mean, providing...
The results weren't going to be made public.
And if they were made public, I was anonymized.
They weren't particularly like a big picture of my face next to my score.
Yeah, I'd absolutely refuse to do that.
But yeah, why not?
All in the name of science.
And farts are great, aren't they?
We love farts at the Week Junior.
Right.
Well, rather you than me, I'll have a little think about that, whether I believe it's true or whether I think it is actually pants.
But while I'm thinking about it, let's talk about our book of the week, which this week is The Street Art Mystery by Shana Jackson.
So here she is.
Tell us a little bit more about it.
Hello to everybody listening to the Week Junior podcast.
I'm Shana Jackson and I have a new book out.
It's called The Street Art Mystery and in it Margot Wesley and Josie have big plans for their weekend in London before they start high school, but they have a boring event at an art gallery with Margot's mum to get through before they can have some fun.
But they don't plan on the night ending with a body, and this mystery takes them all across london through tower blocks and skate parks and maybe to the notting hill carnival, the biggest party of the year.
That's the street art mystery and i hope you love it if you get a chance to read it now.
Somebody asked me what my favorite book was when i was growing up and i had two, two books.
One was the runaways by ruth thomas, and it was about two.
They weren't friends, but two people who uh, went to school together and they find lots of money in an abandoned house and they decide to run away because they think the police are after him.
My other favourite book was a medical encyclopedia.
I would spend hours and hours reading about diseases and other strange ailments.
And my favourite disease was something called hydrocephalus.
So, yeah, that's not weird at all.
OK, thank you.
So good to speak to you all.
Bye.
And, of course, if you want to win a copy of The Street Art Mystery, take a look at the book club page in the magazine this week and you can find out how.
Now, we've got a special visit on this week's episode from associate editor Laura.
Hello, Laura.
How are you doing?
Hi Bex, I'm good.
How are you?
Very good, thank you.
Now, first of all, of course, welcome back to the pod.
Secondly, what do you have for us this week?
Well, this week I thought I'd talk about our nature spy spot.
So obviously that's where we point out things in nature, which you can see at the moment.
Because obviously nature is always changing.
And this week we had crocuses.
So crocuses are one of the first plants that you'll see flowering across the UK.
And yeah, they bring some welcome colour, I have to say, in the gloomy weather that we're having at the moment.
So you might have seen a few of these spread around over sort of grassy areas somewhere.
So often they're kind of under trees, in parks and gardens and things like that.
And it's a really tough little plant, the crocus, so it can even grow through snow.
And it's actually native to sort of mainland Europe.
But there are loads of varieties of crocus now and they're grown all across the world.
And they can be several different colours, the flowers.
So you can get purple ones, sort of lighter purple, like a kind of lilac shade.
Yellow ones, white ones, and sometimes they're sort of striped, slightly different colours.
And when they come up the petals are kind of arranged in a little cup shape when they first come up.
And then they sort of open up to look a bit more star-like.
And the leaves are thick and pointed, a bit like sort of big, giant blades of grass.
So they're quite easy to spot and they're grown from something called a corm, which is kind of similar to a bulb, if you've heard of bulbs.
So lots of spring flowers grow from bulbs.
And basically it's something, it's kind of like a swollen underground stem and it allows...
It stores food for the plant and helps it survive winter, because crocuses die back after they flower and then they spring up again each spring.
Yeah, so they're really lovely, colourful, little cheerful flowers.
And yeah, have a look and see if you can see them.
But one of the facts that we uncovered writing this was the fact that the spice saffron is harvested from crocuses.
So it's actually taken from the dried stigmas which are kind of the red strands in the centre of the flower of the saffron crocus.
And it takes an awful lot of flowers to get one, just a tiny amount of saffron.
It's a very, very expensive spice.
Yes, I didn't know it came from crocuses then.
Have you ever tasted saffron if it's that expensive?
I didn't know that either until I wrote this, but it makes sense that it would be very expensive.
I always remember my mum telling me that it's very expensive.
I don't think we had any in our cupboards.
But yes, I have tasted it once and it was quite a long time ago.
And I think it was in a rice dish, like a risotto.
And it's quite sort of delicate flavour, as far as I can remember.
It's sort of quite florally, maybe a bit smoky, and I'm sure everybody would say something different, but it was also a really beautiful colour.
So it kind of lends a sort of reddy, orangey golden sort of colour to things.
So yeah interesting, I was going to say I thought that was the colour, the golden vibe, but I wasn't too sure.
I had no idea about that, Laura.
So thank you so much for telling us all about it and I'm going to be looking out for some crocuses.
Now it's time for this week's big debate and the question this week.
Is it OK to scroll as you watch?
Joe and Eve will go head to head to take a side each on this argument.
But before we hear from them, here's some information that you need to know.
In a cinema, it's generally against the rules to have your phone on while a film is playing.
But at home, some people do like to look at their phones during movies.
The actor Matt Damon recently said that the streaming service Netflix has been asking filmmakers to make sure the viewers can follow what's going on in their films, even if they're distracted by phones or other things.
So an example of a step a filmmaker could take is having the characters describe the plot more than once, in case the viewer misses it the first time around because they were busy scrolling on their phone.
Now, Is it okay to scroll as you watch?
Joe is team yes.
Eve is team no.
Each of them have 60 seconds to make their case.
And then I'll make my mind up as to whose side I agree with more.
We're going to hear from Joe first, who thinks it's okay to scroll as you watch.
Don't worry, Joe.
I am going to get the clock up and I shan't be scrolling during your debate.
So whenever you're ready, take it away.
So there are rules over phone use in cinemas but these don't apply when you're in your home.
If you're sitting on your own sofa, do what you like.
And because you're not in a dark cinema, the light from your phone is unlikely to be disturbing anyone else.
And if Matt Damon's correct, then films are being edited for just these kinds of situations anyway.
In other words, to help you follow what's going on, even if you're on your phone.
So with filmmakers giving you a hand, you're less likely to miss important details.
And look, movies are long and they're sometimes complicated and sometimes a bit dull.
I think that's something we've all experienced.
You begin a movie, you realise you're not enjoying it and that two hours seems like a very long time.
But...
If you can get bored during a movie and use your phone until something gets interesting, you might be less likely to give up on it entirely.
Because obviously, when you're in your own home, you can just get up and walk away from the TV.
But you might be more inclined to give a boring film a chance if you can skip the boring parts.
Excellent stuff.
Thank you, Jo.
A smidge over, but I'll allow it.
And now it's time for Eve to tell me why she disagrees with Jo.
So, Eve, whenever you're ready, take it away.
So I think if you're on your phone during a film, it's not just about sort of the plot points that might need re-explaining to you.
It's also about sort of the funny things or exciting scenes that happen that you might miss.
And let me just take you back to last week.
I was watching Monsters University with my best friend.
And Monsters University is one of my favourite films ever.
And there's this great montage where Mike and Sully and Uzma Kappa are preparing to enter the scare games and it's a funny montage and my best friend was on her phone and I was laughing away and she was missing all of it and I was thinking I actually made her put her phone away and I rewound it and I made her watch the scene again.
So I think you don't just miss important plot points, you also miss funny scenes as well.
And several studies have found that looking at phones can make it difficult to concentrate.
People should learn to be comfortable putting their phone away while focusing on something.
If we can do it at the cinema, why can't people do it at home as well?
And it's a fun experience to share with others.
And it's not fun to sort of look over every five minutes and see your friends and family are scrolling.
So I think we should not scroll while we're watching.
All right, lovely stuff.
Two of you seem very passionate about this one.
I'm going to be honest, I have been known many times to scroll during a TV show or a film.
I'm not proud of it.
It just happens.
But also I do know, as Eve has said, there is nothing more disheartening than watching something you love with a family member or friend and they do not pay it the attention that you think it deserves.
And you want to be like tapping them, be like no no no, watch this bit.
This is the good bit.
This is the good.
It is, it's very disheartening.
So I, I'm stuck on this one.
I think also as a as a matter of courtesy to the people who've made it like try your best to not scroll.
I think.
But I know that is tough.
And I know Joe's point as well of, like you know, it's just It's kind of easy to do it and it's okay and things will come back to you.
It's okay.
So I want to know what the opinion is of our readers and listeners this week.
So you can go and 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 and then scroll until you see that big red button.
Grab a grown-up and record your voice.
Now, in the last Big Debate, we asked you if it's OK to send humans to space.
Let's find out what the Week Junior listeners and readers voted.
Well, 72% said yes, it's better to send humans than machines to space.
Okay, Eve, any opinions on this one?
Yeah, so one person said for some people it's their dream or hobby and scientists can make new discoveries.
Someone else said, people can do things that machines can't, like describe their experiences.
Their stories are more inspiring than a computer's observations.
And someone else said it is some people's dream to go to space and it wouldn't be very nice for them to have robots take their dream instead.
Oh, three excellent points of view there.
Thank you so much to everybody who got in touch.
Like I said, for this week's big debate, just go to theweekjunior.co.uk slash polls.
Now, every week, readers of The Week Junior send in loads of messages to the inbox just to tell us what they've been up to.
And we love hearing them.
So we're joined right now by editorial assistant Kay, who's been reading through them all, to share some of the great ones she's seen.
Hello, Kay.
Hi.
So Hayley and Hayden flew 15 hours to visit their grandparents in Malaysia and experience the Malaysian way in celebrating Chinese New Year.
And they sent us this really cool picture of them posing with a lion dance crew on Chinese New Year's Day, which is on the 17th of February.
That looks so cool.
I uh, i really want more and more listeners to be sending in pictures of stuff like this, because it looks so fun and i love.
I love what they're wearing as well looks amazing.
And then, um lara was bucket shaking to raise money for macmillan cancer research outside the rangers stadium and she raised 150 pounds Yeah, and she sent us this lovely picture of her in front of Ibrox Stadium, which is the Rangers Stadium.
And I really love it.
And to be honest, for no particular reason, I've always felt a bit of an affinity with Rangers.
They're maybe my favourite football club in Scotland.
Please don't... you know, send messages in and, you know, get angry at me for that.
But yeah, it's a lovely picture.
And I just kind of love, I love the colour blue in the picture as well.
The sky is blue and the stadium is blue and it's my favourite colour.
So there you go.
Amazing stuff.
We've had some really lovely messages this week.
So thank you so much for getting in touch.
So Kay, if anyone's got any pictures, how can we send them to you?
So send them to hello at theweekjunior.co.uk and we read all of your messages.
Perfect.
Thank you so much.
Now remember, if you send in a voice note as well and it gets played on the podcast, you could win a roving reporter badge.
Right, let's turn our attention back to the magazine this week and the team's favourite stories.
Jo, who is your hero of the week?
For Hero of the Week, I've maybe cheated a little bit.
I've actually chosen several people.
So last week, when I recorded the podcast I mentioned, I talked about the Winter Olympics and I mentioned that Team GB hadn't yet won any medals there.
But I apparently served as motivation because as of today Thursday, when we're recording this, They've won three.
Matt Weston won a gold medal in the skeleton, which is a sport where athletes travel headfirst along an icy track on a sled.
Weston and teammate Tabitha Stoker then won gold in the mixed team skeleton race.
And then Charlotte Banks and Hugh Nightingale won gold in the mixed snowboard, which is a race where riders whiz over ramps and round a twisting route on snowboards.
So a massive congratulations to all of them.
I was watching as Tabby Stoker and Matt Weston won and it was such a moment.
It was so incredible.
So yes, congratulations to everybody who's just even competed in the Winter Olympics.
Eve, what's been your favourite fact from this week's issue?
So we've got a feature in the magazine this week and it's on our cover as well about the Young VA's new Aardman exhibition.
And we all know I love Aardman.
I feel like I go on about it on the podcast all the time.
And the exhibition is really great.
But a fact that I loved, that I learned when I was writing this feature, is that even though the first Wallace and Gromit film, A Grand Day Out is 23 minutes long, it took six years to make.
And I just think, they must have been very patient to spend six years making a film.
You have to really believe in something to spend six years of your life on it, I think, right Eve?
Yeah, definitely.
But I'm so glad they did because then they went on to make loads of great Wallace and Gromit films.
So it was six years well spent.
So worth it.
The thing I saw this week was in Nigeria, there's a fishing festival.
I love the idea of this.
There's a great picture of thousands of fishermen joining this festival and And they've got lots of crowds there and they basically compete to hook the biggest fish using traditional methods like hand-woven nets.
This year's winner caught a croaker fish, which I've never heard of.
Apparently weighed 59 kilos.
And I just love the idea of like a big old fishing festival.
What a wholesome thing to have.
So yeah, you can see a picture for that in the magazine this week.
Now it's time for the moment of truth about our real or rubbish story.
Jo, go on, remind me what this was, please.
It was about smart underwear, which isn't actually underwear.
It's a small device that is clipped onto someone's underwear to detect the gases that are produced when they fart.
And the scientists who were testing it tested it on 19 adults and found that they trumped 32 times a day on average.
But Bex, is this real or a lie?
I like that you called it.
Was it smart underwear when beforehand you called it fart pants?
Very different vibe.
Oh, right.
Okay, sorry.
I'm making it up as I go along.
You made it sound much more legit the second time round, which has confused me somewhat.
Only 19 people took part in this, did you say?
19, yeah.
Only 19 at this stage of testing.
Not a lot, is it?
But then again, maybe it's quite expensive to make 19... fart-pant smart detectors, I don't know.
I'm a little confused as to... I really don't know with this one.
I feel like it's the kind of thing that scientists would do, but equally, why?
What's the point?
Like, I don't know.
But I guess maybe if you want to check out somebody's digestion, you know, they can't keep a tally.
They might not realise how many times a day they've passed wind.
So I don't know with this one.
I'm going to say the story this week is...
Rubbish.
I'm going to say it's a rubbish story.
Should we do a drum roll?
Uh, that is real.
I know, I know.
It's a great story.
The scientists now want to do a bigger trial so that they can learn even more about farts.
And they've invited people over the age of 18 across the US to apply.
There we go.
Okay, lovely stuff.
Well, I was going to say I'm not going to apply, but obviously I'm not in the US, so I think I'll be excluded anyway.
Now, finally, it's time for Listen Up, the bit of the show that gives you a chance to win a prize.
And to mark the recent release of the movie Stitch Head.
This week's prize is a Stitch Head poster and the first Stitch Head book, both of which are signed by auth guy bass and director steve hudson.
So we've got two poster and book bundles to give away, and if you want to enter for your chance to win, all you've got to do is answer a question about something that's been said in this episode.
If you think you know the answer, grab a grown-up and head to theweekjuniorcouk, listen up to fill in our online entry form and enter the prize draw before the closing date of the 26th of February at midday.
Also, by the way, congratulations to Ben, who won a copy of The Lions Run in a recent giveaway.
The Week Junior team will randomly select two winners 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.
Find out more at theweekjunior.co.uk slash terms.
So, are you ready?
Listen up.
How many years has Larry the Cat lived at 10 Downing Street for?
If you know the answer to the question, go to theweekjuniorcouk forward slash listener to enter our giveaway.
Thank you very much, Joe.
That brings us to the end of this week's show.
Thank you to Joe, Eve, Kay and Laura.
Next week, we'll be back to discuss more of the fascinating stories happening in the world.
And don't forget to send in voice notes for a chance to have your voice on the podcast and win a roving reporter badge.
Plus, of course, please do rate, review and subscribe, or follow us.
Wherever it is you get your podcasts.
And 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.
