Monday 13 July, 2020
Vaccine hopes high in Queensland; Nigeria’s ballet boy hero; Whales ahoy off Sydney; and Dua Lipa’s upbeat anthem.
LINKS
Nigeria’s ballet prodigy:
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Could scientists in Queensland become the first in the world to discover a vaccine for the coronavirus?
That’s what researchers at the University of Queensland are hoping as they launch today the first testing on humans of a COVID-19 vaccine.
It’s a significant step for the clever bunch of scientists who have already tested the vaccine in mice and are now ready to trial it on humans.
One hundred and twenty Queenslanders have put their hands up to take part in the trial which is expected to get underway today.
The race is on to find a vaccine – with more than 130 teams around the world working on a way to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops, and today, we’ve landed in Nigeria … a big country in Africa … where a video from a ballet school for boys has gone viral.
The video is of 11 year old Anthony Madu, dancing ballet in the rain at his dance academy in the Nigerian city of Lagos.
There’s not much equipment, the dance studio is simple – concrete walls and concrete floors – but as the video of Anthony shows – when the urge to dance is in your bones, nothing can stop you.
He leaps, he spins, he pirouettes – all thanks to a local dance teacher who teaches ballet for free to kids in Lagos.
A video of Anthony dancing was posted to social media and shared by Hollywood actress, Viola Davis to her gazillion followers.
Anthony’s mum says at first she wasn’t sure about her son dancing ballet, but now she watches him dance and it fills her with joy. Us too, Anthony. Us too. There’s a link in today’s episode notes to a video of Anthony in action.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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It’s a new school term – and that means a bunch of new segments for Squiz Kids – as we try to mix it up a bit each day.
Today’s new segment is Animal Kingdom – a segment that will appear regularly and one in which we’ll bring you all the latest and greatest news from our animal friends.
Including … the spectacular display that was turned on by a couple of whales just outside Sydney Heads on Friday morning.
With the east coast of Australia resembling a sort of humpback superhighway – with the whales moving up and down as part of their annual migration – whale watchers were treated to a great big, hour long whale show as a couple of adult humpbacks – each weighing about 40 tonnes – which is about six times as heavy as an elephant – performed every trick in the book – jumping up out of the water, slapping their tails on the surface and entertaining in the process a boatload of excited tourists.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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You know how music can make you feel happy or sad? Well, it turns out, pop music goes through phases – and right now, we’re in what’s called a euphoric – or happy phase – as artists seek to balance out all the tough times we’re living through.
A researcher from a university in Sweden recently took stock of this year’s bunch of chart-topping hits – from Dua Lipa’s Physical to Lady Gaga’s Stupid Love and Harry Styles’s Watermelon Sugar – and found that the sort of music we are really loving at the moment is upbeat, boppy tunes with a high BPM .. which means beats-per-minute. The higher the BPM, the faster the song.
After listening to the sleepy likes of Billie Eilish who dominated last year’s music charts, the researcher decided it was no accident that all the most popular songs were tunes where we could all just dance like no-one’s watching. Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care…
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- Which state in Australia is hoping to be the first to develop a COVID vaccine?
- In which country in Africa does ballet prodigy Anthony Madu live and dance?
- Which marine mammals entertained tourists in the waters off Sydney Heads on Friday?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s July 13 … The original Han Solo, Harrison Ford’s birthday. Also on this day back in 1985 – Live Aid music concerts were staged in London and New York, to raise money for African countries affected by famine … it was a huge big thing back in the day – ask an adult in your life …
Alright team – settle in, for a extra-long, super-dooper, bumper edition of Shout Outs – as we celebrate all the Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today and those who blew out their candles over the weekend and throughout last week …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Charlotte from Narrabeen, Matilda from Gosford East, Olivia from Crookwell, Stella from Walpole, Will from Newcastle, Elizabeth from Redbank Plains, Gus from Shepparton, Addieson and Aditi from Oran Park, Amelia from Glenhaven, Will and Lerelle from Sydney, Amy from Crow’s Nest, Toby from Perth, Maia-Jane from Randwick, Frederic from Cairns, Maggie from St Kilda.
And some belated birthday shoutouts… Jack, Saarthi and Gavin from Quaker’s Hill, Dhyan from Constitution Hill, Luca from Killarney, Lachlan from Idalia, Lily from Aranda, Lawrence from Bureen, Calvin from Merredin, Thomas from Beecroft, Quinn and Emmett from Redlynch, Florence and Olivia from Caringbah, Sophie from Concord West, Molly from Walpole, Anika from Launceston, Emi from Harden, Ari from Balmain, Marcus from North Rocks, Liam from Abbotsford, Lucy from St Leonards, Arabella from Mornington, Liya from Balmain, Julian from Knoxfield, Dylan from St Clair, Scarlett and Raphael from Newcastle, Mitchell from Fitzroy, Timothy from Concord West, Mercedez from Oran Park, Pippa from Springwood, Eloise and Henry from Hornsby, Rory from Gloucester, Siena from Happy Valley, William from Karalee, Keiran from Mansfield, Declan from Wagga Wagga, Stella from Hunters Hill, Aden from Balgownie, Adi from St Helens Park, Sammy from Walpole, Lenny from Lysterfield, Tyler from Carlingford, Jenson and Brondle from Gembrook, Jaylen from Upper Brookfield, Marnie from Crookwell, Diep from Taree, Earth, Caleb, Colin, Riley, Hayden and Archie from Sydney, Lachie from Allambie Heights, Hari from O’Connor, Marianne from Melbourne, Harriet and Josephine from Richmond, Ivy from Northcote, Erin from Albury, Alex from Eastwood, Kaylee from Karalee, Albert from Madora Bay, Nantale from Terrigal, Helena from Vaucluse, Maxwell from Mitcham, Monica from Burwood, and Quincy from Sherwood.
Happy birthday to you all.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Queensland
- Nigeria
- Whales