Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
Trump or Biden? America decides; it’s Melbourne Cup day; inside the Among Us craze; and why your dog loves your smell.
LINKS
Vote for Squiz Kids in the Australian Podcast Awards: https://australianpodcastawards.com/vote
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Rrrrrrracing! It’s known as the race that stops the nation, and today’s Melbourne Cup will be like no Melbourne Cup that has gone before it.
Mostly because the coronavirus restrictions in Victoria have meant there will be no crowd at the Flemington racetrack – a most peculiar sight given that every other year, many thousands of racegoers frock up and descend on the track to see which horse and which jockey win the Cup .
It’s not without its critics, of course – with some animal rights activists arguing that horseracing is cruel.
But the race has a long tradition in Australia – where a public holiday is observed in Victoria and most of the rest of the country gets caught up in the drama – whether via sweeps with family or workmates.
Everyone will have a favourite .. everyone will have a tip for which horse will win – but our attention is going to be on the only female jockey in today’s’ race – Adelaide native, Jamie Kah.
She’s 24 years old, riding in her first ever Melbourne Cup and has been selected to ride one of the race favourites, Prince of Arran. And get this, she’ll be starting the race in the same gate from which Michelle Payne – the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup – rode the 2015 Cup winner, Prince of Penzance to victory. Surely that’s got to be a good omen?
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 the United States of America …. where a little thing you may have heard something about is about to unfurl.
It’s the US Presidential Election – and after almost a year of campaigning, the two candidates, current President Donald Trump and the challenger, Joe Biden will hand over to the American people for them to make their choice.
Both candidates have spent the past few days criss-crossing the country, holding rallies, giving speeches and hoping to convince voters to give them the keys to the White House – the President’s official residence.
More than 91 million people have already voted – with experts predicting this election could see more Americans coming out to vote than any other election in the country’s history.
But don’t think for a moment there will definitely be a winner by tomorrow afternoon.. the race is expected to be so tight, and there are so many voters sending their vote via the mail that election watchers are saying there’s a good chance there will be a legal fight after the vote over who has the right to claim victory. So hold on tight – it’s going to be quite the ride …
POP CULTURE CORNER
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One of the side-effects of so many people around the world being locked down because of the coronavirus has been the explosion of online gaming. And recently, no game has proved more popular than Among Us – a multiplayer game where up to 10 players are dropped on a spaceship and have to work out who is a Crewmate and who’s the Impostor.
Despite being released two years ago and largely being ignored by gamers, Among Us was last week identified as the fastest growing online game in the world.
But is it appropriate for kids? The US parent’s website Common Sense Media has reviewed it and recommends it for kids over the age of 10 – and says while it’s largely safe, the chat function in the game opens the possibility of players being exposed to inappropriate content. So – as with all games – make sure you check with the adults in your life before getting involved. And here’s hoping you’re not the Impostor.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Are you one of the heaps of Aussie kids who have a dog? If so – you know how when you look at your dog you get a rush of happy feelings? Well, new research shows that dogs feel the same way too – and that when you make eye contact with your pooch – your dog experiences a rush of happy emotions just like you.
The same research found that dogs become attached to their owners in the same way that human babies become attached to their parents – and even the faintest hint of the smell of their owners can set a dog off into backflips of joy. Who doesn’t love coming home and seeing their dog wag its tail off?
Speaking of smelling: a dog’s sense of smell is estimated to be 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than that of a human. They use their noses to find out so much about the world around them – hence why they love nothing more than getting out to a park and having a good old sniff. Their noses have 300 million smell receptors on average – meaning everything they smell is really intense. So why do they always have their heads in other dogs’ bums? Eugh..
VOTE 1: SQUIZ KIDS!
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You think you’re a Squiz Kids super fan? You reckon Squiz Kids is at least as good as any podcast that adults listen to? You want to send a message to adults that this is a kids world too? Then hop online and join the rush of fellow Squiz Kids who have already voted r for Squiz Kids in the upcoming Australian Podcast Awards …
There’s a Listener’s Choice Award – where anyone can vote for their favourite podcast. I reckon if we all band together – we can win this thing. Just visit australianpodcastawards.com and click on the link to Vote. I’ll stick a link in the episode notes too. Let’s show them what we can do.
https://australianpodcastawards.com/vote
Voting Closes 18 Nov
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 …
- What famous horse race is being run today in Melbourne?
- Who are the two candidates battling it out in the US Presidential election?
- Name the online game that was last week named the fastest growing in the world?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 3 … birthday of Aussie cricketing sensation Elysse Perry, and also of Kendall Jenner – who is apparently someone who has something to do with a Kardashian – and let’s never speak that name on this podcast again.
More interestingly: 63 years ago today, the first dog in space, Laika from the Soviet Union, took off from Earth and flew into the history books.
It’s also 52 sleeps til Christmas … …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Ayano from NSW, Mia from Abbotsford, Lola from Elanora, Amelia from Emu Plains, Corella from Canberra, Merlin from Fern Bay, Kade from Pleasant Park, Myka from Newcastle, Finn from Boorowa and Owen from Balwyn.
And a belated birthday shoutout…. Elvis from Abbotsford
Happy birthday one and all!
Classroom shoutouts… 6TN with Miss Noble at Lindfield East Public School, 3/4 Brown with Mr Do at Tenison Woods Catholic School in Adelaide, 5/6S and Mr Diaz at North Rocks Public School, Miss Doyle’s class at Coal Point Public School… And a very special shoutout to 4 Patrick with Miss Kairies at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in Sutherland, who we were supposed to shoutout yesterday to coincide with Maddy’s birthday! We’re very sorry we missed it but we hope you’re just as excited to cop a shout out today!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Melbourne Cup
- Donald Trump and Joe Biden
- Among Us