Squiz Kids

Your daily kids news podcast. Our PM meets the real PM; a traditional Mexican bird parade; electric planes take flight; and lucky socks avoid the wash. 12-year-old Jett swapped the paddock for Parliament and met the Prime Minister! He shared a clever idea about saving “wonky” veggies from the bin—and even got a shoutout in Parliament. Imagine walking through streets full of singing birds stacked in sky-high cages! 🐦🎶 In Mexico City, this colourful tradition is still alive—but it’s slowly fading as people work to protect the birds. Planes that sound like whispers? Yes please! ⚡✈️ New electric planes are zipping mail across Scotland without noisy engines or fossil fuels. Would you wear smelly socks for luck? Lots of people do! Some even refuse to wash their “lucky” clothes before big moments. For the full episode transcript, click here.

Nearly 500 Australian kids pitched bold, clever and sometimes hilarious ideas to improve the country. Entries ranged from apps tackling trauma to teleportation, food-waste fixes, tree-awareness projects and free ice cream plans. The show highlights civic engagement, prizes including a trip to Canberra, standout runners-up and the one young winner heading to Parliament House for a day.

Your daily kids news podcast. Counting down to a moon mission; Maryland’s stinky sock festival; a Little Athletics legend; and making music with mayonnaise. NASA hit pause after some pesky rocket problems—but now Artemis 2 is ready to roar! Four astronauts will zoom around the Moon for the first time in 50 years. In Maryland, people celebrate spring by tossing their stinky winter socks into a giant bonfire! Rylan Wooster isn’t your average 11-year-old—he’s breaking records left, right, and centre! With wins in multiple races, this speedy star is racing toward big dreams. Believe it or not… mayonnaise can be a musical instrument! Scientists say squishing and tapping it makes different sounds. Patrick Star might’ve been right all along... For the full episode transcript, click here.

We’re cracking open the Squiz Kids vault this week to bring you back one of our most mind-bending episodes — the Shortcut to the Deep Sea. It’s a place where sunlight never reaches, creatures glow in the dark, and survival means adapting to some of the toughest conditions on Earth. In this episode, we explore what lives deep beneath the ocean’s surface, how these animals survive, and why scientists are still uncovering new discoveries down there. Strange, surprising, and still full of mystery — the deep sea is a world like no other.

Why do humans have chins… and no other animals do? It’s one of the strangest little features on your face — and scientists still aren’t entirely sure why it’s there. In this episode, we explore what a chin actually is (hint: it’s more complicated than you think), why it’s unique to humans, and what new research suggests about its origin. It’s a short, curious look at one of the most human things about being human… and a reminder that evolution doesn’t always follow a plan.

A fun kids vs adults news quiz to test who’s been paying the most attention to the week in news. For the full episode transcript, click here.

Your daily kids news podcast. Ebike ban for under 16s; creatures from the deep in the Caribbean; Squiz-E on the propaganda trail; and the world’s tallest baller.  Some kids might have to park their speedy e-bikes. New rules are saying “not so fast!” to under-16 riders. Scientists peeked into the dark ocean and found super strange creatures! Think glowing, wiggly, and totally weird. This basketball star is HUGE—like, really HUGE! With sky-high height, they’re dunking like it’s easy peasy. Opponents might need a ladder just to keep up! For the full episode transcript, click here.

Your daily kids news podcast. A global squeeze on oil; droids deliver fast food; Aussie athletic excellence; and a do-it-yourself quantum computer. Leaders are in a tense “do this or else” standoff over a super important oil route! The good news? There’s still hope they’ll talk it out instead of escalating. In Shanghai, robots dressed like McDonald’s staff are flipping the script on fast food! Jessica Hull ran like the wind to make history, smashing the four-minute mark! Meanwhile, Aussie teammates grabbed medals and records too. Imagine building a quantum computer like Lego… but way more complicated (and expensive!). For the full episode transcript, click here.

It's been used in wars, shaped big moments in history, and today… it is popping up in your social media feed. But what exactly is propaganda — and how can you spot it? In this episode of Squiz Kids Shortcut, Christie and Bryce unpack what propaganda is, when and where it’s been used throughout history, and why it works so well on our brains. And most importantly, they share simple ways to help you think critically, ask smart questions, and spot propaganda in the wild. 🎧 Perfect for curious kids who want to understand how ideas spread — and how to stay one step ahead of them. For the full episode transcript, click here. LINKS: An anti-Chinese cartoon titled ‘The Mongolian Octopus’ The anti-suffrage campaign

Your daily kids news podcast. Cyclone Narelle packs a punch; Historic win in SA; Tillies take a tumble; and Punch has a brand new friend. Cyclone Narelle sounded sweet—but acted super stormy! It smashed trees, cut power, and soaked everything across northern Australia. Seoul went bonkers as BTS made their epic comeback! No army uniforms—just dancing, singing, and screaming fans everywhere. So close! The Matildas gave it everything but lost 1–0 in a nail-biting final. One amazing goal made the difference—but wow, what a fight! Best news ever—Punch the lonely monkey has a new best friend! For the full episode transcript, click here.