ABC KIDS News Time

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A weekly wrap-up of all the amazing stories happening at home and abroad, made especially for young children to help them understand the world around them. Join Ruby for News Time as she counts down the week’s most interesting news stories for pre-schoolers. Featuring stories about children, animals, special events, the natural world, and outer space, News Time invites little ones to engage with the wider world in a safe space, with a lot of fun along the way.

  • 14 minutes 12 seconds
    Racquet strings and lost things

    On this week's News Time we'll head to the Australian Open to meet some people making a racquet!

    We’ll also meet an endangered parrot that’s in a total flap, and in our Wow of the Week, we’ll visit a supermarket that’s been quite wild and woolly lately!

    If you'd like to be a News Time Listener Legend, all the details are here.

    Quiz Questions

    1. What was one of the most-borrowed books in Brisbane last year?

    2. What is the name of Australia's grand slam?

    3. Finish this sentence: The kākāpō is the world’s only flightless WHAT?

    4. Where does all the money go that’s raised through auctioning lost luggage?

    5. In which country was there a herd of sheep in a supermarket?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    The male kākāpō makes a booming noise that sounds like what?

    Answers

    1. WeirDo, Wings of Fire, or Cat Kid Comic Club

    2. Australian Open

    3. Parrot

    4. Charity

    5. Germany

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    A cello string being plucked.

    22 January 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 12 minutes 38 seconds
    Basketball praise and robot cafés

    It's your new host Emily's first News Time and she's lined up a rich menu of tasty news morsels for you!

    We’ll meet some basketball players who are about to live out their hoop dreams, and we’ll meet a rare butterfly that survives thanks to some helpful ants. Then, we’ll head to the bottom of the ocean to discover some unusual treasure in our Wow of the Week.

    Quiz Questions

    1. What’s something you’d find in a heat haven?

    2. Which country will the First Nations basketball team be visiting?

    3. We found out people work in Japan as robot pilots… but what do the robots do?

    4. What insect works to look after the caterpillars of the purple copper butterfly?

    5. What was locked in the safe on the ocean floor?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    What is the name of Wiradjuri basketball player we met?

    Answers

    1. Air conditioning, movies, music, colouring in and even volunteers!

    2. The USA

    3. Serve food and drinks, or give people tours of Tokyo.

    4. Ants

    5. A packet of beef jerky!

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    Hugo

    15 January 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 6 minutes 13 seconds
    Breaking News Time news!

    In this special episode, our intrepid News Time host Ruby Cornish has some breaking news to share.

    13 January 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 12 minutes 1 second
    Summer Replay: Amazing animals special

    While we warm up the News Time machine for 2026, we've been looking back at some favourite stories from 2025. This News Time episode is all about amazing animals.

    You’ll hear about a groovy seal, some helpful hounds, and a law-breaking duck!

    Plus, keep an eye on your News Time feed for a very special episode next week! You won't want to miss it.

    8 January 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 11 minutes 16 seconds
    Ruby's Favourites

    As we begin a brand new year, our intrepid host Ruby takes a look back at her favourite stories of 2025.

    1 January 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 10 minutes 37 seconds
    Good News of 2025

    It's getting very close to the end of the year, so we're looking back at five of our favourite good news stories from 2025.

    25 December 2025, 8:00 pm
  • 11 minutes 30 seconds
    WowFest 2025

    If you’ve listened to News Time before, you’ll know that we end each week’s countdown with our Wow of the Week.

    Today’s episode is 100% Wow. It’s WowFest 2025! A countdown of five amazing stories this year that made you go... 'wow!'

    18 December 2025, 8:00 pm
  • 13 minutes 22 seconds
    Banned apps and tiny zaps

    On this week’s News Time, we’ll head to the desert to dig up a haul of significant artefacts. Then, we’ll hear from a News Time listener with a truly life-saving message.

    And, in our Wow of the Week, we’ll blast off to Mars for some rather shocking space news.

    Quiz Questions

    1. How old do Australians now need to be to open a social media account?

    2. What is Rosie asking grown-ups of News Time listeners to do?

    3. What is the name given to the tools the archaeologists found?

    4. Who is the last dog on Christmas Island?

    5. What is the name of the rover on Mars?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    Why are dogs not allowed on Christmas Island?

    Answers

    1. 16

    2. Donate blood, platelets or bone marrow

    3. Tulas

    4. Shiloh the chocolate labrador 

    5. Perseverance

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    To protect Christmas Island's threatened species

    11 December 2025, 8:00 pm
  • 13 minutes 2 seconds
    Language game and 6-7 fame

    On this week’s News Time, we’ll play a game that’s saving a language from extinction, and we’ll journey deep into the jungle searching for something that humans haven’t seen for ten years! Then, we’ll blast off into space with some very green passengers in our Wow of the Week.

    Quiz Questions

    1. How long does a Test Match of cricket usually go for?

    2. What did Macquarie Dictionary name as its "Word of the Year" for 2025? (Hint: it's actually two words!)

    3. What did the Elders create to save their language from extinction?

    4. How many hours did Deki trek, to find the rare flower?

    5. What green plant was placed outside the International Space Station for nine months?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    What was the name of the charity that received all the leftover food?

    Answers

    1. Up to five days

    2. AI slop

    3. A smartphone game

    4. 23 hours

    5. Moss

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    OzHarvest

    4 December 2025, 7:00 pm
  • 12 minutes 41 seconds
    International Day of People with Disability 2025

    Nas Campanella, the ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter, is picking up the News Time microphone this week for International Day of People with Disability.

    You'll hear about a show where everyone can experience ballet, even if they can't see! You'll meet a teenager whose idea to share expensive equipment is making a real difference. Then we'll head to a huge sporting event for deaf athletes in our Wow of the Week!

    Quiz Questions

    1. How many times has Leo's speech been viewed on social media?

    2. What technology is Kaitie using to gain the confidence to drive?

    3. What is the name Ava has given to the online community she created?

    4. What word does Devon use to describe the type of accessibility in her show?

    5. What anniversary did the Deaflympics celebrate this year?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    In track events at the Deaflympics, what is used instead of a starting pistol?

    Answers

    1. More than 2.5 million times!

    2. A driving simulator

    3. The Sharing Shed

    4. Radical

    5. 100th!

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    Lights

    27 November 2025, 8:00 pm
  • 12 minutes 35 seconds
    Champion spellers and long-lost letters

    On this week’s News Time, you’ll hear about a family who’s received a message from 100 years in the past, and we’ll go on a quest to identify a mysterious animal prowling around a forest. Then we’ll put on our dancing shoes for a very wild Wow of the Week!

    Quiz Questions

    1. Where has the mango been grown and developed?

    2. Who won the 2025 NSW Premier's Spelling Bee?

    3. What was inside the glass bottle?

    4. What breed of dog (not lion!) is Mouse?

    5. How long did GrassHopper dance for?

    Bonus Tricky Question

    How many songs did GrassHopper dance to?

    Answers

    1. Far North Queensland

    2. Finn

    3. Two letters

    4. Newfoundland

    5. 144 hours (or six days!)

    Bonus Tricky Answer

    More than 3,000 songs!

    20 November 2025, 8:00 pm
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