Every night, your sleeping brain creates strange new worlds filled with familiar people, powerful emotions and events that make absolutely no sense. But how does it build a dream—and why do we dream at all?

Inspired by a question from Will, Christie explores what happens inside our brains while we sleep and whether animals dream too.

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.

Spaceship splashdown near Christmas Island; baby whale shark nursery revealed; a zero-gravity fake; and why otters love to watch.

A SpaceX rocket booster the size of an Olympic swimming pool has splashed back to Earth and is being towed toward Christmas Island.

Scientists think they may have found a nursery for baby whale sharks off Indonesia after tiny youngsters were spotted in a protected cove.

Turns out zoo visitors may be entertaining the otters just as much as the otters entertain us.

Social media posts claimed gravity would disappear for seven seconds during the eclipse. It didn’t. The wild rumour is a perfect example of why Newshounds should always STOP, THINK and CHECK before sharing something unbelievable.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Researched by Bryce Corbett

Written by Bryce Corbett

Your daily kids news podcast.

Parliament takes on betting ads; monkey business in the Scottish Highlands; some picture-perfect animals; and the Milky Way’s ancient feeding frenzy 

Australia is moving to put more distance between sport and gambling.

Luka the macaque fancied a Scottish adventure, escaping his wildlife park and wandering kilometres into the Highlands.

Smile for the camera! More than 800 photos have captured the beautiful, bizarre and downright photogenic residents of British and Irish zoos and aquariums.

Our Milky Way has quite the appetite! Astronomers have uncovered evidence of an enormous ancient galactic collision involving the brilliantly named Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Researched by Christie Kijurina

Hosted by Christie Kijurina

Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for more than 160 million years… then, 66 million years ago, almost all of them disappeared.

In this Shortcut, Christie and Bryce fire up a time machine to visit the final days of the dinosaurs, discover how a thin layer of rock helped scientists work out what happened, and follow the chain of events after a giant asteroid struck Earth.

Then they meet the survivors, including the dinosaur descendants still all around us today.

Listen carefully. There’s a S’Quiz at the end!

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Your daily kids news podcast.

Operation Fairy Penguin; Earthquake in Indonesia; Socceroo’s Michael Jackson moment; and the world’s ugliest dog.

Roll up those tiny sleeves! Victoria is launching an enormous operation to vaccinate thousands of fairy penguins against bird flu.

The ground is rumbling again, with powerful earthquakes striking parts of Indonesia following other major quakes and volcanic eruptions around the world.

Nestory Irankunda is taking his fancy footwork to Portugal!

Who is the World's Ugliest Dog for 2026?

For the full episode transcript, click here

Australian Government website on bird flu

Science Short on bird flu

Researched by Bryce Corbett

Hosted by Bryce Corbett

It’s National Science Week, and what better time to celebrate one of the most important things about science: sometimes, it gets things wrong.

People once believed the Earth was at the centre of the universe, illness was caused by an imbalance of blood, phlegm and bile, and maggots simply appeared from rotting meat. So how did we go from those ideas to the science we know today?

This week, we’re heading back into the Squiz Kids Vault for our Shortcut to Science That Was Wrong, where Christie and Bryce discover why changing your mind when new evidence comes along isn’t a weakness in science. It’s one of its greatest strengths.

Listen carefully... there’s a S’Quiz at the end!

Felix, from Hunters Hill, wants to know why slicing into an onion can leave our eyes stinging and tears streaming down our faces.

In this week’s Squiz Kids Science Short, Christie breaks into the onion’s tiny chemical security system, discovers how cutting it releases an irritating mist into the air, and reveals why a blunt knife may make things even worse.

Plus, do any of those strange onion-chopping tricks actually stop the tears?

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.

The President, the plane and secret escape; Wallaby on the run in Netherlands; a Bunnings sausage saga; and shark scientists on hurricane watch.

It sounds like a spy thriller: a president, a super-secure jumbo jet and a secret escape involving a catering container!

Catch me if you can! A runaway wallaby has spent six months hopping around the Netherlands.

Forget weather balloons — scientists are recruiting sharks!

No, the Bunnings sausage sizzle hasn’t been replaced by Indian food stalls. AI-generated images are being used to stir up anti-migrant feelings online.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Researched by Bryce Corbett

Hosted by Bryce Corbett.

Your daily kids news podcast.

A total eclipse over Europe; Colombia’s earthquake emergency; Aussie teens make their mark; and Brisbane’s underwater light show.

The Northern Hemisphere is getting a cosmic double feature! A total solar eclipse will briefly turn day to darkness before the Perseid meteor shower lights up the night.

Rescuers and volunteers are working through rubble after Colombia’s strongest earthquake this century.

World records, gold medals… and an election campaign! Young Australians Isaac Beacroft, Izobelle Louison-Roe and Hera Sheppard are proving teenagers can achieve seriously big things.

Brisbane’s water has been glowing electric blue thanks to teeny-tiny organisms known brilliantly as “sea sparkles”.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Researched by Christie Kijurina

Hosted by Christie Kijurina