Stories Podcast: A Bedtime Show for Kids of All Ages

Episode: Throwback: With Our Powers Combined
Release Date: October 14, 2025
Hosted by: Amanda Weldon

Episode Overview

This throwback edition of the Stories Podcast revisits a classic tale, “With Our Powers Combined,” an imaginative origin story about teamwork and the very first armadillos. In a heartwarming and humorous adventure set on the banks of the Amazon River, unlikely friends Holly the hapless hedgehog and Travis the elated turtle team up to outsmart a hungry young jaguar named Davi. Their ingenuity and willingness to share their strengths not only save them but transform them into something extraordinary—and start an armadillo legacy.

Main Themes

• Friendship and Cooperation: How working together and combining individual strengths can solve big problems.
• Creativity in Facing Challenges: The importance of thinking outside the box when encountering adversity.
• Transformation: Embracing change leads to surprising and positive outcomes.
• Playful Educational Tone: Vocabulary words and animal facts are woven into the story for young listeners.

Key Story Segments & Discussion Points

1. Meet Holly and Travis (01:32 – 04:30)

• Holly the Hedgehog is described as “hapless,” meaning unlucky: she keeps snagging her sheets with her spines or getting bugs stuck on her stickers.
• Travis the Turtle is her cheerful, "elated" best friend—elated means happy and bright.
• The duo’s friendship is established as they playfully walk and eat by the riverbank.

Notable Quote:

“She’d go to hug her buds and they’d get a nose full of needles... Poor Hapless Holly felt quite prickly about her situation.”
— Amanda Weldon (03:10)

2. The Threat Arrives: Enter Davi the Jaguar (04:30 – 08:45)

• Davi, a young jaguar, eyes the friends as potential prey.
• The story introduces “baleful” to describe Davi’s hungry, threatening eyes.
• Davi confesses he knows how to eat turtles and hedgehogs—but can’t tell which is which.

Notable Quote:

“Uh, okay... and this is a little awkward, but please bear with me. Um, which of you is the turtle and which one is the hedgehog?”
— Davi the Jaguar (06:50)

3. Outwitting Danger / Trickster Teamwork (06:50 – 08:45)

• Holly and Travis realize Davi's confusion and cleverly switch roles to escape.
• Travis claims to be the hedgehog ("so you should dunk me"), while Holly claims to be the turtle ("so you should scoop me up").
• Davi, duped, tries both strategies but only ends up with a “paw full of spikes” and the pair both escape unharmed.

Memorable Moment:

“You guys lied to me. I’m gonna tell my mom.”
— Davi the Jaguar (08:41)

4. Rethinking Their Defenses (11:49 – 13:13)

• Holly and Travis discuss how their trick might not work again.
• They brainstorm: what if they could each share their strengths? Travis suggests giving some of his shell to Holly and learning how to curl up like her.

Notable Exchange:

“You’d share it with me?” — Holly
“As long as you teach me how to roll up.” — Travis
(13:14)

5. The Jaguar’s Return and the Birth of Armadillos (13:14 – 17:45)

• Davi returns, now with a song to help him distinguish turtles from hedgehogs.
• Holly and Travis, having combined their abilities, both roll up in shells.
• Davi is completely confounded: “You both have shells, but you’re all rolled up. You’re cheating again!”
• He tries all his tricks (batting, pushing into water), but nothing works. Frustrated, Davi gives up.

Song Lyrics (paraphrased):

“Turtles have a shell that you can’t squish. They go underwater like a school of fish…”
(14:10)

Final Pushback:

“You’re not hedgehogs or turtles!” — Davi (16:50)
“With their rolling and shells and water and everything else, they weren’t a hedgehog or a turtle anymore. In joining together, Holly and Travis had become something new. They had become armadillos, the first two in the world.”
— Amanda Weldon (17:15)

6. Epilogue & Lesson (17:15 – End)

• Holly and Travis, now armadillos, decide to stay that way, sharing shells and tricks and teaching others.
• It’s revealed this is the origin of armadillos, who now thrive safely, while jaguars look elsewhere for food.

Warm Closure:

“They stayed armadillos, happy and safe together... And today, armadillos live safely and happily all over the world. And jaguars? They look for easier meals.”
— Amanda Weldon (18:20)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Teamwork:

“If I took some of my shell off, I can give some to you and we can both roll up together.”
— Travis (13:10)

• On Change:

“Do you want your shell back?” — Holly
“No way, you keep it so we can both roll around together.” — Travis
(18:02)

• On Problem-Solving:

“You're not hedgehogs or turtles.”
“In joining together, Holly and Travis had become something new... armadillos, the first two in the world.”
— Amanda Weldon (16:50-17:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Meet Holly & Travis: 01:32 – 04:30
• Jaguar’s Introduction: 04:30 – 05:29
• Davi’s Predicament & Friends’ Trick: 06:50 – 08:45
• Planning New Defenses: 11:49 – 13:13
• Confrontation & Armadillo Creation: 13:14 – 17:15
• Epilogue: 17:15 – End

Story Takeaways

• The episode delights with word play (defining "hapless," "elated," "baleful"), gentle humor, and a playful reimagining of animal origins.
• The narrative empowers kids to be creative and work together, teaching that combining strengths and helping others leads to new solutions—and lasting friendships.
• The playful tone and clear dialogue make the moral of “with our powers combined” both fun and memorable for all ages.

This charming throwback story exemplifies Stories Podcast’s mission: imaginative, kid-friendly entertainment that both delights and gently teaches, perfect for bedtime or family listening.