MeatEater Kids VII

Summary

The MeatEater Podcast: Episode Summary – MeatEater Kids VII

Release Date: December 27, 2024
Host: MeatEater (Steven Rinella)
Episode: MeatEater Kids VII

---

1. Transition to MeatEater Kids Podcast

Timestamp: [01:27]
Phil, the engineer, opens the episode by addressing listeners' inquiries about the MeatEater Kids series. He explains that instead of a live MeatEater Radio episode for the week, two new episodes of the MeatEater Kids Podcast are being released on a separate feed. Phil encourages parents and young listeners to subscribe to the new feed to stay updated with future Kids content.

Phil: "Hop on over to the search bar and whatever program you're using, type in MeatEater Kids, hit that Follow or Subscribe or Join or whatever button it is."

2. Educational Segment: Understanding Gizzards

Timestamp: [03:11] – [08:06]
The episode features an educational segment titled "Why it's the Way It Is," hosted by an Educator. The focus is on explaining what gizzards are, their role in birds, particularly game birds, and their culinary value.

• What is a Gizzard? The Educator clarifies that gizzards are muscular organs found in all birds, essential for digesting hard foods like seeds and nuts. Unlike other organs, gizzards contain gravel and stones that help grind food, functioning similarly to a meat grinder.

Educator: "Birds have gizzards. All birds have gizzards, but not all birds. Gizzards are the same."

• Function in Digestion: Using the example of a turkey, the Educator describes how food travels from the crop (a storage area) to the gizzard, where the hard materials are ground down with the help of ingested gravel.

Educator: "The gizzard is full of gravel... it grinds that food down, and that's part of its digestion."

• Culinary Insights: Gizzards are highlighted as edible and nutritious parts of the bird, often included in the giblets bag during Thanksgiving. The Educator recommends simmering gizzards in salty water to tenderize them, making them a delicious addition to meals.

Educator: "Simmer them in some salty water for an hour or two and then try it and you will see just how good gizzards are."

3. Guess That Critter: Mountain Lion Edition

Timestamp: [08:31] – [11:44]
The segment "Guess that Critter" engages listeners with animal sounds and clues to identify the creature. This episode focuses on the mountain lion (cougar, catamount, panther, puma).

• Clues Provided:

  • Habitat: Western US, southern Florida, mountains, deserts, coastal swamps.
  • Behavior: Large home ranges, solitary, high-pitched chirps, scream calls during breeding.
  • Physical Traits: Adults up to 8 feet, 130-200 pounds (males), reddish-brown to grayish colors.
  • Diet: Deer, elk, bighorn sheep, rabbits, raccoons, porcupines.
  • Unique Fact: Mountain lions cannot roar like other big cats due to the absence of the hyoid bone.

• Revelation and Facts: The correct answer is revealed as the mountain lion. The segment concludes with safety tips regarding encounters with these big cats.

Educator: "Mountain lions are big cats that can't roar because they don't have the hyoid bone required to make the deep roar that other big cats use."

Safety Tip: "If you ever encounter one of these big cats outside, raise your arms and yell at it. Don't run away. Just try to look big and scary."

4. Kids Trivia for Conservation

Timestamp: [12:00] – [19:03]
The heart of the episode features a trivia game where young participants answer questions to raise funds for conservation efforts, specifically benefiting the National Wildlife Federation.

• Gameplay and Interaction:

  • Participants: Mabel, Matthew, Rosie, Hayden, Conley, Sage, Hattie, and Bae.
  • Goal: Earn $10 for conservation with each correct answer, aiming to raise up to $240.
  • Host Interaction: The Trivia Host engages players with questions about wildlife and geography, encouraging teamwork and knowledge sharing.

• Sample Questions and Responses:

  • Question 1: What state is Mount Rushmore in?
    Correct Answer: South Dakota
    Notable Quote:

    Comedian: "My dad has [been there]."

  • Question 2: What's the name for a baby moose?
    Correct Answer: Calf
    Notable Quote:

    Comedian: "A baby moose is a calf. What are some other baby animals that are called calves?"

  • Question 3: What kind of animal is Baloo from the Jungle Book?
    Correct Answer: Sloth Bear
    Notable Quote:

    Educator: "Sloth bears are real animals that are native to India. Their diet primarily consists of termites, ants, honey, and fruit."

• Fundraising Outcome: The participants successfully raise $210 for the National Wildlife Federation, supporting the publication of the Ranger Rick magazine for kids.

Phil: "They raised $210."

5. Announcements and Future Episodes

Timestamp: [20:01] – [20:46]
The episode wraps up with announcements regarding upcoming episodes of the MeatEater Kids Podcast. The Educator details the structure of future episodes, which include history or wildlife ecology lessons, animal call games, and live trivia sessions to fundraise for conservation organizations.

Educator: "We made a deal where if you guys liked it and loved it and listened to it, we were going to make more. And you did and we did."

Phil: "Find Meat Eater Kids wherever you get your podcasts."

---

Notable Insights and Conclusions

• Educational Value: The episode effectively combines education with entertainment, providing young listeners with interesting facts about wildlife and nature.
• Conservation Focus: By integrating fundraising trivia, the podcast emphasizes the importance of conservation and involves kids in meaningful contributions.
• Engaging Format: The diverse segments, including educational talks, interactive games, and trivia, cater to a young audience while maintaining the MeatEater brand's focus on the outdoors.

Key Quotes

• Phil on Subscription: "Hit that follow button, hit that subscribe button. It helps us out and you stay in the loop."
• Educator on Gizzards: "That is what is up with a gizzard. And the next time you're cleaning birds with someone, make sure they get you out the Gizzard."
• Safety Tip on Mountain Lions: "If you ever encounter one of these big cats outside, raise your arms and yell at it. Don't run away. Just try to look big and scary."
• Phil on Fundraising: "They raised $210."

---

Conclusion
MeatEater Kids VII successfully blends education, interactive games, and conservation efforts, making it both an informative and engaging episode for young outdoor enthusiasts. By encouraging participation and fundraising, the podcast fosters a sense of responsibility towards nature and wildlife conservation among its young audience.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

This show is brought to you in part by Stash Financial.

[Unknown Advertiser]

Ever felt burned out after chasing hot stocks? Trying to time market trading only to watch your gains vanish? Imagine investing with less headache and guesswork. Stash is an investing platform that helps you reach your financial goals faster by harnessing the power of steady, dependable investing strategies instead of high risk gambles. How does Stash work? Stash makes it easy to get started and make consistent progress with as little as a dollar per day. You can use Stash's personalized investing recommendations to buy fractional shares of the stocks you know and love like Nvidia, Apple and Tesla, or invest in Stash's award winning expert managed portfolio. Over a million Americans have already grown their portfolios to more than $500, which is one of the many reasons why Stash has more than 250,000 five star reviews on the App Store. Go to get.stash.commee eater to see how you can receive $25 toward your first stock purchase when you open an account with stash. That's get.stash.com meater paid non client endorsement.

[Unknown Host]

Not representative of all clients and not a guarantee. Important [e-mail] Meat Eater offer is subject.

[Phil]

To terms and conditions hey everyone, Phil the engineer here. If you're listening to this, that means you've probably already realized that we are not dropping a Meat Eater Radio live this week. And in lieu of that, we will be dropping two episodes of the Meat Eater Kids Podcast on the Meat Eater feed right here. Why are we doing this? Even though we mentioned it a couple of times on social media and in some Meat Eater Podcast episodes, we're still getting some questions from parents asking, I saw you put up Meat Eater Kids episode six. Are we getting any more? The answer is, hey yeah, we've got some more. They're over on a brand new Meat Eater Kids podcast feed and we'd love if you could go over and subscribe to that brand new feed. That's just our kids content. Hop on over to the search bar and whatever program you're using, type in Meat Eater Kids, hit that Follow or Subscribe or Join or whatever button it is. And that way you'll be in the loop when we drop new Kids episodes or whatever new Kids content we've got cooking up. So enjoy this episode of Meat Eater Kids and be sure to head over to the brand new feed, hit that follow button, hit that subscribe button. It helps us out and you stay in the loop. Thanks.

[Unknown Advertiser]

No melting mess, no ice Runs the new Dometic CFX5 keeps your food chilled and your ice frozen so you can stay focused on the hunt. Just load it up, plug it in and let it do the rest. I love using mine on hot pronghorn hunts and at early season elk camp. It really is a game changer. Head to dometic.com to learn more about Dometic Electric coolers.

[Unknown Segment Host]

Meat eater, Kids Foreign it's time for why it's the Way It Is.

[Unknown Educator]

Today on why it's the Way It Is, we're going to talk about gizzards, which is kind of a funny sounding word, gizzards. And I'm going to start out by saying you don't have a gizzard. Birds have gizzards. All birds have gizzards, but not all birds. Gizzards are the same. Now, if you've ever been out with your folks or family, friends or whatever, hunting, and you've seen them clean a bird like a duck or a goose or a turkey or a grouse or a pheasant or any of the birds we call game birds, you might have noticed that they have an organ, like a big kind of egg shaped, purple, real strong, muscular organ in their body. It's kind of like the biggest organ they have inside their body cavity. That thing is called a gizzard.

[Unknown Advertiser]

You'll know when you're looking at it.

[Unknown Educator]

Because like I said, it's kind of like a clam almost, or like an egg. And it's real strong and rubbery, like it looks like a thing you could play racquetball with. That's a gizzard. Now, the reason you might see large gizzards in those birds that people hunt for, like ducks and geese and game birds like quail and turkeys and doves, is because those birds, those birds we hunt for, tend to eat a lot of seeds and nuts. Now, if you think of birds we don't eat, like hawks and owls and eagles, they don't eat a lot of seeds and nuts.

[Unknown Advertiser]

They eat a lot of meat.

[Unknown Educator]

And meat is digested differently. But game birds, the ones we like to eat, eat a lot of hard seeds and nuts. And the gizzard is what helps the bird digest those hard materials. Here's how a gizzard works. First, let's take a turkey. When a turkey goes out in the woods and he finds something to eat, let's say he eats a grasshopper, then he might eat an acorn. Then he might wander around a little more and go into someone's yard and eat some bird seed that got left out like a piece of corn, okay? That food will initially go into his crop, which is like a little storage bag right in his throat. It just holds the food. If you open up a bird's crop and take the food out, it's going to look just like it was before he ate it, because they don't chew their food. In fact, I opened a crop up one time on a bird called the Hungarian partridge. People call them Huns. And it had been eating grasshoppers, and the grasshoppers in his crop were still alive. So a crop just holds it. Once it leaves its crop, it goes down into a first stomach, which is kind of like your stomach with some enzymes in it to help break it down, but then it passes into the gizzard. And here's what's crazy about the gizzard. The gizzard is full of gravel, okay? A bird that has a big gizzard, a game bird or a duck or goose or whatever that has a big gizzard goes out and eats little rocks, little pieces of gravel, little pieces of shells from, like, seashells, okay? Whatever he can get that's hard, he'll eat that. And that stuff goes down to live in the gizzard, and the gizzard takes that. It's like a little meat grinder. That muscle full of those rocks can take and contract and just smash up any kind of food it ate. And the rocks just live in that gizzard. And it's like a little grinder, and it grinds that food down, and that's part of its digestion. What's weird about gizzards, besides what they look like, is how good they are to eat. When you buy a Thanksgiving turkey, for instance, it'll sometimes come with a bag of what they call giblets. The heart might be in there. The liver might be in there. The neck might be in there. And what'll be in there, too, is the gizzard. Because meat is muscle, right?

[Unknown Advertiser]

Muscle is meat.

[Unknown Educator]

Meat is muscle. A gizzard, while part of the digestive tract is a big hunk of muscle, so it's edible. And since they're so tough, they're kind of hard to cook. You have to cook them a long time or simmer them in water a long time to break them down, because you're trying to, like, break down that muscle in a way that you can digest it. So that is what is up with a gizzard. And the next time you're cleaning birds with someone, make sure they get you out the Gizzard, make sure you cut it open and get all the gravel out. And then make sure you simmer it in some salty water for an hour or two and then try it and you will see just how good gizzards are. And you'll learn while you're cleaning it how they work because you'll see all that gravel inside there. And if you want to do something pretty cool, clean that gravel up and save it in a jar. And over the course of your lifetime, you'll have a big jar full. Real cool rocks.

[Unknown Comedian]

Why do fish live in salt water? Because pepper makes them sneeze.

[Unknown Segment Host]

It's time for Guess that Critter where we play animal sounds and critter calls. And you've got to guess what creature is making those sounds. Don't worry, it ain't too hard. We're gonna throw in some clues now. Open up your ears.

[Unknown Host]

These critters live across the western US with another large population in southern Florida. They can live high up in the mountains, in deserts and even in coastal swamps. They have huge home ranges or territories. Males range across more than 100 square miles. A female's home range might span up to 80 square miles. While that might sound like a bird chirping, it's definitely not a bird. These high pitched chirps carry over short and long distances and are a form of communication between these mainly solitary critters. These animals are known to make a spooky sound as well, which has scared many people in the woods at night. That's a scream call, which is a noise a female makes when she's ready to breed and wants to be found by a male. Here's an example of another sound used during courtship or breeding. It's known as caterwauling. These critters can long jump up to 40ft and sprint up to 50 miles per hour. They mostly hunt at night and love deer and elk meat. They'll also eat bighorn sheep and smaller animals such as rabbit, turkey, raccoon and porcupine. Adult males can reach over 8ft in length and weigh 130 to 200 pounds, while adult females are slightly smaller at up to 7ft long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds. They can appear reddish brown, beige, tan and grayish in color. Do you think you know it? Time for the reveal. It's a mountain lion, also known as a cougar, catamount, panther and puma. So if you guessed any one of those, you're right. Mountain lions are big cats that can't roar because they don't have the hyoid bone required to make the deep roar that other big cats, like leopards, lions, and jaguars use. Mountain lions are managed as a game species in most of the states where they live, which means you can hunt them. Their meat is light in color and delicious. It tastes kind of like pork. And you can make a darn tasty mountain lion honey ham. While mountain lions are cautious and tend to avoid humans in the wild, if you ever encounter one of these big cats outside, raise your arms and yell at it. Don't run away. Just try to look big and scary.

[Unknown Comedian]

Why do French people eat snails? Because they hate fast food.

[Unknown Segment Host]

It's time for everyone's favorite game show trivia. Let's all join in.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

I'm joined by Mabel, Matthew, Rosie, Hayden, Conley, Sage, Hattie, and Bae. Each player will earn $10 for conservation with every question they get right today. There's a potential for this room to earn up to $240 this week. That donation is going to the National Wildlife Federation, who publishes the kids magazine, Ranger Rick. Let's see how much money our players can raise. Question 1. What state is Mount Rushmore in? Is it South Dakota, Arizona or Washington? What state is Mount Rushmore in? South Dakota, Arizona, or Washington? Lot of quick answers. Is everybody ready?

[Unknown Comedian]

Yeah. I'm more concerned about some people's answers.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Rosie is entertained.

[Unknown Comedian]

What is that?

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Is everybody ready? Go ahead and reveal your answers. Bae.

[Unknown Comedian]

South Dakota.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Rosie.

[Unknown Comedian]

Bae, you have Washington written down. Let me explain. Bae's a cheater. Wait, let me explain.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Go ahead and explain.

[Unknown Comedian]

Okay, so I was like, I had my answer right, but I was looking at their boards and I meant to say Washington. Washington.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

BAE says Washington. Rosie?

[Unknown Comedian]

I say Washington. Mabel, South Dakota. Hattie, South Dakota.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Hayden, South Dakota.

[Unknown Comedian]

Sage, South Dakota.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Conley, South Dakota. Matthew, Arizona. What if it's Arizona? You guys, the correct answer is South Dakota.

[Unknown Comedian]

The room did pretty well because I said that I was concerned with people's answers and.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Oh, you told you were concerned with your own answer. You were people, right?

[Unknown Comedian]

Yeah. I was most concerned when BAE looked at other people's boards and then said.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Hey, Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The four presidents on Mount Rushmore are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abe Lincoln. Has anyone been to Mount Rushmore?

[Unknown Comedian]

My dad has.

[Unknown Host]

No.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Oh, your dad has.

[Unknown Comedian]

I only knew because I've been there.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You've been there? What's your review of it? Was it worth the drive?

[Unknown Comedian]

Well, I was kind of 5 years old or like, I was not I don't really remember, but I have, like, small memories. How can you. You were just kind of five years old. My dad's like, the one they're trying to make on the horse.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You don't remember the mountain? What do you think his review of Mount Rushmore is?

[Unknown Comedian]

Mount Rushmore?

[Unknown Educator]

Yeah.

[Unknown Comedian]

Did he even go? I think he thought it was cool.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You think he thought it was cool? Okay, there is Steve's endorsement via Matthew. It's cool. Question 2. What's the name for a baby moose? Is it colt, foal, or calf? What's the name for a baby moose, colt, foal, or calf? Hayden declared. This is an easy one.

[Unknown Comedian]

I think it's pretty easy. I feel like if you think about, like, names that you would call, like, the other animals. Like, if you, like, think about some of the answers, you can think about what the babies think about a cow. But I hope it's. I hope it's not. I like. I hope. I hope I didn't get this wrong. I hope I didn't get it wrong, because thinking about a different thing that's kind of like, Is that a cult? A horse Are the answers? Yeah. A colt's a horse, and then a foal's a deer, I think. Yeah.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Okay, go ahead and reveal your answers. We have bae, a calf, Rosie, Catholic, Mabel, Kath, Hattie, Cath, Hayden, Cath, Sage, Conley, Cath, Matthew, Cath. You guys got it. The correct answer is colts and foals are names for baby horses. A male moose is a bull. A female moose. Moose is a cow, and a baby moose is a calf. What are some other baby animals that are called calves?

[Unknown Comedian]

Elk, cows. Elk.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

That's right. Cows. That's right.

[Unknown Comedian]

Anything else you can think of, and then I don't.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

I don't know about a big. I can't prove you wrong. I'll say that.

[Unknown Comedian]

Like an elk.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Maybe an elk. Yeah.

[Unknown Comedian]

Deer, I think.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Aardvark. Camels.

[Unknown Comedian]

A deer. No, not a deer.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Caribou.

[Unknown Comedian]

That's a fawn.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Dolphins.

[Unknown Comedian]

A deer's a fawn.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Elephants. Giraffes. Hippos. Rhinos. Rhinos and whales.

[Unknown Comedian]

Rhinos. Question.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You guys got me good on that one. Question 3. What kind of animal is Baloo? From the Jungle Book? Is it black panther, sloth bear, or Indian elephant? Oh, what kind of animal is Baloo?

[Unknown Comedian]

I've never watched.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Well, you're gonna have to think of which animal. Which animal sounds like it'd be named Baloo.

[Unknown Comedian]

I'm just looking over at Sage's whiteboard.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Sloth bear or Indian elephant? Conley, do you know this one?

[Hes Yu Jo]

No.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Sage, do you know this one?

[Unknown Comedian]

I think so.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Okay, what kind of animal is Baloo from the Jungle Book? Black panther, sloth bear, or Indian elephant?

[Unknown Comedian]

Wouldn't it make sense if it was like an elephant? Yeah, that's kind of second guess. But instead of getting an elephant. But what's the Jungle Book? It's an Indian elephant. Not a movie.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

It's a movie. It's a play. Believe it or not.

[Unknown Comedian]

It's like a kid. That's crashing. People your age, Rosie, think about how it's an Indian elephant, not.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Is that helping if you think about how it's an Indian elephant?

[Unknown Comedian]

I mean, I don't really see my elephants. Rosie, have you ever seen a picture of an Indian elephant?

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Okay, is everybody ready? Is everybody ready?

[Unknown Comedian]

Well, no, I just believe it is. Is Matt Rushmore in Arizona?

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Go ahead and reveal your answers.

[Unknown Comedian]

BAE sloth bear.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Rosie, sloth bear.

[Unknown Comedian]

Mabel, sloth bear.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Hattie, sloth bear. Hayden, sloth bear. Sage, sloth bear. Conley, sloth bear. Matthew, sloth bear. The correct answer is sloth bear. You guys got it.

[Unknown Comedian]

Yippee. I was always confident in Sage's answer.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Sloth bears are real animals that are native to India. Their diet primarily consists of termites, ants, honey, and fruit, which Baloo says are part of the bear necessities. What do you guys think are some things that are part of the bear necessities for you?

[Unknown Comedian]

Bears?

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You think bears. Now, the bear necessity is something you can't live without. You can't live without.

[Unknown Comedian]

Bears. Hibernation.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

You hibernate.

[Unknown Comedian]

Blueberries.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Blueberries. That's a good one. Food, of course. Yeah, food, of course.

[Unknown Comedian]

We need food.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Any other bare necessities?

[Unknown Educator]

Water.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

Okay, that's a good one. Blueberries. Food and water and fur. Those are the bare necessities for our eight trivia players today. That's it for this round of trivia. Phil the engineer. How much money did we raise?

[Phil]

They raised $210.

[Unknown Trivia Host]

$210 going to the National Wildlife Federation. Well done, kids. Join us next time for more Meat Eater Kids trivia, the only other game show where conservation always wins.

[Unknown Segment Host]

Thanks for listening, everyone. See you next week on Meat Eater Kids.

[Unknown Advertiser]

This podcast is supported by BetterHelp, offering licensed therapists you can connect with via video phone or. Or chat. Here's BetterHelp, head of clinical operations, Hes Yu Jo, discussing who can benefit from therapy.

[Hes Yu Jo]

I think a lot of people think that you're supposed to be going to therapy once you're like having panic attacks every day. But before you get to that point, I think once you start even noticing that you feel a little bit off and you can't maintain this harmony that you once had in relationships, that could be a sign that maybe you want to go talk to somebody. There's always a benefit in talking to someone because we can all benefit from improved insight about ourselves and who we are and how we behave with other people. So if you're human, that's like a good indicator that you could benefit from talking to somebody.

[Unknown Advertiser]

Find out if therapy is right for you. Visit betterhelp.com today. That's betterhelp.com hey guys, earlier this year.

[Unknown Educator]

We launched Meat Eater Kids Podcast and we made a deal where if you guys liked it and loved it and listened to it, we were going to make more. And you did and we did. And we're dropping a bunch new five new Meat Eater Kids podcast episode starting November 25th. Again, it's a kids show. You listen to it with your kids. It occurs in three acts. There's a little history lesson or a wildlife ecology lesson. There's a animal call game that you play by listening to animal calls and trying to guess what animals you're hearing based on some clues. And then real live kids come in the studio and play kids trivia and work together to build up a little pot of money to donate to kids focused conservation organizations. So Meat Eater Kids Podcast coming back.

[Phil]

Round two Meat Eater Kids Find Meat Eater Kids wherever you get your podcasts.