Big Wins, A New Barbie, and Cookie Comebacks

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ten News – “Big Wins, A New Barbie, and Cookie Comebacks”

Date: January 22, 2026
Hosts: Pamela Kirkland & Ryan Willard

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Ten News delivers a kid-friendly briefing on significant current events. Pamela and Ryan discuss MLK Day, a historic college football victory, major news on transgender athletes, Mattel’s new inclusive Barbie, extraordinary weather in California and Brazil, a new astronomical discovery, genius dogs, and a taste of Girl Scout cookie season. The show wraps up with their signature enthusiastic, interactive style, making big world topics accessible for younger audiences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

[00:57]

• Pamela recaps the significance of MLK Day, explaining Dr. King’s legacy of peaceful protest and equality.
• She reflects on the holiday’s purpose:

  “Today, this day reminds us all that peaceful action and kindness can help create big change.” — Pamela Kirkland [01:41]

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2. Indiana University’s Big Football Win

[01:42]

• Ryan recounts the College Football Playoff: Indiana Hoosiers’ first-ever national championship (27–21 vs. Miami).
• Highlights charm through a kid’s story:

  “Nine-year-old Jack Gibson… even wrote to Governor Mike Braun asking for a two hour delay on January 20th so students like him could stay up and watch the game.” — Ryan Willard [02:12]

• No school delay granted, but a win for the team!

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3. Supreme Court To Decide on Transgender Athlete Participation

[02:28]

• Pamela breaks down the Supreme Court’s first case on whether transgender girls can participate on girls’/women’s sports teams.
• Important stats:

  “…Estimated 122,000 transgender American teens who participate in high school sports… this could affect a lot of kids in sports.” — Pamela Kirkland [03:20]

• Decision expected by the end of June 2026.

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4. Mattel Launches Autistic Barbie & Nintendo’s “My Mario”

[03:34]

• Ryan describes Mattel’s ongoing push for inclusivity—explaining the newly launched Autistic Barbie, created with input from the autistic community.
  • Features: sensory-friendly clothing, fidget spinner, noise-canceling headphones, tablet accessory.

  “This new Barbie showcases diversity and inclusion and represents the autistic community...” — Ryan Willard [03:52]

• Switches to Nintendo’s major launch: the “My Mario” collection, debuting in February 2026 with books, plush toys, and block sets.
  • Fun note: Ryan expresses playful excitement for toys:

    “And now I want to play with some toys.” [05:08]

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5. Major Weather Updates: California Drought Over, Brazil Heatwave

[05:38]

• Pamela and Ryan react to dramatic weather in California:
  • December/January storms ended the state’s 25-year drought for the first time since December 2000.

  “These winter storms have made the state of California completely free of drought for the first time in 25 years.” — Pamela Kirkland [06:13]

• Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro faced extreme heat, zoo animals received popsicle treats:

  “They received an ice diet tailored to their species’ needs, like jaguars getting to fish out ground chicken popsicles… monkeys were given watermelon popsicles to enjoy.” — Ryan Willard [06:49]

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6. Genius Dogs Learn Words Like Kids

[07:10]

• Analysis of a new Science journal study: some dogs (notably border collies) pick up language “just by overhearing” human conversations, using social cues.

  “Researchers think this shows that a few special canines can understand words by using social cues, just as kids learn language.” — Pamela Kirkland [07:38]

• Infectious enthusiasm:

  “Dogs are just plain awesome.” — Ryan Willard [07:48]

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7. New Astronomical Phenomenon: “Cloud 9”

[07:48]

• NASA debuts “Cloud 9,” a starless, hydrogen- and dark matter-rich cloud, 14 million light years away—an unprecedented discovery.
• Core: neutral hydrogen, 1 million times the mass of the sun.

  “It’s the first time something like this has been confirmed to exist.” — Ryan Willard [08:06]

• Ryan jokes about visiting:

  “I used to think I wanted to go to Cloud 9, but now that I know that it’s Dark Matter, I think I’m okay just looking at pictures.” — Ryan Willard [08:49]

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8. Girl Scout Cookie Comeback & Trivia

[09:07]

• Owen takes over for a trivia moment: which Girl Scout cookie is the all-time bestseller?
  • Correct answer: Thin Mints.

  “Thin Mints are the best selling Girl Scout cookies. But that could change this year with a new flavor entering the chat — Exploramos!” — Owen [09:23]

• New flavor, “Exploramos,” features chocolate, almond cream, and a nod to Rocky Road ice cream.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Good gravy.” — Ryan Willard, expressing surprise at busy news [00:35]
• “Order in the court. Court is now in session.” — Ryan Willard, segueing to Supreme Court topic [02:23]
• “Wait, I love watermelon popsicles.” — Pamela Kirkland, in response to Brazil’s zoo treats [07:03]
• “Dogs are just plain awesome.” — Ryan Willard [07:48]
• “I know a girl.” — Pamela Kirkland, joking about Girl Scout cookie connections [10:11]
• “It’s cookie time. It’s cookie time. It’s cookie time.” — C (singing) [10:12]

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Listener Interactions & Community Segments

International Lego Day Shout-Out

• Listeners invited to share their favorite Lego builds (email: [e-mail]) [05:16]

Reviews & Audience Voices

• Read aloud: 5-star review sharing love for the show and a recommendation for The Week Junior magazine [10:26]
• Listener James shares his excitement for Nintendo Switch 2 and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond [10:42]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:57] MLK Jr. Day history & importance
• [01:42] Indiana Hoosiers’ football championship
• [02:28] Supreme Court and transgender athlete debate
• [03:34] Autistic Barbie & My Mario collection
• [05:38] California drought & Brazil heatwave
• [07:10] Genius dog language study
• [07:48] Discovery of Cloud 9 (new cosmic object)
• [09:07] Girl Scout cookie trivia & new flavor
• [10:26] Listener shout-outs & reviews

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

The Ten News maintains a light, engaging, and inclusive tone—ideal for curious kids and their families. The hosts seamlessly blend education and entertainment, use humor and relatable anecdotes, and encourage young listeners to stay informed and interact with the show. The episode covers a varied mix of stories, balancing serious news (civil rights, legislative developments, climate) with pop culture fun and science wonder, all wrapped in accessible, age-appropriate language.

Transcript

[A]

Um, Ry, isn't it a little early in the morning to be eating popsicles?

[B]

Pam, if animals at the Rio de Janeiro zoo can eat popsicles, I can too.

[A]

Yeah, but they're dealing with scorching hot weather.

[B]

Why are we talking about popsicles? When astronomers discovered a brand new cosmic object.

[A]

Ah, yes. They're calling it Cloud nine. There's a lot of cool stuff we gotta talk about.

[B]

Good gravy.

[C]

Let's go.

[B]

I'm Ryan Willard.

[A]

And I'm Pamela Kirkland. It's Thursday, January 22nd.

[B]

This is 10 things you need to know. 10, 9, 8, 7.

[A]

6. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[C]

This will be the day. This will be the day. Don't let freedom reign.

[A]

This past Monday was an important day. It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The federal holiday is observed on the third Monday in January to honor Dr. King, one of the most influential civil rights leaders in history. Dr. King was a leader who fought for fairness and equal rights in the 1950s and 1960s. He organized peaceful protests and gave powerful speeches, like his famous I have a dream speech in 1963, more than 15 years after his death in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday in 1986. And today, this day reminds us all that peaceful action and kindness can help create big change.

[B]

Also kicking off the week was the College Football Playoff championship game between the Indiana University Hoosiers and the University of Miami Hurricanes. Once known for holding the record for the most losses in Division 1 college football history, the Hoosiers came out on top with a final score of 27 21. This win not only capped off a perfect 160 season for Indiana, but also earned the program its first ever national championship. It's a year IU fans won't forget, especially nine year old Jack Gibson, who even wrote to Governor Mike Braun asking for a two hour delay on January 20th so students like him could stay up and watch the game. Fortunately, Jack's school district didn't get the delay, but their team did get the dub order in the court. Court is now in session.

[A]

It's been quite the week for sports, from the football field to the Supreme Court. Yep, that's right. For the first time, the Supreme Court is weighing in on the national debate of whether transgender girls should be able to participate in girls and women's sports. In cases from the states of Idaho and West Virginia, justices are hearing arguments about federal courts blocking state laws that would stop trans girls from participating on teams that match their gender identity. Lower courts have already blocked the bans, but The Supreme Court's decision will determine whether these laws and other rules will stand in 27 other states. In the 20242025 season, there were more than 8 million high school athletes. And according to the Williams Institute at UCLA's law school, there are an estimated 122,000 transgender American teens who participate in high school sports across so this could affect a lot of kids in sports. A final decision is anticipated by the end of June this year.

[B]

Up Next Mattel is making moves to make its iconic doll line even more inclusive. After adding Barbies with Down syndrome, a Barbie and Ken with Vitiligo, and a blind Barbie, among many others, Mattel recently introduced an autistic Barbie in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Mattel spent over 18 months developing the doll to create a Barbie that reflects some of the ways that autistic people experience and process the world around them. This new Barbie showcases diversity and inclusion and represents the autistic community through physical features and accessories. For example, the doll is dressed in an A line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt that reduces fabric to skin contact, which can sometimes be a sensitivity for people with autism. The Barbie also includes a finger clip fidget, spinner, noise canceling headphones, and a tablet like the devices used by some autistic people who struggle to communicate verbally and in Nintendo News. My Mario is making its debut in the United States next month. The My Mario collection will officially launch in stores on February 19th at Nintendo New York and Nintendo San Francisco. The collection lets kids and their grownups explore new adventures and play alongside their favorite Mario characters. The My Mario set includes items like a stop motion animation series called It's Me Mario that's actually available now on the My Mario website and the Official Play Nintendo YouTube channel, an interactive hello Mario board book, soft toys like a super cuddly Mario plush, and two wooden block sets featuring Mario himself and other items from the Super Mario series. And now I want to play with some toys.

[A]

Fair enough. Let's take a quick break.

[B]

Hey Tenors International Lego day is on January 28th. I'm going to do some epic builds, but I'm curious, what's your favorite Lego set that you've built? Send us an email@hello the10news.com or leave us a review or comment and we might shout you out on the show. Speaking of back to it.

[C]

And we're back.

[A]

For about a week beginning December 20, parts of Northern California were drenched with up to 7 inches of precipitation and southern parts of the state received roughly 4 inches.

[B]

I was in California that week. I couldn't believe how much rain there was.

[A]

And on New Year's Day, California received another round of heavy rain and flooding, pushing the state's 17 major reservoirs to 129% of their average levels. While this may sound like some bad weather, it's actually great news. These winter storms have made the state of California completely free of drought for the first first time in 25 years. According to the US drought monitor, December 2000 was the last time that California had no regions in drought or considered abnormally dry.

[B]

Wild weather continued. It's summer in Brazil and the temperatures are blazing. Last week, temperatures in Rio de Janeiro reached over 40 degrees Celsius. That's 104 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting a level three heat alert to that warned residents of the health risks of prolonged exposure to the high temperatures. But the people of Rio de Janeiro weren't the only ones affected. Animals were too at the biopark, zoo animals were given popsicles and frozen treats to help stay cool. They received an ice diet tailored to their species needs, like jaguars getting to fish out ground chicken popsicles from their water tank. And monkeys were given watermelon popsicles to enjoy. Wait, I love watermelon popsicles.

[A]

Up next, some doggone smarty pants. According to a new study from the journal Science, a rare group of genius dogs that already know the names of a lot of toys can learn brand new words just by overhearing people talk. For instance, these gifted doggos, especially border collies, can learn the name of a new toy without even seeing it, as long as their human is looking in the direction of where the toy is hidden. Researchers think this shows that a few special canines can understand words by using social cues to just as kids learn language.

[B]

Dogs are just plain awesome. Speaking of awesome, there's a new type of astronomical object on the block that may help experts learn more about how galaxies are formed and the development of the early universe. NASA is referring to the object as Cloud9 and describing it as a starless gas, rich dark matter hydrogen cloud and part of the universe's early formation about 14 million light years from the planet Earth. And it's the first time something like this has been confirmed to exist.

[A]

According to NASA, it was actually discovered three years ago. But it wasn't until recently that the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that there were no stars inside Cloud 9. Instead, its core is made up of neutral hydrogen and is estimated to measure 1 million times the mass of the sun. According to NASA, astronomers plan to conduct additional surveys of Cloud 9 to learn more about Dark matter, the early universe, and failed galaxies.

[B]

I used to think I wanted to go to Cloud nine, but now that I know that it's Dark Matter, I think I'm okay just looking at pictures. And for the last thing you need to know, let's go to our Trivia master, Owen. What is going on here?

[D]

Rydia on the 10. Thanks Ry. Girl Scout cookie season is back.

[C]

Let's go.

[D]

But there's one cookie that has held the title of all time bestseller. Do you know which one that is? Is it A Tagalongs, B Caramel Delights, C Thin Mints or D Samoas? The answer is C Thin Mints are the best selling Girl Scout cookies. But that could change this year with a new flavor entering the chat exploramos. These new sandwich cookies are a tribute to Rocky Road ice cream chocolate cookies filled with almond cream and stamped with the Girl Scout logo make new friends.

[A]

And that was 10 things you need to know.

[B]

Okay, I need to explore more of these Girl Scout cookies. Pam, got any hookups?

[A]

Yeah, I know a girl.

[C]

It's cookie time. It's cookie time. It's cookie time.

[B]

Right after 10 new snaps of course.

[A]

But first, here's a quick note for the grown ups.

[B]

It's time for 10 new snaps.

[A]

We got a five star review on Apple Podcasts from Nora Page 888. I love listening to this show. If you like this show then read the magazine the Week Junior. Thank you so much Nora Page. And we do read the Week Junior and we love it.

[B]

And another tenor named James left a review and said ryan, I got a Switch 2 for my birthday and it's insane. It runs so much better than my oled and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond. It's so good. I love 10 things you need to know. It's probably like one of my favorites. Please put me on 10 new snaps. BS I think are strange and weird. I couldn't agree more on all accounts Mr. James. By the way, I just beat Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and I just played four player Mario Kart all weekend long.

[A]

And two extra notes for the grownups. You can now get ad free versions of our episodes when you join the Tenors Club on our website.

[B]

And if you want to help support the 10 news you can make a tax deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support.

[A]

The 10News is a co production of Small but Mighty Media and Next Chapter podcasts and part of the Airwave podcast network.

[B]

The ten News creative team is ordering all of the girl Scout cookies and includes Tracy, Nada Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino, Bernard, Brian. Not Ryan Douglas. The Duke of Earl, Davis and Carson. Not so Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen. Not slowing down for anybody.

[A]

Our production director is Jeremiah Onfaya Tittle. And our executive producers are Donald Albright. Albright. Albright. And show creator Tracy takes the leads. Kaplan. I'm Pamela Kirkland.

[B]

And I'm Ryan Willard. Thanks for listening to the 10 news.