Women's History Month, Iran Update, and Happy Birthday, Pokémon!

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Ten News – "Women's History Month, Iran Update, and Happy Birthday, Pokémon!"

Date: March 5, 2026
Hosts: Ryan Willard & Pamela Kirkland
Podcast: The Ten News, News For Curious Kids

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Episode Overview

This episode provides a bite-sized mix of current world news, celebrations, science discoveries, and pop culture, all tailored for a young audience. Highlights include a celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, urgent updates on global events in Iran, coverage of upcoming sports milestones (including the WNBA season and Winter Paralympics), Pokémon’s 30th birthday, some eye-popping science trivia, and exciting discoveries in paleontology and conservation.

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Key Highlights & Discussion Points

1. Women’s History Month & International Women’s Day ([00:41]-[02:11])

• Women’s History Month:

  • March is officially Women’s History Month, upgraded from a weeklong observance in 1987.
  • The 2026 theme: “Leading the Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” focusing on women’s contributions to sustainability and social justice.
    • Pamela Kirkland:

      “Although we celebrate all women this month and every day, the theme focuses on the contributions of women who are leading sustainability efforts across educational, economic, environmental, and social justice movements.” ([00:41])

• International Women’s Day (March 8):

  • Marks its 115th anniversary in 2026 with a theme of “Give to Gain,” focused on the ripple effect of supporting women everywhere.
    • Ryan Willard:

      “Give to Gain emphasizes the power of generosity. Like when people, organizations and communities support women, it creates greater opportunities for women to thrive.” ([01:25])

  • Listeners are encouraged to celebrate by learning, donating, or attending community events.

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2. World Sports Updates ([02:11]-[04:02])

• Potential WNBA Lockout:

  • If a new agreement isn’t reached by March 10, players could strike, delaying the milestone 30th season (scheduled to start May 8, 2026). The league also plans to expand from 13 to 15 teams.
    • Pamela:

      “If negotiations don’t move forward, the league could face its first ever lockout, meaning the players would stop playing, potentially delaying the season.” ([02:11])

• 2026 Winter Paralympics:

  • Hosted in Milan Cortina, Italy, opening March 6 with more than 600 athletes from 50 countries. Sports include para alpine skiing, ice hockey, snowboarding, and more.
    • Ryan:

      “The opening ceremony will take place tomorrow, kicking off 79 medal events... The 2026 Paralympics will conclude... on March 15.” ([03:23])

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3. Global News—Iran Update ([04:02]-[05:05])

• Conflict in Iran:

  • Recent U.S. and Israeli bombing campaigns escalated tensions, following long protests against Iran’s now-deceased supreme leader, sparking hope for political change. However, U.S. Congressional leaders are alarmed at military action without Congressional approval.

    • Pamela:

      “Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah, is no longer alive. He had been the head of a very repressive government and the Iranian people had been protesting against him... Now, there’s a sense of hope that his removal will bring a positive regime change.” ([04:02])

    • Pamela:

      “It’s alarming that President Trump authorized this attack without the approval of Congress.” ([04:44])

  • More background suggested via linked episodes in show notes.

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4. Gaming Spotlight: Pokémon’s 30th Birthday ([05:41]-[06:49])

• Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary on February 27 with:
  • A huge Pokémon Go update, reviving classic Pokémon.
  • Shadow-dropped retro game releases (Fire Red and LeafGreen) on the Switch.
  • A reveal for the next mainline games: Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves (2027, Switch 2), featuring new starters Brow, Pomon, and Geko.
    • Ryan:

      “The trailer has a lot of ecosystems, but I’m most curious about the underwater world it showed.” ([05:55])

  • Recommendation for Pokémon Pocopia (a ditto-led life sim, out now)—“Nintendo invited me to a sneak preview and it was really fun...” ([06:29])

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5. Science News: Dinosaur Discovery ([06:49]-[07:45])

• New Spinosaurus Species:
  • Discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis—a giant, school-bus-sized, fish-eating dinosaur with a foot-long curved horn.
  • Found by an international team in Niger; first finding of its kind in over a century.
    • Pamela:

      “The new species Spinosaurus dinosaur was a large fish eating predator that first appeared more than 140 million years ago during the Jurassic period... this particular species, Spinosaurus mirabilis, is estimated to have lived about 95 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.” ([06:49])

    • Ryan:

      “The Spinosaurus mirabilis was about the length of a school bus, had a foot long, curved, torn on its head, and was large enough to stand in about 6ft of water without floating.” ([07:25])

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6. Space News: Planet Parade ([07:45]-[08:31])

• Six major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, Mercury) aligned, visible together in the sky—a rare event happening only every few years.
  • Pamela:

    “While planetary alignments of three to five planets do happen every few months... a parade of six to seven planets is pretty uncommon.” ([07:45])

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7. Conservation News: Galapagos Tortoises Return ([08:44]-[09:52])

• Giant tortoises are being reintroduced to Floriana Island, Galapagos, after going extinct there in the 1800s.
  • 158 captive-bred tortoises, aged 8-13, are beginning the ecological restoration.
    • Pamela:

      “158 captive bred tortoises between the ages of 8 and 13 were released onto the island, kicking off a historic conservation effort.” ([08:44])

  • The Floriana Ecological Restoration Project aims to revive 12 locally extinct species.

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8. Trivia Time: The Strength of Paper ([09:52]-[11:07])

• Hosted by Owen, with trivia master “D”
• Q: How much weight can folded paper support?
  A: Thousands of times its own weight!
  • 14-year-old origami prodigy Miles Wu won a science prize for engineering innovations inspired by origami.
    • D:

      “Paper can support more than 10,000 times its own weight... recently proven by miles Wu, a 14 year old origami genius.” ([10:03])

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9. Listener Shoutouts and Interactive Moments ([13:29]-[14:23])

• Five-star reviews from “Best Banana” and “Eva Pookie” (asking for an episode on politics) get special mention.
  • Pamela:

    “Thanks Best Banana. I like speed skating too. And I also like bananas.” ([13:33])

  • Ryan:

    “And yes, we can definitely do an episode about politics.” ([14:08])

• Encouragement for listeners to share their favorite hobbies and games for future episodes.
• Upcoming opportunities for ad-free episodes and ways to support the show.

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Notable Quotes

• Pamela Kirkland ([00:41]):

  “Although we celebrate all women this month and every day, the theme focuses on the contributions of women who are leading sustainability efforts across educational, economic, environmental, and social justice movements.”

• Ryan Willard ([01:25]):

  “Give to Gain emphasizes the power of generosity... support goes a long way.”

• Pamela ([06:49]):

  “This discovery marks the first time in more than 100 years that scientists have identified a new species of this kind.”

• D, Trivia Segment ([10:03]):

  “Paper can support more than 10,000 times its own weight... proven by Miles Wu, a 14 year old origami genius.”

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Timestamps of Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |----------|-------------------------------------------| | 00:41 | Women’s History Month & International Women’s Day | | 02:11 | WNBA Lockout News | | 03:23 | Winter Paralympics Preview | | 04:02 | Iran Update | | 05:41 | Pokémon 30th Birthday | | 06:49 | New Spinosaurus Discovery | | 07:45 | Planet Parade | | 08:44 | Galapagos Tortoise Reintroduction | | 09:52 | Trivia: Strength of Paper | | 13:29 | Listener Shoutouts and Questions |

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Conclusion

This fun, fast-paced episode of The Ten News offers curious kids a whirlwind tour of the world’s most interesting headlines—everything from breakthrough science and historic sports moments to heroic women and Pokémon adventures. Listeners of all ages are invited to stay curious, get involved, and join The Ten News community!

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Transcript

[A]

Ry, did you see it?

[B]

The new dinosaur they discovered?

[A]

Wait, what? No, I was talking about the parade of planets that lined up the other night.

[B]

I didn't see that, but that is also incredibly cool. Were the planets on parade because it's Women's History Month?

[A]

Oh, wow. That's actually a really cool coincidence. I didn't even think about that.

[B]

Well, I did, because I'm Ryan Willard.

[A]

And I'm Pamela Kirkland. It's Thursday, March 5th.

[B]

This is 10 things you need to know. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[A]

It's officially the month of March, which means it's Women's History Month. The month of March has served as Women's history month since 1987, after it outgrew its previous celebration, Women's History Week, which was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Each year, the National Women's History alliance selects a theme for Women's history month. The 2020 theme is leading the Women Shaping a sustainable Future. Although we celebrate all women this month and every day, the theme focuses on the contributions of women who are leading sustainability efforts across educational, economic, environmental, and social justice movements.

[B]

Another big deal that is coming up on Sunday, March 8, is International Women's Day, also known as IWD, which is celebrating its 115 year anniversary, a big milestone for an even bigger day celebrating women's achievements, recognizing gender equality efforts, and honoring the social, economic, cultural and political contributions of women around the world. IWD also has a theme, and this year it's Give to Gain. Give to Gain emphasizes the power of generosity. Like when people, organizations and communities support women, it creates greater opportunities for women to thrive. So this International Women's Day, whether you're making a donation, attending an event, or even just learning about it, know that your support goes a long way.

[A]

Now onto the wild world of sports. Have you heard about the potential WNBA lockout? It hasn't happened yet, but a work stoppage could occur if the WNBA and the Women's National Basketball Players association don't reach a new collective bargaining agreement by Sunday, March 10. The collective bargaining agreement is the agreement that covers things like how much the players get paid, what healthcare benefits they receive, their traps, and working conditions. If negotiations don't move forward, the league could face its first ever lockout, meaning the players would stop playing, potentially delaying the season. Currently, it's scheduled to start on May 8, 2026, marking the WNBA's 30th season, and it's expected to be a big year. The league plans to expand from 13 to 15 teams, the 10News will be keeping an eye on what happens next as the March 10 deadline approaches.

[B]

By the way, Pam, what did you think of the Winter Olympics?

[A]

I loved it, but I want more.

[B]

Well, the 2026 Winter Paralympics are here.

[A]

Oh yeah, let's go.

[B]

The Games will be hosted in Milan Cortina, just like the Winter Olympics. Marking the third time the Paralympics have been held in Italy, the opening ceremony will take place tomorrow, kicking off 79 medal events across six sports and welcoming more than 600 athletes from about 50 nations. The sports include para alpine skiing, parabiathlon, para cross country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboarding and wheelchair curling. The 2026 Paralympics will conclude at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on March 15. Till then, we wish the best of luck to all the athletes competing this year because I cannot wait to

[A]

On a less fun note, you may have heard that Iran is back in the news. Well, here's what went down. Israel and the US Bombed Iran last weekend and opened up major fighting in the Middle East. The Trump administration had claimed that the Iranian government was becoming an immediate threat and action needed to be taken. Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah, is no longer alive. He had been the head of a very repressive government and the Iranian people had been protesting against him and that government for months. Now. There's a sense of hope that his removal will bring a positive regime change, but congressional members and commentators say that it's alarming that President Trump authorized this attack without the approval of Congress. We don't know how long this conflict will last, what impact it will have on US Troops, or how it will affect the rest of the United States. We'll keep you posted as the situation develops. But for more background on Iran, check out the link in our show notes for a previous episode on the situation.

[B]

There's a All right, this calls for a quick break. You down, pal?

[A]

Of course I am. Let's do it.

[B]

Hey tenors. We're doing a deep dive on fun things to do. Obviously going to talk about video games, but I'm curious, what fun activities or hobbies are you into? And also, what video games are you playing or looking forward to? Leave us a comment on Spotify, an Apple review, or email us@helloten news.com and we might have you on the show. Speaking of back to it.

[A]

We are back.

[B]

And we are back with some GGs. Pokemon celebrated its 30th birthday on February 27 and it was awesome. They announced a Pokemon Go update that will bring back Pokemon that were phased out and they Shadow dropped the retro games Pokemon Fire Red and Leafgreen for the Switch and we finally got a peek at the next mainline Pokemon rpg, Pokemon Winds and Pokemon Waves. The trailer has a lot of ecosystems, but I'm most curious about the underwater world it showed. We also saw the three new starter, Pokemon Brow, Pomon and Geko. Pokemon Winds and Waves comes out exclusively for the Switch 2 in 2027, but if you're looking for a totally new type of Pokemon game, I highly recommend Pokemon Pocopia. It's like a life sim where you play a ditto that crafts, builds farms and terraforms to create habitats that attract Pokemon. Nintendo invited me to a sneak preview and it was really fun and I'm super curious to see what the full game is like. Pokemon Pocopia is out now exclusively on Switch 2.

[A]

All right, it's not a Pokemon, but did you hear that they discovered a new dinosaur species? The new species, Spinosaurus dinosaur, was a large fish eating predator that first appeared more than 140 million years ago during the Jurassic period. This discovery marks the first time in more than 100 years that scientists have identified a new species of this kind. However, this particular species, Spinosaurus mirabilis, is estimated to have lived about 95 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

[B]

The Spinosaurus mirabilis was about the length of a school bus, had a foot long, curved, torn on its head, and was large enough to stand in about 6ft of water without floating. The species was discovered by an international team of scientists led by paleontologists from the University of Chicago in Niger.

[A]

We love a good parade here, but a parade of planets? That's even cooler. Last weekend, stargazers were able to catch a glimpse of a rare six planet alignment known as the Planet Parade. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Mercury were visible to the naked eye. And while planetary alignments of three to five planets do happen every few months to a few years, a parade of six to seven planets is pretty uncommon. According to NASA, this night sky show happened as the planets slowly caught up to one another while orbiting the sun. And because they travel along the same path as they pass Earth, they appear aligned

[B]

alright for 10 points. Can you guess what animal this is.

[A]

Big news for Giant tortoises in the mid-1800s, giant tortoises went extinct on Floriana island, located in Ecuador's Galapagos Archipelago as a result of human settlement and invasive species. The but they're making a comeback as the first of 12 locally extinct species planned to return 158 captive bred tortoises between the ages of 8 and 13 were released onto the island, kicking off a historic conservation effort. But how did they bring the subspecies back? In 2008, researchers found some tortoises on a nearby island with genetic ancestry similar to the creatures and brought 23 of them. That most common closely resembled the subspecies to the Galapagos, specifically Santa Cruz island, for captive breeding. By 2025 there were over 600 tortoises. The reintroduction program is called the Floriana Ecological Restoration Project, and we cannot wait to see what other animals they bring back to life.

[B]

And for the last thing you need to know, let's go to our trivia master, Owen

[C]

what is going on here?

[D]

Trivia on the 10 thanks ry while paper may appear thin, it's actually pretty strong. By carefully folding paper, do you know how much weight it can support? Is it A its own weight, B 10 times its weight, c hundreds of times its weight, or D thousands of times its weight? The answer is D. Paper can support more than 10,000 times its own weight. This was recently proven by miles Wu, a 14 year old origami genius. Miles, who has been creating origami masterpieces since he was eight years old, recently won first prize in a national science competition. He tested 54 kinds of folding methods and different paper and showed how the ancient art of origami could inspire the future of engineering.

[B]

And that was 10 things you need

[A]

to know Are you ready to start celebrating Women's History Month?

[B]

Obviously, but how do you want to start?

[A]

I was thinking we could support some women owned businesses.

[B]

I am absolutely game, but we should give some 10 news snaps out first

[A]

right after this quick note for the grownups.

[C]

Hey 10 news families. As we head into spring, homeschool parents know this is the time to finish the year strong. Between activities, travel and everything else filling up the calendar, it can be tricky to keep learning on track. Well, that's where IExl comes in. IExcel is an award winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. Ixcel personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged, and gives parents clear insight into progress. Kids get instant explanations so they can learn in the moment, and parents get detailed reports that clearly show the growth and areas to strengthen. Plus, everything is organized by grade and subject, so it's easy to find exactly what your child needs. So make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and the 10News listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at www.ixl.com 10. Visit www.ixcel.com to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

[E]

Sick of those trivia podcasts that you don't even understand how to operate and they just have too many levers and buttons.

[B]

There's got to be a better way.

[E]

Now there is, with Good Job Brain, an offbeat quiz show and trivia podcast that makes learning new things easy and fun.

[C]

I just learned that artificial vanilla flavoring

[A]

sometimes comes from the anal glands of a beaver and now I can never

[C]

shake that mental image. Thanks.

[A]

Good Job Brain.

[E]

Good Job Brain is available for the low price of just four easy payments of free. It's a podcast.

[A]

Good Job Brain is part of Airwave Media and available on all podcast apps. Operators are standing by.

[B]

It's time for 10 new snaps.

[A]

A tenor named the Best Banana left us a five star Apple review and said, sorry that I'm late. I like the speed skating. I am Eva Pookie's little bro. Thanks Best Banana. I like speed skating too. And I also like bananas.

[B]

And then Best Banana's sister Eva Pookie left us another five star review and said, I am 10 and my name is Ebo. And will you say my dog is Jojo and is crazy? Also, can you make an episode about politics? All right, I'm curious what kind of dog Jojo is and why you think he's crazy. And yes, we can definitely do an

[A]

episode about politics 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 10News, you can make a tax deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support.

[A]

The 10 News is a co production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcast and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

[B]

The 10News Creative team is getting extra hyped to watch the Paralympics 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 any money.

[A]

Our production director is Jeremiah Onfar Faya Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright Albright Albright and show creator Tracy takes the leads. Kaplan.

[B]

I'm Ryan Willard.

[A]

And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to the 10 news.