Animals in the News, Media Madness, and Dino Discoveries

Episode
Written By Tracy Kaplan

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 618

1. America's Favorite Albino Alligator ❤️

2. A Retriever Rescue 🛟

3. Swimming & Scrolling 🤦🏼‍♀️

4. Teens Tuning Out the News 📉

5. New York Times vs. the Pentagon 🗞️

6. GameStop's Big Trade-in 💸

7. Dinousaur Discovery 👣

8. Geminid Meteor Shower 💫

9. Behind the Black Death 💀

10. Spotify Wrapped is Back 🎧

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TRANSCRIPT

INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO

<SFX Ryan rummaging through a box of junk> <SFX Pam walks up>

PAM: Hey Ry, you ready to– oh. My. goodness… what in the mess is going on here?

RYAN: Pam, a room is always messiest, right before it’s clean! <SFX Ryan tosses things, maybe a toy cow that moos? Or other ridiculous things!>

PAM: I think you just made that up. What are you searching for exactly? 

RYAN: I’m looking for my oldest Pokémon cards… I heard that Gamestop just paid someone $30K for one! I know they’re in one of these bags of stuff–

PAM: You know that card was in mint condition right? 

RYAN: What’s a mint condition?

PAM: Okay…we’ll get to that, after we start the show. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, it’s Thursday, December 11th.

PAM: This is Ten Things You Need to Know. 

PAM: The first thing you need to know is some sad news out of San Francisco, California... Claude, the rare and much-loved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Born in 1995 with albinism, a genetic mutation that made him appear bright white, Claude started life at an alligator farm in Louisiana before moving to the California Academy of Sciences in 2008. He called the museum home for 17 years, touching the hearts of countless visitors and becoming an unofficial mascot, so much so that kiddos often left with their own mini Claude stuffed animal. Claude was also an unofficial mascot to the city, showing up in ads at bus stops and light-rail stations, and he even found his way into children’s books! To Claude and his fans, this isn’t goodbye, it’s just see you later, alligator!

RYAN: Pup next, a successful rescue mission at Ocean Beach in San Diego, California. Sadie, a black Labrador retriever mix, escaped out of the front door of the home where she and her owners were staying for the weekend. Luckily, Sadie had a GPS tag on her collar, and her owners were able to track her whereabouts. But things took a turn when they realized Sadie had been swept out into the ocean by a rip current. A surfer alerted lifeguards, prompting a search by the Coast Guard and local rescuers. After more than an hour, just as the team was about to call off the search, Sadie was spotted paddling roughly three-quarters of a mile offshore. She was safely pulled into a boat and brought back to shore, where she reunited with her owners.

PAM: While Sadie was a rockstar treading the ocean waters, a woman in Australia is leaving the world in utter shock after being seen scrolling and swimming at the same time. That’s right, a video clip shared on social media shows a woman scrolling on her phone while doing the backstroke in a pool. The caption “Good to see people just being in the moment, maximizing their screentime, never not being online and oversharing every possible minute of their lives” perfectly captures the technology addiction overtaking society. A little screen time is fine, but c’mon people, set some boundaries and enjoy the moment!

RYAN: Speaking of media consumption, a study shows that American teens ages 13-18 have a negative attitude toward the news media. Experts say that very few teens even follow the news regularly or learn about journalism in school. When asked by the News Literacy Project to use one word to describe today’s news media, 84% of teens responded negatively, using words like “fake, boring, confusing, and biased.” A big statement that stands out is that ⅓ or fewer teens believe reporters correct their mistakes, confirm their facts before reporting, and make sure they check multiple sources before sharing news. But this study is precisely why The Ten News exists: to report the news in a digestible, factual way for our Ten’ers, and to keep you informed about the world around you!

PAM: Also happening in the news, the New York Times is suing the Pentagon. More specifically, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, over the Pentagon’s new policy requiring media outlets to promise not to gather information unless defense officials formally authorize its release. According to the New York Times, this policy represents an attempt to force reporters to rely on officials for news about the military and to unlawfully permit their punishment if they don’t. As a result, news organizations like Fox News and CNN chose to give up their press passes instead of agreeing to the policy. The Times argues that Hegseth’s request violates constitutional protections for free speech and freedom of the press. 

RYAN: Wow, when Fox News and CNN agree on something, you know it’s serious. So serious that…we should take a quick break!

PAM: Yeah, I’m gonna grab a snack! (PAM INSERT YOUR FAVORITE SNACK IF YOU WANT)

PAM: Hey Ten’ers, our Holiday episode is coming up next week, and I’m curious: what do you want for the holidays? Is there a gift you’ve been asking for? Or maybe you want to see your favorite cousin? We want to hear what you want for the holidays. And if you leave us a comment on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts, we might shout you out on the show! Speaking of, back to it! 

RYAN: We’re back with some news for our Pokémon fans. A Holo Gengar trading card in mint condition, meaning basically perfect and like-new, was traded in at a GameStop store in Grapevine, Texas, for $30,494! Gengar is one of the OG 151 Pokémon, and this particular card from 2003 now marks the most valuable single trade-in ever recorded in GameStop history. The person who traded in this masterpiece originally received it through GameStop’s Power Packs program, which allows customers to buy packs of trading cards online. The packs are guaranteed to have at least one PSA-graded card, which can be sent to the owner or digitally traded back to GameStop. Which means, this Gengar card will reportedly be available for anyone who participates in the Power Packs program!

PAM: Well this isn’t a Pokémon, but a dino-mite discovery has been made in South America! Paleontologists have found nearly 18,000 dinosaur tracks at the Carreras Pampa track site. The site is located in Torotoro National Park in Bolivia. And, of the nearly 18,000 prints, there are 16,600 footprints, 1,378 swim tracks, and several tail traces, mostly belonging to theropods and even birds! The tracks are estimated to have formed between 145 million and 66 million years ago, and provide a good indication of how dinosaurs and other animals moved along the paleocoastline. According to the paper published in the journal PLOS One, Carreras Pampa is home to the highest number of dinosaur trackways, the most preserved dinosaur footprints, and the highest number of preserved continuous dinosaur swim trackways in the world! 

RYAN: Last Thursday, December 4th, marked the start of the annual Geminid meteor shower, which will be active through December 20th, peaking on the nights of December 13th and 14th. The shower occurs as Earth passes through debris trails shed by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, creating bright shooting stars that appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, near the star Castor. Stargazers could see up to 150 meteors per hour at the peak of the meteor shower, according to the American Meteor Society, but 40-50 meteors per hour is more likely. For the best experience, it’s suggested to find a dark spot away from city lights after 10 pm local time in your area, when Gemini is high in the sky. 

PAM: Meanwhile, back on Earth, new research suggests that one or more volcanic eruptions may have triggered the Black Death, the pandemic that swept across Europe starting in 1347. The Black Death was a bubonic plague, known as one of the most fatal pandemics in history, and was responsible for the deaths of more than half of Europe’s population. In a study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the theory is that volcanic eruptions triggered a series of events that enabled the fleas responsible for spreading the plague to grow and multiply rapidly. The eruptions also caused changes in global temperatures, affecting European harvests and sparking fears of famine. As a result, wealthier Italian cities had grain shipped in from around the world, and with these shipments likely came plague-infected fleas. So, while starvation was avoided, the plague took over. This new research provides a historical example of how climate change can significantly affect human society and animal ecosystems. 

RYAN: Alright, not gonna lie, that was pretty freaky. But for our last thing you need to know, let’s go to our Trivia Master, Owen. 

OWEN: Thanks Ry! Spotify Wrapped is back, but before we dive in, it’s trivia time! Do you know which artist has been named Spotify’s most-played artist the most? Is it: 

  1. Taylor Swift

  2. Drake

  3. Bad Bunny, or

  4. Billie Eilish 

The answer is… C! Bad Bunny has been named Spotify’s most-played artist 4 times, and has been crowned 2025’s most-streamed artist globally. For the last two years, Taylor Swift held the title, but that was after Bad Bunny claimed it for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. Bad Bunny also holds the title of most-streamed album globally, followed by the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack. 

RYAN: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know.

PAM: So did you find your incredibly valuable Pokemon card you were looking for? 

RYAN: Yes I did, thank you for asking. 

PAM: Was it in mint condition?!

RYAN: It was actually in Syd condition…because when my little sister Sydney was 5, she thought Jigglypuff looked like candy and ate half the card. Half of my set is missing, actually. 

PAM: Wow, that is not good. Ten’ers, don’t try that at home. 

RYAN: We could try Ten News Snaps though…

PAM: But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups. 

<AD BREAK> 

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: Okay we have a Ten’er named WildWisdom left us a review on Apple called…A whole family review for a whole family podcast. Butterfly said, I want to eat the pumpkin pie. 

RYAN: Wait…is this a whole family of butterflies…? Please say no please say no please say no

PAM: Nope! Snake said, “I like how you take scary stories and tell them in a child appropriate way.” Then Cat said, “I like listening to your podcast.” And Unicorn said, “Ryan I also don’t like spiders.”

RYAN: Okay, that is a family with a Snake, a Cat, a Butterfly and a Unicorn? Might be one of the coolest families I’ve ever heard of. Except for the, you know.

PAM: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website. 

RYAN: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!

PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is looking up at the meteor shower and includes Tracey Not a 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 Slowin Down for Anybody. 

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright, Albright, Albright!” and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

Tracy Kaplan
Next

Cat Lover's Month, Snowstorm Slam, and a Super(man) Surprise