A Ten News Deep Dive: Episode 701
Summer was WILD, Ten’ers! ☀️ Ryan and Pam are back with 10 of the biggest, weirdest and most wow-worthy stories you may have missed.
And who invited Cricket Green?! 😂 The Big City Greens star makes a surprise appearance in our Season 7 premiere and things go off the rails fast.
Listen now for Cricket, summer headlines, trivia and plenty of Ten News chaos.
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Transcript:
INT. THE BEACH
<SFX waves crashing, winds winding and an ukulele strumming> (PAM is enjoying the last few moments of her beach vacation)
PAM: I would love another mango smoothie, thank you Midnight <SFX footsteps RUNNING through the sand>
RYAN: HI PAM THERE YOU ARE!
PAM: (screams) AHHHHH! Who are you!? And why are you crashing my summer vacation…?
RYAN: Well, school is already back in session in a lot of states… and you were actually supposed to be back at work yesterday, I think you just forgot!
PAM: No I didn’t forget. It’s only…it’s, ummm–wait, what day is it?
RYAN: It’s Thursday, September 3rd. You are Pamela Kirkland and it’s time to get back to the studio.
PAM: Okay it’s starting to come back to me…you’re Ryan Willard.
RYAN: BOOM! This is Season 7 of the Ten News–
PAM: And this is Ten Things You Need to Know.
RYAN: Welcome back, Pam!
PAM: Thanks, Ry. Whew, it’s good to be back!
RYAN: And before we dive into Season 7, we’ve got some catching up to do. A lot happened while we were gone.
PAM: Then let’s do it. Let’s do ten of the biggest, wildest and most interesting things that happened this summer.
RYAN: First and foremost…America turned the big 2-5-0! On July 4th, the United States marked 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, with celebrations happening all across the country. At the National Archives in DC, people could see the original Declaration of Independence, meet historical reenactors and hear a dramatic reading of the document. And the birthday festivities didn't end there. In August, race cars zoomed throught the streets of Washington DC for the first ever Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
PAM: The cars really burned rubber.
RYAN: It was hot!
PAM: Ry, it was a HOT one. Record-breaking, in fact. <SFX Weather…or Not> July 2026 was officially the hottest month ever recorded in the contiguous United States, meaning all the connected states. And heat wasn’t the only extreme weather this summer. In June, there were 374 reports of tornadoes across the country, with Illionois, Indiana, and Missouri all setting records for the most tornado reports they’s ever seen during the month of June. Then in July, parts of Texas and New York experienced major flash flooding.
RYAN: So basically Mother Nature did NOT take a summer vacation.
PAM: Definitely not, she was working overtime.
RYAN: Swifties were also working overtime paying attention to the headlines. <SFX: Paparazzi/Red Carpet> Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce officially tied the knot on July 3rd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was nothing short of iconic, with an estimated 1,000 guests watching the couple say, "I do." Swift's brother, Austin, stood by her side as her "Man of Honor," while Kelce's brother and longtime sidekick, Jason, served as best man. Can you guess who officiated the wedding? The one and only Adam Sandler!
PAM: Now that I wouldn’t have guessed!
RYAN: The comedian is reportedly one of Kelce's childhood heroes and recently shared the screen with him in Happy Gilmore 2. I think it’s safe to say that these two are officially in their happily ever after era.
RYAN: Okay Pam, imagine someone hands you a book. Except the book is 2,000 years old.
PAM: Cool.
RYAN: It was buried by a volcano.
PAM: Less cool.
RYAN: And if you try to open it, it could crumble into pieces.
PAM: I think I’d return it to the library.
RYAN: Well thanks to AI, you can now read this book without hurting them. I’m talking about hundreds of scrolls that were buried when Mount Versuvius erupted in the year 79 destroying the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The heat carbonized the scrolls making them incredibly fragile and nearly impossible to open.
PAM: Oh I see, now researchers are using powerful scans and artificial intelligence to virtually unwrap the scroll and identify what is written inside.
RYAN: Now they can ready words that no human has read for nearly 2,000 years!
<SFX RUMBLING FROM THE CEILING, THEN IT COLLAPSES>
<SFX CRICKET GREEN SCREAMS AS HE FALLS INTO THE STUDIO>
<SFX CRASH/THUD>
PAM: Ummmm, Cricket Green? Is that you?
CRICKET: Hey Ryan! Hi Pam. Sorry I’m early, I used the trampoline elevator to get to the second floor.
RYAN: We have a tram-pamp-oline but we do not have an elevator or a second floor.
CRICKET: Oh, so… that’s how I ended up in the ceiling. You ready for snack time?
RYAN: Dude we’re still working, I can do Snacky McYumYums after we’re done. But since you’re here, do you wanna tell us the fifth thing You Need to Know?
CRICKET: (ADLIB AND SHOW PLUG) Now can we do Snacky McYumYums?!
RYAN: Let’s gooooooo!
PAM: And while Ryan and Cricket do that, let’s take a quick break…
MUSIC BUMPER
INTERSTITIAL
RYAN: Hey Ten’ers, I’m obviously a fan of the show Big City Greens…Cricket and I actually kept hanging out after this. We talked about moving somewhere new, making friends, what freaks him out, his favorite foods, and whether he’d rather ride a shark or an eagle. You can hear my full hangout with Cricket Green tomorrow in a special episode of The Ten News. And after you do, we want to know… what do you think of Cricket and Big City Greens? Leave us a comment on Spotify or a review on Apple and we might shout you out on the show. Speaking of…back to it!
PAM: We are back and I think we gotta jump into the Wild World of Sports… <SFX Wild World of Sports>
RYAN: GOOOOOOOOOAL!
PAM: The FIFA World Cup took over North America this summer with games played across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. After the biggest World Cup tournament ever, just one team was still standing: Spain! Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1-0 in extra time to capture its second FIFA World Cup title. Spain also made history as the first country to hold both the men's and women's FIFA World Cup titles at the same time after the women defeated England 1-0 in the 2023 Women's World Cup final.
RYAN: Okay. That is some serious futbol bragging rights.
PAM: This summer also brought some sad news. Music legend Dolly Parton died in August at the age of 80.
RYAN: Dolly was the singer behind songs like Jolene and 9 to 5. And for millions of kids, Dolly was the woman who helped put books in their hands.
PAM: In 1995, she created Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to young children. What began in Dolly’s home state in Tennessee grew into a program reaching children around the world.
RYAN: So dolly’s legacy isn’t just the music she left behind. It’s also a lot of kids who grew up loving books because of her.
PAM: Dolly wasn’t the only beloved figure we lost this summer. Actor Tim Curry, famous for decades of movies, theater, and voice acting died at age 80. From the movie Clue to Home Alone 2, he inspired and charmed millions of movie goers.
RYAN: Alright for Ten Points, can you name this animal? <SFX GIRAFFE SOUNDS> <SFX Tick Tick Tick DING!> It’s a giraffe! Have you ever heard of a giraffe gone missing? Well, it happened this summer when Gracie, a 3 year old giraffe living at Cedar Hollow Ranch, near San Antonio, Texas, disappeared from the ranch.
PAM: Which raises an important question: how do you lose an animal that tall?
RYAN: Right?!? Gracie wandered off and spent nearly two weeks roaming the area while people searched for her. Eventually, an aerial search spotted her about four miles from the ranch. And Gracie was safely returned home.
PAM: Ry, I feel like there is one sports story we somehow haven;t mentioned yet.
RYAN: Pamela, I’ve been patiently waiting for this moment. <SFX: Arena Crowd> The New York Knicks are the 2026 NBA Champions!
PAM: There it is.
RYAN: The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs four games to one, winning their first NBA championship since 1973. That ended a 53-year championship drought! And in the championship-clinching Game 5, team captain Jalen Brunson scored 45 points, setting a Knicks NBA Finals record and earning Finals MVP. Which means there is really only one thing left to say—
RYAN: KNICKS IN FIVE, BABY!
PAM: You’ve been saving that all summer, haven’t you?
RYAN: Since June.
RYAN: And for the last thing you need to know, let’s welcome back our Trivia Master, Owen.
OWEN: Thanks, Ry. I can’t believe we’re already on season 7! To kick things off, we’re talking telescopes. NASA had another epic launch on August 30th. But before we get into what it will do, can you guess which real-life space pioneer the telescope is named after? Is it:
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space
Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer
Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space
Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician who helped send astronauts to space?
OWEN: <SFX clock ticks down> Alright Ten’ers, did you guess it? The answer, and the telescope’s full name, is…B! The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope! Roman was NASA’s first chief astronomer, and this new space telescope will capture incredible views of the universe and help scientists explore some of its biggest mysteries, from planets beyond our solar system to studying dark matter and dark energy, and more. I can’t wait to see what cosmic mysteries unfold during this school year.
OUTRO
Target: 45sec
RYAN: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know.
PAM: <SFX a breath of fresh air> It’s good to be back! I think we’re all caught up on the summer now…
RYAN: Ummm, but Pam, we didn’t even talk about what we did this summer. Particularly, what we played…
PAM: Alright, well maybe we can get into that next week. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of games you’re ready to tell me about.
RYAN: Yes, yes I do. Speaking of games, we should probably give Ten News snaps out!
PAM: But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups.
<AD BREAK>
RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!
RYAN: A Ten’er named Shin-O-Boo-Kocho-san said… “Hiiiii can you do an episode on demon slayer or something? My birthday is July 27th please give me a shoutout. Love y’all’s podcast it slays so hard have a great summer! I gotta say, I do love that anime and have some of the action figures…but more importantly. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sorry we missed it but hope you and all the Ten’ers out there had a tremendous Summer!
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 excited to be back 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 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.
