Boomerang! Episodes » kids

Episode 52 Featuring Cesar Chavez… Violence & Television

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:49:13 +0000

Money: Over at the Rhubarb & Banana Sandwich Stand, Freddie learns cold, hard facts about inflation… Big Talk: Do parents really have an unusual sense of humor?… The immigration debate is often framed as people south of the border trying to get something for nothing. In this episode’s Turning Points interview with Cesar Chavez, Josie discovers nothing could be farther from the truth… Do The Right Thing: Would you wear a T Shirt featuring Joe Camel?… Science experiments are a part of being a kid. Dave Schmave was proud of his jello-thickening entry before he came up against a Happiness Machine… Good-bye Mr. Air: Michael Jordan has been gone for awhile, but he’s not forgotten… On The Big Idea, Michelle and the King of Complicated Stuff combine to figure out what is behind the insane level of violence on television… Toby and Gramps visit Hoss Cartwright country — Virginia City, Nevada — in this episode’s American Journey.

Episode 50 Featuring Laura Ingalls Wilder and Patriotism

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:02:23 +0000

Money: Getting a “great deal” is the classic human victory. But “great deals” come in many shades as Freddie discovers at his Rhubarb and Banana Sandwich stand… Big Talk: When it comes to projects, sometimes the pronoun we gets a little squishy… This pioneer woman didn’t start writing until she was in her 60s. But in Josie’s Turning Points interview with Laura Ingalls Wilder, listeners discover she was merely gathering material for her beloved stories… Quick thinking saves the day on Power-Up… A school bully and stolen lunch money: Just another day in the life of detective Tucker Jones… Jessica and that famous French Chef Jacques Latour make quick work of pizza on Now We’re Cookin’… Patriotism is one loaded concept. For some, it means “My Country — right or wrong.” For others it means working to ensure one’s country can be the best that it can be. On the Big Idea Michelle and the King of Complicated Stuff share what patriotism means to them… Listeners weigh in on their favorite heroes on the BOOMERANG! Census… On News Update, a one-armed baseball team… What’s 7 foot tall, weighs 180 pounds and can jump like a grasshopper? No kangaroos are playing for the NBA yet, but, on Natural Wonder, Elena wonders if that’s the next big jump for these graceful creatures.

SPECIAL Episode 49 The Dirt on Food

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:04:44 +0000

In 20 years and 132 CDs we have only twice focused an entire episode on one topic. “The Dirt on Food” is one of those special episodes. Why? Because we believe what we eat, where we buy it, and how it is raised, is key to many broader issues. Using our varied cast of storytelling devices we touch upon those hard-to-reach corners of of the food story. Some pieces are playful… some are hard hitting. All of them are presented by kids — in their voices and metaphor.

MONEY: The “Food Episode” starts, appropriately, at Freddy’s Rhubarb and Banana Sandwich stand where an old customer is complaining about the higher prices of Fred’s fresh organic ingredients… On their AMERICAN JOURNEY, Toby and Gramps grab a bowl of soup in Pescadero, California, then get a personal tour of a nearby organic herb farm… In SOUNDS, we hear the sound of a revolving door, transporting Monsanto executives between their boardroom and government positions… Laura goes back in time to the 1980s to interview a conventional Illinois farmer experimenting with a new “old” way of farming in this episode’s TURNING POINT…Clodagh has a commentary about Frankenfood and genetic modification… Saffron and that famous French Chef, Jacques LaTour, reacquaint listeners with the joys of cooking (and eating)… On the BIG IDEA, Hayley and the King of Complicated Stuff explore the moral dilemmas involved in choosing meat in the marketplace… Finally, Natalie has a NATURAL WONDER about the beauty of black, wormy, soil. Why do we treat this precious commodity like… dirt?

Episode 48 Featuring John Muir and Hiroshima

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:02:44 +0000

His idea of a good time was climbing to the top of thin spruce trees and riding them down to the ground as the tree buckled under his weight. In her TURNING POINTS interview Kelsey discovers just how lucky we were to have John Muir… BOOKBEAT: Rachel speaks with fantasy and sci-fi writer, Jane Yolen… DO THE RIGHT THING: Is snitching the right thing to do?… Someone’s messing with a neighbor’s leaf piles and Tucker gets the call… BOOM RADIO: Devin has a commentary about… nothing… When America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the world changed forever. Alicia and the King sort it all out on THE BIG IDEA… You see one line of traffic going one way, a second line of traffic going the other. Are ants REALLY this organized? Rachel has some thoughts on this episode’s NATURAL WONDER.

Episode 44 Featuring Helen Keller and Politics

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:32:12 +0000

BIG TALK: Don’t you just hate having to BEHAVE when you have company over?… Helen Keller had no sight or hearing; nor could she speak. But she DID have a brilliant and patient teacher named Anne Sullivan. On TURNING POINTS, Kelsey goes back in time to speak to this marvelous duo … Devin the Duff has a beef with stupid scary movies on BOOM Radio… DO THE RIGHT THING: Have you ever had to do something “wrong” to do something “right”?… On SCHMAVE’S ELEVATOR our buddy Schmave is sent to the “cloakroom” by his teacher to think about his behavior. Soon all this thinking gets out of hand… Freddie Finklehammer stars on the WEIRD WORDS game show… When stories about politics come up at the dinner table, most kids’ ears turn off. Jessica and the King of Complicated Stuff offer some general rules to the politics game that makes the whole business a little more understandable… They’ve got reaaaaaaaaaaaaal long necks. But as Rachel discovers on this episode’s NATURAL WONDER, being 18 feet tall does have its advantages.