Why Europe Marched

Hello, Newslings! · 0:00

If you went swimming in the ocean, could a shark hear you singing? Later, a real shark scientist answers that. And he sings for us!

Hey, Newslings! It's Sunday, November 8th, 2026. Ready to explore the big wide world? Let's go! Here's the plan. Story one, why so many people in Europe marched this autumn. Story two, stick insects that fooled scientists. And story three, a runner who always came last, on purpose.

Plus, a festival of lights. Let's dive in!

Why Europe marched · 0:43

Story one. This is a serious story, so let's break it down. This autumn, lots of people in Europe protested. A protest is when people get together in public to show they want something to change. It started on September 17th at a high school in Paris, in France.

Teachers protested because there wasn't enough staff, and students joined them. Soon, people in other countries marched, too, in Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and more. Why? Many people, a lot of them young, say life costs too much, homes cost too much, and schools need more help.

Many marches were peaceful, with signs, but on some days, some people broke things and stole from shops. That's called looting, and it's against the law. In France, on October 18th, President Emmanuel Macron said on TV that some protesters had legitimate demands. Legitimate means fair and worth listening to, but people who smashed windows and stole from businesses he said would pay for it, and he promised a team to help people having a hard time.

In Italy, on October 20th, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government approved tougher punishments for violent protests, and sent 500 more soldiers to guard places in Milan. Maloney said, vandalism and theft are not protest, but the mayor of Genoa said, young people must be listened to.

On October 24th in Milan, thousands of young people marched again. This time the march stayed peaceful. So leaders say, keep everyone safe. Many marchers say, listen to us. Both sides matter. Here's the big idea. In many countries, you can say what you think out loud together.

The important part is doing it without hurting anyone or damaging property.

Sound It Out · 2:45

Here's today's Sound It Out word: teachers. Let's clap it. Tea... chers. Two beats and it starts with the letter T like tiger.

The stick insects that fooled everyone · 2:59

Story two, let's go to Australia and play hide and seek. Stick insects look like sticks, duh. Have you ever spotted a bug that's hiding right in front of you? That's called camouflaged. On September 22nd, scientists at the University of Sydney shared a surprise.

One group of big Australian stick insects was thought to be two species. A species is one kind of a living thing. It turns out there are five. The lead scientist said, "'Taxonomy' is often a bit like detective work. "'Taxonomy' is sorting and naming living things." The team checked DNA, old museum insects, and more than a thousand photos and sightings that ordinary people had shared online.

One new species has only been found in the Mabi Rainforest in Queensland, a forest in danger. And get this, Its eggs have a lid. When the baby hatches, the lid comes off. Picture a tiny stick insect popping open its own front door. Why does it matter?

Well, we can only protect an animal or an insect if we know it's there. Next time you're outside, look closely at the twigs. Maybe one actually has legs.

The runner who came last on purpose · 4:25

Story three, lace up your sneakers. On October 3rd, a runner named Esmée Gummer finished a giant run in London. She'd run every day for 99 days in a row, all around the UK and Ireland. All the hills she ran up added up to about seven times the height of Mount Everest.

In city after city, she held a free five kilometre running club. That's about three miles. Anyone could come. Runners, joggers, walkers, people in wheelchairs. And Esmée always finished last herself, so nobody was left behind. That's being inclusive. Inclusive means everyone is welcome. And now she holds a Guinness World Records title for it.

When she was 18, after an operation, Esmée could no longer walk. She learned to walk again, then to dance, and then to run. She said, this record isn't really about me, it's what happens when people show up for each other. So who would you like to go for a walk or a run with for one of Esmée's events?

Bottom line is, you don't have to be the fastest to do something big.

Around the World: Diwali · 5:42

Today, many families around the world are celebrating Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains all celebrate it, each for their own reasons. The name comes from an old word meaning, row of lights. Families light diyas, small clay lamps filled with oil set in rows along their walls.

It's about light winning over darkness. People make floor patterns called rangoli from coloured rice, sand, or petals, and share lots of sweets. It can last about five days. So today is a holiday in India, and in Fiji, an island country in the Pacific, tomorrow is a Diwali holiday with schools closed.

Can you picture a whole street twinkling with tiny flames? If you're celebrating today, happy Diwali!

Ask the Scientist: Could a shark hear me singing? · 6:37

It's time for Ask the Scientist. In Episode three, we learned that sharks have hidden ears. Scientists at Florida Atlantic University found blacktip sharks could hear low sounds from as far away as 74 metres. That's about the length of six school buses parked end-to-end.

So we asked one of those scientists, Stephen Kajiura, Could a shark hear me singing in the sea?

Low sounds, hmm, so how should we sing?

Loud and low, I think you'd make a great foghorn!

Thank you, Professor Kajiura. Want to try? Only with a grown-up right next to you, in safe water, like a bath. Ears under, and hum a low note, and listen. Can you hear it? Got a question for a scientist? Ask a grown-up to help you send it to us in the app.

[Stephen Kajiura's voice note plays here, in three parts.]

This Day in History: X marks the mystery · 8:34

On this day, November 8th in 1895, in Germany, a scientist named Wilhelm Röntgen was working in a dark room when a screen two metres away started to glow. Something invisible was getting through. He didn't know what it was, so he called it X.

X-rays. In math, X stands for something unknown. His first famous X-ray showed his wife Anna's hand, her bones, and her ring. He could have patented X-rays so he'd get to decide who used them and profit from them, but he didn't. He believed discoveries belonged to the whole world.

In 1901, more than a hundred years ago, he won the very first Nobel Prize in physics. Have you ever had an X-ray? Maybe at the dentist?

Poem time: The horses of the sea · 9:31

It's poem time! This one goes with today's shark scientist, because it's about the sea. It's also by Christina Rossetti, and it's very short. She calls big, foamy waves the horses of the sea. Listen for words that rhyme. Rhyming words end with the same sound.

[The poem is read by Maggie Travers for LibriVox (public domain).]

Hope: The kākāpō's record year · 10:12

Before we go, here's something hopeful. Meet the kākāpō from New Zealand, a big green parrot with a face a bit like an owl's. It can't fly, so it waddles, and it's the heaviest parrot in the world. In 1995, only 51 were left, and people started a plan to save them, on islands with no predators.

This year was a record. 90 chicks joined the official count. On September 1st, New Zealand's Department of Conservation said there are now 325 kākāpō, more than six times as many as in 1995. They can live 60 to 90 years, so some of these chicks could still be waddling around when you're a grandparent.

So remember, when people keep helping, year after year, a very rare bird can come back.

Mystery Sound number 6 · 11:07

It's time for our Mystery Sound. On the last episode, you heard this sound.

It was... bubble wrap, popping! Did you get it right? Here's a new one, so listen closely.

Hmm, what do you think it was? Tell someone your guess or write it down and I'll tell you the answer on Tuesday.

[Mystery Sound number 6 plays here. The answer is on Tuesday.]

See you on Tuesday · 11:56

Want to see the stick insects and a real kākāpō? They're on our website, newslings dot x y z, with today's quiz and our reading coach.

That's it for today, Newslings! We heard why people in Europe marched, about stick insects that were five kinds not two, and a runner who finished last on purpose.

Stay curious and I'll talk to you on Tuesday, November 10th.

▶ Listen and read alongThe app highlights every word as it's said