RYAN: Yeah, well I tried to lay my own eggs, and that was…weird. Hence why I got Landon, Cogsmire and Ding Dong. I’ll never run out of eggs and we can probably sell them for a profit.

PAM: Are you sure they can even lay eggs? Those look like–

RYAN: Pam. I think I know how chickens work. And I also think we gotta start the show. I’m Ryan Willard.

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, it’s Thursday, December 12th.

RYAN: This is Ten Things You Need to Know.

PAM: You may have noticed that your parents have had a little trouble finding eggs lately, due to an egg shortage across the country. A shortage is a situation in which something cannot be attained, in the amount that’s needed.

RYAN: It’s a tragedy! You need eggs to make French toast!

PAM: A big reason for this shortage is the bird flu. The Wildlife Management Institute said, the viruses have been found in almost 1,200 outbreaks in 48 states since the beginning of 2022. An economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation told NBC that in the last couple months, there have been about 10 million birds affected. Pair that with the fact that everybody has been stocking up on extra eggs for their holiday shopping, and it makes total sense why they’re a hot commodity. And Ten’ners, since there’s a shortage and eggs are harder to get on the shelves, the price goes up. Speaking of shortages…we’ve got some news that The Grinch might like.

RYAN: News the Grinch might like…? OH NO. Are the holidays cancelled?!?!?

PAM: They are NOT canceled, but there IS a potential Christmas tree shortage!

RYAN: Ahh yes, it looks like Christmas trees could be hard to come by in a few years, as experts predict a nationwide shortage. A big reason for this is the weather. That means it’s time for WEATHER or… NOT <<SFX Thunderclap and rain sounds>> Between the hurricanes in the south and droughts in the northeast, some farms have lost hundreds of trees. Nearly 60% of the Northeast was in drought at the beginning of November, according to the US Drought Monitor, so they weren’t getting the rain that’s crucial to growing healthy trees. This may not seem like a big deal as you’re shopping for your trees this year, but remember: it takes about seven to eight years for a sapling to grow into a mature Christmas tree, so fewer saplings now means fewer trees in the future.

PAM: How about something to get us back into the festive mood?

RYAN: How about holiday cookies? I always feel festive when there are cookies in my mouth hole.

PAM: Okay, well…December 12th is National Gingerbread House Day! The tradition of decorating gingerbread houses dates back to the early 1800s in Germany. Inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel, German bakers made tiny models of houses out of spiced honey biscuits called leb-KUTCH-in. The very early history of gingerbread itself isn’t really clear, but some food historians trace the first recipe all the way back to 2400 BC!

RYAN: Talk about past the expiration date!

PAM: These days, the tradition of making gingerbread houses is a popular family activity, and some people take it really seriously. The biggest gingerbread house was created by Traditions Club in Texas in 2013. It was about 60 feet long, 42 feet wide and 60 feet tall. If you wanted to make this house, you’d need almost 2,000 pounds of butter, almost 3,000 pounds of brown sugar, 7,200 eggs, and more than 7,000 pounds of flour.

RYAN: But it would be totally worth it because you’d have the best roommate ever. Me. I’d move in. In the meantime, the Oxford Dictionary has announced its word of the year. This year, it’s “brain rot,” which is really having a moment. In 2024, it was used 230% more than in 2023! According to Oxford, Brain rot is “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” Which is a fancy dictionary way of saying that scrolling too much on social media or not spending enough time challenging your brain can be really bad for you. The other words in the running for word of the year were demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy, and lore, and last year’s word of the year was “rizz”. Collins Dictionary had a different take altogether and claimed that the 2024 word of the year is “brat.” What do you think the word of the year should be? Send us a note and tell us!

PAM: Speaking of social media, TikTok is back in the news. A federal court upheld a law that could mean that in a few short weeks, TikTok is banned. The U.S. Court of Appeals denied TikTok’s attempt to overturn the law that requires them to be sold off from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. This law was signed by President Biden in April, and was a long time coming. For years, the government has been concerned that Tik Tok was a security threat, saying that it collected a ton of user data, including information about viewing habits. And that the algorithm, or the way that TikTok decides what you see, is too easy for Chinese authorities to manipulate. Tik Tok has asked a federal appeals court to temporarily pause the new law, so the Supreme Court can review the case. We’ll keep you posted as Tik Tok and the government battle this out in court.

RYAN: So that’s what’s going on in the American government, but other places have also been making waves!

PAM: That’s right, Ten’ners, we’ve got some international news after the break!

RYAN: Hey Ten’ers, we’re curious: What are you excited for in 2025? 25 is my lucky number so I think it’s gonna be a great year. But we wanna hear from you: leave us a comment or review, send us an email: hello@thetennews.com or leave us a voicemail: 877-TEN-NEWS. If you tell us what you’re excited for in 2025, we might have you on the show! Speaking of, back to it!

RYAN: Welcome back Ten’ners! We promised you some international news, so let’s jump from the US all the way over to South Korea. <SFX News Theme> Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked everybody with a decision to impose martial law, which is a government takeover by the military. This can mean limiting civil rights like the freedom of the press, and the power of the court. The president took this action because he believed that his party was conducting “anti-state activities,” and bringing South Korea close to communism and dictatorship, and not acting like a democracy. But then he took actions that were not democratic by sending troops into the parliament building and putting all of the country’s media under a martial law command.Yoon was quickly stopped by the country’s lawmakers and responded by trying to impeach Yoon, voting to remove him from power. Yoon survived the vote and was not impeached but his actions have caused millions across South Korea to call for him to resign, or step down from his role.

PAM: And now moving to another part of the world, there is some surprising news out of Syria, a country in the Middle East located next to Turkey and Lebonan. Syria has been dealing with a civil war between the government led by President Bashar al-Assad and a rebel group, called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The war has led to millions of Syrians fleeing their homes. Assad’s family has been in power for more than 50 years and the Assad regime has been full of civil war and human rights violations. On November 30th, in a surprise attack, the rebe group was able to take control of Allepo, Syria’s largest city. This move led Assad to give up control of Syria and flee with his family to Russia–a close ally of Assad. It is unclear what will happen next in Syria but with Assad out of power, Syrian refugees are preparing to return home.

PAM: Completely shifting gears from the complex dynamics in the Middle East…to something that’ll have you dancing in your seat. Let’s roll out the red carpet for some entertainment news! <paparazzi camera SFX> Beyoncé is the greatest pop star of the 21st century!

RYAN <whisper yelling>: Pssst, Pamela. This is a NEWS show. I’ve been saying that for years!

PAM: Yes, this is news! Beyonce has OFFICIALLY been named the greatest pop star of the 21st century by the music charting site Billboard. Beyoncé holds the record for the most Grammy Awards won in a lifetime, with a record 32 wins, and that’s only so far. Based on how her 2024 album “Cowboy Carter” is doing, it looks like there may be a few more wins to come. She has nine No. 1 songs and 24 top 10 songs on the Hot 100. Starting in 2003 when she was part of Destiny’s Child, eight albums earned a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. And 11 of Beyoncé’s solo albums have charted in the top 10. Taylor Swift was Billboard’s No. 2 pick, and Rihanna No.3. As for the rest of the top ten, they included Adele, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Drake, and Ariana Grande.

RYAN: It’s no surprise that Ariana Grande was a front-runner for the greatest pop star of the 21st century, especially considering how AWESOME she was in Wicked! The movie hit US theaters in late November, and we guess you could say it was successful. It pulled in oh, a measly, $320.5 million dollars in North America in its first 3 weeks and is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation EVER at the domestic box office. And the movie we all fell in love with was only the first part! The second half of Wicked will be released next year. Who else is counting down the days?!

PAM: Oh I am. I’m also getting my Christmas song playlist going. I think Owen might have some music trivia for us today. Take it away, Owen!

<SFX Trivia Theme song>

OWEN: What Christmas song has been recorded by Bing Crosby, The Jackson 5, The Wiggles, The California Raisins, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Simpsons?

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Last Christmas
Jingle Bells
A Holly Jolly Christmas

<SFX 5 second clock tick>

OWEN: Did ya get it? The answer is A, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. And Ryan, do you know what’s so special about Rudolph.
RYAN: Oh oh oh! I know this one! He’s got a red nose! It’s right there in the title.

OWEN: I mean what’s so special about the movie.
RYAN: Um…it stars a red-nosed reindeer?

OWEN: Yes, but this year is extra special. This year is the first time since the 1970s that you can watch it on NBC, where it originally aired. This is for the 60th anniversary and will feature a special extended version.

RYAN: Rudolph started in the ‘30s as a poem, turned into a song in the ‘40s, and has turned into a classic movie. Beginning in ‘64, it’s the longest-running TV Christmas special, and it’s still going strong!

OWEN: Fans and families have been able to watch it since NBC stopped running it, but this year is the first one in 50 years that it’ll be back on its original channel. They played it on December 8th, and there will be an encore presentation on December 12th.

RYAN: December 12th…wait, that’s today!

OWEN: That’s right! Should we watch?

RYAN: Owen, the popcorn is already ready.

PAM: And that’s Ten Things You Need to Know!

RYAN: Pam, this has been egg-stremely fun but I have to get back to my feathered friends. I gotta figure out why they’re not laying eggs…hey Ding Dong, Landon, Cogsmire, what’s the hold up?

PAM: I don’t think they are what you think they are…

RYAN: I think they just need a little time and space to make their magic. <SFX door opens> <SFX clucking> Right little buddies? Is there anything I can get you to help you lay some eggs?

RYAN: I got roosters. Didn’t I?

PAM: You got roosters. And roosters are male chickens which don’t–

RYAN: –Lay eggs. So that’s why they’ve been getting me up so early. I’d like to change the subject and give Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners.

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

[Ad Break]

RYAN:Time for Ten News Snaps! <Grand fanfare SFX>

PAM: A Ten’er named CC left us a comment on Spotify asking, “When is the video game episode coming out? I think Kap should let Ryan play more video games haha.”

RYAN: Thank you CC, I couldn’t agree with you more! The video game deep dive actually comes out TOMORROW, and we might even have another bonus video game episode after that… FYI, Ten Things You Need to Know drops on Thursdays, and our deep dive episodes drop once a month. If you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website. And to our grownups, 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 Defying Gravity and switching between The Wicked Soundtrack and Beyonce and includes: Tracey Not A Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian NOT Ryan Douglas, Hebba the Big Cheese Gouda, Tia Johnson, and Carson Pitter Patter Potter. Big thanks to our Trivia Master, Owen, Not Slowin down for anybody.

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

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

Bethany Van Delftpodcastkidskids newsnewslistentriviaInternational Space Stationspaceouter space

Tracy Kaplan

Egg Shortages to A Favorite Red Nose - 10 Things You Need to Know

LISTEN HERE

Level Up Your Holidays: A Video Game Deep Dive

Special Report: The End of Hurricane Season