Girl Power with Guest E. Lockhart 🎉
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Season 2: Episode 16 Description
In today’s episode: 🎉 We are getting ready for International Day of the Girl on October 11th! 💪 Hear about a new comic book hero, "Whistle," the first Jewish superhero. 📘 Host Bethany Van Delft sits down with "Whistle" author E. Lockhart 🗞️ In the news: 📣 Greta speaks out and Afghan soccer squad finds a new home. ⚽ And test your girl power-knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode:
What Exactly Is International Day Of The Girl? And Why Should I Care? - Girlboss
Malala Yousafzai - Story, Quotes & Facts - Biography
Links
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:02
Did you know that girls around the world haven't always had basic human rights? Girls have the power to change the world and yet today, girls are more likely than boys never to set foot in a classroom. That's why International Day of the Girl celebrated on October 11th exists. Today we're honoring this year's theme, my voice, our equal future and shouting out hashtag girl power. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's October 7th and this is The Ten News.
Various Voices 0:35
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:43
International Day of the Girl exists to bring awareness to the different challenges faced by girls around the world and to promote empowerment and human rights for girls everywhere. In the comic book universe, strong women have been enjoying huge popularity and success. With characters like Black Widow and Wonder Woman becoming recent big box office stars.
Sound Bit 1:06
I really don't want to hurt you. I wouldn't stress about it.
Bethany Van Delft 1:10
Today we're heading to the comic book store for DC Comics new release "Whistle," which features a 16 year old girl, Willow Zimmerman, who is also the first Jewish superhero. I got to chat with author E. Lockhart to learn more about the new comic and get the scoop on what it's like to join the DC Comics universe. We're so happy that you're here with us. We are so excited to learn about a new comic book. Tell us about it.
E. Lockhart 1:41
Whistle is about a teenager living in Gotham City. And if you don't know this already, Gotham City is where Batman lives and along with Batman, all of the villains that Batman fights including the Riddler and Poison Ivy and Killer Croc, who show up in my book. Anyway, she lives in Gotham City. Her name is Willow Zimmerman and she is a Jewish teenage activist, struggling while working nights to help support her family. Her mom is really sick and they don't have any health insurance. And long story short, she gets superpowers and has to figure out whether she can do anything with these powers to save her neighborhood, which is under attack by various super villains.
Bethany Van Delft 2:33
Yeah, how does she use her powers to protect Gotham City? Like once she figures it out how like, I guess, tell us how she figures it out and how she uses them to protect Gotham City.
E. Lockhart 2:44
Well, they are dog-related superpowers. And when I got the chance to invent a superhero, the first thing I thought was, I would like to have a dog sidekick that I could talk to if I was going to be a superhero. So I invented this character who is a Great Dane a beautiful big, black and white Great Dane and her name is Leibowitz and she becomes Willow's dog. And the two of them get superpowers together. They have a mind meld and they can talk to each other. Willow also develops super powered hearing and super powered smell like a dog, as well as a lot of dog impulses that are kind of funny. Like she has the urge to chase things and fetch and rollover and things like that every now and then. And she also develops a super powered whistle that can call all the dogs in the area to come to her aid. So those are her powers and together with Liebowitz, she becomes this superhero, Whistle.
Bethany Van Delft 3:53
I love it. That's the name of the book, Whistle. Absolutely love that. And I love the sidekick. That's such a classic, classic pairing and comic books I love. I love that you're bringing that back.
E. Lockhart 4:06
is classic, but uh Leibowitz is the first ever female superhero Dog.
Bethany Van Delft 4:11
There you go. Love the firsts. Thank you for it. Is this why it was important to you that Willow be Jewish? And how does her being Jewish influenced the story if at all?
E. Lockhart 4:25
Well, um, I grew up with my dad being Jewish and my mom being in a new age religion. So when I got older, I got more in touch with my Jewish identity, my spouse is Jewish, and also with the history of my family in New York City. The family on my dad's side came over from Russia and Poland and moved into traditionally Jewish neighborhoods like the neighborhood I invented for Gotham City. So my hero, Whistle, is living in a neighborhood that has a long Jewish history. And she cares about the institutions of that neighborhood, which are not all Jewish, because a whole bunch of different kinds of people live there. But she's very connected to the community centers and the synagogues, and the delicatessens and the bagel stores, which have Jewish history. And so she's a local superhero, right, and she's connected to her city. And I feel very connected to my city of New York City. And to its Jewish history.
Bethany Van Delft 5:35
Willow did have to make a difficult choice, she had to make this tough choice between getting to be part of this world that she just got to be part of, or choosing the right path. It was a really tough choice. But she made the choice to do the right thing, would you make the same choice?
E. Lockhart 5:55
Well, one thing I was really interested in is what is it like to be a teenager in Gotham City? Right? Gotham City is full of really, really corrupt, terrible people doing terrible, but very interesting things. And so what happens to Willow is, because she needs money, and because she needs a job that is better than the all night job that doesn't pay that well, that she's working currently, she gets a job working for the Gotham City underworld, and gets pulled into kind of the wealth and glamour of, of, of that, that criminal element. And then when she really realizes what those people are up to, and what they do, and what it means to be in that world, she has to make the choice to betray some of those people in order to become a hero and then operate on the side of right. And, you know, I was interested in the moral complications of being, you know, trying to be a hero, or having relationships with people who are maybe not great people. This is something lots of kids have in their lives, right? One way or another. And you have to figure you know, nobody is always a perfect person. Right? The question is just how do you make your decisions? And can you live with them? And you know, when do you compromise your principles? And when do you not compromise your principles? And I think superhero stories are actually a really cool and fun way to get at some of those really important questions.
Bethany Van Delft 7:51
Now let's check in on what else is happening. Climate activist Greta Thunberg, made headlines with her speech at the Youth for Climate Conference in Italy, when she criticized world leaders' promises to address climate change, as quote, "30 years of blah, blah, blah." The conference brought together young climate activists from around the world. Thanks to her work, Greta could soon become the second youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize after Malala Yousufzai. The Afghan girls national soccer squad has found a new home in Portugal. After the Taliban leadership questioned if women should be allowed to play sports under their rule, the team members fled in order to have a future playing the sport they love. 80 people, members of the team and their families are now adjusting to their new life in their new country of Portugal. I can't wait to see them play. Goal! Eight year old Nicole Olvera of Brazil is being called the world's youngest astronomer. After she discovered what she believes are several asteroids. Nicole is participating in a project called Asteroid Hunters that gives kids in Brazil a chance to make discoveries in space. If your findings are verified by NASA Nicole will be the youngest person ever to discover an asteroid. And now it's time for...
Various Voices 9:24
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 9:28
Trivia on The Ten. In 2017, Wall Street's famous charging bull statue seemed to meet its match when a new statute was placed directly in front of it. What was the new statue called? Is it a) Brave Lady? b) Fearless Girl or c) Mama Matador?
Bethany Van Delft 9:56
Did you guess it? The answer is B. The four foot bronze statue of an unflappable little girl became a huge sensation and a symbol for female empowerment when she was positioned as if staring down the mighty bull. Intended as a temporary statement, Fearless Girl was eventually moved to her permanent home, staring down the New York Stock Exchange building in 2018. And you can check out a photo at thetennews.com. That's right, little queen. Nothing can stop you. You go girl. Time's up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co- production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The 10 News creative team is fearless and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Andrew Hall, and Nathalie Alonso. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Oh my gosh, my inner little girl space nerd is jumping up and down for Nicole, verify her NASA!
