Going Super with Justin Guarini and "SuperKitties" 💥
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The Ten News Season 3: Episode 27
🐱 American Idol Legend & star of Disney Junior “SuperKitties”, Justin Guarini joins us in the studio 🦸 Justin voices a supervillain kitty, so we're testing his cat knowledge & how well he knows his feline friends! 💥 Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, learn about 5 trailblazing youth activists carrying on Dr. King's legacy 💪 Trivia with Tessa: what animal can pull over 1,000 times its own body weight?
Links
12ft | Martin Luther King, Jr.—facts and information
8-year-old girl starts charity to send money and toys to homeless children (majically.com)
Mari Copeny | Archives of Women's Political Communication (iastate.edu)
9-year-old activist youngest speaker at march (msnbc.com)
Autumn Peltier | Archives of Women's Political Communication (iastate.edu)
ScienceShot: World's Strongest Insect | Science | AAAS
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TRANSCRIPT:
Ryan Willard 0:02
Hey, Pam.
Pamela Kirkland 0:04
Hey, Ryan. What? What the... You're wearing underwear on top of your clothes?
Ryan Willard 0:11
I'm super Ryan. All superheroes wear their underpants this way.
Pamela Kirkland 0:15
Oh, is that also why you have a crown made of Cheetos?
Ryan Willard 0:20
Nope, that's not part of the costume. That's a snack for later.
Pamela Kirkland 0:25
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 0:26
And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, January 18th.
Pamela Kirkland 0:29
This is The Ten News.
Sound Bit 0:34
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Pamela Kirkland 0:42
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was Monday the 16th. Dr. King was one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement.
Ryan Willard 0:50
Dr. King used his voice to promote equal rights for black Americans through nonviolent resistance. He led the fight for desegregation and economic equality, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Pamela Kirkland 1:03
Dr. King was tragically assassinated in April 1968 At the age of 39. But his fight for equal rights lives on every year we celebrate his legacy of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day,
Sound Bit 1:17
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created.
Ryan Willard 1:24
Now in 2023, we have a whole new generation of leaders coming up. So today in honor of Dr. King, we're celebrating five super youth activists who are carrying on his legacy. Let's do this. The first one is Peyton Anderson. She's a 10-year-old kid who founded the I have a child charity, which provides funding care packages and toys to homeless kids in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Peyton's dream is to encourage other kids to join in the work to end homelessness.
Pamela Kirkland 1:54
Mari Copeny is also known as Little Miss Flint. Mari raised awareness for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan when she was eight, bringing the crisis to the attention of President Barack Obama. Now 17, Mari is helping ensure clean water for kids and families in Flint and beyond.
Ryan Willard 2:17
Asean Johnson is 18 now but started his activism work when he was in third grade. Asean advocated for public schools in Chicago asking the mayor not to close his school. He's worked to promote equal access to education for all kids. Asean even spoke at the March on Washington 2013 demanding education, justice, and freedom.
Pamela Kirkland 2:38
Autumn Peltier has been an activist since she was eight years old. She is Anishinaabe and at 18 is already her nation's chief water commissioner. She challenged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop the construction of oil pipelines that were environmentally damaging. Autumn has also spoken to the UN about the importance of access to clean water. When we stand together as one we are one voice and one nation to save our planet. Let's do this for our great-grandchildren.
Ryan Willard 3:09
Havana Chapman-Edwards is the 11-year-old founder and executive director of Girls Have Rights an organization dedicated to helping girls around the world access education. Havana has raised money to provide books and educational materials to girls as well as to advocate for the prevention of gun violence. Great job. I got to say, when I was a kid, I wasn't nearly this cooler. Awesome. I love seeing this generation stepping up and taking the lead to make the world a better place.
Pamela Kirkland 3:36
We're sending Ten New snaps to these remarkable activists who are carrying on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's legacy.
Ryan Willard 3:44
Thank you for all that you do. If you want to learn more about these kid activists, visit the links in our show notes and, Ten'ers, if you know of any youth activists doing cool things, visit thetennews.com/contact and let us know! You know what else is super? Disney Junior's newest show SuperKitties. I got to sit down with SuperKitties star, American Idol legend, and someone your mom probably had a crush on. Justin Guarini.
Pamela Kirkland 4:20
Is Justin Guarini still here?!
Tessa Flannery 4:25
Did someone say Justin Guarini is here?!
Ryan Willard 4:28
See what I mean? All right. I am here with an incredibly special guest here at The Ten News today. Sir, can you please tell us who you are, and where you're from? And what is it that you do?
Justin Guarini 4:40
Oh my goodness. My name is Justin. I was on the first season of American Idol. 20 years ago, I got my big break. And ever since then, I have been in entertainment at an awesome level of Broadway and hosting red car bits and what else playing this character on TV called low sweet. And now I get to be a voice in a Disney cartoon a dream come true for me in Disney's new cartoon called SuperKitties where I play a villain called Cat Burglar.
Ryan Willard 5:19
Okay, so you're basically living like my dream and a lot of other people's dreams at this moment. You're actually in a cartoon your voice?
Justin Guarini 5:28
Yeah, I get to play voice.
Ryan Willard 5:30 Who are the super kitties? And why should I hang out with them?
Justin Guarini 5:33
Oh, my goodness. Well, the SuperKitties are some kitties who live in the little town of Kittyville. And these lovely little kitties? Well, they like to be helpers. And they will sometimes get calls from their friends. And because they have special powers, they are able to transform and go and help their friends. Now, sometimes their friends are missing things. Meaning they might have had some yarn that they were playing with that suddenly disappeared or something else that just isn't there anymore that they knew was there and that they remember putting somewhere but ended up disappearing. And that's where my character comes in. Cat Burglar is a sneaky slinky ninja-like little cat who likes to go and take things from people that he shouldn't take things from. So he likes to do all the wrong things for the right reasons. But you know, what I love about him is that he recognizes when he makes a mistake, and he owns up to it. He always returns what it is that he steals and he apologizes for it.
Ryan Willard 6:47
Sounds like a very interesting villain in this world, but also very relatable to me because I like taking things and my boss does not like when I take things, like when I took a Nintendo Switch and was playing it at my desk. What are some things that Cat Burglar takes and why does he take them?
Justin Guarini 7:04
Oh, my goodness. Well, you know, I'll just go with this yarn. Hmm. Well, I'm not gonna give away why he takes the yarn. But I'll say this, he takes the yarn because it's something that he's missing that he wants to use the yarn to create again to have again, right? So, you know, I think the big thing about cat burglar is the fact that just like everybody, he makes mistakes, it's great to actually make mistakes because if you can make a mistake the right way you can learn from it, and ultimately know more and be better the next time.
Ryan Willard 7:42
Okay, I'm curious. You were on American Idol, which is one of the coolest shows of all time, do you get to sing on SuperKitties at all?
Justin Guarini 7:50
I might, I just might have the opportunity to be Cat Burglar to sing. And it's very exciting for me because Disney cartoons are one of my favorites. And I have always dreamed of being in a Disney cartoon, especially one that had music in it. And so maybe if you tune in, you'll see a little singing here and there.
Ryan Willard 8:16
Now I'm gonna have to grill you a little bit because I know just a little bit about cats and our Ten'ers love cats and all animals in general. So we are curious if you can answer some questions about cats. We're gonna do a lightning round. Are you ready for this?
Justin Guarini 8:31
Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready
Ryan Willard 8:42
Okay, this is the lightning round with Justin. The Cat Burglar himself. I'm curious how many cats do you own?
Justin Guarini 8:49
I own zero.
Ryan Willard 8:54
I don't know how he did that. But I am amazed. Okay. Pause. In Ten News first, our guest brought his very own sound effects which caught me hilariously off guard. What does it mean? What does it mean when a cat slowly blinks at you?
Justin Guarini 9:11
That they're hungry?
Ryan Willard 9:12
No, that they trust you and accept you. Okay, do you prefer cats or dogs?
Justin Guarini 9:20
Dogs. Although I prefer SuperKitties.
Ryan Willard 9:28
That is the correct answer. Okay, what is a Felis Catus?
Justin Guarini 9:37
Felis Catus, I think is the common house cat.
Ryan Willard 9:40
That is correct. Cats only meow as a way to communicate with other cats.
Justin Guarini 9:50
False.
Ryan Willard 9:51
That is correct. Cats only know as a way to communicate with humans. True or False, cats can move both ears separately, and about 180 degrees around.
Justin Guarini 10:06
I would definitely say that's true.
Ryan Willard 10:08
That is correct. Cats use their fur to determine if they can fit through a small space. Justin Guarini 10:17
That is false. They use their whiskers.
Ryan Willard 10:20
Justin dropping the knowledge like it's hot. And that was the last one, I think you did incredibly well on this podcast. I am incredibly excited to see SuperKitties. And I just want to know, is there anything else you want to say to our Ten'ers who are about to be big fans of the show? And are you a big fan of yours?
Justin Guarini 10:42
Listen, it has been a dream come true to be a part of a Disney cartoon. And I hope that you enjoy the show. I hope that you see that it's fun. It's exciting that not only is it just entertaining, but it's also about friendship and kindness and empathy, and the fact that it's okay to make mistakes and problem-solving. There's so much more than just a cartoon to this. And I'm so glad that Ten'ers have this show, to be able to be a part of and find out more about the world around you in a positive way. And in a way that lets you ask questions and lets you be a little bit more in charge. So I'm excited to see what you think of the show. I'm excited that I was here and able to be a part of this interview.
Pamela Kirkland 11:37
Ryan that's so cool that you got to talk to Justin G. and everyone at the Ten News is super psyched for SuperKitties out now on Disney Jr.
Tessa Flannery 11:53
Welcome to the trivia throne.
Justin Guarini 11:57
Thanks for having me.
Tessa Flannery 12:01
Yes. Oh, hi. Welcome, Justin Guarini, American Idol legend and star of the upcoming show SuperKitties. Remember when you sang Let's Stay Together in 2002? That was really good. You did a really good job.
Justin Guarini 12:19
Thanks so much. 2002 Can you believe that was 20 years ago? I can't believe it. But hey, I'm so excited to be here. And to be talking about SuperKitties.
Tessa Flannery 12:30
Why don't you hop on up on the trivia throne for today's trivia question? You ready? Justin Guarini 12:35
Well, yes, I'm in the trivia room. So let's get started.
Sound Bit 12:42
What is going on here?
Tessa Flannery 12:51
Okay, SuperKitties is a show about kitties with superpowers. But there are animals on earth with real-life superpowers. Do you know which animal can pull over 1,000 times its own body weight? Is it a) ants, b) elephants, or c) dung beetles? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Justin, what's your answer?
Justin Guarini 13:15
Let's see. I know that. Dung beetles push things. Elephants are really good at lifting a lot of stuff. You know what? I think big things come in small packages. So I'll go with a) ants.
Tessa Flannery 13:33
The answer is c) dung beetles. Good try though. Justin. The horned dung beetle is only 10 millimeters long but can pull 1,141 times its own weight. That's like one person lifting two fully loaded 18-wheeler tractor-trailers. But the dung beetle isn't actually the strongest animal. That honor goes to the microscopic moss might Arca goes at ease ion just a ptosis? Try saying that five times fast. Justin, thank you so much for joining us in the trivia room.
Justin Guarini 14:12
Oh, it's been my pleasure. And I know a little bit more about dung beetles. Thanks for having me.
Tessa Flannery 14:21
Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit thetennews.com/contact to get in touch and we might have you on the show.
Ryan Willard 14:32
And now we've got to give special Ten New snaps to one of our listeners.
Pamela Kirkland 14:36
But before we do, here's a quick note for the grownups. Time for the Ten News snaps.
Ryan Willard 14:45
Ten'er, EL TIGRE 24 wrote this review of the Ten News.
Pamela Kirkland 14:52
“Ryan and Pam are so awesome and I want to give Tessa trivia a hug. She seems so nice and Pam, too. Ryan is funny.”
Ryan Willard 15:05
Thank you, EL TIGRE 24, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. What do you think of the show? Write us a review on Apple podcasts and we might just read it on the show. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you can join the Ten'ers Club on our website or on Apple podcasts.
Pamela Kirkland 15:25
The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media & Next Chapter Podcasts.
Ryan Willard 15:30
The Ten News creative team is slow blinking at kittens and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery.
Pamela Kirkland 15:37
Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leads Kaplan.
Ryan Willard 15:45
I'm Ryan Willard.
Pamela Kirkland 15:46
And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. SuperKitties, engage!
