The Hope Issue: Drone rescues and robot octopuses

More from The Week Junior Show

1. 

   31 Jul 2026 · 27 min

   Number 10 North and noisy museums

   The Prime Minister opens a second Number 10 in Manchester, and Bex, Joe and Stevie explain what it means for where power sits in the UK. There's also a campaign asking museums to let children be as loud as they like, a big debate on whether it's ever good to be bored, and a giant mirror in space that could turn night into day. Plus the poetry shortlist for The Week Junior Book Awards, the Science+Nature Scavenger Hunt, and your chance to win this week's book. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2. 

   24 Jul 2026 · 28 min

   New Prime Minister and pets in restaurants

   The UK has a new Prime Minister. The team explains who Andy Burnham is and how he landed the top job so quickly. There's also the Queen's surprise Christmas present for every Year 6 pupil, an electric guitar that may – or may not – have been made from the burned wood of Notre Dame, and a debate on whether pets should be allowed everywhere. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3. 

   17 Jul 2026 · 35 min

   The Bayeux Tapestry and Neil the Seal

   This week, the Bayeux Tapestry arrives in the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years, a famous elephant seal called Neil causes a stir in Tasmania, and the team debates whether schools should close during heat waves. Plus a baffling case of crabs in a garden shed, the new Children's Laureate, and your chance to win this week's book. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4. 

   3 Jul 2026 · 30 min

   Sports day and beavers in your city

   The team share their favourite sports day activities as listeners answer last week's question about music that helps them relax. Plus: Young climate leaders gathered at Tate Modern for the London Climate Action Week Summit, including 11-year-old campaigner Anishwa Kunchala. Plus, over 1,500 children took part in a challenge to turn broken toys into something new. A "grumpy" Pallas's cat named Duchess arrives at Edinburgh Zoo to join Akiko as part of a breeding programme. Real or Rubbish: Have a family of beavers really fixed flooding at an Ealing Underground station? The Big Debate: Should…

5. 

   26 Jun 2026 · 30 min

   Keir Starmer resigns and changes for free school meals in Wales

   On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he would step down as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader. Eve, Joe and Bex digest the latest – plus there’s an interview in this week’s magazine with a music therapist, which made us wonder: what music helps you relax? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6. 

   19 Jun 2026 · 29 min

   Social media ban and Toy Story 5

   Eve explains new government plans to set a minimum age of 16 for social media platforms as Joe shares the story of Parkrun, which recently hit its millionth ever event since starting in 2004. Plus, has a lost gold bar ($17,000!) sparked a real treasure hunt at a Finnish ski resort, or is it all made up? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7. 

   9 Oct 2026 · 31 minNew

   Hope for wildlife and world champion porridge

   The WWF’s new Living Planet Report is called The Science of Hope, and Bex, Eve and Stevie talk through what it found, including wild tiger numbers rising by more than 70% since 2010, and what we can all do to help nature recover. There’s also Dutch porridge maker Gina Saarberg winning the Golden Spurtle in the Highlands, a government investigation into why the UK keeps flopping at Eurovision for Real or Rubbish, a tiny chihuahua called Comando joining Mexico’s National Guard as hero of the week, and a big debate on whether it’s okay to boo sports stars. Plus Week Junior editor Vanessa on the…

8. 

   2 Oct 2026 · 28 min

   Book awards and Sycamore Gap’s new shoots

   It was The Week Junior Book Awards this week, and Bex, Eve and Stevie talk through the big night, including Jack Mackay’s spooky story Gloam winning two trophies and the books they each helped to judge. There’s also new shoots sprouting from the stump of the Sycamore Gap tree, a hotel shaped like a Poké Ball for Real or Rubbish, a BAFTA Young Presenter as hero of the week, and a big debate on whether pets should have birthday celebrations. Plus Dan from Science+Nature on the Dream Machines competition to design the car of the future, a conker family and a seagull postbox topper from the…

9. 

   25 Sep 2026 · 44 min

   Turning hope into action

   This week, as part of the Be Hope Podcast Takeover, we talk to guerilla gardener and nature rights campaigner Kalpana Arias about her work and what makes her feel hopeful. We also talk about new social media rules in the EU, a scheme to encourage more people to read in Singapore, and whether e-scooters should be banned. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10. 

    18 Sep 2026 · 29 min

    Slowing down AI and woolly glaciers

    The boss of AI company Anthropic has said that powerful artificial intelligence should be developed more slowly and checked more closely, and Bex, Eve and Dan talk through why more than 70 UK politicians are also asking for new rules on AI. There’s also scientists in Switzerland wrapping melting glaciers in blankets of sheep’s wool, a marathon in Canada that may have been too long for Real or Rubbish, some fun facts about the new Shaun the Sheep film, and a big debate on whether dogs should be banned from beaches. Plus editorial assistant Kaye’s last visit to the inbox,…

Every episode of The Week Junior Show →