WeWow on the Weekend

Hello, wowsers! It's me, Dennis! And before we start the show, did you hear about March Gladness? Reggie, no! Not basketball tournament stuff! March Gladness tournament stuff! Yeah, exactly! March Gladness is where I think of all the things that made me the Gladness this month, and then I put them head to head in a tournament-style bracket! Oh, so you do know what I'm talking about? Well, then as you know, the winner of my March Gladness tournament was my new haircut! Do you love it? What do you mean? Don't worry, it'll grow back! Whatever! Wowser fams, you too can fill out your very own March Gladness bracket by going to tickercast.com slash march. There, you can print your very own free March Gladness bracket, then fill it out to see what made you the Gladness this month! Put your favorite things head to head in a tournament of Gladness! One more time, that's tickercast.com slash march. Now, let's get on with the show! We wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, cause this is what we do on the weekend! Talking, laughing, me and Reggie singing, laughing, and then we- Oh wait, no I said laughing twice. Ah, whatever! We wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, cause this is what we do on the weekend! Hello and welcome to We Wow on the weekend! I'm your host, Dennis, and Reggie's here too! This is the show where we hang out in my mother's basement and do fun stuff and listen to episodes of Tinker Cast Podcasts. And to kick off the show, I'm introducing a new segment, the Snoop Scoop! Snoop Scoop, Snoopity, Scoopity, Snoop Scoop, the sneakiest Snoopity news, poop. Reggie, it is not a gossip segment, it's investigative journalism of the goings on in the neighborhood. Okay fine, I admitted it's gossip, let's talk about everyone's business. Today's Snoop Scoop is that yesterday I saw Mindy wearing two different shoes. What? What do you mean she does that on purpose? One of her shoes was a bowling shoe and the other was a roller skate. Roller bowling? Huh, Mindy has some weird hobbies. Okay, well get this, I overheard Guy Raz talking about meeting up with some shady character named Dan. I've never heard of Dan before, who's Dan? His last name? Uh, I think it was Tist. Yeah, Dan Tist. Uh, Dentist. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, okay, I guess that makes more sense. Well, today's Snoop Scoop drooped. I'll have better gossip, I mean investigative journalism next time. Moving on to our next segment is reading reviewsies. I'm reading reviewsies for me and for yousies, we've got us some doozies, so let's read reviewsies. This is the part where I read reviews that people leave us on Apple Podcasts. Okay, this first reviewie is from YoYo321IEO. The title says, I want more baby Dennis, prayer hands emoji. And the message says, I don't hear any of baby Dennis. If you put on more baby Dennis, I will rate you 100 billion. Ah, Renji, did you hear that? 100 billion stars, that's so many. Okay, we need to get those stars. Baby Dennis, baby Dennis, get out here. Baby Dennis, where is he? Baby Dennis. Ah, do you hear that, Renji? Yeah, it sounds like it's coming from the filing cabinet. Let's just take a peek in here. Moving on to national news, the Federal Trade Commission says that- Baby Dennis, what are you doing? Oh, hey, big Dennis. Why do you have a microphone and little tiny news desk? Baby Dennis, are you doing investigative journalism? Did you steal my Snoop Scoop segment? Um, maybe? Oh, that is just like you. I'm gonna Snoop Scoop you for my next Snoop Scoop. Not if baby Dennis Snoop Scoops big Dennis first. How dare you, Tee-hee. Ah, quit copying me. No. Tee-hee. Okay, yo-yo, three-two-one-eye-yo, you owe us 100 billion stars. Next reviewsy. This next reviewsy is from Koala Girl Hedgehog. The title reads, Please. And the message says, Dennis, can I be featured on Wee-Woo on the weekend even though I've always imagined you as a yellow cat with a doctor suit? Wait, what? Renji, stop laughing. I am not a yellow cat with a doctor suit. I am a human Dennis wearing normal clothes. What are you talking about? What's not normal about my purple polka dot overalls? You said you liked my cowboy hat. You said it tied the ensemble together. Renji. Maybe we should just do a new segment called Judgy Reggie. Actually, that sounds pretty great. Let's workshop that at the next Writers' Meeting. Thanks for all your reviewsies, listeners. Keep up coming. If you leave me a comment on Apple Podcast or Spotify, I just might read it on Wee-Woo on the weekend. Five stars or more, please. Because, Renji, we're a star-studded podcast. We give them stars. They give us stars. It's equivalent trade. Okay, next up is a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows. And today, we're listening to Wow in the World Season 2, Episode 28, called Samurai vs. the Stink, the Science of Invasive Wildlife Spaces. This is such a good episode, Renji. Oh, right. But it's also kind of scary, huh? Maybe we should save it for Halloween time? Yeah, now you're right. Now that we've talked about it, we have to listen to it. Besides, it has stink bug Steve in it. Okay, here we go. And, wait. Wee-Woo will be right back. Grownups, this message is for you. That's it. Now back to the show. Wow in the World! Okay, let's see here. Popped quinoa, check. Salted seaweed, check. Cale chips, mmm, check. Now, just to shake this all up. And there we go. The snack mix for my movie marathon snack-tacular special. Ooh. Coming! Oh, hey Mindy. Good morning, Guy Ross! Good morning, Mindy. It's five o'clock in the afternoon. Yeah, but I only got up like five minutes ago, so... still bright and early for me. Oh, alright. Anywho, I brought over a few snacks for the movie marathon. Thought they might give us a little energy boost that we need to get through the next few hours. Back her up, boys! What in the... Stop! Dennis, stop! And... stop! Whoa! Alright, let's get out. Perfect. Surprise! Mindy, what is all this stuff? Pop rocks? This is popping candy broccoli? Well, you're always going on and on and on about healthy eating habits, so I thought I'd check up my snack habits a bit. Mindy, this isn't what I meant when I said healthy eating habits. Have you got anything that's actually made of real food here? I mean, look at this stuff. Isn't it beautiful, Guy Ross? Fish oil sherbet? What is this? Um, just a snack-tacular source of Omega-3s. You making popcorn over here? Well, actually, quinoa puffs. Ah, quinoa puffs? Well, it's got some kale mixed in. Yeah, I think I'll stick with my fish oil sherbet. Okay, suit yourself. So, did you decide on what movie we're going to watch tonight? Oh yeah, I've got the trailer queued up here. Check it out. No one knows where they came from. Oh, honey, you look tired. No one knows how it happened. Mom, my portable game device is out of batteries. I need batteries! And no one will survive the curse of the mom bees. Brains. Mom, you're scaring me. Brains. What about my brains? Use your brains. Where are your brains? I don't know. Well, where did you leave them last? I don't know, I don't know. From the director that brought you, who moved dad's tools, and the 50-foot sister comes... Is that what you're layering? They have been lunching! Before I say it. With extra reasons! Reasons are good for you. It's the invasion. Put on a slug. Of the mom bees. I'll treat you like an adult when you start acting like one. Looks pretty great, huh? I don't know, Gairaz. I mean, I love a good zombie movie, but are you sure you're going to be able to handle this? Whoa, what do you mean? Well, the last time we watched a scary movie, you had nightmares for a week. No, no, don't go into the fire station. No, stay away from me, Robo Rescue Dog. No. Nah, I'm sure I'll be okay. All right, well, park your keyster, meester, and let's get this party started. Well, we can't start just yet. Why not? Reggie isn't here yet, and... Oh, that's my phone. Let's see it. Text from Reggie. Oh, what's it say? Uh, running late. Traffic on the polar jet stream is... Person finger wave? What? Let me see that. Oh, Gairaz, that finger person wave is the emoji for Kuku. He's saying that the traffic is crazy. Well, whatever it is, looks like Reggie's going to be late. Oh, man. Don't worry, man. It's going to be so worth it. I've been waiting to see this movie ever since I started reading about another kind of invasion. Another kind of invasion? Are you talking about the invasion of the killer cucumbers? No, Mindy. I... Or that other movie, the grandma from outer space? No, Mindy. I'm not talking about a movie. Oh. I'm talking about a wide-scale invasion that's happening in nature right now, right here in the United States. What is it, Kale? Yoga? Is it those frozen yogurt shops? Gairaz, they are everywhere. No, actually, it's none of those things. Then what is it? Mindy, I'm talking about invasive species. Invasive species? That's right. What exactly is an invasive species? Well, I think I have a... Because it sounds like an alien sci-fi movie. I think I have a book on this topic. Let me see. Ah, here it is. Biodiversity, the interconnected nature of nature. Biodiversity, huh? Isn't that just a fancy-pants word for how many species live in one particular place? That's exactly right. Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in one specific habitat or ecosystem. Gotcha. So what does that have to do with our invasive species? Ah, here we are. Let me read it. An invasive species is a species whose introduction to a new habitat causes environmental damage. Oh, okay, so it's kind of like when I come over to your house, but then leave a five-foot-high pile of garbage behind. Well, a little, but to really be an invasive species, the animal or plant not only has to come from a different ecosystem, but it also has to cause damage to the new ecosystem. Ah, I've heard about this problem. And you know what? Now that I think of it, I think the lionfish is an invasive species in parts of the Atlantic Ocean around Florida. That's right. They originally came from the Pacific Ocean. And now these lionfish are eating many of the smaller fish in the Atlantic. Ah, but they sure are beautiful. They are, but invasive species are a huge problem, Mindy. In fact, invasive species are one of the biggest threats to animals and plants in the wild. Oh, no! Yeah, just take a look at these horror stories in here. Horror stories? I thought this was a textbook. Well, it jumps around a lot. The Tale of the American Chestnut. The year was 1904, and a trading ship traveling from Asia, Docs, New York City. And how little did they know that the cargo they were traveling with would go on to wipe out one of the country's most beloved trees, the American Chestnut. Oh, Callie, I love my chestnut tree. On board that trading ship was a disease known as Asian Chestnut Blight Fungus. Over the next 40 years, this fungus killed off more than four billion trees, wiping out almost 180 million acres of chestnut trees. 180 million acres? That's almost twice the size of California. Ahem, Gairaz. I wasn't finished with my story. Oh, sorry, Mindy. The loss of these chestnut trees was a disaster, not only for the tree lovers. Oh, my tree, my beautiful American Chestnut tree. Why? But also for the animals that lived in them, with no home left, 10 moth species that lived in chestnut trees went extinct. Oh, no. And look, this isn't even the only horror story in this book, Gairaz. These invasive species keep popping up all over the place. Brown tree snakes and guan. Goats on the island of St. Helena? Okay, Gairaz, these stories might be a little too spooky even for me. I know what you mean. I think I preferred it when the invasive species were just undead mombies. Whoa, look here, Gairaz. What is it? The Great American Plague of 2018. One part residential nuisance, one part agricultural nightmare, smaller than a penny. This six-legged, shield-shaped insect has devastated crops across the United States and shows no signs of slowing down. What is it, Mindy? The brown, marmerated stink bug. Stink bugs? Yeah, just like this guy. Wow! Calm down, Gairaz. You're going to scare him away. And who exactly is him? Steve. Steve? Yeah, Steve. Stink bug, Steve. Mindy, you're friends with a stink bug? Well, he's more of a friend of a friend. Started crashing here in the winter with about 25,000 of his friends. Everyone else left in the summer, but Steve decided to stick around. Isn't that right, Steve? Ah. I brought him from home. I keep him in my pocket. Mindy, I had no idea your house had a stink bug infestation. Oh yeah, but it's not just me, Gairaz. Stink bugs are found all over America now. They were first spotted in Pennsylvania in 1998, then Maryland in 2003, West Virginia and Delaware in 2004, New York and Ohio in 2007. Oh man. Gairaz, stink bugs can now be found in every U.S. state other than Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. Man, those stink bugs really get around. Oh, hang on a second. What was that, Steve? Oh. Oh yeah, I'll tell him. Tell me what? Steve says he used to average a mile and a half of travel every single day with those little wings. Wow. And so why are Steve and his friend considered a, what did you call them again? Oh, the Great American Plague of 2018. Well, it's because of their redonkulous appetites. Really? Really. Check out this list of foods they eat. Whoa, that's one long shopping list. Apples, peaches, sweet corn, soybeans, tomatoes, bell peppers. It just keeps going. And the list is only getting longer. What do you mean? Well, when the stink bug found its way to California, it ate through all of the almond trees in the area. Despite the fact that as far as we know, they've never done that before. So these stink bugs are just roaming across the country trying out the local delicacies? Yeah, pretty much. No use, Steve. No use. Howdy y'all. Welcome to Uncle Leo's American Diner. What can I get for you today? Oh, so many things to choose from. Everything looks great. I'll take a peach from Georgia, a Californian orange, some Ohio soybeans, a couple of Washington apples. Ooh, we are out of the Washington apples. Oh, that stinks. I am sorry. Could I interest you in one of these New York apples? They're big. So what are farmers doing to try and stop these invasive insects from eating all their crops? Well, according to your big old textbook over here... Well, technically, a text slash horror storybook. Right, so according to this, there are a couple of ways that we can try to control invasive species. Uh-huh. Now let's see here. Number one, a chemical control. Chemical control? You mean like pesticides? Yep. Pesticides are chemicals that farmers put on their crops to stop insects from nibbling on them. So why aren't these chemicals keeping the stink bugs away? Well, it has something to do with how the stink bug eats. How they eat? What do they do? Put their food in a smoothie blender? Nope, but they're not far off. Really? So even though these six-legged pests might not smoothie their food, they do juice their food. Well, sort of. Well, you know what I always say, cold press kale juice in the morning can't be beat. What? No! They're not drinking cold press juices, Gairaz. You see, the stink bugs, like Steve here, have a very thin and sharp mouth, which makes it almost like a straw, see? Oh yeah. And so, hold on a second. I can give you a live demonstration here. I'll be right back. Wait here with Steve, okay? What? So, Steve, do you like neckties? Run, run, run, run. Okay, I'm back. Where'd you go? Oh, to get this. An apple? Yeah, check this out. Hey, Steve, who's a good stink bug, huh? Who's a good stink bug? You want an apple? Yeah? All right. Okay, Gairaz, now watch this. This is how stink bugs juice their food. Wow. They stick their straw-like mouths into the plant, which in this case is this apple. Oh, oh, oh. And then they suck out all of the juicy nutrients. Wow, wait, wait, now it's starting to make sense. If Steve was out in the wild and this apple was covered in pesticides, Steve wouldn't get poisoned because his mouth wouldn't ever touch the surface of the apple at all. Exacteritos, and to top it all off, the brown, marmerated stink bugs like Steve here have long, stilt-like legs which keep them high above the poisonous surface. Here, check it out. Oh yeah, so let me get this straight. The stink bug avoids getting poisoned by drinking its food through a straw while on stilts. Pretty crazy, right? Anyway, what's the second way to control an invasive species? Well, it's a little something called, see here, a biological control. This is when you bring a natural predator to the invasive species inside the environment. Oh, I get it, because a predator is an animal that would eat the invasive species. So if you bring in an invasive species predator, then that predator will hunt it down and reduce its population. You got it, Guy Ross. So what's the stink bug's natural predator? It's a little insect known as the samurai wasp. Hey, of course the samurai wasp, Tresulchis japonicus. Oh no, Steve! What, did I scare him off? Yeah, I think you did. Man, these samurai wasps must really be something. Nah, it wasn't the wasp part, he just really hates Latin. Oh. Anywho, right now these researchers from the US Department of Agriculture are trying to see how good these samurai wasps are at hunting down and killing the stink bugs. Go on. And when they studied them, the researchers found that these wasps like to crawl inside the eggs of the stink bug and lay their own eggs inside of them. Yikes, now that seems like a scary movie. Tell me about it. So these researchers are making more of these wasps in the lab so they can then one day release them into the wild and stop the march of the stink bugs? Yeah, that's the plan. It's a real bug on bug battle. They've already been released in Oregon and later this year, the researchers are hoping to release them in New York State as well. Well, I hope it works because a similar thing has been tried before and well, it doesn't always turn out well. Really? Yep. Let me tell you about another invasion. The invasion of the killer cucumbers. Oh no. Man. This invasion takes place in Australia. Australia, aye? Ah, not that I... What? Hey! Hey, Reg. Big news, we're going to Australia. Wait, what? What about our movie night? Eh, the mambies will still be in the movie when we get back. Come on, you ready? Mindy, isn't it getting a little late? What are you talking about? I just woke up. Mindy, it's 5 p.m. Yeah, but it's 5 a.m. in Australia. Come on, let's go. Okay, fine. But only if we're quick. I still want to see this m���������������������������������� hotter than a billy goat with a blowtorch smothered in spicy salsa out here. Must be a hundred degrees! Well, we are in Australia, so technically it's 40 degrees Celsius. Well, whatever it is, I'm gonna need a popsicle. Wait, where are we, Guy Ross? I think we're in the state of Queensland, Mindy, and by the looks of it, in the middle of the desert. Oh man, not again, Reggie! I said take me to the Australian desert, not the Australian desert! Anyhoo, Guy Ross, why did you want to bring me all the way out here to the other side of the planet? Me, it was your idea to come out here! Well, my idea based on your idea? So why did I bring us all the way out here to the other side of the planet? Well, because Australia, and particularly the state of Queensland, has had a pretty rocky history when it comes to invasive species. Oh yeah? Yeah, it all started in the early 1800s when an invasive species, a cactus called the prickly pear, was brought to the country and started popping up all over the place. Oh man! So the Australian government decided to introduce a moth, and that moth, the cactoblastis moth, which is actually native to South America, came into the areas that were overrun with this cactus. But why? Well, as it turned out, this moth, or rather the caterpillars that eventually turned into the moths, had an appetite for prickly pear. And the idea was that this moth would lay its eggs in the cactus, then when the caterpillars would hatch, they would chomp down on the cactus and keep them from spreading. A biological control! Exactly! So what happened? Well, after three billion moth eggs were placed strategically around Queensland, the prickly pears were completely gone in just seven years. So it worked! Well, it did, but Queensland also happens to be the home of one of the biggest biological control blunders in the history of invasive species. In fact, I think you can see one right there! Ooh, let me just get out my adventure toolbox here. I know I've got some magnifying goggles in here somewhere. Oh, got him! All right, now what am I? Oh, Guy Ross, what is that? Bat Mindy is a cane toad. Oh, there must be hundreds of them! There are, and they were originally brought to Australia in the early 20th century to pray on a beetle that was eating all of the farmer's sugarcane. Oh, and then what happened? Well, they did just that. They got rid of the sugarcane beetle, but then... But then they started popping up all over the place because they don't have a natural predator here. Exactly! There's nothing to eat the cane toads, so now there's over 200 million of them all across Australia. Oh man, so the species brought in to stop the invasive species has become an invasive species itself? Exactly! Because just like the stink bugs, these cane toads eat crops, and they can even harm the native wildlife in Australia. That's awful! Yeah, and that's why the United States Department of Agriculture is being so careful about releasing those wasps to eat the stink bugs. Yeah, I guess they don't want to repeat what happened here in Australia. Yeah, and speaking of that, we should probably head back home now before this horde of cane toads gets any closer to us. Oh, yeah, before they get any closer. Right. Mindy, what was that? I didn't hear anything. Ah, Mindy, did a cane toad just jump out of your pocket? Um... Ah, Mindy, what are you doing with pockets full of invasive species? I just wanted to bring back some souvenirs from our trip to Australia. We just talked about this. Ah, they're everywhere! Oh, but look at their little faces. They're so cute! Ah! Ah! Oh, come on, Guy Ross. Give them a little snuggle. Here, come on, do it. Sheep that thing away from me, Mindy. Oh, come on, he likes you! Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run! Yay! That was so cool! Rr! But wait, Reggie! The stinkbugs, they could be in my garden right now! Rr! Ah! What if they want to eat my prize-winning azaleas? What if, Reggie? Rr! I need to go protect them! Or I need to call stinkbug Steve and ask him to convince his relatives not to eat them. Rr! Rr! Right, we need to wrap up the show real fast and fix this. Ah, ah, ah, ah! Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend! Rr! If you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at 1-888-7-WOWOW. That's 1-888-7-WOWOW. Rr! I just might answer your question on Wee Wow on the weekend! Rr! Okay, Reggie, you call Steve and I'm going to go run outside and guard the plants. Rr! Rr! Pink! Pause, Reggie! I don't have Steve's number! Rr! Reggie, just do it! Hold on, my precious babies! I'm coming! Thanks for joining us for this edition of Wee Wow on the weekend! Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. The role of Baby Dennis is played by Jed Anderson. Ah, well, then who plays the role of Big Dennis? Never you mind! Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskel, with contributions from Jed Anderson and Tyler Tholl. Original music for Wee Wow is composed and performed by Tyler Tholl. Special thanks to Jessica Bodie, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Lizzie Freilich, Kristen Yang, Meredith Helpin-Ranzer, Tween Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskel, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Kairoz, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Mindy Thomas, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski, and all of the other tinkerers at TinkerCast HQ. Be sure to visit tinkercast.com, where you can become an official member of the World Organization of Wozers! Learn about upcoming events, shop our Woz Shop, find our best-selling books, and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from TinkerCast. Thanks again for hanging out in the basement this weekend. Be sure to check out episodes of Wow in the World every Monday. And remember, who Woz? I Woz! Oh, baby Dennis! Wee Woz! All right! Wee Woz! Wow in the world! Wow in the world! Wow in the world! Wow in the world! Wow in the world! Wow in the world was made by TinkerCast and sent to you by Wendery!