The Detective Journalists understand the importance of asking questions, interviewing reliable sources to uncover the truth and diligently pursue the real news. We read articles and listened to podcasts to decipher which ones were the most believable (you can always count on National Geographic to report on animal activities). The detectives chose a topic they were interested in—Deforestation, Overcoming Allergies and How to Train Copycat Dogs, for example—and wrote the true facts from online research and parental interviews. But for our final assignment, we delved into the world of imagination (“fake” news or just hyperbole?) to create crazy podcasts. So, sit back, suspend your belief for a brief time and enjoy The Detective Journalists’ scripts as they follow clues and report to the nation.
Terri Schexnayder
Badgerdog Teaching Artist
Terri Schexnayder is a teacher and a writer. She found her passion for writing when she was a young girl, the second oldest of ten siblings. Schexnayder created neighborhood mystery plays, short stories and logged endless diary entries. Her favorite writing moments are with her Badgerdog students, which she has done since joining the nonprofit in 2008. She is a graduate of St. Edward’s University, English Literature, summa cum laude. Published in 2019, her first book, A Majestic History: 100 Years of the Paramount Theatre, captured the beauty and events of Austin’s downtown landmark. She is writing her second book, a memoir about selling radio advertising in the iconic Austin of the 1970s, while juggling the life of a single mom.
Cats Rob Labrador Library
Nainika: BREAKING NEWS! The vicious cats are robbing our Labrador Library, which contains the most expensive books in the world!
Sam: Meow, Meow
Nainika: I’m going to interview Edin, the dog librarian. Edin, what do you say to our listeners?
Edin: GRAB THE DOG TREATS AND THE CATNIP, EVERYONE. We need to lure them out!
Shreya: Let’s steal those books quickly before they catch us with catnip! Hey, I am the leader.
Noooooo, come back you silly cats! We haven’t finished taking the books to our secret lair
Everyone: Hip, Hip, Hooray for Edin—she saved our library!
Edin: Thank you, everyone.
Sam: (Annoyed Cat Noises)
Written and produced by:
Edin Carlin
Nainika Pradip
Samantha Rosson
Shreya Siddhant
Blue Pigs Attack America
Narrator: Blue flying pigs fall from the sky! They are eating a lot of stuff!
Sound Effects: [Pig snorts] [Chomp Chomp]
Narrator: They are now attacking people who are running like crazy!
Newsperson: Let’s ask someone on the street. How do you feel about the pigs?
Guy on the Street: The pigs are so crazy. They have super sharp teeth, are blue pigs … They are aliens!
Narrator: An army has arrived to kill the pigs. They are shooting their guns at them.
Sound Effects: [BANG! BANG!]
Narrator: The pigs are flying away!
Newsperson: The world is saved! You can now come out of your houses.
Narrator: The pigs come back again!
Newsperson: They are with humans now! The pigs take off their wings and turn pink.
Interviewed person: AAAAHHHH!
Written and produced by:
Lawrence Ding
Arjun Ramanathan
Siddhant Shreya
Charles Wang
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