Showdown #3: Should There Be One Universal Language?

PODCAST 263: THE GREAT SIBLING SHOWDOWN

SHOWDOWN #3:  SHOULD THERE BE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE?

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH, 2024

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO ***THE GREAT SIBLING SHOWDOWN***.  IN THE LAST EPISODE, OLIVIA AND NOAH DEBATED WHETHER OR NOT JUNK FOOD SHOULD BE SERVED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS.  OLIVIA SAID IT SHOULD, AND NOAH SAID IT SHOULDN’T.  THEY MADE SOME PRETTY CONVINCING ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR SIDES, AND TRY TO CONVINCE YOU THAT THEY’RE RIGHT.  THEN WE WAITED AS THE VOTES STARTED COMING IN.  THANK YOU FOR SENDING IN HUNDREDS OF VOTES.  WE LOVED READING THEM ALL.  ARE YOU CURIOUS WHAT OUR LISTENERS THINK ABOUT WHETHER JUNK FOOD SHOULD BE SERVED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS?  WELL, YOU WON’T HAVE TO WAIT MUCH LONGER, BUT BEFORE WE REVEAL THE RESULTS…

O:  MAILBAG!

N:  MAILBAG!

O:  I’M GOING TO READ MAIL WE RECEIVED FROM THREE LISTENERS WHO AGREED WITH ME THAT JUNK FOOD SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS.

MILES FROM ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SAYS  “I think there should be junk food in small quantities. We love your new revamped podcast! It is making us really think about topics and our opinions on them. We are also learning how to have a healthy debate with someone! Thank you for all you do and all the time you put into making these episodes great!”

SIDDH FROM READING, ENGLAND SAYS “I like junk food and I don’t understand why it should be banned in some places. Kids are smart enough to make these decisions for themselves. By removing the decision making process from the children, we are hindering their progress.”

EMILY FROM EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA SAYS “I think just a little bit but they should decrease how much. What an amazing debate! I really enjoy your podcasts me and my dad have listened to almost all of your episodes. My favorite episode was about pee and poop. I found it funny and entertaining!”

N:  NOW IT’S MY TURN TO READ MAIL WE RECEIVED FROM THREE LISTENERS WHO AGREED WITH ME THAT JUNK FOOD SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS.

ARLA FROM GISBORNE, NEW ZEALAND SAYS “I agree with Noah because un-healthy food can distract you from learning because it does not properly fill you up, also it is not good for you obviously.  Thanks, I really like the great sibling showdown.”

NORA FROM ENNIS, COUNTY CLARE, IRELAND, SAYS “Because junk food is bad for you: 1. It has lots of sugar 2. It isn't nutritious, and 3. It doesn't make you feel good.”

SOFIA FROM ATLANTA, GEORGIA SAYS “Because kids can get sick if they have too much junk food in school cafeterias”.  

D:  AND NOW, FOR THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR, WE ARE ABOUT TO SHARE THE RESULTS OF SHOWDOWN #2:  SHOULD JUNK FOOD BE ALLOWED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS?  HUNDREDS OF AMAZING LISTENERS VOTED, AND ONE SIDE WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE POPULAR THAN THE OTHER.  DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

***DRUMROLL***

D:  WITH A SLIGHT MAJORITY AND 53.5% OF THE TOTAL VOTE, MOST OF OUR LISTENERS THINK THAT JUNK FOOD SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS. 

O:  REMEMBER, THERE IS NO WRONG OR RIGHT TO THESE DEBATES.  GROWN UPS HAVE BEEN DEBATING ABOUT THESE TOPICS FOR A LONG TIME.  IT’S JUST IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND BOTH SIDES, AND TO CONSIDER THE ARGUMENTS FOR BOTH SIDES BEFORE DECIDING HOW YOU FEEL.

N:  WE’VE DONE TWO DEBATES SO FAR, AND THE VOTING WAS SUPER CLOSE FOR BOTH OF THEM.  IN BOTH DEBATES, THE SIDE THAT WON THE DEBATE GOT LESS THAN 60% OF THE TOTAL VOTE, SO OUR LISTENERS WERE SPLIT PRETTY EVENLY ON HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THE TOPICS.  

D:  NOW THAT WE WENT OVER THE RESULTS FROM SHOWDOWN #2, IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE SHOWDOWN TOPIC FOR THIS WEEK:  SHOULD THERE BE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE FOR EVERYONE?

***INTERLUDE***  

YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHAT A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE IS, AND I’M ABOUT TO EXPLAIN IT.  I’M GOING TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC, AND AFTER I DO, NOAH AND OLIVIA ARE GOING TO ARGUE WITH EACH OTHER FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, ISN’T THAT AWESOME?  OLIVIA IS GOING TO ARGUE THAT THERE SHOULD BE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE AND NOAH IS GOING TO ARGUE THAT WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.  THEY ARE GOING TO PRESENT THEIR ARGUMENTS IN THREE ROUNDS OF DEBATE.  OLIVIA WILL GO FIRST IN ROUND ONE, NOAH WILL GO FIRST IN ROUND TWO, THEN IN THE VERY IMPORTANT CLOSING ARGUMENTS, WE ARE GOING TO SPIN A WHEEL TO SEE WHO GOES FIRST.  AND THEN, AFTER YOU’RE ALL DONE LISTENING TO OLIVIA AND NOAH, YOU CAN LET US KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BY CLICKING ON THE VOTING LINK IN THE SHOW NOTES.  IF YOU DO, YOU MAY HAVE YOUR OPINIONS READ IN THE MAILBAG SEGMENT OF OUR VERY NEXT EPISODE.  HOW COOL IS THAT?  NOW LET’S DISCUSS WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE FOR EVERYONE.

WHEN WE SAY “ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE”, WHAT WE MEAN IS A SINGLE LANGUAGE THAT EVERYONE SPEAKS.  TODAY, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 7,139 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES SPOKEN AROUND THE WORLD.  OF ALL THOSE LANGUAGES, ONLY 27 OF THEM HAVE 50 MILLION OR MORE NATIVE SPEAKERS, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY ARE THE FIRST LANGUAGE OF THOSE SPEAKERS.  ALSO, OF THE MORE THAN 7,000 LANGUAGES THAT EXIST, THERE ARE ONLY 8 THAT ARE THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF AT LEAST 100 MILLION PEOPLE.  NOW, 100 MILLION MIGHT SEEM LIKE A REALLY BIG NUMBER, AND IT IS, BUT CONSIDER THAT THERE ARE 8.1 BILLION, WITH A B, PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE WORLD.  THAT MEANS THAT EVEN THE MOST POPULAR FIRST LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD, WHICH IS MANDARIN CHINESE, IS SPOKEN BY ONLY 12.3% OF THE TOTAL WORLD POPULATION.  THE OTHER LANGUAGES THAT ARE FIRST LANGUAGES FOR MORE THAN 100 MILLION PEOPLE INCLUDE SPANISH, ENGLISH, HINDI, PORTUGUESE, BENGALI, RUSSIAN, AND JAPANESE. 

NOW, WHAT’S EVEN MORE INTERESTING THAN DISCUSSING THE MOST POPULAR LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD IS DISCUSSING THE LANGUAGES THAT HAVE VERY FEW SPEAKERS.  CHECK THIS OUT.  THERE IS A LANGUAGE CALLED NJEREP THAT IS ONLY SPOKEN IN NIGERIA, AND ONLY 4 PEOPLE SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, NOT 4 MILLION, NOT EVEN 4 THOUSAND, JUST 4 PEOPLE.  OF THOSE 4 PEOPLE, THE YOUNGEST SPEAKER IS 65 YEARS OLD, WHICH MEANS THAT IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THE LANGUAGE DOESN’T SURVIVE MUCH LONGER.  

ANOTHER LANGUAGE, CALLED KAWISHANA, WAS A LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MANY IN BRAZIL, BUT OVER TIME, THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS DROPPED.  TODAY, THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON ABLE TO SPEAK KAWISHANA.  OF COURSE, WHAT USE IS A LANGUAGE IF YOU’RE THE ONLY PERSON ABLE TO SPEAK IT.  LIKE NJEREP, IT’S UNLIKELY THAT KAWISHANA LASTS MUCH LONGER.  

BECAUSE OF LANGUAGES LIKE NJEREP AND KAWISHANA THAT HAVE VERY FEW SPEAKERS, LANGUAGES ARE DYING OUT OVER TIME.  EVEN THOUGH 7,139 LANGUAGES EXIST TODAY, THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 31,000 LANGUAGES IN HUMAN HISTORY, MEANING THAT MORE LANGUAGES HAVE GONE EXTINCT THAN EXIST TODAY.  

THE QUESTION WE’RE ASKING TODAY IS, SHOULD WE HAVE ONE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY EVERYONE OR IS IT BETTER TO HAVE A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES SPOKEN AROUND THE WORLD LIKE WE DO TODAY?  

TO LEARN MORE, LET’S GET STARTED WITH OUR SHOWDOWN, ROUND ONE.  FIRST UP IS OLIVIA, WHO IS GOING TO TELL US WHY SHE THINKS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE JUST ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.

O:  HAVING ONE LANGUAGE WOULD MAKE TRAVELING SO MUCH EASIER.  IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, THEN YOU LOVE TO TRAVEL.  I HOPE TO SEE MANY DIFFERENT AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.  THE PROBLEM WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL IS THAT PEOPLE FROM MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WOULD HAVE TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING ME AS AN ENGLISH SPEAKER.  I WOULD ALSO HAVE TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING THEM, AS ENGLISH IS THE ONLY LANGUAGE I SPEAK FLUENTLY.  THIS MEANS THAT I WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO VISIT COUNTRIES THAT HAVE MANY ENGLISH SPEAKERS JUST TO AVOID THE HASSLE OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH A LANGUAGE BARRIER.  THAT WOULD LIMIT MY TRAVEL OPTIONS A LOT.  FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO TRAVEL, LANGUAGE IS A BIG CONCERN WHEN CONSIDERING WHERE TO TRAVEL TO.  

IF EVERYONE SPOKE ONE LANGUAGE, IT WOULD MAKE COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE FROM FOREIGN PLACES SO MUCH EASIER.  LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.  I HAVE FAMILY IN ISRAEL.  MY ISRAELI COUSINS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE SUMMER OF 2022, AND WE ALL WENT ON A CRUISE TOGETHER.  MY COUSINS SPEAK HEBREW FLUENTLY AND HAVE TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH.  I SPEAK A LITTLE BIT OF HEBREW, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS HEBREW FLUENTLY.  AS A RESULT, WE NEEDED TO USE A TRANSLATOR APP TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER DURING THE CRUISE.  COMMUNICATING WOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH EASIER IF WE ALL SPOKE THE SAME LANGUAGE.    

N:  NICE JOB OLIVIA, BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR ARGUMENT, AND IT’S A PRETTY BIG ONE.  EVEN THOUGH THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD ONE, HOW WOULD WE DO IT?  FIRST THINGS FIRST, HOW WOULD WE EVEN DECIDE WHICH LANGUAGE SHOULD BE SELECTED AS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE?  OF COURSE, AS AN ENGLISH SPEAKER, I WOULD SAY ENGLISH SHOULD BE THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, BUT THERE ARE BILLIONS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH, SO THEY WOULD PROBABLY DISAGREE WITH ME.  TRY TO CONVINCE ONE PERSON THAT DOESN’T SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE TO LEARN IT JUST SO THEY CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU.  IT WOULD BE REALLY HARD TO DO.  NOW THINK WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO CONVINCE BILLIONS THAT THEY HAVE TO LEARN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE.  ALSO, SINCE ENGLISH IS THE THIRD MOST POPULAR LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD, IT MEANS THAT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT ENGLISH WOULDN’T BE THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE IF WE WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY PICK ONE. 

THEN, IF WE MADE IT THROUGH THE PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE TASK OF SELECTING ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, HOW WOULD WE TEACH BILLIONS OF PEOPLE HOW TO SPEAK THAT LANGUAGE?  LEARNING TO SPEAK A NEW LANGUAGE IS HARD, ESPECIALLY AS PEOPLE GET OLDER.  CAN YOU IMAGINE TRYING TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE KNOWING THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO SPEAK ENGLISH AT SOME POINT BECAUSE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MIGHT DIE OUT IF IT ISN’T THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE?  THAT DOESN’T SOUND FAIR.  

***BELL RINGS***

D:  YOU KNOW WHAT THAT SOUND MEANS.  IT’S THE END OF ROUND ONE.  IN THAT ROUND, OLIVIA HAD THE CHANCE TO SET THE TONE BY GOING FIRST.  NEXT, IN ROUND TWO, NOAH WILL GET US STARTED AND LET US KNOW WHY HE THINKS ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE WOULD BE A BAD IDEA.  TAKE IT AWAY, NOAH.

N:  A BIG REASON WHY WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IS THAT LANGUAGES ARE PART OF OUR IDENTITY.  IT’S PART OF WHAT MAKES EVERY PERSON DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE.  EVEN WITHIN LANGUAGES, THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE THAT ALLOW US TO SHOW WHO WE ARE.  FOR EXAMPLE, WE SPEAK ENGLISH HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND ENGLISH IS ALSO SPOKEN IN ENGLAND.  THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE USE THE SAME WORDS WHEN WE SPEAK.  IN THE UNITED STATES, WE USE THE WORD SOCCER TO DESCRIBE THE SAME SPORT THAT THEY CALL FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND.  THE SAME GOES FOR FRENCH FRIES.  IN ENGLAND, THEY ARE CALLED CHIPS.  MEANWHILE, WHAT WE CALL CHIPS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, THEY CALL CRISPS IN ENGLAND.  THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE SPEAK ENGLISH CORRECTLY AND THEY DON’T, OR THE OPPOSITE, IT JUST MEANS THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE.  

EVEN WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, WE USE DIFFERENT WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE SAME THING.  FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT WE CALL SODA, SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER PART OF THE UNITED STATES MIGHT CALL EITHER POP, TONIC, OR COKE.  WHAT WE CALL SNEAKERS, OTHERS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY CALL TENNIS SHOES OR GYM SHOES.  

THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN BECAUSE LANGUAGES CHANGE OVER TIME.  DON’T BELIEVE ME?  THERE IS A PLAY CALLED ROMEO AND JULIET THAT WAS WRITTEN IN 1593, THAT’S 431 YEARS AGO.  HERE IS THE MOST FAMOUS LINE FROM THE PLAY.  “O ROMEO, ROMEO!  WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEO?”  BY THE WAY, THAT LINE IS ENGLISH, BUT IT SHOWS JUST HOW MUCH THE LANGUAGE HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST FEW HUNDRED YEARS.  THE LINE PRETTY MUCH MEANS ROMEO, WHY ARE YOU ROMEO?  THAT’S BECAUSE THE WORD WHEREFORE MEANS WHY.  WHEN PEOPLE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE DIFFERENTLY, IT’S CALLED A DIALECT.  ENGLISH HAS SO MANY DIALECTS USED BY PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN DIFFERENT PLACES.  THE WAY ENGLISH SPEAKERS, AND SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES SPEAK, SAYS A LOT ABOUT THEIR IDENTITY AND WHAT MAKES THEM UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL.  BY FORCING EVERYONE TO SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE, PEOPLE WILL START TO LOSE THEIR IDENTITIES, AND THAT’S SAD.

O:  BUT MAYBE IF EVERYONE SPOKE THE SAME LANGUAGE, IT WOULD BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.  IT COULD BE HARMFUL FOR PEOPLE TO THINK THAT OTHER PEOPLE WHO SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES MUST BE DIFFERENT, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE ALL HUMAN.  WARS ARE BEING FOUGHT AROUND THE WORLD, AND COUNTRIES STRUGGLE TO FIND COMMON GROUND AND AGREE ON THINGS THAT WOULD BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF EVERYONE, AND MANY OF THOSE STRUGGLES START WITH THE FACT THAT THERE IS A LANGUAGE BARRIER THAT SUGGESTS, RIGHT AWAY, THAT PEOPLE WHO SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES MUST ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT INTERESTS AND DIFFERENT GOALS.  

IF WE ALL SPOKE THE SAME LANGUAGE, PERHAPS PEOPLE WOULD START TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT’S BEST FOR SOMEONE IN ONE COUNTRY WOULD PROBABLY BENEFIT PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THOSE COUNTRIES HAVE IN COMMON.  SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE WOULD ALLOW US TO FOCUS ON WHAT MAKES US ALL THE SAME, RATHER THAN HAVING TO OVERCOME A LANGUAGE BARRIER THAT HIGHLIGHTS HOW DIFFERENT WE MIGHT BE.  

***BELL RINGS***

D: WOWIE, THAT WAS AN AMAZING ROUND.  YOU BOTH MADE EXCELLENT POINTS, AND I’M GUESSING THAT IT’S PRETTY HARD FOR OUR LISTENERS TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD HAVE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE IS ONE LAST ROUND REMAINING, THE SUPER IMPORTANT FINAL ARGUMENTS.  IN THIS ROUND, YOU EACH HAVE 60 SECONDS, AND DEFINITELY NOT 61 SECONDS, TO MAKE YOUR FINAL ARGUMENT TO SUPPORT WHY YOU FEEL THE WAY YOU DO.  IT’S YOUR CHANCE TO LAND ONE LAST KNOCKOUT PUNCH AND CONVINCE THE LISTENERS BEFORE THEY SEND IN THEIR VOTES.  WE SPUN A WHEEL TO SEE WHO GOES FIRST IN ROUND THREE, AND THE SPINNER LANDED ON NOAH.  ALRIGHT BUDDY, YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE TO TELL OUR LISTENERS WHY WE SHOULD NOT HAVE A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.  THE 60 SECOND CLOCK STAAAAARTS BE BOO BE BOO BEEP… NOW!

N:  ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP.  LANGUAGE MAKES US WHO WE ARE.  SELECTING A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE, AND MAKING THE DECISION WOULD DIVIDE US INSTEAD OF BRINGING US ALL TOGETHER.  AS HARD AS SELECTING A LANGUAGE WOULD BE, TEACHING BILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT LANGUAGE WOULD BE EVEN HARDER.  IT’S JUST AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK THAT WE SHOULDN’T TRY, BECAUSE EVEN IF WE DID IT, IT WOULD BE A DISASTER.

DO YOU LOVE MUSIC?  I DO.  MUSIC IS LIKE A LANGUAGE THAT UNITES US ALL.  I LOVE MUSIC THAT IS INTERESTING AND DIFFERENT.  I LOVE LISTENING TO DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS MAKE DIFFERENT SOUNDS.  MUSIC ALLOWS US TO COMMUNICATE AND SHARE OUR FEELINGS.  MUSIC CAN BE HAPPY OR SAD, LOUD OR QUIET, FAST OR SLOW.  IMAGINE IF THEY ELIMINATED ALL INSTRUMENTS BESIDES ONE.  CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW BORING AND DULL MUSIC WOULD BECOME?  IF SO, THEN YOU MUST AGREE THAT FORCING US TO ALL SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE WOULD MAKE US EACH LESS UNIQUE AND SPECIAL, AND WOULD BE A TERRIBLE THING.  

O:  C’MON NOAH, A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE WOULD HELP BRING US CLOSER TOGETHER.  THERE IS NO REASON WHY SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE WOULDN’T HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR UNIQUE CULTURES, BRINGING THE WORLD CLOSER TOGETHER.  I AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE HARD TO GET EVERYONE SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE, BUT IT’S SOMETHING WE SHOULD TRY TO DO OVER TIME, NOT QUICKLY.  

SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR US TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE FROM FOREIGN PLACES, AND ALLOW US TO WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD.  THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR US TO THINK ABOUT THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY WHEN SOLVING PROBLEMS, RATHER THAN JUST FOCUSING ON OUR OWN NEEDS.

***BELL RINGS***

D:  MY GOODNESS.  THAT WAS A GOOD, OR DARE I SAY, GREAT SIBLING SHOWDOWN.  BOTH OF YOU KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK, AND I’M HONESTLY NOT SURE WHAT TO THINK AT THIS POINT.  HOW ABOUT YOU?  WHO DO YOU THINK WON THE DEBATE?  DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD OR SHOULDN’T HAVE ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE?  LET US KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BY FILLING OUT A SUPER DUPER QUICK SURVEY.  YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO THE SURVEY IN THE EPISODE NOTES.  THE SURVEY NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH TO BE INCLUDED IN THE RESULTS FOR OUR NEXT EPISODE.  WE ARE ALSO GOING TO READ SOME OF OUR FAVORITE COMMENTS IN THE NEXT EPISODE, SO WE CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, WE HAVE A FEW AMAZING LISTENERS TO THANK.  

N:  WE WANT TO THANK USERNAME TRITODD FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO IT FOR YEARS.  AND WE REALLY LIKE THE NEW FORMAT OF THE GREAT SIBLING SHOWDOWN.  WE LEARN NEW STUFF EVERY EPISODE AND ALSO HAVE LEARNED HOW A DEBATE WORKS AND THAT IT IS OKAY TO NOT ALWAYS WIN!”

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, MICHAEL L, LEA S., RAE RAE, ZOE H, ED L, AND EVA AND ROWAN L.  

D:  A BIG THANKS TO MICHAEL, LEA, RAE RAE, ZOE, ED, EVA AND ROWAN.  WE ARE FEELING LOTS OF LOVE FROM OUR SUPPORTERS ON PATREON.  OUR PATREON SUPPORTERS GET BONUS EPISODES EVERY OTHER WEEK.  TO FIND OUT HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST FOR AS LITTLE AS 90 CENTS A MONTH TO GET ACCESS TO A TON OF ADDITIONAL CONTENT, CLICK ON THE PATREON LINK IN THE SHOW NOTES.  

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT SHOWDOWN #4 COMING OUT ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH, BECAUSE IT WILL BE OUR FIRST LISTENER SUGGESTED SHOWDOWN.  WHEN OUR LISTENERS VOTE, THEY ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LET US KNOW WHAT THEY WANT OLIVIA AND NOAH TO DEBATE ABOUT NEXT.  WE’VE SEEN THE SAME SUGGESTION BEING MADE OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER AGAIN.  THAT’S WHY OLIVIA AND NOAH ARE GOING TO DEBATE A TOPIC THAT WAS SUGGESTED BY A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT LISTENERS IN SHOWDOWN #4.  IN THAT EPISODE, THEY WILL DEBATE WHETHER HOMEWORK SHOULD EXIST.  

N:  OOOOOOOOH!

O:  AAAAAAAAAH!

D:  OOH AND AAH INDEED.  THAT’S GOING TO BE A FUN ONE YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING TO OLIVIA AND NOAH DEBATE IN *** THE GREAT SIBLING SHOWDOWN***