6 April 2024 - Saturday Squiz

A short week’s a good week (until you have to do 5 days work in 4…). This Saturday, if you have thoughts on why newsletters are great, a figure from history you want to understand better, or any other thoughts for us, hit reply. 

⏱️ Reading time: 7 minutes

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🤷‍♀️ IDK: Why more government agencies don’t try their hands at comedy…

This week's top stories

The order of this week’s biggest news stories feels right to us from our experience of monitoring the news cycle from 4am-10pm each day…

1. Vale Zomi Frankcom - The Melbourne-born aid worker and 6 of her World Central Kitchen colleagues were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday. Two senior Israeli military officers have been sacked over the tragedy. Her family’s piece in the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age is well worth a read.

2. A new twist in a story that’s already more twisted than a pretzel… - If you’re lost in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case, Claire and Kate unpack it in the Weekly Wrap podcast that dropped this morning. And you wouldn’t be the only one wondering what it’s all about - Justice Michael Lee is totally with you…

3. Cracking down on crime in Alice Springs - Last week, the Northern Territory Government declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew following a series of violent incidents. Yesterday, South Australia agreed to send 20 officers to assist with "high-visibility policing" from next week.

4. Charles is up and about - Last weekend, our sovereign made his first appearance at a public royal event since his cancer diagnosis was announced in February. And yesterday, it was front-page news in the UK that he’s super keen to get to Oz later this year…

5. A hell of a time in Hualien - The popular tourist city on the east coast of Taiwan was just a few kilometres away from the epicentre of the 7.2-magnitude quake, which struck on Wednesday morning. And the aftershocks keep on coming… And FYI New York was a bit shaken up overnight too…

It’s the Squiz Quiz…

Reckon you know why PM Anthony Albanese and Climate Minister Chris Bowen were in hot water this week? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Picture of the week

As we mentioned a moment ago, Taiwan suffered its worst earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday - yesterday the death toll rose to 10, and reports say 2 Aussies are missing. This video of maternity staff at a Taipei hospital holding onto newborn baby cots is quite something.

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Question of the week

Daylight saving is doneski for another season... When it's in place, how do you enjoy it? Or is it a pain in the neck?

More than 1,000 Squizers told us what they think of daylight saving - and 70% are all for it. But it’s not without its complications…

Living the daylight saving life - “We love walking the kids and dog after work in the extra hour of daylight. It's a great time to wind down, get exercise and chat about our days.”

Living the 3-hour time difference life - “Being in Western Australia, I breathe a sigh of relief when it ends because a 2-hour time difference to the East Coast is much easier to juggle than 3. Fancy a 6am Zoom meeting, anyone?”

Living fuss-free  - “Honestly, it's been in place for so long now, we're all used to it. I wish it was just a thing that we did without carrying on.”

Squiz Recommends

Listening - The Rest is History’s 2-part podcast on Captain James Cook. He’s seen by some as a dark figure of colonisation, and this podcast doesn’t shy away from that. But it gave us a better understanding of what he was really good at (mapping coastlines) and what he was like as a bloke.

Buying - Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food* - a cookbook that pleases both adults and children, and that’s a big win… She also has an epic Instagram account which we often scroll for inspiration. 

Watching - Oppenheimer on Netflix. If you didn’t get to the movies to see it, the commercial/critical blockbuster is there waiting for you. At 3 hours long it’s a commitment, but even our time-poor team members were glad they dived in.

*Buy using this link and The Squiz might get a little commission.

In the kitchen

This chicken in a pot with lemon and orzo by Nigella Lawson… As she says, it’s comfort food to the max that’s great straight out of the oven. And for the leftovers, we added some water and soupified it (and yes, we’ve decided that is a word…), and that was great too.

Advertise with us - Squizers love recipes

Anything from salads to soupy chicken to desserts, thousands of Squizers click on our recipe recommendations every single time. Want to reach people who also love to cook? Advertise with us - hit reply or get in touch here.

What we Squized this week

Why we think newsletters are great - Our Commercial Director Kate Watson had a piece in media/marketing trade publication Mumbrella about our commitment to newsletters, and why more advertisers should get on board.

A Squiz Shortcut on Boeing’s safety issues - Boeing has been in the news quite a bit this year and now CEO Dave Calhoun has announced his resignation. So this week, we looked at the timeline of Boeing’s woes and what might happen next to one of the world’s largest suppliers of planes. Have a read or a listen here. 

News Club on media literacy - This week we handed the reins over to Byrce Corbett, Squiz Kids Host and co-creator of the media literacy resource Newshounds. He outlines why helping the next generation to become critical consumers of news is part of our mission here at The Squiz. Have a read or a listen here.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - It’s game on for International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. And if you needed another excuse outside of it being Saturday to think about being handy, it’s National DIY Day 

Sunday - If you’re in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island, it’s time to put your clock back an hour because daylight saving is over… And a new Bluey episode called ‘Ghostbasket’ is dropping on ABC iView at 8am

Monday - European Commissioner Kadri Simson is speaking at the National Press Club about how the EU overcame the energy crisis

Tuesday - The ANU Security College is hosting the National Security Conference in Canberra. And in the evening it’s Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan 

Wednesday - Geez the National Press Club has a thing about energy this week… The boss of Alinta Energy Jeff Dimery will deliver an address on Australia’s energy transition 

Thursday - Tassie schools finish up for Term 1…

Friday - …followed by NSW, ACT, and South Oz schools. And slide into your short shorts, it’s the first weekend of Coachella, California’s massive (and massively cool) music festival

Double-Tapping

The hilarious people behind the Bureau of Stats’ Instagram account need to watch out - there’s a new funny government agency in town…