0:02

Hey story. Pirates Podcast listeners Peter here

0:04

on today's episode lead role in

0:06

Megan visit one of the most

0:08

famous places in New York City

0:11

was straight oh wait no this

0:13

as Wall Street Arcade. Ah, I've

0:15

never heard of a Wall Street

0:17

Arcade. Oh wait, maybe it's just

0:19

a place where you can play

0:22

video games on Wall Street. Ah,

0:24

great detective work. better. Well I

0:26

guess we'll find out if I'm

0:28

right after these quick words for

0:30

the grown ups. Hey

0:37

Grown Ups, if you're a fan

0:39

of comedy. there's a brand new

0:42

podcast from our friend Justin Bartho

0:44

that I wanted to tell you

0:46

about. You may remember Justin from

0:48

episode seven the season. He's the

0:50

treasure hunter at the Met and

0:53

as you heard he seriously funny

0:55

actor just didn't. Show is called

0:57

King of the Egg creme in.

0:59

In addition to Justin it has

1:01

just the most incredible cast. Again,

1:04

this shows just for Grown Ups

1:06

and probably. Older kids grown ups.

1:08

You can take a listen yourself

1:10

and see what you think. But

1:13

if you're a fan of hilarious

1:15

stuff and well told stories, you

1:17

probably like king of the Egg

1:19

creme here. a taste. Wow.

1:24

This egg creme is delicious. I wish the

1:26

chocolate syrup inside wasn't so expensive. If you'd

1:29

like to save some shekels and have some

1:31

fun at the same time, make sure your

1:33

tune into King of the Egg Creme Available

1:35

wherever you get your podcasts. And.

1:38

Now back to the shell. Hey

1:42

grown ups want to get a

1:44

personalized audio message from Peter or

1:46

me for your family? Well, we're

1:48

going to be surprising one family

1:51

every month with one. All you

1:53

have to do is sign up

1:55

for our email list at Story

1:57

pirates.com/podcast will send you story buyers.

2:00

updates and once a month, one

2:02

lucky family will receive a message

2:04

from us customized to your kids

2:06

and their interests. If

2:08

you're already on our email

2:10

list, you're already entered to

2:12

win each month. If not,

2:15

join now at story pirates.com/podcast.

2:17

Now back to the show. Welcome

2:30

to the Wall Street Arcade.

2:33

Wow. This place has everything.

2:36

Dance, dance, Renaissance, home of

2:38

the zombies, even Italian plumber race

2:40

cars. And it's so

2:42

fancy. It looks like anyone who's anyone on

2:44

Wall Street is here. Obviously as a creative,

2:47

I don't know anyone on Wall Street, but

2:49

everyone's in a suit. So I'm assuming

2:51

you assumed right, Megan. As

2:53

far as arcades go, this one is for

2:55

everyone who wears a suit to work. So

2:58

how did we get in? Did you call Eric? Was

3:00

it Eric? Yes. Eric got a send

3:11

because he knows the FAO tall

3:13

CEOs, but let's not focus on

3:15

who got us in here and

3:17

focus on who is here right

3:20

now. Let's play some game. Yeah.

3:23

I don't have any tokens. Me

3:26

neither. I'm broke too. I've

3:37

been told I've had no reactive

3:39

imagination. It makes me feel cozy. Your

3:44

men and neighbor have arrived. Yeah,

3:47

I love things to be perfect.

3:51

They write most of

3:53

my stories for fun. There's so much

3:55

out there that we'll probably never know

3:57

since only Kywin! Welcome

4:03

back to the Story Pirates podcast where we

4:06

take stories written by kids and turn them

4:08

into sketch comedy and songs. And

4:11

also where we don't have enough tokens to play

4:13

any games. You know, this reminds me

4:15

of the time I did that indie film about a

4:17

woman who didn't have enough tokens to play any game.

4:20

What did she end up doing? She reminisced about

4:22

how she was once in an indie film

4:24

about a woman who didn't have enough tokens

4:27

to play any game. It

4:29

was one of my more challenging roles.

4:31

Because you didn't have any limes? I

4:33

wanted to talk so badly. Megan,

4:36

you're milking it. You're milking

4:38

it. Forget about Megan's performance,

4:40

even if she is pushing

4:42

a little. Hey! Look

4:45

at all the arcade prizes we could win! A

4:48

slinky, a sticky rubber hand thing, and

4:51

a huge pair

4:53

of novelty oversize sunglasses!

4:56

I need those. Imagine us all at brunch

4:59

with big, huge sunglasses on our faces. I

5:01

can picture it now! We're so happy! But

5:03

also mysterious because nobody can see our eyes.

5:06

With all those frilly because the sunglasses are so

5:08

big! We

5:16

need to get some tokens. But where do

5:18

we go? Look! A

5:21

sign for the arcade cashier! It must be this way! Let's

5:23

go. Well, should we listen to a story while

5:25

we head over there? Yeah! Hi,

5:28

I'm Layla. I'm 10 years old and I'm from Ontario.

5:30

This is my story, the Flavor Feast. That

5:41

is one beautiful pizza. I hope

5:43

your taste buds are ready because

5:45

Dad is serving a taste of

5:47

Italia. Smells great, hon. But where

5:49

is Jessica? J Bird

5:52

to E-Train. I'm flying the coop.

5:54

The asset is in place and

5:56

he appears to be cooking a

5:58

margarita pizza. YUM!

6:01

I mean copy! Jessica, put

6:03

down the walkie-talkie and come

6:05

eat this pizza your dad

6:07

made! Also, hi Emily! Our

6:09

cover's been blown! Let's reconnect

6:11

when it's safe! Over! Mom,

6:14

Dad, I have to tell you something.

6:17

I'm a spy. Honey,

6:19

we know. You've been creeping around the

6:22

house for weeks! Stage

6:24

whispering into your walkie-talkie.

6:26

You really need to learn how to whisper

6:28

whisper if you're gonna be a spy. Speaking

6:30

of things, I need to be a spy. Have

6:32

you considered getting me those super secret cool

6:34

spy goggles? Honey, those goggles

6:36

are $1,000. That's kinda steep for a

6:39

hobby. It's

6:42

my life's calling. But there's nothing

6:44

to spy on here. Just a

6:46

dedicated dad making pizza for his

6:48

family. Speaking of which, this margarita

6:50

pie ain't gonna eat itself. Dig

6:52

in! Fine. Ow! Ugh!

6:57

This pizza tastes like straight up

6:59

cardboard. Where's the savory richness

7:01

of the cheese or the tat yum of

7:03

the tomato sauce? Dad,

7:06

did you forget to add flavor? I

7:08

most certainly did not. I'll remind you

7:11

that I went to culinary school, thank

7:13

you very much. Then there must

7:15

be a flavor thief on the loose.

7:17

Yes, there must be a... Wait,

7:19

a what? A flavor thief, dear.

7:21

Jessica is right. See, there's a

7:23

story about it right here in

7:26

the paper. It says, The flavor

7:28

thief takes away flavors from every

7:30

food in the world. He has

7:32

only started with pizza, but soon

7:34

all food will have no flavor

7:36

forever. He tried to do the

7:38

exact same thing in 1999, and his name is Bernard. Do

7:43

you have to read the paper at the

7:45

table? Sorry, hon. Please

7:47

let me and Emily catch the

7:50

flavor thief. Spying's my life's calling.

7:52

Ugh, fine. You have until

7:54

bedtime. You got it. Time to

7:56

call Emily. Hey, Jessica,

7:58

aren't you for... getting something.

8:00

The Spy Goggles?

8:03

Honey, you bought those? What? I'm

8:05

Spine Liz. Don't worry mom

8:07

and dad, I'm gonna earn every cent

8:09

of those Spy Goggles by stopping the

8:11

flavor thief. E-Train, come

8:14

in, over. Honey, you're

8:16

stage whispering again. E-Train to

8:18

Jaybird. What's good? Over. Meet

8:20

me at the strange alleyway down the

8:22

street. The one that's permanently damp

8:25

and smells like white garbage? Precisely! It's

8:27

the perfect place to hide all the

8:29

world's flavors. Ugh,

8:32

this alleyway is creepy. I

8:34

hope Jessica knows what she's

8:36

doing. Pfft, Emily! Has

8:39

anyone ever told you your whisper is

8:41

somehow louder than your regular voice? It's

8:43

a huge issue, but we don't have

8:45

time for that. There is a flavor

8:47

thief on the loose, and they're stealing

8:49

flavors from food across the world. So

8:51

that's why tonight's Turkey Chili tasted like

8:53

paper mache. I thought it was because

8:56

my Uncle Hal made it. Great Uncle.

8:58

Horrible cook. Facts. Anyways,

9:00

we gotta scan the alleyway with our

9:03

Spy Goggles. If my spy senses are

9:05

correct, there's gotta be a secret hideout

9:07

somewhere around here. Scanning

9:10

complete. Layer entrance located.

9:12

Wow, we are great spies.

9:15

According to my Spy Goggles, that loose

9:17

pickle on the ground is the secret

9:19

button to getting into the flavor thief's

9:21

secret layer. Yuck! And weird. But, okay,

9:24

I'll push it. Pickle password,

9:26

please. Uh,

9:29

pickle-rama? Correct.

9:32

I said we should pick a harder password,

9:35

but nobody wants to listen to a

9:37

loose pickle. Oh, and

9:39

they're gone. Here

9:42

we are, inside the flavor thief's

9:44

lair. And dang, there are so

9:46

many foods here. Emily, use your

9:49

spy bag to collect the stolen

9:51

flavors. It's just a backpack, but

9:53

sure. I'll deal with the thief. Nothing can

9:55

stop us now. Push your abs. Eat trainin'.

10:00

Jaybird nice try, but I've got

10:02

you locked in my auto cage

10:05

You're not stopping me from eradicating

10:07

all flavors from this earth nice

10:09

try, but these are spy goggles

10:12

They can laser right through metal

10:18

Dang what don't those goggles

10:20

do well they are a thousand

10:22

dollars you're in the laws hands now

10:25

You can lock me away, but

10:27

I will only escape and see

10:29

began unless Unless what

10:31

oh nothing miss silly no, what

10:34

is it? Well, I was gonna

10:36

say unless the International School of

10:38

cooking accepts me as a student

10:41

That's why you're doing this I dropped

10:43

out after one tough semester And then

10:45

they refused to let me back in

10:47

so I decided if I can't cook

10:49

nobody can Eat

10:52

train I have an idea You

10:54

know I heard every word of that

10:56

stage whisper right dang my summer

10:58

theater intensive I totally forgot how to

11:01

whisper regular style listen to me flavor

11:03

thief you don't need to be validated

11:06

by an institution in order to cook

11:08

delicious things Yeah, we didn't go to

11:10

spy school and look how easily we

11:13

caught you I wouldn't

11:15

say easily Anybody who

11:17

loves to cook can and should in

11:19

fact we have a few margarita pizzas

11:21

at my house that could Definitely use

11:24

some flavor you're inviting me to

11:26

dinner. No one ever invites me anywhere usually

11:28

people say I'm too creepy Well

11:31

you are invited come on

11:35

Mom dad I'm home, and I brought

11:37

the flavor thief who's going to help

11:40

us cook dinner Thanks for having

11:42

me Bernard my old roomie from culinary

11:44

school you were the flavor thief your

11:46

daughter helped me to understand that I

11:48

can still cook even if I never

11:51

graduated from culinary school She's right all

11:53

I've done with my degree is cook

11:55

for my family which has been incredibly

11:57

lovely and meaningful What do you say?

11:59

Hey, old pal. Shall we get

12:01

back into the kitchen together like old

12:04

times? Yes, Chef! Let's get cooking! Dinner

12:08

is served. Jessica, great

12:10

job catching the flavor feast and

12:13

changing his evil ways. I'm a

12:15

real spy, Mom and Dad. You

12:18

really are, honey. We're so proud of you.

12:20

Thanks, parents. And as a thank

12:22

you gift, you and Emily can

12:25

get any spy gear you want

12:27

for a month! Yes!

12:30

The end. Was that

12:32

a better whisper? No. Aw.

12:35

The end. And

12:38

now, Leigh speaks with the author. Hi,

12:42

Layla. Hi. How are you? I'm

12:45

good. I'm so excited to talk

12:47

to you. Me too. Your

12:49

story got me thinking a lot about

12:51

taste. How many different tastes are there?

12:54

Well, you taste sweet and

12:56

sour foods. You also

12:59

taste like salty foods. Salty

13:02

is a very good one. Yeah. Here's

13:05

another one. Bitter. Bitter,

13:07

yeah. That's another. What's an

13:10

example of something that's bitter? For

13:12

some people, dark chocolate, like

13:14

really dark chocolate, can be

13:16

very bitter for some people.

13:19

That's a great example. And here's

13:21

another one. Savory. Can you

13:23

think of any examples of something that

13:25

tastes savory? Sometimes people

13:27

put like types

13:29

of vegetables and pancakes and

13:32

stads of like chocolate

13:35

chips or fruit. You actually know a

13:37

lot about tastes. It's pretty impressive. Are

13:39

you a foodie? Well, I

13:42

do like lots of food,

13:44

but I'd say I'm not

13:46

like the biggest food that

13:48

you could ever think of. That's

13:51

very humble of you. Yeah. Do

13:56

you cook ever? I have tried

13:58

making some. things

14:00

before but they haven't really turned

14:03

out quite as how I would

14:05

have liked them to turn out.

14:08

Well, that's just the process of

14:10

becoming a chef. You have to

14:13

try and fail before you are

14:15

an expert. Yeah. And I bet

14:17

they were probably better than you give them credit for. Yeah,

14:21

but like in my opinion, they're not

14:23

as the best that I would have

14:25

pictured. Well,

14:28

that's another sign that you're going to be a

14:30

great cook is that you have high standards. Yeah.

14:33

You're not just like, that's good enough. You're

14:35

like, no, it must be better. Yeah,

14:37

I love things to be perfect. Are

14:42

you a perfectionist? Yeah,

14:44

sometimes. How does that show

14:46

up in your life? Well, when I'm drawing

14:48

something, I have this image in my head

14:50

and when I draw it out, I'm like,

14:53

it doesn't look at all like what

14:55

I picture. And I get really frustrated

14:57

with myself because I want it to

14:59

be exactly how I picture it or

15:01

exactly how I think it should be. That

15:04

is another thing that makes me feel

15:07

like you must be a great artist

15:09

is that you have a very clear

15:11

vision in your head of what you're

15:13

trying to do, even if you can't

15:15

do it yet. Part of growing up

15:17

is learning skills that will help you

15:19

bring that vision to life. Yeah.

15:22

I have one more question about the

15:24

flavor thief. Why did Bernard do this?

15:26

What was his motivation? In

15:29

my mind, it's that he

15:31

attempted to steal the flavors

15:33

in 1999, apparently. In my

15:35

mind, he

15:43

was like, why don't I

15:45

try again this year and get

15:47

my revenge for not stealing the

15:50

flavors? Well, they say that revenge

15:52

is a dish best served cold. Yeah.

15:58

Thank you for letting us perform. your story

16:00

on the show. Okay, goodbye,

16:02

Leila. Bye, Leila.

16:08

Excuse me, Mr. Arcade Cashier?

16:10

Please! Mr. Arcade Cashier is

16:12

my father! Call me

16:14

Doctor Arcade Cashier. You're a

16:16

doctor? No, I'm a cashier. We

16:18

don't have time to hear about your job. We

16:21

need tokens and we need them now. Of

16:23

course. Do you have any money?

16:26

Nope. Oh, wait. Can

16:28

we pay in shipcoin? I've never

16:30

heard of shipcoin, so probably not.

16:33

You've never heard of... Did you hear that? He

16:35

says he's never heard of shipcoin! I know

16:38

I'll regret asking, but what

16:41

is shipcoin? Shipcoin is

16:43

an unregulated, decentralized, and completely

16:45

non-secured form of currency that

16:47

exists entirely on this computer from

16:50

1993. Careful with

16:52

that thing, Lee. All

16:54

the shipcoin is in there. Sorry, it's really

16:56

heavy. I

16:59

highly doubt that'll be worth anything,

17:02

but I'll run the numbers. Yeah,

17:04

it's like I said. Shipcoin isn't

17:06

in the system. As

17:09

far as the Wall Street arcade is

17:12

concerned, it has absolutely zero value. That's

17:15

ridiculous! Who says you get to decide the value of shipcoin

17:17

anyway? Oh, I don't decide on the value of anything. That

17:22

is up to... The Hand of the Market. The

17:28

Hand of the Market? Everything

17:31

you see has an assigned

17:33

value. Your shoes? 16 tokens.

17:36

That guy's business suit? 5003 tokens. This

17:40

token? Slightly more than one

17:43

token. Every value is

17:45

determined by the hand of the

17:47

market. Every value? The

17:49

Hand doesn't even know about

17:52

shipcoin. Hey, yeah! All we

17:54

need to do is add shipcoin to the system. Out

17:56

of the way, cashier. We're plugging in our

17:59

computer. Hey, hey, hey! Don't

18:01

crawl over that counter! There,

18:04

it's plugged in. Lee, turn the

18:06

computer on. You got it! Huh,

18:10

the screen says, runshipcoin.exe.

18:15

Run it! Run it! Okay,

18:17

run! Oh!

18:21

What's wrong with you? Look

18:23

at him! Look what you've done! Lee,

18:26

you shouldn't have run that program. You told

18:28

me to run it! I'm trying! I'm trying!

18:31

Stop trying! Shipcoin

18:36

integration successful. Hey,

18:40

that voice said it was successful. Good

18:43

thing I came up with the idea to run the program. What

18:46

does the market think about shipcoin

18:48

now? Like it'll make

18:50

a difference. According to the hand,

18:52

the value of shipcoin is now...

18:56

Oh my. It's now what? Nothing!

18:59

Nothing. Hold on, let me just

19:01

make a quick call. Hello.

19:05

Yes. Shipcoin. You've

19:08

seen it? Understood. I'll

19:10

take care of it. Good

19:13

news! None of

19:15

you are in trouble for shutting down the

19:17

entire arcade with your old computer. Hah!

19:20

Jokes on you, we never would have accepted

19:22

responsibility for that. Of course not! Instead,

19:27

we'd like to offer you

19:29

each one hundred tokens in

19:31

exchange for your computer. A

19:34

hundred tokens? We all saw the

19:36

way you reacted to the new price of shipcoin. Yeah,

19:38

we're not falling for that. Now

19:41

that the hand has seen shipcoin's real potential,

19:43

everyone wants a piece of it. Oh,

19:46

fine. You introduced shipcoin into

19:48

the system and then disconnected it from

19:50

the network. The hand wants it back.

19:53

We are willing to give you whatever you want

19:55

in exchange for that computer. Whatever we want?

20:00

I think we have a few things

20:02

in mind. But we're not handing over

20:04

our ship coin until we've done everything.

20:07

Fine! I hate to ask

20:09

this, but... What do you

20:12

want? Hmmmm... Cheers,

20:16

dear, run us off! Step,

20:21

step, jump, tweak. Step,

20:23

step, hack, shrink. Step, step, double

20:25

jump, double jump, stay, stay, stay,

20:27

through the ocean. Step, step, keep.

20:31

Ski balls! Ski

20:34

balls! Ski

20:37

balls! Chicken time, baby!

20:39

Chicken time! Private

20:44

jet simulator! Hello,

20:47

thank you again for flying with us. How

20:49

may I help you? Yes, I'll take a

20:51

glass of sparkling kefir. I'll have a large

20:53

bowl of minisronk! And I'd like some more

20:55

of this with Scotties. Oh, but this time,

20:57

I want my name engraved on each one.

21:00

Yes, right away. Private jet! Private

21:02

jet! Private jet! Alright,

21:08

I think you've had quite a lot of

21:10

fun. Now about the

21:12

matter of handing over your computer.

21:14

Not so fast! There's one more

21:16

thing we want! The

21:18

novelty oversized sunglasses. They're

21:20

way too big for our faces, but

21:23

we want to wear them and we want to

21:25

wear them now! Of

21:27

course, I'll get those for

21:29

you right away. Hold on, I

21:31

need to get this. Yes? Oh,

21:35

yes, I think I can

21:37

do that. Sorry,

21:40

if you want your sunglasses, you'll

21:43

have to talk to the hand.

21:46

The hand of the market. We'll

21:49

be back after a few words for

21:51

the grownups. Hi,

21:54

my name's Zach. I'm 12 years old and I

21:56

host We The Children, the podcast where we're going to talk

21:58

about the future of the world. kids talk climate change.

22:02

Like a lot of kids my age, when I think

22:05

about the future, I can't help but wonder what kind

22:07

of world we'll be waiting for. Will

22:09

polar bears still roam the Arctic? Will

22:11

we still be able to see colorful coral reefs

22:13

or build snowmen in the winter? I'd

22:16

like to think so. That's why

22:18

I'm trying to learn as much as

22:21

I can about climate change science, stories,

22:23

and solutions from some of the world's

22:25

leading experts and share what I learned with

22:27

all of you. Together we

22:29

can decide what type of future we want for our

22:31

planet. Subscribe to We

22:33

the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

22:35

or wherever you get your podcast. And

22:38

visit us at wethechildrenpodcast.com. Remember,

22:41

we the children have the power

22:44

to make a difference. As

22:55

a podcast network, our first priority has

22:57

always been audio and the stories we're

22:59

able to share with you. But we

23:01

also sell merch, and organizing that was

23:03

made both possible and easy with

23:05

Shopify. Shopify

23:08

is the global commerce platform that helps you

23:10

sell and grow at every stage of your

23:12

business. From the launch your online shop stage

23:15

all the way to the did we just

23:17

hit a million orders stage? Whether

23:19

you're selling scented soap or offering

23:22

outdoor outfits, Shopify helps you sell

23:24

everywhere. They have an all-in-one e-commerce

23:26

platform and in-person POS system. So

23:28

wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's

23:31

got you covered. With

23:33

the internet's best converting checkout, 36%

23:35

better on average compared to other

23:37

leading commerce platforms, Shopify helps

23:39

you turn browsers into buyers.

23:42

Shopify has allowed us to share something tangible

23:44

with the podcast community we've built here, selling

23:46

Arbini's, sweatshirts, and mugs to fans of our

23:49

shows without taking up too much time from

23:51

all the other work we do to bring

23:53

you even more great content. And

23:55

it's not just us. Shopify powers 10% of

23:58

all e-commerce in the US. Shopify

24:01

is also the global force behind

24:03

all birds, Rothy's, and Brooklynin, and

24:05

millions of other entrepreneurs of every

24:07

size across 175 countries. Because

24:11

businesses that grow, grow with Shopify.

24:14

Sign up for a $1

24:16

per month trial period at

24:19

shopify.com/realm, all lowercase. Go

24:21

to shopify.com/R-E-A-L-M. Now to grow

24:24

your business, no matter what

24:26

stage you're in. shopify.com/realm.

25:03

Now back to the show. I

25:13

think this is it. I'll knock. Hello,

25:16

hand of the market. We're here to

25:18

see you. Come in. Welcome.

25:23

You're a giant

25:29

talking hand. How are you

25:31

floating in mid-air like that?

25:35

Always the same reaction. How are

25:37

you saying you don't have a

25:39

mouth? Enough. Yeah,

25:41

sorry about that. We've never talked

25:44

to a giant floating talking hand

25:46

before. Oh, and every time

25:48

you meet someone you've never talked to, do

25:50

you just scream all over the place? Well,

25:53

yeah. First thing you learn is a

25:55

story pirate. You three. You've

26:00

introduced a volatile new currency to

26:02

the market. Our ship coin? Your

26:05

ship coin. By keeping all of

26:07

it on a single computer from

26:09

1993, you've thrown the market out

26:11

of equilibrium. As the hand of

26:14

the market, it's my job to

26:16

get it back. Just

26:18

because you let us play all those games earlier

26:20

doesn't mean we have to give up our ship

26:22

coin. You were just trying to undersell us anyway,

26:24

so the deal's off. Yeah! Ship

26:27

coin belongs to us! We'll never hand

26:29

it over. We're prepared to

26:31

offer you three billion tokens.

26:34

Three billion?! Lee, hand

26:36

over the computer. He said billion! With

26:39

a B! No can do. Ship

26:41

coin isn't just a currency, it's a way

26:43

of life. You see, before this year, we

26:45

lived on a magical ship that I bought

26:48

on eBay. And the only way for us

26:50

to trade goods was by using ship coin.

26:52

It's a reminder of the bonds we've shared,

26:54

and the memories we- 3.5

26:56

billion, and I'll throw in those

26:59

big sunglasses you all want. Deal.

27:01

See you later, ship coin computer! Catch! Wait,

27:04

I'm not ready? Yes! Lee,

27:09

why'd you throw the computer? I said

27:11

catch. And it's a giant hand!

27:13

I didn't think a giant hand would drop it.

27:15

It's okay! At least we have our 3.5 billion

27:17

tokens. Actually,

27:20

destroying the entire supply of

27:22

ship coins stabilized the market.

27:24

And since we never formalized

27:27

any paperwork- You're not giving

27:29

us the token? I don't

27:31

think I'm going to. No.

27:34

And the sunglasses? Yeah,

27:36

that's kind of a top tier

27:39

prize, so I don't think we'll

27:41

be giving that away. So

27:45

we're leaving here without a deal? That's

27:48

just how it goes sometimes. Anyway,

27:51

I'm off to pick up my formal

27:53

glove from the dry cleaners. See

27:55

you later! of

28:00

ship coin as we could. At least we got

28:02

to play some games and win some tickets.

28:04

Hey! We did win some tickets! Do you

28:07

think we have enough to buy our novelty

28:09

oversized sunglasses? I checked. We can

28:11

only get kind of big sunglasses. Oh

28:14

man. It's okay. I think

28:16

we've all learned a valuable lesson about

28:18

storing all of our money in one

28:20

fragile device from the early 90s. Yeah.

28:23

Don't do that. And

28:25

on the bright side, my bones will

28:28

no longer hurt from always carrying an

28:30

entire computer wherever I go. Well that's

28:32

some good positive thinking. Who needs ship

28:35

coin anyway? You know what doesn't

28:37

cost any ship coins at all? Another

28:39

story? You got it! Hi

28:55

my name is Eden and I'm eight

28:57

years old. I live in Washington and

28:59

this is my story. Too

29:01

many buttons! Just

29:06

a little further, honey. Step out

29:09

onto the driveway. Can I open

29:11

my eyes? Okay. Open them up.

29:14

Wow! You got me a new car? No!

29:18

I got me a new car. Oh.

29:22

You know how you're always saying that I'm

29:24

late to everything? Well you were

29:26

an hour late to our wedding. There

29:28

was a butterfly, darling. I

29:31

had to chase it. But listen,

29:33

the salesman at the dealership said that

29:35

this is the perfect car for the

29:37

person who's always late. Take a look

29:39

inside. But Todd, inside

29:41

there's only buttons. Hundreds

29:43

and hundreds of buttons.

29:46

There's no steering wheel or gas

29:48

pedals or brakes? I'm gonna

29:50

have to say it, Todd. This is

29:52

too many buttons. Just enough buttons!

29:55

All I need to do is press

29:57

the right button and let the car...

29:59

I'll never be late again! Todd,

30:02

you're always late because you're too impulsive and never ask for help when

30:04

you need it. These

30:07

buttons aren't even labeled. Did you ask the

30:09

salesman what they did? He said I

30:11

could just trust the car. He also said

30:13

that only smart, handsome men buy cars like

30:15

this. He said what? Oh,

30:17

look at the time! I need to leave for work.

30:19

Can't be late. Okay,

30:22

be safe. I

30:25

don't need to be safe. I've got buttons. Wow,

30:31

this is amazing. Hello. Hello?

30:35

My name is Carly. I am the

30:37

user interface for your brand new car.

30:39

I'm happy to give you any help you

30:41

need and explain all the buttons. I'm sure

30:43

I can figure this out on my own.

30:45

If you just focused on it for a

30:47

few minutes... I was just gonna press a

30:49

button. You have

30:51

pressed the blast off feature. Blast

30:53

off? Initiating launch 3, 2, 1. Blast

30:57

off! Wow,

30:59

how do I stop this

31:01

thing? I'll press the next

31:03

one. Welcome

31:08

to the moon. This

31:10

is very far from where I work. Ah,

31:14

there's a moon person knocking on the window. Hi

31:17

in there. I'm Mary. I'm an astronaut and

31:19

I was late getting back to the shuttle,

31:21

but they just left without me.

31:24

Is there any way I could catch a ride with you

31:26

back to Earth? I'm late all the

31:28

time too because I'm always getting distracted. But

31:30

of course you can have a ride. I'm

31:33

sure one of these buttons opens the door.

31:35

Uh, button press. Ice

31:37

cream mode activated. Sorry,

31:40

Mary. That just dispensed some ice

31:42

cream. Mm. Mm. Oh, wow. That's

31:45

good. Um, still waiting

31:47

out here. I got

31:49

ice cream on my suit. Maybe

31:51

this is the napkin button. You

31:54

have pushed return to Earth, returning

31:57

to Earth now. The

32:01

door didn't open, so you got down without me.

32:03

I'm going all the way. I'm going all the

32:05

way. Calling Earth

32:07

Approaching in 3, 2, 1. Hey,

32:12

I'm back on Earth. But now we're in

32:14

the middle of the ocean. Incoming

32:17

phone call from boss. Uh-oh.

32:20

I'll just press what I assume is

32:22

the ignore call button. Tensor

32:25

phone button activated. Darn

32:27

it. Todd, it's your boss. You told

32:29

me you'd be in work early today.

32:31

Something about buttons. Well, work starts in

32:34

about three minutes, and you're still not

32:36

here. I did want to spoil my

32:38

big entrance. But don't worry.

32:40

I have a lot more buttons in my

32:42

car, and one of them will definitely get

32:44

me to work on time. Now

32:46

listen, Todd. I can't have someone working

32:48

at my watch factory be late

32:50

all the time. It's too ironic.

32:52

I'll be there soon. You're

32:55

breaking up. I gotta go. Bye.

32:58

This must be the hang up button. Video

33:01

phone activated. Oh,

33:04

uh, hi, boss. Todd,

33:06

I feel very strange that we're

33:08

looking at each other. Right. Hanging

33:11

up now, surely it's this button.

33:14

Romantic music activated. Todd,

33:19

I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I'm just going

33:21

to hang up on my end, and

33:23

don't be late or you're fired. I

33:27

gotta get to work on time. Now

33:30

let's see what button will. Oh,

33:33

that shit keep coming each way. Whoa.

33:37

Hey, brah. What is a car doing all

33:40

the way out here? I just had a

33:42

little problem with my car. Looks

33:45

like you got way too many buttons

33:47

in there, friendo. You know, I used

33:49

to be just like you, late to

33:52

everything, refused to ask for help, too

33:54

many buttons, disappointed wife. How

33:56

did you know I was in? That's why I sold

33:58

all my earthly possessions and bought them. this jet

34:00

ski. Now I'm never late.

34:02

What if where you're going

34:04

is landlocked? Never late. Look,

34:07

I just need to get to work,

34:09

but that is a cool jet ski.

34:11

I'll just roll down my window to

34:14

get a better look, pressing the window

34:16

button. Drill mode activated.

34:19

Drill mode? Diving to the ocean

34:21

floor to drill into the Earth's crust

34:23

in three, Wait, make sure you talk about this.

34:25

One. Oh,

34:27

you see it? Whoa!

34:33

Good thing we landed on this

34:35

lava rock. Hopefully there isn't a...

34:37

Aah! Lava monster! I

34:39

am Neil of the lava. You

34:41

have landed in my kingdom and

34:44

you shall never escape. Oh

34:46

no, I really messed up. I just wanted

34:48

to start being on time. But instead of

34:51

putting in the work and asking for help,

34:53

I decided to be impulsive and just

34:55

start hitting buttons. And now I'm trapped underground

34:57

with a... What was your

34:59

name? Neil of the lava.

35:02

Right. I just wanted to get to work on

35:04

time and impress my wife. Look,

35:07

I'm just a lava monster. I

35:09

don't really know how things work on the surface, but

35:12

have you tried asking the car? Neil

35:14

of the lava, you are wise

35:16

beyond your years. Carly,

35:18

is there a go to work

35:21

button? It's the big button in

35:23

the middle that's been blinking the whole time.

35:26

Wow. I was so distracted I didn't

35:28

even see that. Probably because there are...

35:30

Too many buttons? Ha ha ha ha

35:32

ha ha. I was going to say

35:34

that. Thanks Carly. Anyway,

35:37

I should probably press that button.

35:39

Try if you will. But unfortunately,

35:41

no one escapes Neil of the

35:43

lava. Button push. Hey!

35:46

No! Well,

35:50

he escaped Neil of the lava. Hope

35:52

no one saw that. It would ruin

35:54

my whole deal. And

35:57

it looks like Todd will be late to work and...

36:00

and fired in three... HUH?

36:04

I'm here! Todd!

36:06

You're here right on time! I think this

36:08

is the first time that's happened. And I'll

36:10

never be late again. From

36:12

now on, I'm gonna start asking for

36:15

help, and getting everywhere on time. Say

36:18

boss, you wanna check out my new car? Wow,

36:21

that's too many buttons. You want

36:23

some ice cream? Hahaha!

36:26

Always. Button push.

36:29

Spider mode activated. AHH!

36:32

I'm coming in, spider! Why is that a

36:34

button? AHH! Todd, help

36:36

me! Ooh, a

36:38

butterfly. Come back here!

36:41

The end! And

36:46

now it's time for Story Pirates Roll

36:48

Call. Tell us your story. Tell us your

36:50

story. We read

36:52

them all. We read them all. No

36:55

we love all. Our first

36:57

story comes from a 10-year-old from Massachusetts named

36:59

Emerson, and

37:02

Emerson's story is called, Australia.

37:06

Now this story is incredible. It

37:08

features a penguin getting a tour of

37:11

Australia from a kangaroo. Now there's a

37:13

lot of great Australia specific details in

37:15

this story, but I think

37:17

my favorite part is the introduction of

37:19

the penguin, whose character name is Random

37:21

Penguin. Random Penguin

37:23

enters and says, Hey bro, I'm just

37:25

a random penguin floating around in the

37:27

sky with a bunch of balloons. Now

37:30

that's an entrance. Awesome job

37:32

Emerson. Our next story comes

37:35

to us from an 8-year-old from Pennsylvania named

37:37

Kurt, and Kurt's story is called,

37:39

The Caguns. Now if you're thinking

37:41

to yourself, a Cagan, is that a

37:43

half dragon, half cat, who opens a

37:45

giant portal into the human world, only

37:49

to bring in 5,863 Caguns to each latch

37:51

onto a building in the city to

37:54

breathe on them, to turn them into rainbows? Well

37:56

if you thought that. Wow, that,

37:58

you're right, that is what it is.

38:00

the story is about. You have an

38:02

incredible imagination. Just like Kurt. Great job,

38:04

Kurt! Our final story comes

38:07

to us from a nine-year-old from Michigan

38:09

named Penelope, and it's called Puddle Pop.

38:11

Penelope's story is about a popsicle that

38:13

becomes a puddle pop. Now how does

38:15

a popsicle become a puddle pop? Well,

38:17

to find out, you'll have to peruse

38:19

Penelope's playfully penned parables about a popsicle

38:21

becoming a puddle pop. I promise you'll

38:23

be pleased. Peter was... To

38:27

read all of today's Roll Call stories,

38:29

just head to storypirates.com slash podcast. Now

38:40

it's time for you to write us a story.

38:42

And if you don't know where to start, here's

38:45

a story spark to help you along. This week

38:47

we asked Aiden, the author of Too Many Buttons,

38:49

the following question. If you could

38:51

have a button anywhere in your life and it could

38:53

do anything you wanted, what would the button be and

38:56

where would you put it? The button

38:58

would be the button that would make

39:00

my baby doll and her chair immediately

39:02

pop up right next to me. Her

39:04

name is Baby Sarah. My mom got

39:06

her for me so that I could

39:08

learn how to take care of a

39:10

baby right before my baby sister was

39:12

born. Maybe I can make a watch.

39:14

I could just click a side button

39:16

and the clock pops out like a

39:18

little pass and I can press the

39:20

button and just hit the watch. So

39:23

kids, what's your answer to that question?

39:25

And can you use your answer as

39:28

inspiration for a brand new story? Grownups,

39:30

head to storypirates.com/podcast to tell us your

39:32

kids answers to the question. And remember,

39:35

we respond to every single story we

39:37

receive. That's

39:42

it for today's episode. Thanks for listening

39:44

and a big thanks to today's authors,

39:46

Layla and Aiden. We'll be

39:48

back next week with another episode. Until

39:51

then, stay creative and stay kind. Bye.

39:54

The Story

39:58

Pirates podcast is a production of

40:00

Story Pirates Studios, executive produced by

40:03

Lee Overtree and Benjamin Salka. This

40:06

episode was produced by Sam Bear,

40:08

McKenna Cox, Minhsui Karami, Peter McNerney,

40:10

Andrew Miller, Joanna Simmons, and Lee

40:12

Overtree. Recording, sound design and mixing

40:14

by Sam Bear at the Relic

40:16

Room in New York City. Our

40:18

theme song was written by Bobby

40:20

Lord and produced by Sam Bear,

40:22

Bobby Lord, Jack Mitchell and Brendan

40:24

O'Grady. Roll call theme by

40:26

Andrew Barbado. Full scoring by

40:29

Jack Mitchell and Eric Erson. Our

40:31

head writer is Minhsui Karami. Contributing

40:34

writers are Rachel Durovsky, Peter

40:36

McNerney, Lee Overtree, Alexis Simpson,

40:38

and Sam Rogal. This

40:45

week's episode features performances by Sarah

40:48

Morgan-Ashley, Greg Barnett, Langston

40:51

Darby, Chris Berry, Lindsay

40:53

Ford, Woody Fu, Dahlia Glick,

40:56

Tara Halpern, Quinton Johnson,

40:58

Peter McNerney, Alexandra Nader,

41:00

Megan O'Neil, Lee Overtree,

41:02

Peter Russo, Julia Schroeder,

41:04

Joanna Simmons, Samantha Turris,

41:07

Jamie Watson, Addie Wymich,

41:09

everyone, family of runners, Brendan

41:12

Simmons. Table

41:27

for three? Yep,

41:29

table for three. I'll see what

41:31

we have available. I love

41:33

your sunglasses, by the way. They're so

41:35

big and fun. Big? Fun?

41:39

You mocking us, lady? Calling

41:41

our sunglasses big and fun?

41:44

Because if you'd seen the sunglasses

41:46

we've seen, believe me, you wouldn't

41:48

be smiling. We could have had it all.

41:51

Novelty oversized sunglasses, ten times

41:53

bigger than our heads. They

41:56

were just within our reach. And

41:59

that's what it is. It makes this all

42:01

the more tragic. Do

42:04

you understand what we're saying? Do

42:06

you? You don't look like you do. Um,

42:10

we have a booth open. How

42:12

does that sound? Oh,

42:15

a booth. That makes me feel like I'm eating

42:17

in a train.