Balloons vs Candles

**SPEAKER_2** (0:02)
Lemonada.

**Molly Bloom** (0:06)
If you're looking for answers to all of your kids' questions about puberty, just find our new show, Brains On Universe presents, Puberty, the podcast. Designed for kids aged 7 to 12, the show answers their questions in a straightforward and digestible way.
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Brains On Universe Thinking critically is more important than ever. That's why we make Smash Boom Best. We want every kid to know how to spot a good argument and how to call out a logical fallacy. But none of it is possible without your support. Seriously, we could disappear if our listeners don't step up. But that part is easy. Just join Smarty Pass. You'll get access to ad-free versions of our shows, special online hangs with our crew, discounts on merch, and more. Plus, you'll feel great knowing you're helping us pay our debaters, sound designers, writers, and more.
Join now at smartypass.org. Thank you. Now, it's showtime.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:19)
From the brains behind Brains On, it's Smash Boom Best.

**Magda** (1:25)
The show for people with big opinions.

**Molly Bloom** (1:29)
Hi, I'm Molly Bloom, and this is Smash Boom Best. The show where we take two things, smash them together, and ask you to decide which one is best. Today, it's a celebration showdown. We've got two things popular at parties. One floats festively toward the sky. The other brightens up the darkness. It's Balloons vs Candles. Here to light the way for Team Candles is actor and improviser, Alsa Bruno.
And lifting spirits for Team Balloon, we've got podcast producer and improviser, Anna Weggel.

**Anna Weggel** (2:10)
Wow, this is so fun and I'm so glad to be here.

**Molly Bloom** (2:14)
And never late to the party, we've got Magda from Colorado here to be our judge. Magda was a judge last season where we learned she lives with lots and lots of bunnies. She sings in a choir, is writing in Alice in Wonderland's spin-off, and dreams of going to a Renaissance fair someday. Hi Magda.

**Magda** (2:31)
Hey, glad to be back.

**Molly Bloom** (2:33)
We're so happy you're here. So important question. We need a bunny update. What's going on with the bunnies?

**Magda** (2:39)
Okay. So my parents have built the bunnies, a little bunny barn outside of the house. So now they are no longer everywhere, but still definitely quite fluffy. And we currently have 12 of them, but we are expecting babies from one of them soon.

**Molly Bloom** (2:54)
Oh my goodness. Very exciting. Do you have a favorite or is it like impossible to choose?

**Magda** (3:01)
Well, actually, I recently have gotten a favorite. Her name is Strawberry. She's a little ginger rabbit. She's so cute and fluffy. And she likes me too. And she just looks at me and I look at her, we're like, hi friend.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:14)
And she's like, hello.

**Molly Bloom** (3:16)
I have an important question. Is her name Strawberry? Like that's like, that's how you're supposed to.

**Magda** (3:21)
Strawberry, I just pronounce it like a child. I see. I see.

**Molly Bloom** (3:25)
Because you just do things. She's so cute. And when you see cute things, you're for it. Yeah, I get it. I get it. I talk like that when I see cute things too. All right. So how is choir going?

**Magda** (3:35)
Oh, it is going incredible. We're doing our last concert. It's the spring concert. We're getting to do a Leve song.

**Molly Bloom** (3:42)
Oh yes. I love her.

**Magda** (3:43)
We're getting to do From the Start. And it's got a bunch of choreography and funny dance moves.

**Molly Bloom** (3:49)
Incredible. So you judged a little bit ago. What did you learn from judging last time, would you say?

**Magda** (3:56)
I learned that there's a lot of different ways you can tell the story of your side with a lot of different crazy side effects. And I love those crazy little tangential stories. And I also learned that apparently I can do cute singing things and they can be arranged at the end of the show.

**Molly Bloom** (4:17)
Yes, yes. You guys should go listen to Magda's last time. She wrote a little song for her advice for the debaters. I'm wondering, do you have any new advice this time?

**Magda** (4:27)
I think just like have fun, tell your story and make this a fun show.

**Molly Bloom** (4:35)
I think we can do that. Okay. So will Magda crown Candles the winner or will she say Balloons are best? Let's find out after we go over the rules. Every debate consists of four rounds, the Declaration of Greatness, the Micro Round, the Sneak Attack and the Final Six. After each round, our judge Magda will award points to the team that impresses her the most, but she'll keep her decisions top secret until the end of the debate. Listeners, we want you to judge too. Mark down your points as you listen. At the end of the show, head to our website, smashboom.org and vote for whichever team you think won.