"It's the New Zoo Revue, comin' right at you!": A conversation with the hosts of the beloved 1970s kids' show.
Featured on the June 5th, 2025 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:
- In 1972, a nationally syndicated musical TV show for children called “The New Zoo Revue” began and aired for most of the decade. It was created by and starred a married couple named Doug and Emmy Jo, along with animal-costumed friends. The show taught lessons about dealing with emotions and getting along peacefully with others. The couple left “show business” a few years later to start their own family. But in 2023, their daughter started social media pages that have now re-connected Doug and Emmy Jo with thousands of their adoring “New Zoo Kids”, an entire generation of middle-aged folks who grew up with the show. That happily includes Mark McLemore, who finally got the chance to talk with two of his childhood heroes.
- Did William Shakespeare have anything to do with one of the most pernicious foreign-species bird invasions in world history? Tucsonan Mike Stark’s new book is “Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird”, documenting how this European bird has not just fully occupied North America, but every continent except Antarctica.
- And, in a world buzzing with notifications and endless scrolling, how often do we miss the beauty and connections that are just beyond our screens? This edition of “Stories That Soar!”, written by a 4th grade student, asks what might happen if we pause, look up, and truly notice the world around us.
- Aspiring student-age writers can submit their stories to The Magic Box Story Portal now!
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