Hello there, listeners, it’s been a while! Funny how some time away can make you lose your mojo, so it takes a while to get back into the podcast production groove. Add to that a lousy cold (punishment for excellent overseas travel*) and a raised paver + hands in pockets equalling bruised ribs … definitely not a good idea to be podcasting while feeling sorry for self.

Well there are my excuses, and here is my apology, to anybody who missed the pod over the last few months. It’s great to be back, and I hope this one is worth the wait.

The paper is about gambling - specifically the connection between novel forms (like lootboxes) and the onset of problem gambling. It also looks at different kind of psychological conditions and how they might make some people vulnerable to developing a bad relationship with gambling. Nothing terribly surprising, as we so often find, but knowing the facts can confirm what we know about how to protect our children from risks: choose content carefully, give lots of emotional support, keep an eye on things, and keep the lines of communication open.

Outside the Screen Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support Children and Media Australia, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Glenn gives us a review of Arctic Justice, an animated adventure where the baddy is a climate vandal Walrus. Recommended for 7 and up, and don’t forget, any time you want you can use the CMA website to find a review of any G or PG movie released in cinemas in the last 23 years, plus quite a few M ones. You can also search by age to find something just right for your child.

Then I analyse a recent complaint report on an Australian ad for what they call an ‘occasional food’. What starts out as a complaint about bullying ends up as a finding about something quite different. You’ll hear my musings on the nature of the ad self-regulation system generally, as well as the particulars of the complaint, the advertiser’s response and the community panel’s findings. (By the way, as always, I don’t mention the name of the advertiser - see if you can guess! You can check by clicking on the link to the report, below.)

Well it’s nice to know I haven’t completely forgotten to do this! Let me know what you think, about the episode or anything else, here:

Show notes

Canadian/US paper: Jeremie Richard and Serena King, ‘Annual Research Review: Emergence of problem gambling from childhood to emerging adulthood: a systematic review ‘ (2023) 64(4) Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 645-88 doi:10.1111/jcpp.13713

Arctic Justice review: https://childrenandmedia.org.au/movie-reviews/movies/arctic-justice

Arctic Justice availability in Australia: https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/arctic-justice/

Zooming Out details: Complaint report https://adstandards.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0321-24.pdf; AANA Codes https://aana.com.au/self-regulation/

Find us on:

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Substack

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

OR search your favourite listening platform (let me know if it’s not there! – outsidethescreenpod[at]gmail.com)

Children and Media Australia (CMA)

You can find the Know Before You Go movie review service via this link.

Then, depending what you’re looking for, you can sort the list or search by title alphabetically, by age suitability, by classification or by date added. All of the reviews are prepared by people with training in child development, and they cover every G and PG title released in Australian cinemas since 2002, as well as selected M-rated movies and some pre-2002 ones that are available on streaming services.

Or at this link, you can access Know Before You Load – reviews of game style apps and apps that may appeal to young children. These cover some extra things that are relevant to games, like data collection and gambling-like content.

You might also like to sign up for our KBYG Weekly newsletter about the latest reviews, and join the CMA facebook community.

*Picture is of me at a wedding in Brittany. I know, I know.

Get full access to Outside the Screen Podcast at outsidethescreen.substack.com/subscribe