tonight on "nightline," spongebob under fire. could one of history's most popular cartoons actually be bad for your kids? we'll tell you why childld sigh cool gists in a new study say this could hurt young brains. timeless voice. never before heard tapes of

jacqueline kennedy, the private reflections and dramatic take on the greatest emergency of her husband's presidency. >> i just want to be with you and i want to die with you and the children do too. >> tonight hear her words for the first time. plus, miracle babies. bundles of cuddly joy may be the last hope for their species but they're not born by chance. we'll show you how science is lending nature a hand. good evening. i'm terry moran and we begin tonight with "spongebob squarepants." the wildly popular nickelodeon cartoon. why? well, it turns out a new study by child psychologists suggests the cheerful little sponge could threaten your child's development. the psychologists set out to

measure how the cartoon affects cognitive capability and impulse control of those who watch it. neal karlinsky tells us what it discovered and what nickelodeon has to say about it ♪ who lives in a pineapple under the sea spongebob squarepants ♪ >> reporter: until now everyone's favorite nonsensical sponge who lives under the sea has had only one main enemy, plankton, the little tiny guy with the deep voice and relentless spirits. >> the crusty crab is mine. >> reporter: today he has another nemesis. university of virginia psychologist angelyne lillard. she say it may be harming american preschoolers. after nine minutes kids couldn't concentrate, think clearly or learn as well. this is no ordinary show. spongebob is one of the most popular children's shows ever.

we went behind the scenes to meet the faces behind the fish. >> oh, somebody's tan. >> reporter: the new study . doesn't say there's anything wrong with the subject matter, a silly table sponge and his dopey friend patrick, squidward, mr. crabs but the scene changes every 11 steks and leaves them zoned out unable to concentrate. we watched spongebob with an expert in child behavior to see what he thought. what do you say to those parents who look at this study and say, come on, seriously, this is spongebob. >> i don't think that anybody, including the makers argue the show is educational. it's clearly meant for entertainment and i'll admit it's very entertainment. i've seen many an episode myself. kids that watch that versus the kids that watch something else are at risk for having short and

long-term performance deficits. >> come on! >> reporter: the study looked at 4-year-olds and compared them with kids watching a decidedly slower paced show, "caillou." >> i think we're all done shopping. >> reporter: the "caillou" kids weren't as easily distracted after the show but the spongebob team says this isn't a valid study because their show is meant for kids 6 and up. >> spongebob is not designed to educate preschoolers. it's designed to entertain. >> i will not let you down. >> reporter: and that's notot their only p pblem with it. >> there are not enough children included in the study. parents were asked to report on their own children and we work with parents every day and we see how much they love their kids. they're going to tell us their kids are great. >> reporter: spongebob isn't the first children's show to go under the microscope. years ago researchers said the road runner and coyote made kids

more violent. reverend jerry falwell called a teletubby named tsk ki winkie a gay role model. it isn't child's play and the people who bring spongebob to life are acutely aware of the critics. in script meetings potentially offensive words or themes are cut out. >> keep an eye out for how angry spongebob seems because one of the nice things about his role in this is that he's really trying to be polite and respectful. >> "spongebob squarepants." >> reporter: the humans who give voice to the eclectic gang of characters told us they've heard it ail before. what's the impression among those who haven't watched the show a lot that it's teaching the kids bad habits to call each other stupid orr dumb dumb or maybe hit somebody on the head. >> i think people are careful about television and super careful about introducing your kids to television because it can consume young people.

>> repororr: there are a few children's shows that go out of their way to engage kids like "sesame street" and "dora the explorer" which encourages kids to answer the q qstion but researchers don't take issue with those shows but for some they're not nearly as entertaining. >> those cartoons that are supposed to be good for your kids, boring! oh, yeah. they're a tough one, believe me. >> i don't think parents should be unduly alarmed. the effects were short-lived in all probability. >> reporter: the man behind the sponge says you might want to keep in mind it isn't intended to be educational and p pents respect supposed to just let young kids zone out all by themselves. >> i miss the days when parents didn't care that much. you know what i mean? wow, watchdog groups, i would have no popeye, no three stooges, no looney toons. you know, none of this stuff

that sort of informed my sensibility. >> reporter: i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline" in seattle. >> in defense of spongebob, thanks to neal for that. a glimpse at an incredible treasure trove, the voice of former first lady jacqueline kennedy suddenly comes to life again in never before heard tapes. even though i'm a great driver, and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. [sighs] amazing. it's like an extra bonus savings. [ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today.

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there are intimate glimpses into the life of a first family and the events that changed history. just four months after the assassination of president kennedy, his grieving widow, jacqueline, made tape-recordings of her most personal thoughts much the tapes were never released until now, and tomorrow night abc's diane sawyer will present a fascinating network special on all the material which will be published wednesday with a book "jacqueline kennedy: historic conversations on life with john f. kennedy." tonight, here's diane with the special preview. >> once i asked him, i think this is rather touching if he could have one wish, what would it be, you know, looking back on

his life, and he said i wish i had had -- i wish i had had more good times. >> reporter: it is stunning to hear again that singular breathy voice. >> and i thought that was such a touching thing to say because i always thought of him as an enormously glamorous figure that i married at 36. i thought he would have millions of gay trips to europe, girl, dances, everything and of course he had a lot of that but i suppose what he meant by that was that he had been paying so much and those awful years campaigning, living in a milk shake and a hot dog. >> reporter: she is a witness to history who will end up making history herself. >> when we got in the white house, i was so happy for jack because it madadhim so happy. it made me so happy. so those were our happiest years. he'd get up at quarter of 8:00, you know, reading 00 morning papers and i always thought it was so funny after people who

used his bathroom that men could use after dinner because all along his tub were all these little floating animals, ducks and pink pigs and things and you'd hear this roar of laugh, cartoons. he loved those children tumbling around him and this sort of sensual is the only way i can think of it. >> reporter: she takes us back to a moment in history when america was one chess move away from all-out nuclear war and she hears the tense debate at the white house through a door. >> and i went up and listened and eavesdropped. i could hear mcnamara saying something, and then i thought, well, i mustn't listen, and i went away. but from then on it seemed there was no waking or sleeping and i just don't know which day was which, and i never left the house or saw the children and when he came home, if it was for sleep or for nap, i would sleep

with him. i said, please don't send me away to camp david. please don't send me anywhere. anything happens, we're all going to stay stay right here with you. even if there's not room in the bomb shelter then i just want to be on the lawn when it happens. i just want to be with you, and i want to die with you and the children do too. we don't want to live without you. >> reporter: she is the woman who bore the weight of a nation's grief after the assassination of her husband. at o o point a 3-year-old john kennedy jr. is overheard wandering in and talking to the microphone held by historian arthur schlessinger. >> john, you went to the airport today. >> yeah. >> did you like it? >> yes. >> john, what happened to your father? >> well, he's gone to heaven. >> he's gone to heaven. >> yes.

>> do you remember him? >> yes. >> what do you remember? >> i don't -- i don't remember anything. >> reporter: she is there as a woman who looks back from history as a shy young girl to one of the most iconic figures on the global stage. >> just riveting material. for more tune in tomorrow night at 9:00, 8:00 central for the two-hour diane sawyer special, jacqueline kennedy in her own words. thanks to diane for that. just ahead, well, where do babies this cute come from? it's more than just the birds and the bees. [ man ] behind every business is a "what if." what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing,

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development represents a threat to a lot of animal life on this planet. on the other hand. big brains have enabled us to create technologies that we can use to extend and strengthen the lives of other species.

the question is, how much intervention is right? here's stephanie sy with some very cute critters and some very sympathetic humans. >> reporter: imagine australia without its koala and rock wallaby or china without its giant panda. the threats from man and other predators are keeping conservationists hard at work, mood enhancers and surrogate mom, not just for us humans anymore. the results, these miracle babies. giant pandas have only a 36-hour window every year to conceive. 36 hours when a female like this one is in the mood for love and just a pinpoint when she's ready takes reading subtle cues and extreme patience on the parar o zookeeper ken. >> if you miss that 36 hours, you wait another year. >> reporter: bayhon a indian

rhino has been pregnant for a very long 16 months. rhinos are relentlessly shot for sport and their numbers have dwindled so every baby rhino is precious. at every step of the breeding, birthing and newborn phase, reminders of how fragile life is. they really do need us now in some ways. >> well, i ithe vast majority of cases we caused the problem, so it's the least we can do and try to rectify those problems. >> reporter: these two baby koalas were found by the side of the road. their mothers likely hit by cars. >> their numbers are dropping at such a rapid rate if we don't do anything now it's all over which, you know, is tragic for such an amazing animal. >> reporter: at this facility in australia they're taking extraordinary measures to keep koala numbers strong. artificial insemination. but the procedure starts with this good-looking fella, the george clooney of koalas, sent

in to turn on the ladies. his charm works with one koala. jenna. she is now wiped for artificial insemination but by another male's semen. he is a better genetic match. sometimes dragging a species back from the edge of extinction takes extreme action. the brush-tailed rock wallaby is extremely rare which is why this perfectly healthy baby is taken from its mother's pouch. doing this allows the mother to produce another baby almost immediately. so what happens to the mommiless wallaby. a surrogate mother hundreds of miles away waiting. an incredible journey to save a rear species. back in china, lun lun has decided it's finally time, but her chosen mate is having a hard time performing. and she is not waiting around. with a 36-hour window closing

they prepare to artificially inseminate lun lun but plan b is far from failsafe and as fully massive as they are, there won't be a baby bubu. they'll have to wait another three to six months to see if lun lun gives birth. after 00 excruciating hours for rhino and zoo staff, bayhon gives one final enormous push. >> yay! >> she did it. >> reporter: it's a healthy son. a bit wobbly but one more rhino granting hope to a whole species. keeping a species like the giant panda from disappearing from the planet takes a huge investment of time and money. but it's paying off. ken watches, holding his breath. >> she goes through labor. she gets up, she gets dunn but she usually has this one bleat, a sound she makes that we recognize when she's getting close. >> reporter: a fragile baby