Top Kids and Family Podcasts (December 2016)

It's time once more to take a look at the nebulously-ranked world of podcasts, this time for December.  (Here is October's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.  No, there was not a November list.)

There was definitely a little movement in the list this time around, with some new entries, although the rankings of these particular podcasts within the "kids and family" charts in the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are generally in the same range as last time.

As with last month, none of the podcasts ranked here ranked within the "all podcasts" chart on iTunes, and even the number of podcasts on one of the two lists dipped to 28, down from the all-time high of 29, though still up from 22 in June.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons has only marginal value as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Thursday, December 1, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)  In this particular month, the hybrid nature of the chart probably penalizes what may be the most popular podcast, the brand-new Disney Story Central podcast.  It's only available on iTunes, and can't chart on Stitcher.  So: grain of salt noted.

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.  We're looking for other interested folks -- producers or otherwise -- to join in!

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart.

1. Stories Podcast

2. Brains On

3. Storynory

4. The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian

5. Tumble

6. The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

7. Story Time

8. Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified

9. Story Pirates

10. Spare the Rock Spoil the Chld

11.  But Why?

12. The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

13. The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids Podcast

Others (listed alphabetically): 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales, Activated Stories, Book Club for Kids, Children Stories and Joyful, Children's Fun Storytime, Disney Story Central, Family Folk Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Podcast Kid, Shabam!, Short and Curly, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (October 2016)

If it's approaching the end of the month, that means it's time once more to take a look at the nebulously-ranked world of podcasts, this time for October.  (Here is September's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.)  For the most part, the order is the same, and the rankings of these particular podcasts within the "kids and family" charts in the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are generally in the same range as last month.

As with last month, none of the podcasts here ranked within the "all podcasts" chart on iTunes, but the number of podcasts on one of the two lists remains at 29, an all-time high, up from 22 in June.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons has only marginal value as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Monday, October 24, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.  We're looking for other interested folks -- producers or otherwise -- to join in!

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart.

1. (tie) Stories Podcast

1. (tie) Brains On

3. Storynory

4. Tumble

5. Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified

6. The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd 

7. Story Time

8. Story Pirates

9. Spare the Rock Spoil the Chld

Others (listed alphabetically): 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales, Activated Stories, Barefoot Books, But Why, Children Stories and Joyful, Children's Fun Storytime, The Cricket, Disney Music Block Party Podcast, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Kid Friday, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, My Baby Monsters, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Podcast Kid, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (September 2016)

Sliding in just under the wire, it's time for a September look at the nebulously-ranked world of podcasts.  This month's list differs slightly from last month's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.  For the most part, the order is the same, and the rankings of these particular podcasts within the "kids and family" charts in the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are generally in the same range as last month.

On the downside, none of the podcasts here ranked within the "all podcasts" chart, which is a change from past months, when they sometimes did.  But the number of podcasts on one of the two lists ticked up to 29, an all-time high, up from 22 in June.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons has only marginal value as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Wednesday, September 29, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.  We're looking for other interested folks -- producers or otherwise -- to join in!

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart.

1. Stories Podcast

2. Brains On

3. Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified

4. Storynory

5. Tumble

6. Story Time

7. (tie) The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids

7. (tie) Story Pirates

9. The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd 

Others (listed alphabetically): 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales, Activated Stories, Bedtime History, Book Club for Kids, But Why, Children Stories and Joyful, Children's Fun Storytime, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Grimms' Fairy Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Podcast Kid, Porters Podcast, The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous, Short & Curly, Spare the Rock Spoil the Child, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (August 2016)

Time once more to take a look at the nebulously-ranked world of podcasts.  This month's list differs slightly from last month's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.  For the most part, the order is the same, and the rankings of these particular podcasts within the "kids and family" charts in the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are generally in the same range as last month.  (So, too, is the general placement of the most highly-ranked podcasts here within the "all podcasts" chart.  What is a continued improvement is the number of podcasts on one of the two lists, 28 -- the same as last month, but still up from 22 in June.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons has only marginal value as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Wednesday, August 17, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)  I will also note that it's subject to considerable sway by a single high-profile article or event.  For example, after this Popsugar article on 15 podcasts for families came out after my research, the rankings of several podcasts that made the list jumped significantly so that 6 of the top 10 podcasts on iTunes were listed below (compared to 2-4 at other times) and OWTK's Kid's Music Monthly, which wasn't on the top 200, jumped to 27.

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.  We're looking for other interested folks -- producers or otherwise -- to join in!

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart.

1. Stories Podcast

2. Brains On

3. Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified

4. Storynory

5. Tumble

6. Story Pirates

7. Story Time

8. Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

Others (listed alphabetically): 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales, Activated Stories, Audio Books for Children, Barefoot Books, But Why, Children's Fun Storytime, Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Goop Tales; Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Podcast Kid, Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous, Short & Curly, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (July 2016)

It's been about a month since I last produced a list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts, so it's time once again to dive into the nebulous world of podcast rankings.

This month's list is virtually identical in both composition and ranking to the June chart, with one exception -- the inclusion of The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified.  The WHYY-supported podcast (read an interview with its creator John Sheehan here) has been ranked highly since its debut in late June, and after a plug on Fresh Air reached the Top 20 of all iTunes podcasts.  While its overall popularity on the nebulous iTunes chart has dipped (#140 as of this latest check), it's still doing well.  (But not quite as well on Stitcher, which explains why it's only #3 on my chart below.)

I also said last month that I wanted to check whether the rankings of the kids podcasts within the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are higher today than when I checked them last month.  The verdict?  Mixed -- some podcasts were higher, some were lower.  What is an improvement is the number of podcasts on one of the two lists, 28 versus 22.  In any case, I'll continue to monitor these figures as well.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons should not solely (or even primarily) be used as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.  We're looking for other interested folks -- producers or otherwise -- to join in!

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart.

1. (tie) Brains On

1. (tie) Stories Podcast

3. Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified

4. Storynory

5. Story Pirates

6. Tumble

7. Story Time

8. Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

Others (listed alphabetically): Activated Stories, Audio Books for Children, Barefoot Books, But Why, CBeebies Radio, Children's Fun Storytime, Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Podcast Kid, Porters Podcast, The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous, Spare the Rock Spoil the Child, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (June 2016)

It's been nearly six weeks since I last produced a list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts, so it's time to see what's up in the nebulous world of podcast rankings.

This month's list is nearly identical in both composition and ranking to the May chart, but I will say that my perception -- I don't have the raw data from May -- is that the rankings of the kids podcasts within the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts are higher today than when I checked them last month.  My perception could be wrong, or it could be purely a result of timing, but I'm retaining the data this go-round to see if something changes next month.

As always: this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reasons should not solely (or even primarily) be used as a measure of quality.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)

Two other reminders:

1.  If you're looking for a list that has most (or all) of these podcasts, check out my comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

2. If you're interested in the future of podcasts for kids, you might be interested in Kids Listen, a grassroots organization of podcasters and folks like me interested in helping high-quality audio for children thrive.

With that out of the way, let's get to the chart!

1.  Brains On

2. Stories Podcast

3. Storynory

4. Story Pirates

5. Tumble

6. Story Time

7. Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

8. Spare the Rock Spoil the Child

Others (listed alphabetically): Audio Books for Children, Barefoot Books, But Why, Classics for Kids, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Podcast Kid, Porters Podcast, The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show