The Best of Kids Podcasts from March 2017

I'm a big fan of podcasts, but I'm hardly the only one to note how difficult discovery is with podcasts.  Sure, I've got a comprehensive list of podcasts for kids, a regular review of the top-ranked kids podcasts, and participate in Kids Listen, a group created to support and advocate on behalf of kids podcasts, but with all that it can still be a little hard to jump in.

On top of all that, music has it pretty easy, comparatively speaking -- I can embed YouTube and Vimeo videos, or stream from Soundcloud or Bandcamp, not to mention make Spotify playlists.

So I'm starting something new I hope might change that just a little bit.  I'm going to start a monthly list of podcast episodes, and publish them via an app called RadioPublic.  It's an iOS and Android app that lets you download and listen to podcasts, but also features recommendations, both from RadioPublic employees and guest curators, but also listeners like you.  And me.  So download the app, search for "The Latest Podcasts for Kids and Families," and you'll be notified every time I update this list, which should be monthly.

As for the list itself, a few caveats -- first, while RadioPublic is open-source, and it's pretty easy for podcasts to make the list, if RadioPublic hasn't selected it, or a podcast producer hasn't submitted it, it can't be heard.  Most of the podcasts I would've recommended were there, but there were at least a couple I'd've been interested in featuring which weren't available via the app.  Second, I'm planning on limiting these lists to ten episodes, mostly because as a recommendation feature, I find long lists not optimally helpful.  Obviously, this means that I'm likely to omit some fun episodes each month (and also means I'm limiting myself to one episode per podcast).

My goal with this regularly updating list to get a broad range of types of shows and episodes featured over time.  If your favorite show is missing, let me know!  There's a good chance I'm already familiar with it and couldn't squeeze it in, but maybe you've got an entirely new podcast to share, and I'm all ears for those, too.

With all that said, let's get to the best of kids podcasts from March 2017!  (Use this link to listen from the RadioPublic website.)

(In no particular order)

"The Wind and the Sun" - Stories Podcast: I'm Team Sun, of course.

"49: Ronald Reagan and the Pineapple Paradise" - Story Pirates: Presidential Fan Fiction should be a holiday every year.

"#12 - BFG" - Buttons & Figs: All about the BFG!

"Marlow's Metamorphosis" - Storynory: Hearing the human Marlow act like a dog while Astropup gets to make human-like asides.  Win!

"S2E8: The Iceboy Cometh" - The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian: Back with the main storyline of the kids from the Explorer Troop.  Very strong LOTR vibe to this one...

"The ups and downs of elevators" - Brains On!: All about elevators, including the crazy one in the Brains On! offices.

"Part One: The Welcome Wall from the 'The Violet Crown (How to Be Super, Book 1)' Original Audio Story Series" - Sparkle Stories: The start of a new story series - an adventure set in modern-day Austin, Texas that sounds perfect for fans of Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

"The Case of the Whale Shark Party with Rafael de la Parra" - Tumble: I think they should name the whale shark Stefan.

"How Do Piano Keys Make Sound" - But Why: It's a But Why episode about music -- of course I'm going to include it!

"08.1 - On the Road - Part 1" - Shabam!: Mixes the overarching story -- kids on the run from a zombie-like outbreak -- with the history of transportation of all types.

Podcast Review: "Shabam!"

Shabam logo

There are lots of really good science-based podcasts for kids, and I'll get to them in the not-too-distant future as I start to review podcasts for kids, but I'll start off with Shabam! because who knows how long before the zombie outbreak takes over?

I should probably explain that Shabam!, produced by a collective known as Foolyboo, differs from a lot of science-themed podcasts in that it folds its non-fiction topics -- pathogens, epidemics, cognitive biases -- in a fictional wrapper, that of a zombie outbreak.  I think the mix serves the podcast well -- the fiction does provide sufficient context for the non-fiction components, while the non-fiction parts ground the fiction (which I'll remind you is about a zombie outbreak, so take the phrase "ground the fiction" with a grain of salt).  It's possible to tell interesting stories about, say, epidemiology, in a non-fiction setting, of course -- yay, John Snow! -- but this fictional story works well for that subject, too.

I'm going to peg the age-appropriateness of the show at best for kids 8-13.  That's based on the science and zombie-ishness thus far, which isn't for younger kids, but definitely lacks Walking Dead-like grossness.   The iTunes link for the show is here.  Episodes are roughly 25-30 minutes in length, and it's as yet unclear how frequently they'll be released -- I'm guessing monthly from here on out.  Aside from a brief statement near the beginning and the end of the show that it's partially sponsored by Google, there are no ads during the show.  (Also of note: they do a really good job of editing the closing credits, telling the story in between all the various credits, giving the listener a reason to not hit the fast-forward button.)

The other reason I wanted to lead off my podcast reviews with Shabam! is that in its narrative structure, it's going to be best if you listen from the beginning.  Since they're only 3 episodes in, now is a good time to jump in and listen with your kids.  You know, before the zombie outbreak hits your town.