Kids Listen: A New Advocacy Organization for Kids' Podcasts

If you've read this site over the past two or three months, you'll note that I've devoted no small amount of attention to podcasts created specifically with kids in mind.  From charts to reviews to bemoaning the poor state of discovery for kids podcasts, I've written about this comparatively new art form.  I've even attempted to provide a relatively comprehensive list of podcasts for kids.

The thing that struck me most forcefully while I immersed myself more deeply in the field was its similarity to independent (especially non-folk) kids music of ten or maybe fifteen years ago -- it's populated by a small group of talented creators who may feel isolated, face challenges in getting their work out in front of the broader world, and deal with the attitude of "they make podcasts for kids?" on a daily basis.

So that's why I'm very glad to be part of the founding membership for Kids Listen, an advocacy organization for kids' podcasts, which launched this morning.  You can read the entire announcement, but the goal is to build community amongst producers, advocate for growth of medium itself, and help develop standards and ethics for an audience for whom those standards and ethics are particularly important.

On top of that, the list of founding members are a starter pack of kids podcasts worth your family's time.  They include popular podcasts Brains On, Ear Snacks, Tumble, Sparkle Stories, Book Club for Kids, Story Pirates, and The Show About Science.  And it includes me, who's spent much of the past fifteen years advocating for high-quality audio entertainment for kids and families.  (And who's also attempted a podcast or three in my time.)

You as a parent or interested family member probably won't be that interested in the formation of an industry group other than having a vague hope that it's successful in its goals and there are even more podcasts created specifically for kids and families.  But I do hope you'll be interested in taking a minute (literally, like, a minute) to fill out this survey on your family's podcasting habits.  It would be tremendously helpful in giving the group some idea of who's listening and how.

And if you're a musician -- don't worry, I'll continue to write reviews, post videos, and conduct interviews in the kids music field.  But I hope you'll think about whether podcasting might be yet another way to share your creative output with the world...

Podcast Review: Story Pirates Podcast

Story Pirates logo

Arrrrrrrrr, this review be easy to write.

OK, that's the one and only pirate joke I'll make in this review, else I'd be afeared that you, dear audience, would make me walk...

There is, truth be told, nothing outwardly piratical about the Story Pirates.  There is, however, something slightly subversive about the group, which turns stories written by kids into sketch comedies (often with a musical number thrown in).  They do this live and in schools (more commonly in the New York City and Los Angeles areas, but also nationally).  They also perform a weekly radio on SiriusXM's Kids Place Live, and that's where this podcast is drawn from.

The format is fairly simple -- the host reads the story as sent in by the child, the troupe performs the story, and then the host talks to the author.  The stories are what you'd expect from kids -- the ones from 5- and 6-year-olds are less fully-fleshed out than the ones from the 10- and 11-year-olds, but they all have an imaginative spark that let the comedian/actors go off in crazy directions.  The subversive nature of the show -- that kids' ideas are worth exploring and celebrating -- is carried through the entire performance.  I don't think the Pirates are changing a single word of the story sent in -- the dialogue is performed as written, even if it's not grammatically perfect.  It's the performances, though, that keep the show entertaining for the parents and kids who are listening.  The show could be very boring if it merely consisted of dry readings of brief, unedited stories from first graders, but there's a verve and zippiness to the affair.

The podcast is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 10.  The iTunes link for the show is here, although you can of course find it elsewhere (here's their hosted podcast page).  Episodes are generally 10-20 minutes in length, released a couple times per month.  Aside from asking for donations for their organization at the start and end of the show, the show is ad-free.

Story Pirates would be valuable just for its idea of treating the ideas and creative output of kids as worth exploring, but there's lots of valuable stuff that as exciting as a day-old loaf of bread.  This is way better than a day-old loaf of bread, with laughter and heart to spare.

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (May 2016 Chart)

Last month I debuted a chart of the top-ranked audio podcasts.  Nearly a month has passed since that effort, and I thought it was time to check in and see how much it had changed.

As it turns out, to some extent, yes, but not dramatically so.  Many of the kid-focused podcasts that were at the top of the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts in April are there still, but others dropped out of one or the other, while other podcasts found their way.

Before I provide the list, I should note again that this is a blunt instrument, combining pure rankings from two fairly opaque charts, and for a variety of reason should not solely be used as a measure of quality.  But I do think it's interesting to see which podcasts are breaking through in some way to more than a niche audience.  (Results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Thursday, April 12, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list.)

Also: pssst.

1.  Brains On
2. (tie) Stories Podcast
2. (tie) Storynory
4. Tumble
5. Story Pirates
6. Story Time
7. Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

Others (listed alphabetically): 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales, Activated Stories, Adventures in Odyssey, Barefoot Books, Book Club for Kids, But Why, The Children’s Corner, Classics for Kids, Family Folk Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, Podcast Kid, Spare the Rock Spoil the Child, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show

Podcast Review: Ear Snacks

Ear Snacks logo cover

Well, with this the plural in "Podcast Reviews Are Now a Thing Here" is in fact true.

The Los Angeles-based kindie duo Andrew and Polly first became known to the kids music world for their melodic and occasionally quirky music, but it's their podcast Ear Snacks that is, I think, their most forward-thinking creative effort for audiences of kids.

They call it a "radical new podcast for kids," and while I tend not to believe most descriptions that try to hype the individuality of the product, in this case I think the phrase fits.  Each episode is loosely structured around a single theme -- the most recent one, Episode 9, is "Rain," but they've also covered beeps, pairs, disguises, balls, and more.  The duo (married, with a kid of their own) tackle the topic by talking with one another, playing audio clips of kids talking about it, talking with adult experts, and playing music.  The adults they talk with are sometimes scientists, but sometimes they're just people with a hobbyist's interest (like Polly's father or a friend who just really digs seahorses).  The music, well, as you'd expect, it's really good.  (The song at the end of the "Rain" podcast is one of the best kids' songs you'll hear this year.)  And all of this is wrapped into a single, well-edited whole.

The podcast is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7.  The iTunes link for the show is here (you can find it elsewhere, of course, including at the podcast's main page above).  Episodes are roughly 15-20 minutes in length, and are released roughly monthly.  (Sometimes there are much shorter bonus episodes released in between the main releases.)  Aside from a suggestion of supporting the show, perhaps by buying a t-shirt, the show is ad-free.

I recently called Ear Snacks a half-absurdist podcast for kids, and I stand by that assessment.  Yes, it features kids, and curious ones at that, and that's nothing new, but its blend of music and its deemphasis on straight-forward storytelling is certainly unique for the emerging genre.  It's a hoot.

Top Kids and Family Podcasts (An Attempt to Chart)

I've written recently about how hard it is to discover good podcasts for kids and families, partially pinning the blame on iTunes, whose "Kids & Family" section approaches kids and families as not only the target audience but also the subject area, which leads to including a lot of parenting podcasts in the mix.  Stitcher is the same, though at least they're willing to retitle the category a little more accurately as "Parenting, Family, & Kids" (probably in that order).

As a result, I want to try to create a "kids and family"-only chart of top-rated (audio) podcasts.  Now, I've done the chart-viewing thing before for kids music myself, and frankly, doing it every week was not only taxing, it didn't produce much useful information.  Sort of like watching your 18-month-old: hard to notice change week to week, but easier to do so month to month.  I should also note that these charts, particularly the iTunes one, are pretty opaque, and it's not entirely clear what they're measuring.  It's sort of like trying to chart the growth of that 18-month-old by looking at their Duplo block constructions.  But it's better than nothing, and I'm hopeful that by combining (and equally weighting) the iTunes and Stitcher charts, I'll come up with something moderately useful.

(Other technical matters: results compiled from Top 100 podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts as noted above on Friday, April 15, 2016.  Podcasts that appear on both charts rank higher than podcasts appearing on only one chart.  Your mileage may vary.  Charts not valid in New Hampshire and the District of Columbia.  Take all of this with the large grain of salt it so richly deserves.)

Here goes...

1. Brains On

2. Storynory

3. (tie) Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

3. (tie) Stories Podcast

5. Story Pirates

6. Story Time

7. The Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast

8. Family Folk Tales

9. (tie) Sparkle Stories

9. (tie) Activated Stories

Others (alphabetical): 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales, Barefoot Books Podcast, Biddy the Duck's Bedtime Stories, The Children's Corner, Classics For Kids, The Cramazingly Indcredifun Sugarcrash Kids Podcast, Gather 'Round Kids, Little Stories for Tiny People, The Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl, Spare the Rock Spoil the Child, The Story Home, That Story Show

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.