This month podcasters are using the hashtag #trypod on Twitter to suggest a podcast for listeners. If you still haven't tried listening to podcasts, you're missing out on a wonderful world of audio content, and the hashtag is a great, albeit perhaps overwhelming, way to jump in.
If you're looking for a podcast for kids, you could of course look at my list of podcasts for kids but you could also look at the nebulously-ranked world of podcasts, this time for March 2017. (Here is January's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.) Popularity isn't always synonymous with quality, but you could do much worse than dipping into the shows ranked below to start out.
This month's list looks similar to previous months, although the rankings of these particular podcasts within the "kids and family" charts in the iTunes and Stitcher kids and family charts always fluctuate a bit. The total number of podcasts listed below is 30, down from the record high of 32 on the last chart and once again none of the iTunes Kids & Family podcasts hit the overall Top 200, but if you dip down into the Top 200 Kids & Family chart on iTunes, the total there (33) I think was a record.
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, March 16, 2017. 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 penalizes the brand-new Dream Big and relatively-new Disney Story Central podcasts neither of them chart on Stitcher while generally appearing in the Top 5 or 10 and iTunes. 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. (tie) Stories Podcast
1. (tie) Brains On
3. Storynory
4. Story Time
5. Tumble
6. Story Pirates
7. The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian
8. The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
9. The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified
10. The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
Others (listed alphabetically): Activated Stories, Bedtime History, Book Club for Kids, But Why, Children Stories and Joyful, The Children's Corner, Children's Fun Storytime, The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids Podcast, Disney Story Central, Dream Big, Ear Snacks, Family Folk Tales, Little Stories for Tiny People, Molly and the Sugar Monster, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Peace Out, Short and Curly, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home, That Story Show
