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.
