It's been a month since the last time I looked at ranking podcasts for kids, and the increased visibility of such podcasts, if not increasing, has maintained its momentum. (For those of you interested, here is June's list of top-ranked kids and family podcasts.) If you're looking for a podcast for kids, you could of course look at my list of podcasts for kids (now above 100!), but if that's a bit overwhelming, try the podcasts listed below. Popularity isn't always synonymous with quality, but you could do much worse than dipping into the shows ranked below to start out.
In terms of big developments on the content side, I'm going to go with the debut of In Sight Junior, a kid-friendly spinoff of the popular In Sight podcast. For those of you wondering when the burgeoning true crime genre would come to kids podcasting, the answer is "July." (Note: it's not so much true crime as it is mysteries and legends. Really, I've listened -- totally fine for listeners age 8 or so on up.)
July's list is ever-so-slightly smaller than June's record-busting list -- there are 18 ranked shows below, as opposed to 19 in June. (That means 18 shows that appeared in the top 100 of both the iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts.) The total number of podcasts listed below is 35, tied with June. A total of 3 podcasts below hit the overall iTunes Top 200 (down from 4 in July), while in the Top 200 Kids & Family chart on iTunes, the total there (39) fell short of June by 3 shows. The Stitcher total of 27 is a new record, however.
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 United States iTunes and Stitcher "kids and family" charts on Thursday, July 27, 2017. Podcasts that appear on both charts are listed with numbers; remaining podcasts only appeared on one list. Of special note: Dream Big appeared on iTunes' overall Top 200, but not at all on Stitcher's family list, so for that podcast at least, this list certainly underplays its popularity.) Anyway: 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. Wow in the World
2. Stories Podcast
3. Brains On!
4. Storynory
5. (tie) The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
5. (tie) The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian
7. Story Pirates
8. Tumble
9. Story Time
10 . Eleanor Amplified
11. Peace Out
12. Ear Snacks
13. Little Stories for Tiny People
14. What If World
15. But Why?
16. Short and Curly
17. Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
18. The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids
Others (listed alphabetically): Activated Stories, Bedtime Stories, Biddy the Duck's Bedtime Stories, Book Club for Kids, Children's Fun Storytime Podcast, Circle Round, Disney Story Central, Dream Big, Family Folk Tales, Goop Tales Stories, In Sight Junior, Official Adventures in Odyssey, Road Trip Radio, The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, Saturday Morning Theatre, Sparkle Stories, The Story Home
