Need some fresh ideas for things to listen to with your kids?
Podcasts are great because you can listen whenever you want. Need something during the day? Before bed? During ‘quiet time’? While driving or riding the bus?
WXXI pulled together a list of kid-friendly podcasts that promote curiosity, tell stories, answer weird questions, and add some spark to your day:
CURIOSITY
- Work it Out Wombats Podcast, join your favorite Wombats on eight super fun podcast playdates! The Work It Out Wombats! Podcast invites YOU, the listener, to join Zadie, Zeke and Malik as they sail a pirate ship through the Crashing Cliffs, fly to the sky in a make-believe Cloud Ship, enjoy a spooky campout, and build a super-strong fort that NO wind can blow down. You won’t just be listening to the fun, you’ll be having fun – singing, dancing, jumping, clapping, making, and creating right alongside your favorite Wombats. The Work It Out Wombats! Podcast is produced for PBS KIDS by GBH Kids and Cultural Whisperers and distributed by PBS KIDS and PRX. It will be available to listen on pbskids.org/wombats or wherever you get your podcasts!
- Wow in the World – Hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz guide curious kids and their grown-ups on a journey into the wonders of the world around them. We’ll go inside our brains, out into space and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology.
- But Why — But Why is a show led by you, kids! You ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world.
- Brains On! – Brains On! is an award-winning audio show for kids and families. Each week, a different kid co-host joins Molly Bloom to find answers to fascinating questions about the world. Our mission is to encourage kids’ natural curiosity and wonder using science and history…but there’s no age limit on curiosity, and episodes of Brains On can be enjoyed by anyone.
- Kids Listen Activity Podcast – Kids Listen member podcasts will bring you a podcast and an activity based on the episode. Listen and learn about science, history, animals, music, and language, and then make that learning active with hands-on projects and activities.
- Smash Boom Best is a debate show for kids and families from the makers of the award-winning podcast, Brains On! Every episode takes two cool things, smashes them together and lets you decide which is best. Our debaters use facts and passion to make their case — teaching listeners how to defend their own opinions along the way.
- Forever Ago®, a history show for the whole family! Every episode looks into the surprising and fascinating history of things we think are ordinary, but they’re not — like ice cream flavors, video games, baths and more. We make learning about the past fun while teaching listeners to think critically about history. From Brains On.
- Moment of Um: Bite-sized answers to big questions! From Brains On
- Charm Words: Charm Words is a daily affirmations podcast for children of diverse backgrounds that will help to inspire and bring self-worth to the forefront of young minds at the start and end of their day. Help your kids deal with feelings of emotional distress while learning new self-care abilities. These simple Ph.D.-approved charming affirmations free kids from invasive troubling thoughts, build resilience to stressful situations and help them develop positive ways of coping. Also a perfect classroom meditation for students.
MATH & FINANCES
- Million Bazillion is a podcast from Marketplace that inspires families to talk about money. Hosts Ryan Perez and Bridget Bodnar take listeners on an awesome adventure to answer the awkward, complex and sometimes surprising money questions from real kids
MUSIC
- Jamming on the Job: A Podcast About Careers for 4-8 year olds
- Classics for Kids — Naomi Lewin brings classical music’s great composers to life through music and stories. Find Classics for Kids on the radio, listen to our podcast or listen to the programs online. Have fun online with classical music games.
- From the Top — NPR’s From the Top showcases the music, stories, and unique humor of America’s best young classical musicians.
- Hear Here! – Hear Here! is a music appreciation podcast for kids (K-5)! In this 5 episode season, we’ll explore different genres of music and the various ways music affects our lives. Hear the music and accomplishments of a boy born with autism, meet professional musicians from our region that started playing as kids, make music using found objects, and more on Hear Here! Each episode will be accompanied by classroom activities, discussion prompts, and additional resources for parents and teachers.
- Pinkalicious & Peterrific podcast: Sing along with Pinkalicious and her little brother Peter on the Pinkalicious & Peterrific podcast, a delightful musical companion to the hit series on PBS KIDS. Ten pink-credible episodes are hosted by the brother and sister duo as they sing their favorite songs from the “Pinkalicious & Peterrific” series. Each episode will take listeners on creative adventures, encouraging kids to dance, sing, make believe, and more.
SCIENCE
- Nature Guys –Nature Guys podcast connects you to the exciting natural world right in your own neighborhood. These nature connections will help you be cool, calm, collected and ready to make a positive difference in the world.
- Tumble Podcast –Tumble is a science podcast for kids, to be enjoyed by the entire family. We tell stories about science discoveries, with the help of scientists! Join Lindsay and Marshall as they ask questions, share mysteries, and share what science is all about.
- Radiolab for Kids — Radiolab, one of the most beloved podcasts in the world, reaches into its archives to create Radiolab for Kids. It’s a place where we’ve collected Radiolab’s most family-friendly content. (Because we all know that over the years, some of the content has been…er…NOT so family friendly!) From “What do dogs see when they look at the rainbow?” to “Do animals laugh?” the topics are squeaky clean (mostly) and all about curiosity. Radiolab for Kids is sure to delight and engage the most curious minds.
STORIES
- Odd Squad: Odd Squadcast! Spinning off from the “odd-ventures” of “Odd Squad” is the Odd Squad: Odd Squadcast! This seven-episode podcast follows The Big O as she hosts a weekly radio address for agents all over the world — and tries to stop an odd invasion on headquarters at the same time!
- Arthur Podcast Series: Arthur Read is back with The Arthur Podcast! Listen in as he shares his favorite adventures with DW, Buster and all their friends from around Elwood City. Each episode is an audio adaptation of a story from the classic television series with some new commentary from Arthur himself as well as some submissions from listeners everywhere!
- Circle Round — WBUR’s Circle Round is a podcast that adapts carefully-selected folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 4 to 10. Each 10- to 20-minute episode explores important issues like kindness, persistence and generosity. And each episode ends with an activity that inspires a deeper conversation between children and grown-ups.
- Molly of Denali Podcast –Meet Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl growing up with her parents, family and friends. Over eight episodes, Molly and her friend Tooey discover the identity of a mystery creature that has stolen Molly’s birthday cake. Join Molly and the gang and discover what life is like for a typical kid on big adventures in Alaska!
- Eleanor Amplified – Eleanor Amplified is an adventure series for the whole family. Listen together as our hero, the world-famous radio reporter Eleanor Amplified, foils devious plots and outwits crafty villains, all in pursuit of the big story… Like all the public media shows you love, Eleanor Amplified is entertaining and informative. Eleanor will spark laughter and conversation the whole family will enjoy, while preparing kids to appreciate journalism and make smart media choices in the future.
- The Creeping Hour — Beware, these scary stories will transform you! The Creeping Hour is a horror anthology series hosted by the Creeps, three friends who listened to so many scary stories that they turned into monsters themselves. Gather your whole family to shiver with fright as you listen to the terrifying tales of The Creeping Hour. Listen if you dare. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! It is appropriate for all ages and recommended for kids ages 8-12.
