Some Great Podcasts for Kids

File this under Non-Screen Entertainment Ideas

When we enforce screen breaks in my house, my tweens often turn to audio. We are in deep with Audible and Libby. (Libby is your virtual library card in case you’re not familiar—do not sleep on Libby!) But that said, even with these great options my kids tend to listen to the same 3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Audiobooks on repeat and it drives me crazy. Needless to say, I’m always searching for new audio options for my kids. 

I love podcasts and I love the idea of podcasts for kids but its been a struggle to find good ones. We got into the Radio Adventures of Dr Floyd a few years back but really hadn’t found anything we like since.

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

That is, until about a month ago when I found KidNuz. It's a daily current events podcast. It's less than 10 minutes long.  And there’s a quiz!  I loved it. In fact I loved it so much, I decided to track down their CEO and learn a little more about him and his company. The following is an excerpt from my interview with Jed Baker, CEO & Founder of Starglow Media.

Hi Jed! Thank you for being here! I’m excited to talk to you about your podcasts! Can you tell me and my readers a little about yourself and your company, Starglow? 

Absolutely! I was a longtime agent at United Talent Agency representing clients like Wondery, iHeart, and Audible. A few years back I realized that there was a giant gap in the marketplace when it came to quality audio content that kids and parents could listen to together. So, I left UTA and raised venture capital to start this network. We launched last July and we’re hoping to turn into the Pixar of audio. Right now we have millions of listens per month across our original and licensed podcasts and audiobooks.

So what is Starglow exactly? 

Starglow is a portfolio of high-quality podcasts that we’re either creating or putting our stamp of approval on. But really we think of ourselves as a media company for parents who are looking to reduce their children’s screen-time. Offering podcasts is one solution, but we also send a weekly newsletter every Sunday as well that comes with a lot of additional tools.

How can parents find Starglow podcasts?

You can find our shows by simply searching “Starglow” in Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find a list here, or you can subscribe to our Apple Channel to get ad-free access to the majority of our podcasts and access to classic audiobooks like Sherlock Holmes or Little Women.

What is Starglow best known for?

Our biggest show is Stories Podcast, which is a podcast for kids ages 4-8, where they simply hear great stories from our fantastic host Amanda Weldin each week. You mentioned KidNuz, but another one of our most listened to shows is Who Smarted?, which is for kids ages 6-10 and geared towards families interested in science and history. Each episode dives deep into one question like “can an octopus turn invisible?”And lastly, girls ages 5-10 love our show Girl Tales, which is another weekly story based podcast, but in this one the main character is always a strong female lead. They flip old tropes and fairytales on their heads so there are never any damsels in distress!

Why should parents check you out? 

We are well aware that kids are going to be on screens, it’s an inevitability. But we want to make sure that parents have an alternative when screentime gets to be too much. These podcasts are first and foremost entertaining and kids LOVE them. Most parents don’t think to put on a podcast for their kids, but the feedback from the ones who do is incredible. Aside from the numerous educational benefits or increased capacity for imagination, kids genuinely enjoy listening and don’t get overstimulated. Podcasts are also a great thing to pair with an activity like car rides, playtime, or bedtime.

You just had a big release – what can you tell my readers about it?

Yes! We’re so excited about this one. We just released our newest podcast Mysteries About True Histories (M.A.T.H.) in April. There’s a new episode every Thursday and it follows two kids, Max & Molly, as they balance school and their new roles in an underground society called the secret order of Problem Solvers. Each week they have to use their time-machine to travel to different times and places in history to help solve riddles and right the future. The show is infused with math based education, so while it’s first and foremost fun, kids are also reinforcing math concepts they’re learning in school.

What about parents? Are you planning any content for them?

We’re very excited to announce we have a new podcast coming out May 14th with renowned parenting expert and 3x NYT best-selling author Dr. Shefali. Each week she interviews parents and helps work through any issues they may be having. In addition to more podcast and audiobook content for parents that we’ll be releasing soon, we really encourage parents to check out our newsletter The Starglow Weekly, which is filled with trends, tips, and tricks on topics like decreasing screentime and fun craft ideas for Mother’s Day.

Anything else parents should know about Starglow?

We’re building a community and always looking for parents who share our goals and vision to get involved! If there’s anything you’d like to hear or see more of please let us know by emailing us at info@starglowmedia.com. We’re on a mission to help parents, so if there are problems we’re not thinking about that need to be solved, we want to know.

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