P is for pods for your whole family
I’m all set up to work from home, but not quite prepared for having the TV or devices on all the time, so familyfriendly podcasts it is.
Here are some of the best ones for you and the people in your lockdown bubble to listen to.
Storytime isn’t just about reading books thanks to the recently released The Story Seeds.
It matches children aged 6 to 12 with a celebrated author, and together they work on a story idea to create and finish an original short story by the end of each episode.
It’s simple but magical as young and old brains collaborate. The end results are some really neat stories.
Hosted by author and librarian Betsy Bird, the featured authors include Jason Reynolds, this year’s American National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and Tracey Baptiste, the best-selling author of Minecraft: The Crash.
Author and supreme storyteller David Walliams is releasing a daily audio story online for the next month, to help keep kids entertained.
It’s called Elevenses and it’s a half hour of Walliams reading extracts from his popular kids’ books.
The session is designed to give parents a half-hour rest, or a feet-up-cup-of -tea moment. It’s not technically a podcast but is available on Walliams’ website so kids can listen on a phone or tablet.
If you want to keep up with the latest scientific discoveries in a family-friendly way, then give Wow in the World a listen. It’s created by America’s NPR and presented by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas.
Topics include the sticky science behind bumblebee vomit, a new outer-space supernova that might explode, and the strangest homes and habitats in the animal kingdom.
To keep things light, try The Thrilling Adventure Hour. It’s part stage production, part podcast, and stars actors and comedians, including Busy Phillips and Jon Hamm.
Last up is kids’ favourite Sesame Street. These pods are short and sweet, and deliver the same lessons of friendship, adventure, patience, and caring as the TV series. These are perfect to listen to snuggled up in bed, or great for a distraction for our littlest quarantine inmate, brought to you by the letter ‘‘P’’ for Pandemic.