‘Sesame Street’ launches podcast to help educate kids

NEW YORK — What has more letters than the alphabet? That’s easy: The post office.

That joke — sponsored by the letter A — is a highlight of the first original podcast from “Sesame Street,” featuring music, interactive games and Muppets galore.

“The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends” is an offering on Audible that gives some screen- free educational entertainment to kids who may be having spotty school lessons during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We think it’s so important to have this other medium besides screens for playful, fun, engaging episodes that are also curriculum driven and really address the important educational needs for young children,” said Jennifer Schiffman Sanders, the director of content, education and research for Sesame Workshop.

The podcast is led by 6-yearold, exuberant Foley, “the sound- maker monster.” She’s joined by her sidekick, Mikee the Microphone, a microphone with googly eyes. Together they tell jokes, sing songs and host familiar guests from the neighborhood, like Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster.

“Each podcast really focuses on school readiness skills,” said Schiffman Sanders. “It also addresses really critical social emotional skills like resilience and kindness, which is something we could all use a little more of these days.”

Each 15- minute episode will revolve around a different preschool-friendly topic, from vehicles and animals to birthdays and learning the alphabet. There are recurring moments, like “Elmo’s Joke of the Day,” songs and a game show.

“Today on the podcast we’re going to be talking all about the alphabet,” Foley says in the first episode. “I love those A, B, Cs,” replies Mikee.

The first guest is someone who especially likes the letter B — Big Bird. The letters A, B and C also join (“we don’t have room from D-Z,” they argue) For the A, we hear alligator sounds and for B there are balloon sounds.

The podcast kicked off last week and there are 15 episodes, released Tuesdays and Thursdays.