We are growing! New podcasts on new topics with new hosts. And each new show is being developed with you in mind! Your interests. Your questions. Your ideas. Your experiences. All of it. Listen along to find out how your voice can be featured on an upcoming show!
We are growing!
Listeners can submit audio clips to each of our 3 shows:
A Kids Book About: The Podcast is a kids podcast about the things that matter, like Racism, Body Image, and Belonging. We ask our listeners three questions about our topics: What is it? How does it make you feel? And do you have a question about it?
A Kids Podcast About Facts. Each week, listeners accompany a journalist on a fact-checking investigation with experts and enthusiasts. We think it will be an awesome way for listeners to build information literacy skills and learn a thing or two about how to sniff out the truth along the way!
A Kids Podcast About Emotions. Each episode starts with a memory shared by a listener and follows an exploration of why we feel the things we feel.
*Have a grownup email us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com and we’ll send you the details.
A Kids Book About: The Podcast
S1 E08, Call For Submissions
[INTRODUCTION]
Matthew: Hey there, listeners. Matthew here with something a little bit different this week.
If you’ve been tuning into A Kids Book About: The Podcast for the past few weeks you know we love to feature the voices of our listeners on our episodes.
Today I want to personally invite each of you to do exactly that!
This podcast is currently being listened to by kids in over 30 different countries, including Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, and here in the United States where I’m recording this very minute. But we’ve also got listeners in New Zealand, Spain, India, Japan, Colombia, South Africa, and many, many other locations around the globe.
Kai: Hi. My name is Kai. I am 8 years old. And I live in Montreal.
Mila: Hi. My name is Mila. I’m 6 and a half years old and I live in Tennessee.
Titus and Adult: My name is Titus Maddox. I am 9. I live in [laughs] I don’t know.
Portland?
Portland.
Matthew: We are always looking for opportunities to center our listeners in our episodes, but today I want to let you in on a little secret:
We. Are. GROWING!
We are in the process of making new podcasts on new topics with new hosts. And each new show is being developed with you in mind! Your interests. Your questions. Your ideas. Your experiences. All of it.
We’re working on shows that matter because we’re working on them for people that matter. A whole lot! (that’s you, by the way)
So, let me tell you about each of the shows that are looking for audio recordings from listeners and what kind of recordings each show is looking for. You can submit your recordings to any or all of the shows. No limit. I promise. Because I personally will be listening to every single one.
[HOW TO RECORD YOUR AUDIO CLIP]
But first? Let’s talk about recording.
Ella and Adult: Okay?
Okay. So...
This is creeping me out. I can even hear my thoughts in this. Cause it feels like my thoughts are in here.
So I need you to stay still and stay next to the mic and just talk into the mic?
Mmkay.
Matthew: You can use whatever works best to record yourself. Most often grownups record using their smartphone and then just email it to me at listen@akidspodcastabout.com. That’s pretty easy because you just need to hit a button to record and press it again to stop.
We’ve also had kids record on their tablets or computers.
As long as a grownup knows what you’re recording and gives permission for you to send it to us, it doesn’t matter how you record.
It also doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. I literally [intentionally mispronounce and restart] make them all the time.
See what I did there? No worries.
We have a sound team that works to make sure everyone sounds their absolute best and that the message you’re trying to share gets heard loud and clear.
You can have your grown-up say the questions on recording. You can write down what you want to say first. Or you can just speak from your brain.
Julia and Adult: Do you have any questions about emotions?
Um, yeah.
What’s your question?
Um.
Like “Why do I feel sad?” or “What makes me happy?”
What makes me happy.
What makes you happy?
Playing with my dad!
Awww. You’re so sweet! That’s it!
Matthew: Whatever works best for you is the best way.
[CLIPS FOR A KIDS BOOK ABOUT: THE PODCAST]
Okay! Let’s get to our shows, starting with this one!
A Kids Book About: The Podcast is a kids podcast about the things that matter, like Racism, Body Image, and Belonging. We ask our listeners three questions about our topics: What is it? How does it make you feel? And do you have a question about it?
The “What is it?” might sound something like this:
Titus: Racism is somebody judging other people by their color or, um, they can just be rude in general.
Matthew: Or this…
Alora: Feminism is treating women and men the same way.
Matthew: But it can also sound like this...
Trent: I do not know.
It’s okay that you do not know.
Matthew: I pick a question to share with our A Kids Book About author when I interview them, so you’ll want to make sure your grown up emails listen@akidspodcastabout.com so that I can share what topics are in the works.
This is my favorite part of the whole show because I love the questions you send in! So make sure your grownup asks about what topics we’re focusing on next.
Here are some questions we’ve received.
Titus: How did racism start?
Sydney: How long will it take for everyone to get the vaccine?
Kai: If you’ve had anxiety, how does anxiety make you feel?
Matthew: When we return from break I’ll let you know about two brand new podcasts we’ve got in the works, along with how you can get involved. Stick around.
[BREAK]
Matthew: Welcome back to A Kids Book About: The Podcast. Today I’m giving you a peek into what new podcasts we have in the works and letting you know how you can get your voice, thoughts, ideas, and experiences featured on an upcoming show.
[CLIPS FOR A KIDS PODCAST ABOUT FACTS]
The next show we’ve got in the works is a kids podcast about facts. Each week, listeners accompany a journalist on a fact-checking investigation with experts and enthusiasts. We think it will be an awesome way for listeners to build information literacy skills and learn a thing or two about how to sniff out the truth along the way!
Here are two of the facts we’ve already received:
Brooklyn: Hi, my name is Brooklyn and I’m 4 years old. I live in Chicago, Illinois. Did you know that Kenya is located in east Africa? I learned that in school!
Jonah: Hello. My name is Jonah. I am 10 years old and I live in Maryland. Did you know that the rarest skin in Fortnite is called “Renegade Raider”. And I know that because it has not come out in 4 years.
Matthew: Tell us a fact that other kids and grownups might know about animals, sports, dinosaurs, space, history, art & music, YouTube, or really any bit of cool information you’ve learned.
Our host will select a fact each week and go on a truth-finding mission to figure out how we know the things we know and how we can determine if facts are true, false, or changing.
I absolutely cannot wait to hear what you’ll share. Did you know that wombat poop is cube-shaped? Did you know that coconut water turns pink when left out for a time? Did you know that Serena Williams is the greatest tennis player of all time? Is that true? Let’s find out together!
Just like our other show, listener audio clips can be emailed to me at listen@akidspodcastabout.com. I can’t wait to hear what knowledge you’ll share with all of us!
[CLIPS FOR A KIDS PODCAST ABOUT EMOTIONS]
Matthew: And the last show I want to share with you today is one that I think is really, really special. It’s a kids podcast about emotions and each episode starts with a memory shared by a listener and follows an exploration of why we feel the things we feel.
The hosts include a child psychologist as well as an author who knows a thing or two about emotions.
Think about a recent time or experience where you felt happy, sad, angry, excited, scared, overwhelmed, guilty, proud, disappointed, or lonely. Then hit “record” and tell us all about it.
Ella: I feel very proud that I have a baby sister because, like, she's gonna grow up to be an amazing little baby young woman, even though she's not gonna be a little baby anymore, she's just going to be a young woman. But yeah. And I'm just always excited and sometimes I'm overwhelmed because I have to like sometimes stop my school to help, or like, just stop in the middle of what I'm doing.
It's kind of stressful, but it's okay.
Matthew: Emotions can be messy, confusing, overlapping. And they can change a lot and over time.
We want to hear about the things you're feeling or experiencing, including what happened, whether or not it resolved, and if it’s something that changed you or something you’re still thinking about.
Grace: Well, when I show up to youth group, I see all of my friends and that's when I'm like, this is, this is my place. I feel good. I feel calm. I want to laugh and hang out with my friends, have fun, talk to people. But I think it's beforehand, I'm thinking... overthinking everything. Like maybe I'm going to say the wrong thing, or someone's gonna look at me and be like, Ooh, I don't want to talk to her and I think that's when I get most anxious, but when I show up, I feel pretty good.
Matthew: No topic is off the table. No emotion is off topic. Sit down with a grownup and talk through something that happened. Ask them what emotions they were feeling if they were there, too. But most importantly, this is your space. You are the expert on your feelings and we want to make a show that celebrates that.
Again, have a grown-up email listen@akidspodcastabout.com to get all of the details.
And that’s it! Our team of podcast hosts and producers cannot wait to hear from you!
[CLOSING]
Matthew: Thank you to all of the voices you heard throughout the episode, including Kai, Mila, Titus, Julia, Alora, Trent, Sydney, Brooklyn, Jonah, Ella, and Grace.
If you want to be on a future episode of A Kids Book About: The Podcast or any of our shows, have a grownup email us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com and we’ll send you the details.
A Kids Book About: the Podcast is written, edited, and produced by me, Matthew Winner, with help from Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever podcasts are found, and if you liked this episode, consider sharing it with a friend, teacher, or grownup. We love when you rate and review the show. We also love hearing from you!
Join us next week for a conversation about Mindfulness with A Kids Book About author Caverly Morgan.