MS - ZIS Middle School Library Resources: Podcasts

Host Kelly McEvers takes a story from the news and goes deep. Whether that means digging into the Trump administration's past, the stories behind police shootings caught on video, or visiting a town ravaged by the opioid epidemic, Embedded takes you where the news is happening.

Wow in the World is a podcast and a new way to connect, look up and discover the wonders in the world around them. Through a combination of careful scientific research and fun, we'll go inside our brains, out into space, and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology.

Buckle up! Your car is headed for... adventure! Eleanor Amplified is a radio adventure series for the whole family. Listen together as world-famous radio reporter Eleanor foils devious plots, outwits crafty villains, and goes after The Big Story. Eleanor's pursuit of truth takes her into orbit, out to sea, through a scary jungle and even to the halls of Congress!

This weekly podcast from NPR covers the latest and greatest in new music with a particular focus on emerging artists and indie musicians. It covers a wide range of genres and even includes artist interviews and live performances. Some songs contain adult themes and explicit language, but teens will love discovering a new favorite that you've probably never heard of. Best for: Teens

This popular NPR radio show is now also the most downloaded podcast in the US. It combines personal stories, journalism, and even stand-up comedy for an enthralling hour of content. Keep in mind that many episodes have mature concepts and frequent swearing. Best for: Teens Common Sense suggests12+

This Peabody Award-winning scripted mystery series has been called a Stranger Things for tweens. With a voice cast of actual middle schoolers, a gripping, suspenseful plot, and interactive tie-ins, this story about an 11-year-old searching for his missing friends will keep tweens hooked to the speakers for hours -- more than five, to be exact.

Structured like a community radio show for the fictional desert town of Night Vale, the mysterious is ordinary and vice versa in this delightfully eerie series. Both the clever concept and the smooth voice of narrator Cecil Baldwin have helped the show develop a cult-like following. It's a bit creepy and dark for kids, but older listeners will find it perfect for a nighttime drive along a deserted highway. Best for: Teens

From the people behind the award-winning website HowStuffWorks, this frequently updated podcast explains the ins and outs of everyday things from the major ("How Free Speech Works") to the mundane ("How Itching Works"). Longer episodes and occasional adult topics such as alcohol, war, and politics make this a better choice for older listeners, but hosts Josh and Chuck keep things engaging and manage to make even complex topics relatable. And with nearly 1,000 episodes in its archive, you might never run out of new things to learn. Best for: Teens

This weekly podcast from NPR covers the latest and greatest in new music with a particular focus on emerging artists and indie musicians. It covers a wide range of genres and even includes artist interviews and live performances. Some songs contain adult themes and explicit language, but teens will love discovering a new favorite that you've probably never heard of. Best for: Teens

Roman Mars’s smart, insightful episodes focus on the many ways that design impacts our lives. The title comes from the idea that good design should be mostly unnoticed. We all benefit from good design from our cell phones’ rings to stackable chairs, but we rarely think too hard about the who, the why, or the how of those particular designs. Each episode tackles the history, usage, and innovation of a design, from flags to fonts. Why did the hashtag become the character we now use in social media (and just what did we use it for before, anyway)? Did the inventor of revolving doors really hate people? How terrible is your state flag? For more like this, try Design Matters
Teen-friendly episodes: #8: “Free Parking,” #43: “The Accidental Music of Imperfect Escalators,” #44: “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth,” #93: “Revolving Doors,” #140: “Vexillonaire,” or #145: “Octothorpe.”

Are you a word nerd? Helen Zaltzman’s irreverent, sharp-witted podcast investigates the weird and wonderful history of language. Each episodes opens with the etymology of a familiar word or phrase, but the meat of each 15-minute episode digs into a particular aspect of language. Why are puns difficult to pull off and groan-worthy? How are crossword puzzles created? What on earth is a mountweazel? For more like this, try History of English.
Teen-friendly episodes: #1: “Ban the Pun,” #3: “Going Viral,” #7: “Mountweazel,” #10: “Election Lexicon,” or #13: “Mixed Emojions”

The Memory Palace shines because of Nate Dimeo’s carefully written, periodically heartrending tales of overlooked moments and people in history. I have used this podcast during school visits to show off just how much you can learn, for example, in the six-minute story of the first elephant to arrive in the United States (# 32: “Gigantic”). Dimeo is most interested in the human stories behind the dates and places students are required to memorize. For years, Memory Palace episodes arrived irregularly, but now the show is a part of the growing Radiotopia network and has a steady release schedule. For more like this, try Radio Diaries.
Teen-friendly episodes: #25: “I Have Not Yet Begun to Rot,” #32: “Gigantic,” #42: “What They Saw,” #45: “Heard, Once,” #60: “400,000 Stars,” or #72: “The Run of the River.”

It’s a good bet that anyone willing to listen to stories is also a fan of music. Pitch explores how and why sound works on our ears and our hearts. It features episodes that look at how careful pauses and silence are built in to songs, as well as how one change to CD packaging revolutionized the music industry. For more like this, try Everything Sounds, or to dig into how individual songs are created in Song Exploder.
Teen-friendly episodes: #1: “The Clearmountain Pause,” #3: “Rock the Longbox,” #6: “Karaoke,” #9: “Somewhere in My Memory,” or #11: “Paintings to Sing”

Whether they are science geeks or not, curious teens will appreciate Radiolab‘s determination to unpack science in all of its uncertainties. As noted above, the show has done everything from investigating why humans laugh (and whether we’re the only mammals that do) to just what makes space worth exploring. The two hosts, Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, approach these questions from opposite sensibilities but when they disagree it’s with respect and a healthy sense of humor. For more like this, try Science Friday or Invisibilia.
Teen-friendly episodes: #2.2: “Musical Language,” #2.5: “Space,” #4.1: “Laughter,” #10.1: “Colors,” #10.5: “The Bad Show”

PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman host a weekly look at life on the Internet. As with all the best Internet searches, their investigations often lead them down rabbit holes to people and discussions they could never have anticipated when they first began searching a particular issue. The process and their serendipitous discoveries are related with humor and insight. Whatever happened to the first webcam star? How does an investigation of the Girl Scouts cookie empire lead to an internment camp during World War II? For more like this, try Hello Internet.
Teen-friendly episodes: #6: “This Proves Everything,” #9: “The Writing on the Wall,” #18: “Silence and Respect,” #23-24: “Exit & Return Part I and II,” and #28: “Shipped to Timbuktu”

Perhaps the most famous podcast of the last year, the first season of NPR’s Serial explores one criminal case over 12 episodes. Host Sarah Koenig retraces the investigation of the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee to discover if there is room for doubt in the conviction of Lee’s classmate (and ex-boyfriend) Adnan Syed for the crime. This is investigative journalism at its best from reporters who know how to tell a story and keep listeners coming back for more. This is a perfect introduction to the format, giving listeners a definite beginning, middle, and end to an episodic narrative. A resolution to the crime is not guaranteed, but energetic discussion definitely is. For more like this, try its parent podcast, This American Life, or for more true crime, Criminal.

Two journalists and history enthusiasts romp through the past and pull out all of the best bits—all true but it’s the stuff that’s usually left out of textbooks. Topics range from the doomed attempt to introduce hippos as a new source of protein in America in the early 1900s to overviews of the history of peanut butter or time capsules. For more like this, try Backstory or, for much longer but no less interesting histories, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History.
Teen-friendly episodes: “The Freedom Riders,” “The Long Winter,” “13 Reasons for the American Revolution”

Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.

Listening comprehension advances literacy and learning for all students

This site includes everyday conversations by theme or topic with exercises.

podcasts use a core vocabulary and simple sentences to help you improve your English while you listen to short features on American life, world news, and developments in science.

A collection of podcasts on a variety of topics, including grammar and conversation. Transcripts of the podcasts are available so students can follow along.

"The weekly kids radio show, direct on your phone, computer and tablet! Join Sean and Robot as they introduce loads of interesting and fun things to keep you entertained, including celebrity interviews, amazing stories and hilarious comedy bites!"

"Hear the Fun Kids presenters speak to the biggest pop stars, authors and film stars."

"13 year old Gil talks to adults with cool jobs and shares things that he likes with you!"

"'The Pea Green Boat' provides a unique and nurturing place to hear stories from children about how it feels to be excluded, mocked, and bullied because you’re different, in color or ability – or how it feels to be accepted despite those differences."

"The Junior Money Makers Podcast is all about helping kids ages 8-18 learn how to make money by following their passions and using skills that they already have!

"An imaginary NPR style rock and roll space comedy broadcast twice monthly from a red and white rocket hurtling through the Galaxy featuring friendly monsters, imaginary sports, interviews, and more. It's an ongoing radio show but you can jump in at any time."

das sind Radiogeschichten für kleine Leute. Von Autoren original für die Sendereihe geschrieben und von bekannten Schauspielern gelesen." [or, "These are radio stories for small people. Originally written by authors for the series and read by well-known actors." In German.]

Aftenpodden Junior er en podcast for nysgjerrige barn og unge." [or, "Aftenpodden Junior is a podcast for curious children and adolescents." In Norwegian.]

"Kidspods präsentiert Geschichten, Musik, Hörspiele und Reportagen für Kinder" [or, Kidspods presents stories, music, radio plays and stories for children." In German.]

"We will bring to you Ageless Children's Stories from India and around the world. We source our content from Panchatantra, Jataka, Aesop's Fables, and other classic stories. Soon, we will introduce original content created by contemporary authors. Every week, Baalgatha release two stories, alternating in English and Hindi." [In English and Hindi]

"Welcome to Drama for young people! We make exciting, fun and magical stories for you who are 9-13 years old and your family." [In Swedish]

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.

"Brains On is a science podcast for curious kids and adults. Co-hosted each week by kid scientists and reporters from public radio, we ask questions ranging from the science behind sneezing to how to translate the purr of cats..."

Story Pirates is a group of world-class actors, comedians, improvisers and musicians who adapt stories written by kids into sketch comedy and musical theater.

Hosted and produced by award-winning public radio journalist, Kitty Felde, the show features middle school-age readers who meet to talk about books they love. The show often includes a celebrity reading from the book and authors joining in to answer kids’ questions.

The Science podcast that will eat your brain.
Shabam! is a new type of science show that blends fictional stories with real science.

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.

"An ethics podcast created for both children and adults. Hosted by ABC 3’s Carl Smith, Molly Daniels from the upcoming Tomorrow When the War Began television series and Dr Matt Beard from the Ethics Centre."

"History. Stories. Music. Fun."

" Road Trip Radio is a family friendly podcast celebrating all things Canada! Brought to you by the creative team behind CBC’s This is That, each episode playfully explores one of our country’s provinces and territories offering fun documentaries, cool interviews, adventure stories and comedy!"

"I began to paint their portraits [of trailblazing women through history] and share their stories with my six year old daughter, who already loves learning about them as much as I remember doing as a girl. Many of these are women I admired from an early age, many of them are new to me. This has been educational and inspiring journey so far, and I’d like to share it with you."

"Join our hosts as they explore mysteries, myths, and legends designed for all ages."

"The UK’s first ever football podcast for kids. Football as you’ve never heard it before! It’s funny, cheeky football chat from a kids eye view."

"Uncovering the coolest things in science, from terrifying animals to gigantic planets!"

....kids ages 6-12 collaborate with beloved storytellers who grow original stories inspired by their story ideas!

here are a few young adult literature–focused selections that will entertain and expand your reading world.

screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience.