It's the last week of January 😱, podcast friends! It's been an exciting month here at Storitopia HQ. We have had our 🌟 BIGGEST MONTH 🌟 of downloads since we launched the app late last summer. We have a lot of new families following along here so before I get into this week's podcast reviews, I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and share a few Storitopia updates.
About Us!
I'm Merideth 👋, the founder of Storitopia and the mom of a very curious 10-year-old (the inspiration behind the app and its mission: sharing awesome audio with kids everywhere, inspiring curiosity, imagination, and learning). Newly launched, Storitopia is a great discovery tool (kids can find nearly 300 podcasts and more than 15,000 episodes), and users can customize a playlist that supports hours of screen-free listening. We are in the process of updating the menu/navigation screens as well as a new home screen. We also have plans to build out some more interactivity and sharing tools to help kids and families discover and share more of the shows they will love!
Audio Drama Recommendations
Audio dramas are one of our favorite types of podcasts. These shows are a perfect introduction to kids' podcasts. Some of our all-time favorites (that are on repeat in our player) include:
But there are some great newcomers that launched in 2022 that we hope are back with new episodes this year. Be sure to check them out and let us know what you think!
Your adventure-seeking kids will love this new show led by two otter buddies who venture into outer space to save the earth! The show started out as a screenplay that pivoted to a podcast as a quick way to get the story out to kids. The show is professionally produced with voice actors and an original soundtrack. This has become a quick family favorite!
Your kids are sure to become fast ZAP fans after listening to the first few episodes of this show. Zap is a time-traveling ten-year-old that takes listeners on epic adventures. The podcast is written, produced, and voiced by the Alvarez family who shares how the podcast was created in a behind-the-scenes episode here.
This YA show was created by the uber-talented Lauren Shippen. In this choose-your-own-ending podcast, Fourteen-year-old Maxine Miles is determined to solve the mystery of a missing student in her small New England town. The more Maxine digs into the disappearance of Riley Stevens, the more she uncovers the secrets of her hometown of Hastings.
Note: The creator notes at the beginning of the series that the show, while appropriate for all ages, contains mild language, depictions of adult characters smoking, and instances of danger. The episodes may also contain programmatic commercials intended for adults. I have been listening with my 10-year-old and think it's probably ideal for 12+.
Part of the Fun Kids radio (UK) lineup, Truth Diggers was launched in early 2022. The show follows schoolmates Alfie and Morgana who start a podcast while digging into a mysterious cold case. The two civic junior journalists encounter pirates, vampires, aliens, and secret agents all while trying to uncover the truth! During the months that these episodes were launched, listeners could go to the Fun Kids website and vote on what would happen in the next episode.
Recommendations & Feedback
The Storitopia team is adding new shows to the app on a weekly basis. We are also adding all of the podcast links to our website so that listeners can access shows there as well. If there's a show that you love that we don't have listed, email help@storitopia.com and we will work on adding it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we will continue to review and share our favorite kids' podcasts with you!
If you have podcast or app feedback, please let us know. We are also always looking to talk feedback! Email us if you have any suggestions or general feedback you want to share with us.
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