A History Podcast for Kids! Parents love us, Teachers love us, and most importantly, kids do too! History can be amazing, inspiring and relevant to anyone. We love to share the stories of Spies, funny foods, George Washington's foibles, early advancements in cartooning and ballooning and much more! A professional music score and important songs accompany nearly every themed episode. Proud Kids Listen Member @pastandcurious
George Shannon was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and his inexperience showed itself a time or two. He did get lost once for 16 days, the longest span of time anyone was separated from the expedition party.
In the 1920s, a woman named Rattlesnake Kate captured imaginations after an encounter with 140 rattlesnakes. The result (in addition to fame) was a one-of-a-kind snakeskin dress.
The Bunion Derby (featured in the last episode) also featured a few four-legged friends, including dogs named Blisters and Shin Splints.
We'll also re-visit the Pony Express and meet the Chilean Recluse Spiders who have lived peacefully at the Finnish Museum of Natural History for Decades.
November of 2026 will mark the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, a highway that inspired road trips, neon signs, writers, singers, and even a movie about talking cars.
But first, the Bunion Derby was a publicity stunt for attention on Route 66 and it was America's first cross-country ultra-marathon.
It was the best of swine, it was the worst of swine. This is a much requested episode: the great Pig War that almost launched a 3rd violent conflict between American and Great Britain. Enjoy the history and absurdity of it all. Also is the story behind an official breed of pigs known as Danish Protest Pigs.
Episode 119 looks at some key moment inside Indepedence Hall (and the time they almost tore it down). Likewise, we'll meet Mary Katharine Goddard, who published the first version of the Declaration to contain the names of all the signers. If you look closely, you can find her name on the important document too!
And to start it off we learn about when Ben Franklin told Thomas Jefferson a story to help him understand the value of editing.
An escaping cow, Operation Beaver Drop, and a migration mystery solved by a bird with a spear - all on this episode of Important Animals From History - Volume 4!
The story of the Lost 40 - an old growth forest in Minnesota that got lost for nearly a century thanks to a surveying error. We're talking lumberjacks, old growth trees, and silly mistakes.
Also, the 27th Amendment which was brought back from the dustbin of history thanks to a college student who didn't get the grade he had hoped for on an essay!
How did an extinct flower not seen since 1881 wind up being the subject of a modern day project to recreate a scent from the past? It was a long path from Dr. Charles Short in the 1860s to Dr. Christina Agapakis in the 2010s.
The first release teasing Mick's upcoming book! This episode features three animals of note: Clara the Rhino, Mozart's Starling, and a whale named Mocha Dick.
Let's ride through the tales of animals of history!
Carolin Hampton needed to pioneer rubber gloves int he operating room after Joseph Lister's big ideas.
Richard Etheridge was the first Black keeper at an official Life Saving Station and his team's rescue of a shipwrecked family was dramatic and historic.
You might be surprised to learn the history of the iconic sandwich and all of the ingredients that go into the recipe. First published in 1901, the availability of peanut butter, jelly and sliced bread has changed a lot over the years. And that's great, so let's eat (or just listen).
Special thanks to Lindsay and Marshall from Tumble Podcast for their inspiration on the subject, and help with this episode!
Charles Dickens created the world-famous character Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1840s, but he may have been inspired by a real-life miser named John Elwes.
Another famous miser is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Krakow, Poland. However, it turns out that Yossele the Holy Miser wasn't as miserly as everyone believed him to be during his life.
Two fascinating stories from World War II. One is about Rose Valland, a French woman who worked as a spy in Nazi-occupied Paris. Her bravery saved thousands of works of art, many of which were returned to the families who originally owned them.
Secondly, the story of German U-boat U-1206 is a doozy. The new toilet onboard was confounding, and it got the the better of the boat's commander. The result was a big blunder by the German Army.
The Erie Canal and The Chicago River were two of the most impressive engineering feats in history.
For the 200th Anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal we look at the opening celebration, along with a fun musical diversion or two.
And how can you talk about moving water without talking about the efforts to change sanitation in Chicago? This included reversing the flow of the river that runs through the city!
We're a part of Big Emotions this week! We’re feeling all squishy this week, as we dive into two of the strongest emotions of all. Love is powerful, joyful, and comforting - and when it changes or we feel its absence, sadness often follows. Sadness can feel heavy, but it helps us slow down, notice what matters, and deepen our connections. In this episode, we explore the softer, quieter corners of the heart where love and sadness meet. You’ll hear stories of friendship, loss and connection, showing how these big emotions help us grow and understand ourselves in new ways.
Contributing podcasts in this episode: But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids• The Past and The Curious • Newsy Pooloozy
Hosted by: Jerry Kolber of Who Smarted?
PDF Activity Sheet for SEL
Check out the music in each episode
About this series: Big Emotions: Kids Listen Mashups is a 7-part audio adventure where creators from the Kids Listen community come together to explore feelings in all their shapes and sizes. Each episode pairs two related emotions, sharing original clips and reflections to help kids (and grownups!) understand, name, and navigate their feelings.
Did a no-longer-living Mark Twain send a novel from the great beyond with a Ouija Board? Find out about the real story with help from our pal Nate DuFort of the podcast, Unspookable.
Episode 110! Peter the Great, The Hairy Eagle and more!
Did I decide on an episode about Peter the Great just so I could say 6-7 a few times to be cringe and make kids laugh? Yes, yes I did. But it's a really fun story about when the Tsar of All Russia travelled "incognito" through Europe.
And as a bonus, we're talking hair sales, hair wreaths, and even the not-so-famous "Hairy Eagle!"
Philo Farnsworth loved electricity so much he came up with a way to invent television - as a 14 year old!
Centuries beforehand Stephen Gray, a British scientist, learned more about electricity than anyone before him - and he used children to show how it worked!
Rufus Estes and Chin Foin both left a big mark on food, both lived in Chicago at the same time, and both had their food featured in important cookbooks in 1911.
Two guys who grew up on farms. Both were tinkerers. Benjamin Banneker, a free Black American created the first striking clock built in America. Richard Pearse, from New Zealand, was a pioneer in flight. Was he a first? we don't know for sure. But he was pretty interesting!
Episode 101 tells the story of Tori Murden-McClure's solo row across the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to her story, hear her speak with Mick on the 25th anniversary of her successful solo crossing. Learn more about Tori in her book, "A Pearl in the Storm," or from the Audible recording of Dawn Landes's musical, Row: https://www.amazon.com/Row/dp/B091QB7SMS Or hear Dawn's album of the same name, based on Tori's story here: https://dawnlandesofficial.bandcamp.com/album/row
Episode 100, y'all! Beautiful Jim Key was born sickly and weak, but became world famous and is remembered as the smartest horse in the world. His training and care came from a former enslaved man named Doctor William Key, and together, they made a profound impact on the world. Likewise, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was a museum curator in South Africa who discovered a fish believed to be extinct in 1938. The discovery made a tremendous impact on science and natural understanding. Plus, she was very cool.
