Thanks for joining us for another week of educational podcast episodes. It seems like every time I listen to a podcast, I get a new idea or even another podcast to listen to. If you are new to the series, please read more here. Happy listening and learning!
General / Current Events
Short Wave
What We Know (And Don’t) About the Dangers of Vaping
Vaping is an epidemic- no question. Getting our teens to listen to us about the dangers can be like talking to a brick wall. In just ten minutes, my daughter and her friend were shocked by the information they heard on this podcast. I don’t think the intention when creating this episode was to scare kids, but the way that the information was presented was spot on and enough for both the girls to say they knew there were issues, but they had no idea how bad it could be. SHARE this one!
Personal Development
Something You Should Know
The Founder of Netflix Reveals His Secret of Success
For a longer commute, this 45-minute podcast episode is interesting to teens and parents alike. How Netflix went from a small start-up just when DVDs were invented to the powerhouse it is today is a story worth listening to. If nothing else, your teen might ask you about VHS tapes and what life was like back then!
Science
Planet Money
Deep Learning With The Elephants
Save the turtles, and save the elephants- this specific episode (25 minutes) highlights how counting elephants in the rainforest via AI technology may help save them. Planet Money episodes continue to entertain my teens.
Technology
Homeschooling With Technology
Editing, storage, and sharing of photos is such a popular topic for teens! In this 15-minute podcast episode, my teens learned about a few apps they hadn’t heard of. They were also interested in the additional resources mentioned by the podcaster (they even took notes!). Teens love to have their phone in their face, so this is a way to make that time a little more productive and hopefully they can photoshop our holiday photos!
History
Stuff You Missed in History Class
A Brief History of Thalidomide, Part 1
In 40 minutes, this episode combines both history and science. Drug development, including evaluating safety of potential new entities, isn’t something taught in school. My teens were shocked at the birth defects attributed to thalidomide and this peaked their interest in evaluating the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals.
Language Arts
Grammar Girl
How and Why The Internet Is Changing Language
Although our teens may not recognize the changes in language with the Internet, listening to this episode with them will provide topics for conversation. Adding the term “internet” to a language arts lesson automatically makes it more interesting! For the adults, it’s a fun look back down memory lane.
Money / Personal Finance
Planet Money
Why The Price of Coke Didn’t Change For 70 Years
Although I try not to allow much soda for my teens, we can’t ignore the popularity of Coke. A podcast detailing why a bottle of soda didn’t change in price in 70 years captured and kept their interest. What better way to teach inflation (or lack of).