Welcome to the school summer holidays, when families dream of time together being blissful fun. In reality, they often involve long, boring hours where entertainment is hard to get right.
Fear not. Out there in the huge world of audio options, good, kid-friendly podcasts exist that can fill the time brilliantly, spanning current affairs, drama, sport, books, history, music and more. They tend to be less widely promoted than launches for the adult market (perhaps because they’re tougher to monetise, or given advertising restrictions), but this means the best ones are proper labours of love.
Our trawls at Observer HQ have uncovered shows to entertain the tiniest listeners up to the harder-to-please near-adults, many of whom also enjoy grownup podcasts such as Off Menu and Radio 4’s The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry, although the swearing doesn’t always suit those with smaller ears (our list is of shows without an explicit content rating).
Some podcasts in our list are oldies but goodies, others are brand new.
Kids may want to listen to some of these themselves, but many will work well communally. Given our growing relationship with podcasts in the UK as adults (a third of us are regular monthly listeners, according to a late 2023 Rajar survey), it’s hard not to imagine how the gentle intimacy of voices in our ears is soothing for all ages. Take the age suggestions as rough indications – we’re all big kids really.
The 20 best podcasts for kids and teens
1. Bust or Trust
(Suggested age range: 6 to 106, in their words)
A weekly show investigating strange stories and hoaxes from around the world with funny hosts Athena Kugblenu (a savvy “myth buster”) and Tiernan Douieb (a “myth truster” – he comes accompanied by a Close Encounters-style musical jingle). Kids are the show’s chief detectives, asked to send voice notes or questions (with permission from parents) to help solve mysteries, such as why Orkney’s neolithic village Skara Brae was abandoned, or what on earth the Bermuda triangle’s about. The podcast is sneakily about assessing evidence – and so much fun no one will notice.
Best for: Curious kids who want entertainment not earnestness.
2. CBeebies Radio Podcast
(6 and under)
Bitesize nuggets of CBeebies bounty released every morning at a toddler-friendly 6am. Mini-megastars such as Dodge T Dog, Hey Duggee, JoJo, Gran Gran and Supertato rotate in punchy episodes of between two and 15 minutes. There are other character-led shows elsewhere (Peppa Pig’s Play-a-Long Podcast launched on Audible earlier this month), but you can’t beat Auntie for vigour and variety.
Best for: Short bursts of fun for preschoolers.
3. Sherlock & Co
(Teens and above)
With more than 2m downloads since its launch late last year, this weekly half-hour romp through the Sherlock Holmes short stories is very funny, mildly sweary and hugely popular with under-18s. The show is narrated by a wounded war veteran who’s now a grumpy true crime podcaster called – you guessed it – Dr Watson. Expect grownup laughs and razor-sharp references over those screechy violins.
Best for: Mystery-lovers of all ages.
4. The Tooney and Russo Show
(All ages)
Alongside presenter Vick Hope – playing the sprightly gooseberry on this lovely Radio 5 Live podcast launched back in April – best friends and Euro-winning Lionesses Ella Toone and Alessia Russo invite us into their lives behind the scenes in the England camp. As well as sport, they chat about holidays, school days and fame with affecting, down-to-earth candour.
Best for: Football fans of all stripes.
5. Audiomoves at the Zoo
(4-7)
A gorgeous digital series that’s a collaboration between the children’s dance theatre company Peut-Être and London Zoo. Kids can find out about animals from butterflies to elephants and how they move, eat, sleep and play. Warning: wriggling like a caterpillar and pouncing like a lion is encouraged throughout, so if you’re on a road trip, ensure seatbelts are fully secured or unleash the beasts at the service station.
Best for: Waking up the infants.
6. Ask the Nincompoops
(All ages)
“Are you a very unintelligent child? OF COURSE YOU ARE.” Still going strong six years on, this podcast from Andy Stanton (author of the brilliant Mr Gum books) and actor Carrie Quinlan, in which they answer kids’ “crazy questions”, is hilariously surreal. Among the 33 episodes to date (in which kids also feature and are not spared from the hosts’ teasing) are Why Don’t Dogs Poo in the Toilet? and Why Are Sprouts Disgusting?
Best for: Anyone fancying a child-friendly twist on Vic-and-Bob humour.
7. Fun Kids Book Worms
(9-12)
Launching eight new digital stations and a brace of new podcasts since 2021, Fun Kids is a booming radio empire, but this fortnightly author interview show is a jewel in its crown. Recent writers quizzed in perky fashion by presenter Bex Lindsay include Lemony Snicket, Cathy Fitzgerald and Nadia Shireen (whose The Island of Brilliant! podcast with new children’s laureate Frank Cottrell Boyce is also great for grownup enthusiasts of kids’ fiction).
Best for: Mini- (and maxi-) book addicts.
8. Tai Asks Why
(Teens)
Podcasts answering young people’s serious questions about the world are everywhere (such as Molly Oldfield’s Everything Under the Sun and the quirky Moment of Um), but this Canadian show has brainy teenager Tai Poole doing the digging. He’s done so since 2019, so some of the questions, like his lovely presenting voice, have got deeper (“How reliable are our memories?” and “Where is the internet?), but his softer ones are also sweetly revealing (“Why do we love junk food so much?”).
Best for: Nerdy adolescents.
9. Maddie’s Sound Explorers
(4-9)
An award-winning, pandemic-times podcast presented by the permanently bright and bouncy CBeebies regular Maddie Moate, and one that deserves a bigger audience. With the help of experts, she makes music from the sounds of science and nature: purring cats, names of clouds and the imagined sound of the big bang are among her musical tools. Her nerdy, clever interviews rule, too.
Best for: Little science boffins and sample-loving musical parents.
10. Smash Boom Best
(9-12)
Elevators or escalators? Frisbees or yo-yos? Appealing to the shouty, competitive child in us all, this half-hour weekly debate show is earnest, spirited and sweet, with young judges deciding who wins these bloody battles between “cool things”. Try its sister shows Brains On! and history-of-unusual-things podcast Forever Ago if you’re a fan.
Best for: Gently argumentative kids and their pedantic guardians.
11. Girls Make Beats
(Tween and teen girls)
Its super-sweet broadcasts have been irregular of late, but the back catalogue of this music podcast made by teenage girls for teenage girls explores the presence and potential of women in the industry brilliantly. Topics such as confidence, bullying and identity are debated alongside the joys of collaboration, audio engineering and owning record labels. Even better, the presenters sound like best friends hanging out in your bedroom.
Best for: Teenage girls who want to be heard.
12. Football for Kids
(5-12)
Written, presented and produced by Darren Rees, a dad who was craving a show for his football-crazed kids, these short, snappy episodes tell stories of football greats, new stars, big competitions and classic clubs. Especially good are the adorable Kids v Adults specials, and the recent Football Jobs episodes, taking kids into the worlds of sports commentating and journalism.
Best for: Miniature Premier League professors.
13. You’re Dead to Me
(Tweens to parents)
Greg Jenner’s comedy history podcast is on its eighth series on Radio 4, but still offers tweens a nice graduation from the excellent Homeschool History shows he made over lockdown. Recent episodes delve into the LGBTQ+ community in Weimar Germany (with Jordan Gray) and the life of palaeontologist Mary Anning (with Sara Pascoe). Welsh speakers should also try Llinos Mai’s new series Hanes Mawr Cymru (The Great History of Wales), a romp through her country in her mother tongue.
Best for: Historians of all sizes who are allergic to seriousness.
14. The Week Junior Show
(8-14)
Picking apart The Week Junior, “the magazine making sense of the world”, this podcast mixes news stories, quirky features and 60-second debates (on subjects such as national service and compulsory voting). Bex Lindsay of Fun Kids (see above) is in the hot seat, joined by editorial staff and, occasionally, eager readers.
Best for: Keeping up with current affairs without all that grownup shouty stress.
15. Greeking Out
(8-12)
Ancient myths and legends are revived by American radio host Kenny Curtis and “the Oracle of Wifi” (a slightly more with-it Alexa, voiced by Tori Kerr) in chunky 25-minute tales of gods behaving badly, ancient curses and epic heroes. Expect drama bolstered by humour and fun, overblown music.
Best for: Horrible Histories-lovers wanting to go deeper and dafter.
16. Grown
(Mid-teens)
Perhaps a solo listen for your teenagers, unless you’re particularly open parents, but we could all learn things from the empathetic, big sibling-style duo of Aleeza Kazmi and Fonzo Lacayo (friends now in their mid-20s). Just like Grown’s mother podcast (US Peabody prize winner The Moth), this is a great blend of personal stories, audio diaries and interviews, exploring the challenges kids face on their journeys from adolescence to adulthood.
Best for: Teens seeking solace, or elders wanting to help by remembering their dizzy, younger years.
17. The Rez
(9-12)
An award-winning sci-fi story co-created by Sussex University media professor Martin Spinelli and comics writer Hannah Berry, among others, The Rez explores the stresses of childhood, the limits of online culture and the need for kindness through compelling lead characters Preen and Sav. A new series by the same team, A2Z, set “far in the future”, is also brilliantly done, featuring anxious inventor Zzzucks and his AI creation, Aileen, as they find out what makes humans human.
Best for: Drama-loving families who like to talk about the big stuff.
18. Super Great Kids’ Stories
(8 and under)
This show retells traditional tales from every continent. Recent delights include Jason Buck’s scatological twist on The Gingerbread Man and Emily Hennessey’s frisky bounce through the west African fable Why Anansi Has Long, Thin Legs.
Best for: Parents and kids who can tolerate perky storytelling.
19. The Last City
(14+)
Starring a great cast for the adults (including Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn and Homeland’s Maury Sterling), The Last City is a compelling drama set in the fictional geoengineered paradise of Pura, which protects its residents from climate catastrophes – until it becomes a story of fugitives, conspiracies and daring adventure. If your kids like its dark edges, also try the classic podcast Welcome to Night Vale, presented in the style of community updates for a mysterious desert town.
Best for: Families who can brave the spookier stuff.
20. Radio 1’s All Day Breakfast With Greg James
(9 and up)
In term time, it’s hard to catch all of the best bits of Radio 1’s best presenter (and co-author of the Kid Normal series), but this daily compilation of Greg James’s 7-11am show is the perfect balm for stressful traffic jams and delayed wee stops. The tone is funny, surreal and warm, with some delicious formats thrown in, such as Unpopular Opinion and Everyone’s Rubbish, plus lots of celebrities being decidedly unstarry.
Best for: Anyone who needs the audio equivalent of a cup of tea and their eggs done just-so after five hours of travelling.
