The best child-friendly podcasts to pass the time

The Activity Quest Fun Kids podcast, created for the purpose of entertaining kids during the UK lockdown, offers interesting and fun ideas to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. It’s fun, it’s light and it’s educational too, with fascinating facts about the universe, positive news, inspiring stories and creative tasks to keep kids busy. 

Available on: Player FM, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Castbox

Recommended age: 5 - 12

The Oxford Sparks Big Question podcast invites some of the most talented minds from the University of Oxford to answer some of our big questions (for example, can we stop ageing?). The tone and some of the language isn't always accessible for younger children but for older primary school children with a curious mind and a passion for science, maths and/or engineering, it's well worth a listen.  

Available on: Spotify and Apple Podcasts 

Recommended age: 10+ 

Brains On! is a science podcast for kids covering everything from narwhals and mirrors to emotions and the internet. If your child loves finding out about the way things work then they’ll enjoy listening to this fun, easy-to-understand podcast that answers questions like: what was the first life on earth? And why do we like getting scared? If your kids enjoy this one then also check out their spin-off kids' debates podcast, Smash Boom Best. 

Available on:  Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Recommended age: 5-12

The What if World storytelling podcast is hosted by Mr Eric who, with the help of illustrators and authors, answers a new ‘What if’ question every episode. What if everyone wore the same colour? What if clouds were made out of cotton candy? These are the kind of questions that inspire the quirky stories for this imaginative podcast. 

Available on: Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Recommended age: 5-12 

Eva is the child-host of Dream Big and she interviews a wide variety of successful guests from a champion climber to a spoken word artist, all in the hope of inspiring listeners to ‘dream big’. This is a positive and uplifting podcast to encourage a healthy attitude towards life and personal goals. 

Available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and Stitcher 

Recommended age: 5 - 9

The Past and the Curious kids' history podcast has a focus on American history, but there are plenty of fun facts for people from any part of the world to enjoy and the creators’ passion for history is infectious. Find out about spies, food, early advancements in cartooning and ballooning and important inventors and authors of the past. 

Available on:  SoundCloud, Kids Listen and Spotify

Recommended ages: 6 - 13

Short and Curly is an unusual and exciting podcast filled with questions and ideas to really get you thinking about ethics in regards to animals, technology and more. This can be a good one for listening to together as a family as they pose questions and give you time to discuss and think it through. For example: Would you want to become a vampire and live forever? 

Available on: ABC Listen, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts 

Recommended age: 6 - 12

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, a kids' serial podcast, drops the listener into the mysterious world of Mars Patel as he embarks on an adventure to find two missing friends. The script is read by children and, with excellent sound effects and music, it’s definitely a story you can lose yourself in. Close your eyes and you feel like you’re right there, solving the mystery!

Available on: Apple Podcasts, Pinna.fm and Spotify 

Recommended age: 8 -12 

In the Classical Classroom podcast the host describes herself as a classical ‘newbie’ and aims to find out more about the classical world of music in an accessible way and prove that it’s not all ‘hoity-toity.’ This involves interviewing classical musicians from all walks of life and a bit of conversation, learning and having a laugh at the same time. 

Available on: iTunes, Stitcher, Vialma and TuneIn 

Recommended age: 8+ 

In the Book Club for Kids podcast, children and teens discuss their favourite books and interview authors. It’s insightful and a pleasure to listen to, with guest readers and a variety of perspectives on plot and characters. An excellent choice for passionate readers and those just getting into reading. It encourages careful consideration of your favourite books and helps with analytical skills. 

Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher 

Recommended age: 5 - 13 

Created and produced by parents, Circle Round adapts folktales from around the world for children to enjoy in a 10-20 minute episode. Expressive and captivating voices tell tales of kindness, generosity and persistence. It’s a good one to listen to together, as each episode ends with an activity that encourages deep conversation between children and adults. 

Available on: Spotify and Apple Podcasts 

Recommended age: 4 - 10

Peace Out is a mindfulness podcast that combines breathing exercises, guided visualisation and short stories (episodes are between 5 - 15 minutes long) to create a space for kids to reflect and find peace. The sounds and voices are incredibly calming and children can really engage with what they’re listening to, focusing on their body, mind and positive feelings. 

Available on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Kids Listen  

Recommended age: 4 - 11 

This one is an award winning sci-fi/comedy podcast series where the child protagonists battle evil in an effort to save the world. It's been called  'a comic book for the ears' and that's exactly what it is – painting a colourful visual for children with expressive voice actors, epic soundtrack and real-life sound effects. This is entertainment for kids and adults, and was originally created with visually imparied children in mind. 

Available on: BBC Sounds 

Recommended age: 9 - 12

Fierce Girls is an Australian podcast telling stories about real-life women making a difference; women who fought to for the right to vote, women currently fighting to save the planet, as well as  famous female authors, astronauts and climbers. Narrated by female politicians, actresses and historians, this podcast will inspire anyone to dream big and try hard. 

Available on: ABC Radio, ABC Listen app, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts

Recommended age: 6 - 11

Story Explorers is a podcast all about stories for 7 to 11-year-olds. It is available on the national children’s radio station Fun Kids, and has been developed by the National Literacy Trust. Each week the series, hosted by CBBC presenter Ben Shires, features a group of Y5 and Y6 budding podcasters and a different children’s author, including Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon), Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl), Onjali Q. Raúf (The Boy at the Back of the Class) and Lauren Child (Clarice Bean).

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Castbox

Recommended age: 7 - 11

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to jump into the imagination of a different Puffin author each episode! The Puffin Podcast: Mission Imagination author line-up includes Humza Arshad, author of Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties, Greg James and Chris Smith, authors of The Great Dream Robbery, and Robin Stevens, author of the best-seller series Murder Most Unladylike.

Available on: Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast and YouTube

Recommended age: 7 - 11

Why is the sky blue? Why do we dream? And how did the Egyptians construct the pyramids? Everything Under the Sun is a weekly podcast answering questions from children all around the world and includes guests such as Neil Gaiman, Emma Freud, Grayson Perry, Richard Curtis and Sir Richard Branson. It won Bronze for 'Best Family Podcast' at the British Podcast Awards 2019, where it was chosen as one of BBC Radio 5 Live’s Must Listen podcasts. Host Molly Oldfield spent twelve years researching and writing questions for the BBC quiz show QI and is the author of several children’s books: Wonders of the World’s Museums, Natural Wonders of the World and Everything Under the Sun: a curious question for every day of the year.

Available on: Apple Podcasts, Android

Recommended age: 7 - 11