The 15 Best Kids Podcasts (2026)

Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz have built something special here. Wow in the World is the kind of science podcast that kids actually ask to listen to again, which says a lot when you're competing against YouTube and video games. Each Monday brings a new episode where Mindy and Guy chase down some genuinely surprising piece of science news and turn it into what they call a "cartoon for your ears" -- complete with goofy characters, sound effects, and enough energy to power a small city.

The show has been running since 2017, produced by Tinkercast (the same team behind other NPR kids hits), and it's grown into a massive catalog of over 1,100 episodes. That's not a typo. They also run companion shows like Two Whats?! And A Wow!, which is more of a science game show format. The main feed covers everything from microbes to black holes, and the hosts have a natural chemistry that keeps things moving without talking down to their audience.

With a 4.6-star average from over 30,000 Apple ratings, the numbers back up what parents already know: this one works. Episodes run about 20 to 30 minutes, which is the sweet spot for car rides and dinner prep. Guy Raz brings his public radio chops (you might know him from How I Built This), while Mindy brings a manic, silly energy that kids absolutely love. The result is a show that somehow makes photosynthesis as entertaining as a Saturday morning cartoon.

Brains On! nails something that a lot of kids' science shows get wrong -- it treats young listeners like they're actually smart. Host Molly Bloom pairs up with a different kid co-host every week, and together they tackle questions sent in by real children. The questions range from silly ("why do feet stink?") to genuinely philosophical ("do dogs know they're dogs?"), and the answers always involve talking to actual scientists who take the questions seriously.

The show has been at it since 2012 and has built up nearly 400 episodes. Each one features a Mystery Sound segment that gets kids guessing, plus original songs that are surprisingly catchy. The rotating kid co-hosts keep things fresh, and Bloom has a warm, enthusiastic style that never feels forced or condescending. She asks follow-up questions that a curious kid would ask, which is exactly the point.

With 13,600 ratings and a 4.5-star average on Apple Podcasts, Brains On! has earned its spot as one of the top educational podcasts for kids anywhere. Episodes drop weekly and run about 25 to 35 minutes. The show is part of the broader Brains On Universe (which also includes Smash Boom Best and Forever Ago), and the whole family of shows is distributed by Lemonada Media. They're even doing a live tour in 2026. If your kid has a habit of asking "but why?" about everything, this podcast will feel like it was made just for them.

The premise of But Why is deceptively simple: kids ask questions, and host Jane Lindholm finds experts to answer them. But what makes this Vermont Public production so good is how it respects the questions themselves. When a seven-year-old asks "why is the sky blue?" or "what happens when we die?", the show doesn't flinch or water things down. Lindholm brings in scientists, historians, and specialists who give real, thoughtful answers pitched at a level kids can actually absorb.

The show has been running since 2016 and has about 280 episodes in its catalog. Episodes vary quite a bit in length -- some are a tight 8 minutes, others stretch past 45 -- depending on where the topic leads. There are also learning guides available for most episodes in PDF and Google Slides format, which makes this a favorite in classrooms and homeschool settings. Each year wraps up with a fun reversal where the hosts pose questions back to the listeners.

With 5,100 ratings and a 4.3-star average on Apple, But Why has a loyal following of families who appreciate its honesty and warmth. Lindholm has a calm, encouraging voice that puts kids at ease, and the expert guests clearly enjoy talking to a younger audience. The show proves that you don't need flashy production or wacky characters to hold a child's attention. Sometimes all you need is a great question and someone who takes it seriously.

Story Pirates takes stories written by actual children and turns them into full-blown comedy sketches and musical numbers performed by professional actors and comedians. That concept alone is pretty brilliant, but what makes it work is the genuine enthusiasm the cast brings to every kid's imagination. A story about a talking pizza that fights crime? They'll produce a three-minute musical about it with original songs and voice acting that sounds like it belongs on Broadway.

Hosts Lee Overtree and Peter McNerney anchor the show alongside a rotating cast that frequently includes celebrity guests. Over 8 seasons and nearly 490 episodes, the show has turned children's raw creativity into polished, laugh-out-loud entertainment. Each episode typically features two adapted stories plus a segment called Story Love where the hosts discuss additional submissions. The whole thing is distributed by Lemonada Media.

The show holds a 4.5-star rating from nearly 17,000 Apple reviews, which puts it in rare company for a kids' podcast. Episodes run about 30 to 45 minutes and release weekly. There are also spin-off feeds for just the songs or just the stories if you want a more focused listen. The real magic is watching (well, hearing) kids realize that their weird, wonderful ideas get taken seriously by grown-up performers. It's the kind of show that makes children want to write more stories, and that's about the highest praise you can give a kids' podcast.

Circle Round takes folktales from around the globe and reimagines them as richly produced audio plays, complete with music, sound design, and voice acting that puts most kids' media to shame. Host Rebecca Sheir narrates each story with a warmth that immediately pulls you in, and the production team at WBUR clearly spends serious time crafting every episode. These aren't quick bedtime reads -- they're full theatrical experiences that happen to be 15 to 25 minutes long.

The show has been running for 9 seasons with 429 episodes, drawing from Afghan, Japanese, West African, Palestinian, Greek, Swedish, and dozens of other storytelling traditions. Recent seasons have featured live recordings at Tanglewood and Boston Symphony Hall with orchestral accompaniment, which gives you a sense of how ambitious the production has gotten. Celebrity voice actors pop up regularly, and each episode ends with activities designed to spark conversations between kids and parents.

With over 16,000 ratings and a 4.5-star average on Apple, Circle Round has built a devoted audience of families who appreciate stories that actually mean something. Every tale explores themes like kindness, persistence, or generosity without being preachy about it. The stories themselves do the teaching. For kids ages 3 and up (the show says "3 to 103"), this is one of the most beautifully made podcasts in the entire kids' space, and it's all free.

Pikachu vs. Mario. Cats vs. Dogs. Volcanoes vs. Earthquakes. Smash Boom Best takes two things, pits them against each other in a structured debate, and lets the audience vote on the winner. It sounds like a simple concept, and it is, but host Molly Bloom and her team at the Brains On Universe have turned it into one of the smartest shows for kids on any platform.

Each episode features two debaters -- comedians, writers, journalists, scientists -- who argue passionately for their side using facts, opinions, and a healthy dose of humor. There's a recurring segment called State of Debate that teaches kids to spot logical fallacies, which is sneakily one of the most useful things any podcast has ever done for young listeners. After the episode, kids can vote at smashboom.org for their pick.

The show has over 200 episodes and carries a 4.6-star rating from more than 14,000 Apple reviews. Episodes run around 35 minutes and come out weekly. It's part of the same family as Brains On!, and Molly Bloom brings the same warmth and smarts she shows on that program. The genius here is that kids are learning critical thinking and argumentation skills while genuinely laughing. They're picking up how to build a case, consider counterarguments, and evaluate evidence, all while debating whether ninjas or astronauts are cooler. Hard to beat that.

Who Smarted? comes from the same creative minds behind Brain Games and Brainchild on Netflix, and you can tell. The show uses a character called Trusty, the Trusty Narrator, to guide kids through science, history, and trivia topics with the kind of pacing and energy that keeps fidgety listeners locked in. Each episode feels like a mini-documentary mixed with a game show, and the production values are noticeably high for a kids' podcast.

The catalog is enormous -- over 1,100 episodes -- with four new ones dropping every week. That output is partly because the show runs multiple formats: regular educational episodes, Smarty Q segments answering listener questions, and Trusty Trivia games. Topics bounce from the origin of hamburgers to the science of service animals to how rockets work. The variety means there's almost always something that'll grab a particular kid's interest.

Parents and teachers have latched onto this one hard, and for good reason. It works in the car, at bedtime, and in classrooms equally well. The show holds a 4.6-star average from about 4,500 Apple ratings, and the optional Who Smarted Plus subscription adds ad-free listening and bonus content. What sets it apart from other educational kids' shows is the storytelling approach -- information gets woven into narratives rather than delivered as lectures, which means kids absorb it without realizing they're learning.

If your kid has ever been obsessed with Greek mythology -- and honestly, what kid hasn't gone through that phase -- Greeking Out is the podcast that feeds that obsession perfectly. Hosts Kenny Curtis and Rebecca Baines retell classic myths about gods, goddesses, monsters, and heroes in a way that's funny, dramatic, and completely accessible to younger listeners. The show is produced by National Geographic Kids, so the research is solid even when the tone is playful.

The podcast has built up about 90 episodes across 10 seasons, with new seasons typically launching in April and October. Episodes run 16 to 32 minutes, which is a comfortable length for the age group. The show grew out of the Zeus the Mighty book series, where the mythological characters are reimagined as animals (Zeus is a hamster, Athena is a cat, Ares is a pug), and that same inventive spirit carries over into the audio.

Here's what really stands out: Greeking Out holds a 4.7-star rating from over 18,500 Apple reviews. That's one of the highest ratings for any kids' podcast, period. Listeners consistently say the show helped them actually remember Greek mythology in a way textbooks never could. The episodes cover everything from the ancient Olympics to sea monsters to the labors of Heracles, and the hosts bring genuine enthusiasm to every story. Three companion books have spun off from the show, which tells you how much the audience cares.

Most adults can barely keep up with the news cycle, so imagine being ten years old and trying to make sense of it all. KidNuz solves that problem with seven-minute daily episodes that cover politics, entertainment, science, health, and sports in language kids can follow. The show is produced by four Emmy-winning journalists -- Kimberly Hunter, Ro Thomas Schwarz, Stephanie Kelmar, and Tori Campbell -- who are also mothers, which gives the reporting a natural understanding of what kids need to hear and how.

New episodes drop five days a week starting at 7 AM, making it an easy addition to the morning routine. The format is tight and professional: factual reporting without opinion, delivered in a conversational but polished style. Stories cover real world events without being scary or sensationalized, which is a balance that's incredibly hard to get right. The hosts rotate through the week, each bringing their own broadcast experience to the table.

The show has produced over 1,500 episodes since its launch, and it carries a 4.6-star rating from about 1,600 Apple reviews. It's part of Starglow Media, a nonprofit focused on children's media, so there's no commercial agenda driving the editorial choices. For families who want their kids to be informed about the world without doomscrolling, KidNuz is basically the only podcast doing this specific thing well at this scale.

Sheryl and Clark MacLeod have figured out the exact sweet spot for a bedtime podcast: stories that are engaging enough to hold a child's attention but calm enough to actually help them fall asleep. That balance is harder to strike than it sounds, and Sleep Tight Stories has been doing it consistently across more than 1,100 episodes. The narration is slow, warm, and deliberate without being boring, and the stories themselves range from standalone fairy tales to serialized adventures like The Transfer Student and retellings of classics like Anne of Green Gables.

Episodes come out daily, which means there's always something fresh. Most run between 17 and 30 minutes -- long enough to settle a restless kid but not so long that it keeps them up. The show is part of a broader Sleep Tight Media family that includes Sleep Tight Science, Sleep Tight Relax, and Sleep Tight Sounds, so if you find one format that works for your child, there are more options in the same soothing style.

The free version has ads, and Sleep Tight Premium ($6.99/month) removes them and adds bonus episodes. With 2,300 ratings and a 4.3-star average on Apple, this is one of the most relied-upon bedtime tools in the kids' podcast world. Parents in the reviews say things like "this is the only thing that gets my child to sleep" -- and when you're in the trenches of bedtime battles, that kind of endorsement means everything.

Road trips and family game nights just got a lot more fun. Trivia for Kids is hosted by KC from KRCreative, and each episode serves up five categories of brain-busting trivia questions that the whole family can play along with. The format is interactive -- KC reads a question, pauses for you to shout out your answer, then reveals the correct one. Topics span Disney characters, animals, geography, video games, history, music, and pretty much anything else that might interest a young mind.

The show has been building its catalog steadily with over 200 episodes, each running about 45 to 54 minutes. That length might sound long for a kids' show, but when the whole car is arguing about whether a blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant, time flies. There's also a recurring Common Theme round where listeners have to figure out the hidden connection between a set of answers, which adds a nice puzzle element.

With a 4.6-star rating from 2,100 Apple reviews, this one resonates with families, teachers, and homeschoolers alike. The questions hit a good difficulty range -- challenging enough that adults don't zone out, accessible enough that kids feel proud when they get one right. KC's hosting style is upbeat and encouraging, and Patreon supporters get ad-free versions and birthday shout-outs. It's a screen-free activity that actually competes with screens, which is about the best thing you can say about a kids' podcast.

Dan Saks is a musician, early childhood music educator, and bestselling children's book author, and Noodle Loaf combines all of those skills into an interactive music podcast that gets kids singing, clapping, and moving. This isn't just music playing in the background -- each episode is designed so kids actively participate through echo songs, rhythm games, rhyming activities, and creative movement exercises. It's music class in your living room, essentially.

The show earned the Common Sense Media Selection seal, which is a serious stamp of approval in the kids' media world. Episodes release biweekly, with about 116 in the catalog so far. They're on the shorter side, which works perfectly for the preschool and kindergarten audience the show targets. Saks ties episodes into seasonal themes and cultural celebrations, and he occasionally pulls in guest artists -- Ziggy Marley showed up for a recent episode, which is a pretty strong get for a kids' music podcast.

With 749 ratings and a 4.1-star average on Apple, Noodle Loaf has a smaller but devoted audience of parents and early childhood educators. The call-and-response format means this is one of the few podcasts where kids genuinely can't just sit passively. They're singing back, stomping their feet, and learning musical concepts like pitch and rhythm without any worksheets or theory. For families with younger children especially, it fills a niche that most kids' podcasts don't even attempt.

Greg Jenner is the historian behind Horrible Histories, and he brings that same blend of real scholarship and genuine humor to Homeschool History on BBC Radio 4. Each episode is a tight 12 to 16 minutes -- just long enough to cover a historical topic thoroughly, short enough that kids stay focused the entire time. Jenner has a talent for making history feel like gossip, finding the weird, gross, and surprising details that textbooks leave out.

The show was born during the pandemic lockdowns as a way to support families suddenly doing school at home, and it stuck around because it was just too good to stop. There are about 22 episodes in the catalog, covering topics that line up with school curricula but approach them from angles that keep even adults entertained. Episodes include quizzes to test what you learned, and Jenner occasionally brings in consultants like Professor Mary Beard to add expert depth. The production includes sound effects and a polished BBC quality that makes each episode feel like a tiny documentary.

With a 4.7-star rating from nearly 700 Apple reviews, Homeschool History punches well above its weight for a show with a relatively small episode count. It's proof that you don't need a massive catalog to make an impact. Parents and teachers use these episodes as supplements to history lessons, and kids remember the stories because Jenner makes them genuinely funny. If your child thinks history is boring, this podcast might change their mind in under fifteen minutes.

Seth Williams narrates Storyland with the kind of voice that makes you want to curl up under a blanket and just listen. The podcast delivers original fantasy stories for kids, told in multi-part arcs that usually span two to five episodes. Think enchanted treehouses, magical lakes, mysterious igloos, and characters that young listeners genuinely root for. Each episode runs 6 to 14 minutes, which makes them perfect for bedtime or short car rides.

The show has been running since 2021 with about 119 episodes in the catalog, new ones arriving weekly on Thursdays. The serialized format is smart -- it gives kids a reason to come back, and the shorter episode length means you can listen to a full story arc in one sitting if you want. Williams writes the stories himself, and they're age-appropriate and imaginative without relying on existing characters or franchises. Everything here is original.

With 777 ratings and a 4.6-star average on Apple, Storyland has built a loyal following of families who appreciate creative, family-friendly storytelling. Reviewers frequently mention how the stories are genuinely engaging for kids of different ages, from preschoolers to pre-teens. The show is entirely free, with no premium tier or ads that break the spell. For parents looking for an alternative to screen time that still captures a child's imagination, Storyland offers something warm and handmade in a media world that often feels mass-produced.

Arthur Read has been a part of children's media for decades -- the TV show ran from 1996 to 2022, making it one of the longest-running animated programs in history. The Arthur Podcast continues that legacy in audio form, produced by GBH and PBS Kids. The same characters kids know from the show -- Arthur, D.W., Buster, Francine, the whole Elwood City crew -- appear in new stories designed specifically for listening.

The show has about 100 episodes and the format works well for the podcast medium. Stories deal with everyday kid experiences: friendships, school challenges, family dynamics, and growing up. The writing maintains the same respect for children's intelligence that made the TV series beloved by parents and educators for over two decades. Episodes are designed to prompt conversations between kids and the adults in their lives, and PBS Kids' involvement means the educational underpinning is solid.

For families who grew up with Arthur on television, the podcast is a lovely way to share those characters with a new generation. And for kids discovering Arthur for the first time through audio, the stories stand on their own without needing any TV background. The show is free and carries the PBS Kids seal of quality that parents have trusted for years. It may not have the splashiest production of every podcast on this list, but it brings decades of thoughtful children's storytelling to a format that fits into busy family routines.