The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

This Peabody Award-winning mystery series from GZM Shows is basically Stranger Things for the podcast generation, and it plays beautifully on long car rides. Eleven-year-old Mars Patel and his friends Caddie, JP, and Toothpick start investigating disappearances at their middle school and end up tangled with a tech billionaire, a mysterious academy called Pruitt Prep, and eventually... space travel. The show completed its run in three seasons with 31 episodes, which actually makes it ideal for road trips because you can plan a binge. Episodes range from 17-42 minutes, with most landing around 20-25 minutes. The serialized format means each episode ends with enough of a hook that your kids will be lobbying hard to keep listening. The voice acting is strong, performed by actual kids, and the writing treats its young audience with real respect. No dumbing down the plot or the emotional stakes. With 6,300+ ratings and a 4.6 average on Apple Podcasts, this one has a devoted following. Teachers use it in classrooms, which tells you something about the storytelling quality. The three-season arc builds steadily, with twists about character relationships and the fate of Earth that genuinely surprised listeners. It's the kind of show where the whole family gets invested and starts theorizing together about what's going to happen next. For a complete, finite story you can listen to across a vacation trip, Mars Patel is hard to beat.