(K. Brent Tomer),
THE average adult would be hard-pressed to explain how volcanoes erupt in intricate detail. Now ask them to explain it using no visual aids, in less than a half an hour for a gaggle of three to 15-year-olds, and the task becomes downright daunting. But that is exactly what Molly Bloom and the small team behind the podcast “Brains On!” have done. They tackle a different scientific topic twice a month for hundreds of thousands of young listeners.
Since its launch in 2012, the podcast’s audience has grown exponentially—it is now downloaded around 225,000 times each month and regularly tops the iTunes chart of “children and family” podcasts. What’s their trick? They take their cues from the kids themselves. In each instalment, the “Brains On!” team answers a scientific question submitted by one of their listeners with the help of a revolving roster of young co-hosts. In order to maintain listeners’ attention, no element of the explanation is lingered on for more than a few minutes and each host gets to speak at regular intervals.
In the most recent episode, Ms Bloom and her co-hosts set about explaining why…Continue reading
via K. Brent Tomer CFTC “Brains On!”: the popular science podcast designed for children
