10 Science Podcasts Your Budding Scientist (& You!) Will Love

Podcasts are an easy way to add more learning to your day in an easy-to-digest format. Check out these science podcasts for your kiddos & you.

Thirty-nine days & 4 hours.

An entire month (plus some).

That’s how many hours of podcasts I listened to in 2023. I don’t even want to know my grand total — dating back to 2006 — would be.

Clearly, podcasts are a big part of my day, in my life & our homeschool life.

While it took about a decade before we started using them regularly in our homeschool, we have more than made up for it since. Science & history podcasts, short word etymology podcasts, travel & geography. Our playlists cover the entire gambit of educational podcasts!

How do we use podcasts?

If you hopped in my car at any given time, there’s a good chance a podcast is playing. Whether I’m on my way to the grocery, running kiddos to sports practices, or driving to/from church, a podcast is a constant companion.

I hate Apple’s native podcast app, so Pocket Casts is the app I use. (R.I.P., Stitcher, my first podcast app.) It has a simple interface that makes it easy to find new podcasts and the latest episodes of the ones to which I’m already subscribed. I first found it when I had an Android phone and seamlessly transferred it over when I switched to an iPhone.

When I had an older car that didn’t have a CarPlay integration, I used an aux cable to connect my phone to the car. Now, though, it’s CarPlay all the way. (Seriously, I LOVE CarPlay.)

Typically, podcasts — educational or just for fun — are something we just incorporate into our day. I do add specific episodes to their lessons some days, but even then, they’re just something to be enjoyed. In either scenario, we may discuss what they learned, how it connects to the knowledge they already had, and what questions they’re left with.

Or we may not. When we turn everything into an ‘assignment,’ we discourage our kiddos from being naturally curious so they can avoid that ‘school’ expectations of output. It really is okay just to let them absorb without needing to prove what they learned.

As a side benefit, listening to podcasts with my teens is a great way to distract them from texting or otherwise being absorbed on their phones. Finding ways to naturally pull them away, in my experience, works better (and leaves them less resentful) than banning them in the car.

Short Wave

Launched in 2019, Short Wave quickly became a staple as we drove around to our activities. One of the first episodes was about baking cookies in space. That captured the attention of my oldest (who loves to cook) down to my youngest (who is space-obsessed).

Recent episodes include Why Big Numbers Break Our Brains, Why it’s Hard to Resist Holiday Sales, and How Glaciers Move

• “New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines”
• Three episodes a week
• Under 15 minutes in length
• Best for grades 4 and up, but younger kids may enjoy it, too. (My youngest was in 2nd grade when it started.)
• from NPR

Brains On

In their own words, Brains On is “a science podcast for kids and curious adults…Our mission is to encourage kids’ natural curiosity and wonder” And spark curiosity they do! Brains On was the first podcast that just my boys listened to.

Recent questions they answered include: How much can your brain hold? Why are we afraid of the dark? Could you walk around the world?

• Science questions kids want to know
• Weekly episodes
• 25-40 minutes long
• “kids and curious adults” (best for kids grade 4 and under + their adult)

Science, Quickly

While this podcast is geared at adults, it’s absolutely good for teens & tweens, too. That said, there may be episodes that you don’t want to share with them — like the episode on hangovers!

Recent episodes include “Are orca friends or foe?”, “AI Can Read Your Cat’s Pain,” and “Is Too Little Play Hurting Our Kids?”

• Science news
• Three episodes a week
• 5-15 minute episodes
• Best for grades 4 and up, but younger kids may enjoy it, too.
• Produced by Scientific America

13 Minutes to the Moon

Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the first season focused on the 13 minutes it took to land from the orbiting shuttle to the moon (hence the name). It’s slower-paced and jam-packed with details, so it’s best for older kiddos. It would be a great addition to learning about the 1960s or studying astronomy.

There is also a video version on the BBC’s YouTube channel.

• Apollo 11 (season 1) & Apollo 13 (season 2)
• 30-45 minute episodes
• Best for grades 4 & up
• Produced by the BBC

30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

30 Animals That Made Us Smarter was one of the first podcasts we enjoyed as a family. I’m not even someone who enjoys learning about animals, but this podcast sucked me right in.

This podcast is full of interesting tidbits that young kiddos can latch onto while being interesting for teens & adults.

Episodes include Hedgehogs and Helmets, Octopus and Camouflage, & Bees and Fast Delivery.

• Two seasons of 30 episodes each
• 10-20 minute long episodes
• Grades 2 and up
• Produced by the BBC

Star Talk Radio

Neil deGrasse Tyson brings his engaging educational approach to his podcast as he & others explore the physics behind our world — from astrophysics to sports.

Recent episodes have included topics on the future of commercial spaceflight, engineering the world’s fastest cars, and astrochemistry.

• Physics, astronomy, and more
• Weekly episodes
• 40-50 minutes
• Middle school – Adult

Hidden Brain

How does our brain work? Not the physical side, but the unconscious side? And how does it influence our actions? Hidden Brain explores that in each episode. The show is slower-paced and can go rather deep. Not every episode is a hit with my teens, but enough episodes are that we keep it in rotation.

Recent episodes include Making the Most of Your Mistakes, How to Spot a Scam, and The Secret to Great Teams.

• Focuses on human behavior & how our unconscious self interacts with the world
• Episodes come out once a week
• Hour-long episodes
• Best for high school and up, possibly middle school if they are really interested

The Naked Scientists

This weekly roundup of science news, interviews, and more was one of the very first podcasts I listened to — all the way back in 2005. (No, the hosts aren’t naked. The name comes from their attempt to strip science down to the essentials and then communicate them to the public.)

Spinoff podcasts include Naked Genetics, Naked Astronomy, Naked Neuroscience, and more.

• Science news, interviews, kitchen science experiments, and on-location reporting
• Weekly episodes are 1 hour
• Middle school & up
• Produced by the BBC

Science Friday

If you’re as avid an NPR listener as I am, you’re probably familiar with Science Friday. Every week, Science Friday brings you experts to talk about the latest news & discoveries in the world of science. Because each episode contains multiple segments, it’s easy to have on in the background.

Science Friday has an extensive collection of lesson plans that are engaging and easy to do. You can filter by grade range (PreK-high school) as well as by subject and activity length.

Recent episodes have included segments on the Endangered Species Act at 50, ‘Panda Diplomacy’ and Successful Conservation, and the 2023 Christmas Bird Count.

• All sorts of science news & discoveries
• Every Friday
• Two hours long (episode segments are much shorter & available on their website)
• Teens and up, though science-y kiddos may enjoy some episodes/segments

Science Diction

A mash-up of science & language arts isn’t the norm — and that’s why I love this podcast.

Words explored include hurricane, honeymoon, introvert & mercury

• “a podcast about words — and the science stories within them”
• No longer in production but there are 3 seasons available
• 15-25 minutes
• Teens & adults

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