Today with tonies is being made by award-winning podcast production and promotion company, Mags Creative, and is hosted by Sam Fletcher-Goodwin and Tim Warwood. It is aimed at children aged 4 to 7 with the hope that the informative and playful podcast will be able to keep children off their screens this summer!

Based on the award-winning daily exclusive show (only available to those with a ‘Toniebox’ – an audio player which plays songs and stories when a Tonie character is added to the top of it), Today with tonies is kicking off with 14 ten-minute long episodes packed full of fun, facts, challenges, and jokes.

The podcast covers subjects such as poetry, science, maths, and music and has been made with the support of an educational consultant, taking into account the KS1 and KS2 curriculum.

Polly Evans, Senior Audio Production Manager at tonies says, “Our ‘Today with tonies’ podcast is the ultimate choice for parents seeking enriching, screen-free fun for their kids. It’s a world of wholesome content that sparks curiosity, educates, and delivers endless giggles through engaging games and challenges.”

The podcast contains many interactive challenges such as asking children to find out how many times they can fold a piece of paper, teaching them to use a word from a different language, and playing the “wrong answers only” quiz.

Hannah Russell, Co-founder of Mags Creative, says of the podcast: “As a mother myself I’m so excited to work on a project that widens the pool of safe, secure and screen-free content for kids. And not only that – it’s entertaining too! Mags Creative is all about building communities through audio, and the phenomenal response we’ve had from parents and little listeners shows that this podcast is already doing just that, so we can’t wait to bring this podcast to even more ears.”

Listen to Today with tonies from 9th July on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps. 

Article wording adapted from Today with tonies press release

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Wanting to share the skills behind his success, Jo recently started the podcast A Voiceover’s Audio Adventure to shares insights to the industry. We asked him more about this work and the show…

Who are you and what was your path into voiceover work?

My name is Jo Troy and I am an award-winning voiceover from London. I got into voiceover in 2020 after putting it off for years. I finally had the time and the motivation to be like “let’s go”. It was something I was always told I’d be good at but didn’t have the slightest idea what a voiceover actually did apart from acting in animated films. Little did I know it was one click away and once I got my first job on a freelance site, the rest is history and I entered Narnia aka the world of VO.

What do you love most about being a voiceover artist?

I enjoy the freedom. I can do my work from anywhere and make my own hours. I love bringing scripts and characters to life, telling stories and hearing my voice in the real world.

Tell us about your podcast! What’s the elevator pitch?

It’s a biweekly show teaching listeners about the voiceover and audio industry, hearing amazing stories and learning tips & tricks along the way. Season 1 focuses on building basic skills and nohow on how to start, maintain and develop your career.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I have always been a creative person coming from music and when you receive other people’s scripts every day sometimes you can feel like you want to do more. I have always found podcasting interesting and was a medium I had never worked on in terms of creating. I always wanted to create tools and resources for other voiceovers to use and have already written an e-book so creating a podcast was a no-brainer. It allowed me to create, learn and educate all at the same time.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I can’t remember the first podcast I listened to but I can remember a handful. The thing with me is I consume my podcast visually on YouTube so that already narrows it down. Some of the first few pods were HC Pod Original, The Joe Budden Podcast and of course the OG – the Joe Rogan Experience.

What’s your number one tip for budding voiceover artists?

Buy my book and it will make life easier ha. But to be honest, apart from that I would say invest in yourself get a coaching session or two, create a demo and then go. Don’t wait just get stuck in. The more you do the better you will get. The more you do the more you’ll understand.

Lastly, where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

You can find everything about me, my ebook about VO and my podcast at www.jotroy.com.

Listen to A Voiceover’s Audio Adventure on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps >>

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com.

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Yoto Daily is a kids’ podcast that delivers a morsel of audio goodness every single day. It’s hosted by Jake Harris, a father and former primary school teacher whose sing-song voice reveals mind-boggling facts, cracks rib-tickling jokes and leads kids through games, drawalongs and other activities.

Now well beyond its 1,000th episode, Yoto Daily has until recently been available exclusively on Yoto – a screen-free audio platform that kids control. Yoto’s award-winning audio players, Yoto Player and Yoto Mini, let kids explore stories, music, educational activities and even meditation using physical cards. Kids around the world have enjoyed Yoto Daily by pressing a button on the audio players, which are also packed with free radio stations, audiobooks and sleep sounds like white noise. And as the podcast’s listenership has grown, Yoto has made it available more widely.

Each Yoto Daily episode is different, but they follow a familiar routine. On Mondays, they kickstart the week with Word of the Day—unpicking a little avenue of language with interactive activities. On Wednesdays, kids travel the world—exploring countries suggested by listeners through Five Fabulous Facts. At the end of the week, Jake hosts Friyay Jokes, showcasing kids around the world telling weird and wonderful jokes (try not to laugh). In-between these regular episodes, there’s a rotating roster of interactive games; Cheese or Chocolate, Alphabetter, Magic Ten, Draw-Along, and good old family quizzes. Each episode also features a handful of birthday shout-outs to kids around the world.

For the moment, Yoto Daily only publishes its Saturday and Sunday episodes to all major streaming platforms. But you can listen to the entire archive of episodes in the Yoto App, which is free to download for iOS and Android. There are other audio titles for kids aged 0-12+ in the app too, so it’s definitely worth exploring if you’re looking for ways to entertain your kids. Yoto Daily’s bite-sized episodes are perfect for families who want to kick-start their mornings with positivity and wonder, and for parents looking for a wholesome way to keep kids engaged. Discover the podcast wherever you listen – you can thank us later!

Listen to Yoto Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps. Find out more about Yoto at uk.yotoplay.com.

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com.

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Last time we checked in with you, you’d just finished up the first series of 100 Moments that Rocked Computer Science. What kind of reception did you get?

We had such a great time making the first series and I was really pleased by how well it did. It made the Apple top-10 charts for Technology, which was very fabulous. But the best bit was hearing back from listeners who had clicked on an episode and then binged the rest. It was also fantastic that so many people tuned in from outside the UK. I remember hearing that we had a big surge of listeners in Slovenia, to whom I’d like to say a belated najlepša hvala!

So what’s new for Series 2?

There’s a whole new line-up of incredible guests, absolute icons in their fields, but I think the best additions have got to be Kaal and Quentin, both of whom are currently studying computer science at Durham. They did an amazing job helping me discuss where we’d be without each episode’s ‘moment’ and what we can expect from the resulting technology in the future. One thing we’re trying to do with this podcast is to show how computer science is a very concrete way of shaping everyone’s future and the more people (and different kinds of people) we can equip with computer science skills, the better that future is going to look.

What’s your favourite episode so far?

I had an absolute blast with all of my guests so this is a very tricky question! But I think certain ‘moments’ have led to some particularly interesting discussions like the one with Anne-Marie Imafidon where we talked about Ada Lovelace and the very recent re-discovery of women in tech history. My chat with Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia (later in S2) was fascinating too as we discussed diversity in AI and how you can’t keep technology separate from social and political issues. That really built on my interview in series one with Megan Smith about civic tech. Another favourite episode was the one about quantum computing, because Tom Ilube’s explanation – of something that’s pretty complex – is absolutely brilliant. It’s an education podcast at the end of the day and every time I hear someone say that they learned something from it, I’m just so thrilled.

We know you’re a professor of computer science at Durham University but what does it mean to be their Tech Evangelist?

Well, I love technology! I also feel so grateful that education and technology have completely changed my life, helping to bring me and my family out of poverty. So I’m very passionate about technology not just because it is so exciting as a subject but because it changes lives. Through my social enterprise #techmums teaching tech skills to mums, particularly in underserved communities, through to our award winning programme TechUPWomen – retraining women with potential from all kinds of backgrounds directly into tech careers I’ve seen how technology can empower and enhance people’s lives in so many ways. The more we all understand the potential of technology, the more we ensure that we have diverse teams creating products and services the better our future will be. Tech gives us the tools to improve life for everyone on the planet, I can’t help getting excited about that and trying to get everyone else excited about it too!

It’s not just for the Boys
Target Jobs at Bloomberg London HQ Nov 2012

What’s the most surprising use of technology that you’ve seen?

This is probably not what you had in mind but the most surprising tech I’ve seen is when my now husband proposed to me using an online World War II code-breaking Enigma machine simulator. It was so romantic, funny and fabulously geeky. I think lots of other people enjoyed it too as Paul’s proposal was covered across the media and we trended on Twitter Moments worldwide, which shows that we all love a love story.

You’re a very busy person! Are you normally multi-tasking when you listen to podcasts? And what are you listening to these days?

Haha, true. Well it depends on the podcast, I do knit quite a lot, so if I’m not working I might be knitting as I listen. My favourites apart from #100moments are Kara Swisher’s Sway, Alan Carr’s Life’s a Beach, Jon Ronson’s Things Fell Apart, and I usually fall asleep at night listening to the BBC’s Newscast. My all time favourite podcast series is the first series of S-Town, it is utterly incredible, if you haven’t listened to it, go listen to it now.

You can listen to 100 Moments That Rocked Computer Science on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app. 

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com.

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Are You Convinced? is the podcast from UK Youth where Ndidi Okezie (CEO of UK Youth) and Laura McInerney (Co-founder of Teacher Tapp) take turns to persuade each other to see an issue from another point of view. They cover a wide range of topics impacting children and young people – and at the end, ask guests to help settle the questions – “Are You Convinced?”. We spoke to Ndidi to find out more about the show…

Pod Bible: Why podcasting? What is it about the format that seemed like the right fit for this project?

Ndidi: Our audience are people who have very little time for themselves (much like us!) so we wanted the show in a format that could be listened to on-the-go. Podcasts are perfect for this, as you can have them playing in your car on a journey, or in your headphones when you are working out or walking the dog. You can also listen for a bit, pause the episode and dive back in later. This means people are more likely to engage in the issues framing the discussions, which is what we are aiming for.

Did you take inspiration from any podcasts in particular before you started?

I love podcasts so I would certainly say I took inspiration from the art form itself. Some of my favourites are How I Built This, Tim Ferriss, The Learning Leader and Start UP.

After the first series, have either of your opinions shifted? Or has this been an exercise in empathy?

I start from a genuine place of curiosity at the positioning of Laura’s propositions, we are authentically in two different places more times than not. But she is (frustratingly) utterly brilliant at making logical arguments and so it just depends how willing I am to go along with (often limiting) logic over a stubborn desire for more! Impact. But we both always walk away having learnt something new. Not just from each other but from our amazing guests. Our aim is to demonstrate that it’s important to understand different views and look at situations from various perspectives. And that you can be friends and not have the same opinion on everything.

The pair are reunited” can you quickly tell us what you worked on together prior to the podcast?

Laura and I go way back. We both started teaching via the charity Teach First and our paths have crossed for many years. When I had the vision of doing a debate style podcast, Laura was the perfect person to co-host with. Our first iteration of the concept was done when I was working at Pearson and called Go With Me On This. We are really excited to be back working together on Are You Convinced?

How have you found working together again?

It’s honestly one of the highlights of the month for me. Along with our Producer extraordinaire (Sarah Myles), we’ve all been doing this together for a few years now and we make a really great team. There is really something special here and we just hope we can get as many people to discover the show because they won’t be disappointed when they do.

We often ask if you have a dream guest, but I think in this instance it is more poignant to ask: who do you think most needs to hear these discussions?

We really want to bring professions that work with/for young people together. The goal of the show, is to debate topics from a diversity of lenses. Centering youth voices is a key feature for us and one we hope to use as a bridge to bring young people and the professionals who work with them together. Our guests are experts in their field and many have real front-line experiences of what challenges young people face, as well as the best methods for tackling these. It’s important that we provoke conversations so that people can work in a more joined up ways to create positive change.

Finally, are there any other podcasts you would recommend to learn more about some of the complex issues discussed?

Podcasts from media companies often engage in debates about key social issues. Shows like Moral Maze and the work of Sky news, The Guardian etc come to mind. We really do think that we’ve found a special nuance in the ability to use a debate/competition style format to discuss serious and controversial topics, so your readers are encouraged to check out Are You Convinced? and leave us a review letting us know what you think!

Listen to Are You Convinced? NOW on your favourite podcast app.

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Feeling overwhelmed? Spotify has given us this helpful roundup of the best podcasts to support home learning. There are a variety of podcasts available on the platform that are suitable for both parents and kids to listen to together – enabling families to enjoy learning from home!

Whether your child wants to grow up to be a scientist, musician or a historian – these podcasts are a fun learning tool to supplement their studies and inspire them to stay engaged with their favourite subjects. And if they simply want to entertain themselves over lunch, or first thing when they wake up, why not keep this educational too? Spotify’s children’s platform, Spotify Kids, is full of amazing and appropriate music choices, as well as audio books around their favourite stories to keep them going and learning throughout the day.

Top Podcasts include:

Primary school

• Keeping The Kids Entertained  – Are the kids bored again? With Keeping the Kids Entertained they’ll be able to discover new stories, dramas, and learn something new!
• Maddie´s Sound Explorers – Hosted by Maddie Moate, in each episode, listeners are taken on a journey of science and nature sounds, with experts leading the way. Listen to Maddie discussing the show on Episode 54 of the Pod Bible Podcast here!
• David Walliams Marvellous Musical Podcast – Join David Walliams as he goes on a marvellous musical journey of discovery and meets some of the most famous faces from the history of music.
• Fun Kids Book Worms – A fortnightly podcast hosted by Bex, where she meets your favourite authors and finds out what makes them tick.
• The Week Junior Show – The Week Junior Show takes you behind the scenes of the award-winning magazine for 8 to 14-year-olds. Hosted again each week by Bex, she is joined by members of The Week Junior team to discuss their favourite stories or debate the week’s hot topic.
• Maths Appeal – The Maths Appeal podcast features discussions about key maths topics, maths puzzles and interviews with maths champions from the worlds of tech, entertainment, comedy and education.
• Fun Kids Science Weekly – Hosted by Dan from Fun Kids, each episode looks at the week’s biggest science stories.
• Wow In The World – Hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz guide curious kids and their grown-ups on a journey into the wonders of the world around them. We’ll go inside our brains, out into space and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology.
• Tumble – Tumble is a science podcast for kids, to be enjoyed by the entire family. They tell stories about science discoveries, with the help of real scientists!
• HomeSchool History – The podcast provides fun history lessons for all the family, presented by Horrible Histories’ Greg Jenner. Full of facts and jokes, the series brings to life a broad range of historical topics.

Secondary school

• A Brief History of Mathematics – Hosted by Professor of Mathematics Marcus de Sautoy, this podcast reveals the personalities behind the calculations and argues that mathematics is driving the force behind modern science.
• Science Weekly – Science Weekly is a podcast from The Guardian, and due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Science Weekly podcast currently explores some of the crucial scientific questions about Covid-19.
• BBC Inside Science – Hosted by Dr Adam Rutherford, guests join each week to illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that is changing our world.
• Tech and Science Daily – From the Evening Standard, this podcast focuses on the daily bulletins reporting the latest news from the world of science and technology.
• The British History Podcast -The BHP is a chronological retelling of the history of Britain with a particular focus upon the lives of the people. It is not dry and doesn’t recount dates and battles, but instead teaches who these people were and how their desires, fears, and flaws shaped the histories of England, Scotland, and Wales.
• Stuff You Missed in History Class – Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed in History Class in this podcast from iHeartRadio.
• The Black Curriculum – Teaching Black British history 365 days a year.
• How to Save a Planet – How to Save a Planet is a podcast that asks the big questions like, what do we need to solve the crisis climate? Join journalist Alex Blumbers and scientist Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson as they scour Earth for solutions, talking to the people who make a difference.
• BBC Earth Podcast -BBC Earth’s podcast is everything you’d expect – a blend of nature, science and human experience, with world class storytelling and immersive soundscapes. They also bring you insights and stories from the BBC’s crews as they make some of the most impactful television on the planet.
• Duolingo French Podcast – Deepen your language skills and knowledge of the French-speaking world through fascinating true stories and easy to follow French, with added English for context.

James Cator, Head of Studios, UK at Spotify says:

“We appreciate how tough the latest lockdown is on families and with schools shut there are even more pressures on parents during this difficult time. We hope this  round up the top educational podcasts provides a bit of inspiration for parents that are looking for ways to entertain and educate their children – there’s lots available on Spotify across a number of subjects and suitable for a variety of ages. Podcasts are an especially great choice for those worried about how much time their children are spending in front of screens. The beauty of audio is that it can be enjoyed while doing other activities like walking or chores – enabling both parents and kids to learn while completing other daily tasks.”

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