The Children's Hour Inc.
307 episodes listed below
Curious public radio for growing minds.
The Children's Hour builds each episode around a clear child-sized question, then brings in music, kid voices, and knowledgeable adults to answer it. Recent shows move from rivers and manatees to the moon, kindness, bullying, forests, money, and Southwest storytelling.
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The Children's Hour is kids public radio with a classroom's curiosity and a producer's sense of shape. It is gentle, but not thin. Each episode starts from a theme a child can hold onto, then widens into interviews, songs, jokes, kid voices, and short explanatory bridges. Recent subjects range widely, from rivers and forests to manatees, the moon, kindness, bullying, money, and oral storytelling. The show is especially comfortable with science. A moon episode brings in Dr. Phil Plait on how the moon formed, Reid Wiseman on Artemis II and life on the International Space Station, and Dr. Chip Scherer on moon rock and soil samples. A manatee episode visits Andrea Herman from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida and listens for the life of sea cows around Florida and elsewhere. The natural world returns often. Earth Day becomes a river lesson with River Exchange students, clean watersheds, cottonwood trees, the Rio Grande, and Senator Gaylord Nelson's environmental teach-in legacy. Forests get similar care, with Dr. Lisa Markovchik explaining how trees, fungi, and animals support one another. But the program is not only about nature. It treats kindness, harassment, and money as learnable civic skills. The Kids Crew asks practical questions about budgets, interest, credit cards, planning ahead, and what to do when someone is being bullied. Songs keep those lessons from turning stiff. The humor is corny in a deliberate family-radio way, with puns that act like small doors into each topic. The show's best moments come when children are allowed to sound genuinely involved, not merely cute. Experts answer them seriously. The production then restates the point in accessible language and points families toward a companion learning guide. That rhythm makes the show useful for road trips, classrooms, and family listening. The Children's Hour suits families who want an educational show that feels warm, structured, and public-minded without flattening the world into trivia.
Made for: Best for school-age children, parents, caregivers, and educators who want warm, structured learning audio. It also suits families looking for music-rich episodes that can lead into activities or classroom discussion.
What sets it apart: The show blends kid questions, expert explanations, music, jokes, and companion learning guides into a polished public-radio format. Its range is unusually broad, moving from marine life and planetary science to kindness, money, bullying, and Southwest storytelling.
The Children’s Hour is Kids Public Radio, broadcasting weekly on public radio stations worldwide. Our theme based shows are entertaining and educational, and feature only the best in music. Excellent for road trips, explore our world and learn with us!
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Children's questions lead the reporting, turning animal behavior, public safety, sleep science, reading, and environmental work into approachable family listening.
Katie Stone turns children's questions into lively, theme-led radio, pairing a Kids Crew with guests who can make specialized knowledge plain.
Skunk spray meets its toughest interviewers: curious kids asking exactly what you hoped someone would ask.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Earth Day feels tangible here because kids connect river care to real projects and real places.
This Earth Day hour stays centered on rivers and on the projects kids build with River Exchange for their schools and communities. Senator Gaylord Nelson, identified here as the father of modern Earth Day, adds useful historical context.
A cheerful animal lesson that turns skunk jokes into practical science.
The episode turns a playground joke into a friendly animal lesson. Katie Stone opens with humor and song, then the talk settles into how skunks use scent, black-and-white warning colors, and defensive behavior to protect themselves.
A steady, child-friendly tour of firefighting, from rescues and medical calls to safety at home and outdoors.
The Children's Hour treats a fire station visit as a clear lesson in service and readiness. Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo and Captain Kyle Christian guide the Kids Crew through medical calls, rescues, and practical safety advice for homes, campfires, and wildfires.
A calm, kid-sized look at why sleep matters and what it helps the brain do overnight.
This episode treats sleep as more than a bedtime routine, and it makes that case with uncommon patience. It begins with kid-level curiosity, then opens into Vishal's explanation of memory, cleaning, and repair without weighing the listener down.
Meet the food, then hear its story.
Host Katie Stone celebrates Earth Day on The Children's Hour by featuring New Mexico fifth graders participating in the River Exchange Initiative, a hands-on program where students design and execute environmental action projects including litter cleanup and cottonwood tree planting in the Rio Grande bosque.
This episode of The Children's Hour explores kindness as a habit, practice, science, and feeling, featuring guest Lindsay Monroe who uses music to build caring communities for children, including those with autism.
This educational episode for children explores the moon through interviews with experts including an astronomer, a NASA astronaut, and a planetary geologist, covering topics like moon formation, space missions, and lunar phenomena.
This episode of The Children's Hour teaches kids about manatees through an interview with Andrea Herman from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, covering their ecological status, lives in Florida and worldwide, and includes sounds of baby manatees and celebratory music.
This episode teaches children about financial literacy through lessons on budgeting, savings, interest, and credit cards with guidance from financial experts.
The Kids Crew learns the five D's of bystander intervention to effectively respond to bullying.
Legendary storyteller Joe Hayes shares tales inspired by Hispanic, Indigenous, and Anglo traditions of the Southwest, explaining how listeners shape stories and imagination brings them to life.
The episode explores forest ecology, tree communication, and the importance of old-growth forests through interviews with an ecologist and the kids' crew.
Fourth graders teach kids about the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, and the secret network that helped enslaved people reach freedom.
This episode of The Children's Hour explores the history and science of love for Valentine's Day, featuring music and educational content for kids.
This episode explores the science and cultural history of skin, featuring interviews with experts and a pediatric dermatologist.
The Children's Hour starts with a skunk joke and a song.
The Kids Crew heads to Albuquerque Fire Rescue Station No.
The Children's Hour episode "Reading To Dogs" explains how library programs use registered therapy dogs to help children practice reading aloud without correction or embarrassment.
This episode of The Children's Hour teaches kids about World War II through music and a bilingual fifth-grade class.
The episode opens with a straightforward question.
A celebration of the best moments from 2025, including visits with an eagle aviary, AI discussion, judiciary overview, and Grammy-nominated children's songs.
A holiday special episode of a children's radio show featuring new independent children's music from around the world.
A children's radio show previewing episodes about refugee experiences and cultural exchange, featuring an oud player and Malala Yousafzai.
This episode of The Children's Hour explores birthday traditions from around the world, mixing educational content with music for children.
This episode explores the benefits of outdoor learning through stories from kids who participate in nature programs and birdwatching activities.
This episode features interviews with children's authors R.L.
This episode explores the Spanish concept of carencia—a sense of belonging and home—through poetry, music, and conversation with a special guest.
This episode of The Children's Hour provides a summertime soundtrack with kid-friendly music and a Bill Harley story, aiming to entertain and educate young listeners.
The episode teaches kids about astronomy, including black holes, solar flares, and auroras, through an interview with an astronomer and music.
A kids' public radio episode exploring patriotism and leadership through interviews with students, history of the Pledge of Allegiance, and music.
This episode teaches children about owls through songs, classroom inspiration, and expert interviews.
This episode explores petroglyphs, ancient rock carvings by Native peoples, featuring interviews with archaeologists, educators, and tribal representatives to discuss their historical and cultural significance.
This episode of The Children's Hour celebrates Father's Day with an interview featuring singer John Legend, discussing fatherhood and his kids' album.
This episode teaches kids about community science through the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, where students collect ecological data.
This episode celebrates the end of the school year, honoring graduates and teachers with music and a humorous story about teachers in summer.
This episode of The Children's Hour explores camping with kids, covering topics like backpacking tips, bear safety, and weather preparedness through interviews with experts and children's perspectives.
This episode explores the science of animal migration, featuring an author discussing how birds, whales, and butterflies navigate across the globe.
This episode celebrates Mother's Day with a mix of listener stories, historical facts about the holiday's origins, insights into bird mothers, and music honoring motherhood.